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What a disappointment - just buy an X-box 360 and play the original. I purchased the edition of this game that included the legacy adapter, but felt the review should go on this one too.
Overall, this game was a total disappointed and Harmonix definitely let us down on this one. My wife and I were super excited for the release of this game, and after getting it, we started to play. We had bought the version with the Legacy adapter, because we already had two guitars, three mics, and drums from X-Box 360. There were a few good songs, but we were also excited to play some of our old stuff and check out downloadable content. Disappointed again.
So, here are the pros and cons for this title:
PROS
1. Able to transfer *most* of your music from your X-Box 360 library (see note below).
2. New "vocal customization" feature allows you to add your own personalized pitches without being downgraded. If it sounds good, you get points, whether you messed up or not.
3. New artists and popular songs (for me, "Uptown Funk" and "I Miss the Misery" were major reasons that helped me decide to purchase).
4. Added a few new features, such as choosing whether to play an encore after your set, and an in depth guitar tutorial.
CONS
1. As of 10/12/2015, the price per song is $1.99. After "sales taxes", the price was $2.48. WHO PAYS 25% SALES TAX? The answer - nobody! According to taxfoundation.org, the highest sales tax in the country is 13.25%, so who knows where the extra 11% is coming from. I'm not even sure if online sales of this type are subject to sales tax unless the company has a physical presence in the state.
2. As mentioned above, moving your music library is a joke. You must download each song individually, and several songs you purchase don't show as such until after you select to purchase them.
3. The Legacy Adapter didn't work with either wireless microphone. We were able to plug in the 3rd, but that used the USB port which eliminated our second guitar (which is corded).
4. I didn't exactly count, but the music library seems small to have 1500 tracks in it.
5. Included tracks and DLC are terrible. Many of the tracks included are big name performers (think Aerosmith, Elvis Presley, etc), but the songs they chose to include suck. And of course, I mentioned Halestorm above. Many of the included artists do not have any additional songs available in the music library.
6. Great features are missing - customization of your character's appearance and wardrobe is a fraction of what it was. Band customization is lessened too.
7. It's 2015 and the social online play is gone. Makes no sense.
Overall, its a horrible game and its a disappointment and a ripoff for anybody that loved Rock Band on the X-Box 360. | video-games_xbox |
the target audience is beginners and experienced players may not enjoy this. While this is a great starting point for a beginner its not without its flaws.
I have played guitar off and on for 20+ years I never considered myself any good sure I could play a few riffs but I never learned anything beyond basic power cords and open chords.
When the first game came out I avoided it at first as I didn't think it could be that good. turned out I was wrong I poured many hours into that one. Then this game came out and while it was a huge improvement over the first but its not perfect
If you have never picked up a guitar and want to start some where cheap without an instructor this is a decent place to start. as it gets all the basics in one place for you. so you are not scouring the net, dvds/vhs, or trying to learn from books.(not that there is anything wrong with any of those they just aren't generally organized in a easy step by step to do all inclusive fashion, though some sites are starting to do this you have to pay for it)
the first game had a story mode type play through which is one of the things that 2014 lacks in my opinion though this could be corrected with an expansion
some people fault the cable for being cheap/not well made. I got a cable with the first rocksmith back in late 2012 that cable is still working after hundreds of hours of use. I can not speak for others but I would think maybe they are being hard on them or bending it beyond its capabilities
the HDMI lag has always been addressed from the moment you open the box they suggest you hook your xbox/ps4 up to an analog system. with the 360 I was able to do that and there was no lag. Unfortunately with the Xbox One I can no longer do this and lag is a problem for me now. Is it game breaking? no, but it does suck. Where as my best friend has always had a hdmi connect he has never had a problem with lag. which that may be a cable thing or a tv thing
My biggest complaint which is really no fault of the games and more on me is when im not playing the game I cant generally remember how to play the songs I have played many times in the game. while the stuff I learned 20 years ago I still play perfectly. so the songs are not sticking even if I can play them. I know its probably a matter of skipping around too much to different songs and not playing the songs enough to commit them to memory. again no fault to the game
Everyone learns differently and this 'game/teaching tool' will work for some and not others. Just as the music will appeal to some and not others. UBI has done a great job of getting a wide range of music from country, metal, rock, blues, funk, pop, classical etc.
It does many things very well from showing you how to hold your pick, too how to two handed tap. is it a complete teacher and a one stop shop for everything? no. the more advanced things you are you going to need a teacher/video/internet to understand/grasp some of the concepts/theory in and out of the game hence the title of the review
the thing it does best is it makes practice/learning fun as it can be in my opinion.
if I went into detail of the good and bad this review would be a novel. I tried to touch on things that that are not generally touched on in other reivews | video-games_xbox |
10,000% WORTH IT. Pros:
This game is *fantastic* for a casual gamer. It's straightforward to play through but also detailed and challenging enough to still be fun, and the character lines are absolutely *hilarious.* It's fun to watch all of the little things in the background, like what different characters do while standing still or the cheesy things they say, and while the story was pretty short, it was still interesting and fun. It makes a ton of fun pop culture references as well, including The Incredibles, Snakes on a Plane, and Wizard of Oz. It's great to play through, it's great to revisit the story with unlocked characters, and even just wandering around Manhattan is pretty fun if you've got a few hours at home to kill. The enormous number of characters you can unlock are a lot of fun as well, and they have such great personalities!
Cons:
1) In freeplay, switching from Spiderman or Hulk to one of the other characters is incredibly annoying - the (Y) button (the character change button) is also how you switch them from Spidey to Peter or Hulk to Bruce, so often when you're trying to change characters you'll have to sit through Spidey/Hulk turning into Peter/Bruce a few times before it actually works. Reed with the (B) button is similarly obnoxious - instead of interacting with a device he'll turn into a teapot half a dozen (or more) times first.
2) Sometimes the characters get stuck in weird and annoying places. In one of the scenes, our Thing fell off of a bridge and for some reason got stuck behind it, and even turning the controller off and wandering off with the other character didn't un-stick him. Scott also gets stuck on the right side of the X-Men Mansion.
3) When you're flying, the directional controls are really sensitive so it's difficult to adjust the direction you're facing by only small degrees. This gets annoying if you're, say, burning through a wall from a distance, or flying through the city and need to make a turn and vastly overshoot. I felt carsick after flying around with Johnny Storm in Manhattan for a little while.
4) There are some Marvel characters missing who really surprised me, although maybe there are legal reasons for it that I'm unaware of. For instance, having the X-Men crew, including Mystique, but not Nightcrawler? Having Gambit, but not Rogue? Where's the Scarlet Witch? Ah, well. Can't win 'em all. | video-games_xbox |
A great experience. The Far Cry series has been loved by players of all platforms. Whether you love the game for it's great free roam world, fantastic visuals, for it's story, or for it's awesome, fast paced action. There is always something you will like in this game. Far Cry 3 is no exception. While this game has no actual connection to it's predecessors in the story line, everything listed above is still here. Now, then there's the multiplayer, which is an incredible 180 switch. Because the two experiences rate as two actual different games, I will review them separately.
Single Player:
The single player experience is what this game was really built for, the entire reason this game even exists. In a world of multiplayer shooters, single player games become fewer and fewer, practically becoming and extinct species in the gaming world. However, as these single player games become smaller in number, they have increased in quality and greatness. Among your Battlefields and Call of Duty's and Halos, There's always a great diamond like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and now, Far Cry 3. As you start up the game, you will be greeted by an amazing, beautiful, open jungle world, and no expense has been spared in it's great amount of detail. The story doesn't wait to bring you into the action, immediately you are hiding from an insane, terrifying enemy, then running for life, while death licks at your heels. However, the game will slow shortly afterwords, allowing you to take in everything that's been happening to you. This is when you can actually start reviewing the experience. The first thing you may notice is that the controls feel incredibly sluggish. Compared to the free-flowing, smooth gunplay of Battlefield and Call of Duty, this feels slow, and nasty. However, it does match the feel, considering you play as a rich kid, thrown into the fray with no training, it makes sense. But, you will end up evolving with your character, the controls end up feeling familiar, and second nature.
The world itself, as I said, is greatly detailed and you can tell how much work the developers put into this masterpiece. However, it feels like a great painting, while it looks amazing, and detail has been put into every little things, but you can't interact with anything. Even the small plants can't be interacted with in any way. Compared to the Dice engine, where everything is destructible, nothing in the world can be changed. Halfway through the game you can get a flamethrower, which seems like it does something by charring the landscape, everything then quickly turns green again with no change. It's just disappointing that so much more has been done before, as a result, the world feels static and bland, which is an exponential disservice to the world, and to the people who made it.
But, looking past these shortcomings, this game is amazing for everything it brings to the table. The combat feels great, allowing multiple forms to attack a situation. Any play style is allowed, thus, any player can have fun in the game. You want to snipe? Go ahead, snipe. You want to sneak and stab? Sneak and stab. You want to run and gun? Go for it. Needless to say, the game allows a lot of freedom.
The story is also a plus, it's engaging, it's fun, and it's something to remember. Bringing some of the best villains and allies that you will love for quite a while. Vaas Montenegro and his boss are absolutely evil, and I loved every second seeing them in action, awaiting my change to strike back at them. The story does take a change half-way through, which loses interest, but pushing through it is definitely worth it. Added with good side missions, which add a fun distraction to the world and main story, this game can take up to 20+ hours of your life, which compared to a lot of single player games that take up to 8 hours or so, this is a lengthy, meaty game.
Multiplayer:
Multiplayer is an absolute different story, and since EA is lead by Skeletor himself, they decided multiplayer had to be crowbarred in. Multiplayer uses the same sluggish singleplayer controls, but in the fast-paced multiplayer, it just doesn't work very well at all. In nit-picks, The player can take far too much damage, especially with pistols. The classic Colt .45, M1911 is the starting pistol for singleplayer, and it feels weak there. In the multiplayer however, you unlocking after a .44 magnum, and it is so much worse. Taking up to four rounds to take out an enemy, it just feels like disrespect for a great handgun.
The co-op somehow manages to be even worse, which is practically unthinkable, it takes a lot of Dead Island, so much it feels like a clone of the game. If you're going to clone a game for co-op, at least clone a good game. I would have been fine if it took a lazy, Red Dead Redemption approach, allowing two or four players to roam the world without the main story,been just enemy compounds to capture, I would have loved it. But instead, we get a separate, linear line of missions, with no stealth, at all, even if you try. And artificial difficulty by packing missions full of enemies that is only passable with at least 3 players. It has no spark, spirit, or a single note from the single player.
So how does the game feel overall, well the single player is fantastic, and a crap multiplayer, the experience, in total, is great. With a game like Battlefield 3, you have to compensate for if someone has online capability, but because multiplayer is more of a distraction from a great experience, this game is suitable for everyone. A fantastic game, needs to be experienced foe all players.
A few notes on some bad points that aren't large enough to mention in my full review.
1) The killing of animals. People may find this distasteful, but it's digital animals, they don't exist.
2) The graphics are amazing on all platforms, but PC does have more polish and better lighting.
3) There is swearing and drug use.
4) There is nudity, while brief at first, there is a longer nude chest scene at the end of the game depending on which ending you pick. But, I don't think it's enough to decide the game or not.
Overall 9.8/10 | video-games_xbox |
Very good release , I would say it is my favorite one since HCTP hands down. Rather than say what everyone else is saying I will kinda try and touch on the little things people have left out.
Wishlist-
Here is what I would like for the first patch to include.
Access to Edit Downloaded CAWs , Music, Moveset, and edit Colors (I would like to have more access but these are practical)
Use of Downloaded CAWs in RTWM.
Still keep them alloted to the downloaded charachter so people can't just make their edits on someone elses charachter and pass it off as their own work (so in other words no Uploads of others CAW). That way you are maximizing function and usefulness of the CAWs .
Only being able to use these as is and only in exhibition mode and not being able to edit entrance and music just kinda seem like this limitation makes this amazing feature somewhat of a waste.
For Example, Someone went to the effort of making an Incredible Rick Rude with the intercontinental title on his trunks, only thing being is they are the wrong color. I would never be able to make this CAW cause I am not good with the paint feature at all. So I would like to change the base color of Rick Rude's trunks and make his entrance not look like a Divas.
Review-
A very top notch effort this year, this addition would set this game over the top for me. The Grappling is a little different from last years, I think it is a little slower. More like 2008's game but alot smoother. The standard matches haven't changed much.
Royal Rumble is alot better , you can play without the cut scene of the guy running to the ring interrupting you all the time now.
The targeting system is a little faulty, I changed it in options to manual and am having less trouble now with it. It still is not as good as any other game in the series and it never was that great to begin with. Pretty minor gripe though. Graphics, Sound are great as usual. I found the Road to Wrestlemania challanges more difficult so far. Last year it was too easy, I like this year's better.
Now for the Major Gripe, people get right back up no matter what you do to them for the first 2 to 3 minutes. Chair Shot, no big deal. RKO No problem. This hasn't been a problem in this series in forever, why introduce it now.
All in all great fun, you could literally spend hours just looking at content other people have made, Iv'e seen very awesome recreations of Mario, Darth Maul, Dr. Doom, Wolverine, Spawn.....Name any old 80's WWE Guy...And the ones I mentioned are the really good ones I have seen.
To sum it up , if you have given up on this series over the last 2,3 games this is a good one to try to get back in on. | video-games_xbox |
Outstanding, one of the most open ended games ever. I was turned onto Morrowind several years ago by a friend and was intimidated by the size and scope of the game. It really is beyond anything I have ever seen before. The game world is enormous and I haven't even left the mainland yet. When people discuss the open endedness of the GTA series I laugh because Morrowind has that game beaten hands down. The funny thing about this game is you can play it for a hundred hours and still not complete one single quest regarding the main story line. In fact this is probably the best way to play the game. I ran through all of the guild and faction quests before embarking on the main journey and it took me months to complete all those quests. All in all the game is enormous. You can't finish this game 100% because the game changes to how you play it. Decisions you make eliminate certain quests from your line or changes events. Because of this you really do feel that this is a living breathing world.
SOme downsides to the game can weaken the experience for demanding gamers. First the game locks up an awful lot. Last night alone my game locked up 4 times in 30 minutes. THis requires you to save virtually all the time to prevent have to replay massive pieces of time. Adding to the frustration of lockup is the very long load times. Everytime a save game is loaded it is a minimum 3-5 minute wait for it to load. Even if you save your game then reload it the game still must purge the world and start over. Walking around also requires constant loading. At the start of the game this is rare and only happens during travel but gets worse when you explore more and more of the world. Right now I am finding that after uncovering perhaps 70% of the map I experience load screens every 30 seconds.
A few other downfalls are some of the construction elements. I have gotten stuck in places like sunken ships where my character would clip with a wall and get stuck. Also NPC's get in your way all the time and will stand in doorways to block your path and you cannot move them. This is just annoying.
The world itself although huge in scope has a very limited appearance. Much of the land is either swamp, plains, or rocky mountains. This doesn't leave much for creative scenery meaning after about 20 hours of gameplay you will barely notice the scenery as it is all rehashed from before. Even certain cities and towns use the same game art and lose their appeal after you see 3 or 4. Worse though are the sheer abilities of travel. At first I found it fun exploring this enourmous world but now that I have most of the mainland uncovered, performing quests get very tedious as it takes forever to travel by foot. I would contest it would probably take you and hour to walk from one side of the map to the other.
The map issue would not be a problem if the missions were constructed within reason but most missions saddly are a go here and talk to this guy/give this guy something/kill this guy. You can use some fixed forms or transportation like the riders and mages guides as well as your own teleportation skills but still foot travel is a must. And you will find quest ideas run short as most of the time your quests are only long becuase you had to travel so much and the actual task takes you maybe a minute.
However the quests do differentiate and having so many different types of faction and clan missions you can change it up. I can't wait to get to the expansion areas and see the new scenery. The two biggest issues IO mention that almost caused me to drop my rating were the clipping and lock up issues. Beyond that this game is amazing. | video-games_xbox |
Great game system with more features. Everyone rags on the fact that XB1 costs more than the PS4. I have both and while the PS4 is a solid game system it really is a PS3 with better graphics.
The inclusion of the Kinect and the voice recognition system has made this console the hub of my entertainment system. I have a home theater so using voice commands and eliminating all of my remotes was a huge plus. Xbox will turn all of my components on and off and control the volume. Having Blu ray and all the apps means I can stay within one environment to run my home theater and in the process I eliminated a lot of unneeded components and wires.
As for the games, they look great. Don't listen to all of this talk about which console is more powerful. Side by side on a 106" screen you still cannot tell the difference. Pick a game system based on your personal preference and what upcoming exclusive games it has.
The only negatives, and they are minor, is that there are still little bugs and polish that can be done with the interface and the voice recognition but I will say this, when you speak to the kinect it only needs to be done in your normal speaking voice. If you yell or raise your voice it is not calibrated at that level.
The Party system works good but you have to have an open NAT in many cases or the party chat is not going to work. I had to make some minor changes to my router. When you go into party chat you have a three step process that they need to work on to make the system better. First you have to create a party and then invite people but then you have to manually turn on your party chat to be heard. When you go into a game, like Call of Duty you have to invite the people in your party chat to that game.
You CAN invite people just to your game and they will be able to chat but it will be an open chat and in between rounds when the game is starting you won't be able to chat when the loading screen is up.
The interface is good, could use a bit more polish but it's better than the overflow system Sony is using. Xbox Live has always been the best when it comes to parties and multiplayer gaming and still is. | video-games_xbox |
I've dropped my controller too many times from fright. Doom 3 for the XBox is the BEST looking FPS out there at this time. The textures and normal mapping make the environment come to life in a way that is not even possible on my lowly PC without causing serious degradation in the frame rate.
The last game to give such a detailed environment was the Chronicles of Riddick. However, that game (as great as it is) was plagued with some issues. At times, the graphics would get very fuzzy. Also, there were clipping issues in some areas. But, those can be overlooked in a game that is not just a FPS, but also a stealth game as well.
Doom 3, however, is not plagued by those abnormalities. The graphics are ALWAYS clear and sharp. Frame rate reduction is minimal (almost non-existent) and doesn't affect the gameplay at all. If you want to really show off the XBox's graphics and sound capabilities, then this is the game to do it with.
Doom 3 is a re-telling of the original Doom. Forget that Doom and Doom II ever occured. In this game, you learn more about the UAC, it's operations and who caused the portal to hell to open and why. Again, you play an unnamed space marine called to the UAC base on Mars for a normal rotation in your active duty career. People have been disappearing left and right on what is not a large installation. Others have come down with serious cases of schizophrenia, while others have even resorted to cutting their tongues in two. Yuck!
If you've played the PC version, then be prepared for some changes. First off, the areas are NOT as dark as they were on the PCs. This was due to console games being played on the TV. It doesn't detract from the scary environment of the PC game and you still need a flashlight in many areas once the portal to hell is open. But, at least you get to see the lush environment and the minions of hell a lot better than you did on the PC.
Second, many areas of the PC game (such as the beginning where you actually walk through the scanning machine yourself as well as walking around the landing platform to get into the main entrance of the base) have been replaced by you watching it occur. You actually take control of the player when he comes to the desk to receive his PDA.
Other areas have been removed or paths have been changed. This was done to help increase the action and speed of the game. Whereas the PC game was more of a slow-paced scare fest, the XBox version is a fast-paced juggernaut that still scares the holy heck out of you. There have been areas where I knew there were imps yet, because the atmosphere of the game has pulled me in so deeply, I would still have an imp scare the heck of out me, causing me to drop my controller and curse out loud because I knew the imp was there. Also, certain areas creatures have been replaced to take into account that this is a console game with a controller and not a PC game with a mouse. It doesn't detract from the game at all. In fact, it makes it better.
The controls are laid out nicely, with the D-pad acting as your quick weapons select that you can modify to have access to your favorite weapons. Unlike Halo and Halo 2, you can save the game at any point. The Back button serves as a quick save button so you can save where you are at quickly and get back to the action. This is definitely a plus because then you don't have to worry about the game saving at a pre-determined savepoint when your health and/or ammo is low. You control when you save and in what condition your health and ammo is in.
The 5.1 surround sound puts you right in the middle of the action and is used to it's fullest potential. I can't count how many times I've heard a sound behind me (breathing, something falling, whispering) and I turned around in fright to only find nothing there. It adds to the tension of the game. The detail of the demons and people are the best I've seen yet. The level of detail of everything makes this the best looking XBox game to date.
With the Collectors edition being only $5 more than the normal version, I say shell out that extra cash so you can also get the original Ultimate Doom and Doom II games ported to the Xbox. They allow co-op play and are a nostalgic look back at the games that defined the FPS and deathmatch shooters era. Doom started it all.
The other extra features on the CE version include 4 FMVs about the making of Doom 3 and the history of Doom. They are really interesting to watch. There is also an art gallery as well as interviews with the creators of Doom 3. I did notice that the voices were NOT in synch with the videos, but it's minor and not that much of a distraction.
The online play seems well on it's way to bringing back the glory days of playing Doom on a Novell LAN. It only allows up to 4 players, but sometimes, those are the the best types to play. The levels have been created just for that type of game play and it allows for some exciting matches. There is deathmatch, team deathmatch and arena-type where you watch two players go head-to-head and when one dies, one of the other players waiting comes in and plays the winner. I did notice some lag at times, but it wasn't enough to detract from the gameplay.
Another issue with on-line play is when you search for games. It seems to take a long time to find them. Once I did find a game, there were numerous times when I selected that game, only to be told that it was no longer available. Hopefully, these issues are just due to the fact that I tried to play on-line on the day of the release and will eventually be fixed or reduced once the hype has died down a little.
Unlike the PC version, you can have coop play as well for the main story. The FMVs are gone and certain areas from the single-player game have been changed to allow for 2-players, but this is something we Xboxers can brag about that the PC players don't have. It makes for some interesting gameplay, especially in the dark areas. To see your buddy get munched by a demon while you hold the flashlight is something you just have to experience to really get the feeling of sheer terror that it can bring.
Overall, I was a little disappointed in that this was only a one-disc edition when the other limited CEs had two discs. Still, the inclusion of the original Dooms and the port of this game to the Xbox is nothing short of brilliance on the part of Vicarious Visions. They must be commended on this port. It actually makes this better than the PC version and looks almost as good for a console game.
Doom 3 is the BEST looking FPS out there. Does it beat Halo 2? Maybe in the single player version, but online is a different story. Each has it's own merits. If anything, Doom 3 can sit right next to Halo 2 and be equal to it. This is definitely a game every FPS fan should have for their Xbox. | video-games_xbox |
Great when it works. Not so much if you live in a dorm. DISCLAIMER: I live in a dorm with 280 people, 35 people per floor. This means every single person has a laptop, tablet, and/or smart phone hooked up to the wifi, running on 2.4Ghz, which is what this headset uses. This means my signal is very busy around me.
I've been wanting a nice headset for a long time. I was decided on Astros, but when I saw this on a lightening deal for almost half the price of the Astro A50 wireless headset<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/New-ASTRO-Gaming-A50-Wireless-Headset-ASTRO-Edition-Xbox-PS3-PC-Gaming/dp/B0091WIOJ2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">New ASTRO Gaming A50 Wireless Headset - ASTRO Edition - Xbox, PS3, & PC Gaming!</a>, I couldn't say no. I had some bad experience with Turtle Beach in the past, and this pretty much just confirms it. I previously owned the DPX21<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Ear-Force-DPX21-Headset-and-5-1-7-1-Channel-Dolby-Surround-Sound/dp/B0042Y2F76/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Ear Force DPX21 Headset and 5.1/7.1 Channel Dolby Surround Sound</a> for about $130, which I returned because the sound location and features weren't worth the money. I currently own a pair of X12's<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Ear-Force-X12-Gaming-Headset-and-Amplified-Stereo-Sound/dp/B005DQG0BO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Ear Force X12 Gaming Headset and Amplified Stereo Sound</a>, which are fine for stereo sound, which I wasn't ok with. I then ordered a refurbished pair of this pair, the XP500's, off of woot.com which didn't game sound, so I returned them. When I saw this deal, I was skeptical, but couldn't pass it up.
For a short review, head to the bottom! Otherwise, read on:
SETUP:
Set up was a breeze. Take it out of the nice packaging, put the wireless transmitter in a place inline with where you'll be sitting, hook power up through USB on the Xbox, plug the TOSlink into the back of the transmitter and back of xbox, and you're set. That's it for cords. Another USB to mini USB cable is included to hook your headset to your computer to update the firmware and make your own presets, which I will expand upon later. Turn on the transmitter and the headset, which will say "powering on" to let you know its on, and sync it up. Just hold a button on the front of the transmitter till a light goes out, then hold the power button on the headset to put it into pairing mode. The headset will say "headset paired" and you're all set! Chatting is wireless, made possible by bluetooth. Plugging an adapter into the bottom of the xbox controller is a little tough, but the you start the searching process through the headset and adapter, and that's all set up. Just 2 easy minutes of set up.
BUILD QUALITY:
I have no gripes with build quality. I've only had them a few days, but it seems pretty good. The cords are tucked behind my entertainment stand and out of the way, which is what I wanted with a wireless headset. The TOSlink cord is only 6 or so feet long, and doesn't seem like the highest quality to the touch, but it does the job. If you use the chat cable from controller to headset like I do, it takes a bit of a push to get the 2.5mm jack into the headset side, but it feels solid. The detachable boom mic is the same way. It bends pretty easily, but feels sturdy enough. The headset itself has some study plastic pieces, with a thick leather headband that pushes your hair down. Haven't dropped it, but I don't plan to, so I can't comment on its overall durability. Anyways, seems good enough to me.
COMFORT:
This isn't uncomfortable, but I've tried my friend's 2011 Astro A40, which is MUCH more comfortable, lighter and easier to wear. The XP500 is a little heavy, but understandably so because it has all of the wireless controls inside the earcups. The thich leather headband pushes your down a LOT after a few hours of use, which is understandable, but its fine. The earcups themselves are... average. The cloth like material covering them is fine, it didn't irritate my skin at all, and the cups are pretty large. However, the foam inside isn't very flexible, and I could see it pushing against a head, and because it isn't flexible, the cups don't seal around the back/bottom of my ears, but that could just be my head shape. I wore them for a few hours straight, playing Dead Space and MW3, and I didn't ever feel the need to take them off. They are above average for comfortableness, but I could see them getting bad after a few more hours. They have rotating earcups to put them around your neck if need be, but that isn't the most comfortable. My biggest issue with comfort is how they don't feel secure on your head. I can shake my head and be afraid that they'll go flying. They don't clamp hard, which is good, but that also means they can fall off pretty easy. I can't look down without them sliding forward and off my head, and I have it sized correctly.
FEATURES:
Here is where the headset gets cool. It's loaded with features. Beyond having WIRELESS 7.1 simulated surround sound, it has bluetooth as well for chatting. This can be hooked up to your phone as well as the chat adapter, meaning you can play music and have phone calls wirelessly while gaming through your phone. I haven't done this yet, however, so I can't comment on how well that works. There is a headphone jack on the front of the transmitter with its own volume control, which I assume means you can hook another pair of regular headphones into to listen to the game like the XP500 headset is doing. There's an optical audio in AND out on the back side for hooking up the highest quality through an Xbox, like I have, or PS3 or computer. It also has red and white audio jacks for analog sound. The status lights on the front of the transmitter are easy to see, and not piercing or bright, which I'm a fan of. I hate blue LED's for that exact reason. The headset itself has all of the necessary buttons and dials to control your sound without needing to find the amp in the cord, or get up to adjust at the transmitter. The mic is detachable to the left earcup, and along the bottom of the left earcup are controls for game colume and the multiple presets, as well as jacks to hook up a 2.5mm cord for chat like I use, and a mini USB port to update the firmware on the headset, as well as loading new custom presets onto the headset. The power button is on the left side, just above the flexible mic that can be rotated up and out of the way when not in use. The right earcup has bluetooth volume, a bluetooth function button, bluetooth status light, a mic mute button, and another button to change between main and custom presets. These buttons take a little getting used to, but work well and are convenient.
PRESETS:
This is another high selling point of the XP500. There are 9 preloaded presets on the headset. Main is your normal sound. The custom presets are flat, which is pretty normal sounding. Dynamic Bass Boost pumps the bass, which really isn't all that much. Dynamic Treble Boost does the same, just with high sounds, and Bass + Treble Boost combines the 2, which is what I like to use. Stereo Expander tries to made the sound scape bigger, and only mildly succeeds. Mid Boost is pretty boring, but could have its uses. Footstep Focus supposedly makes footsteps easier to hear on games like MW3, but I haven't tested it much. Superhuman Hearing catches the low volume things (rain drops falling to your right, enemies far behind, etc.) and makes them louder. All of these presets are listed on a convenient little sheet that I keep near me while playing to switch between whatever I feel like. However, the best part about presets is that you can create your own. I had poor experience with this the last time I bought this headset refurbished, but I've heard good things about it otherwise. You can download a mixer program from the Turtle Beach site to put into the headset through the mini USB cord I mentioned earlier. This program also lets you update the firmware for the headset.
SOUND QUALITY:
Here's the most important part: sound quality. I experienced a moderate of sound droppage, which is enough to make me want to return the headset, which I will do soon. However, like my disclaimer says at the top, I live in a place with a LOT of wireless activity. Most of this droppage occurred when I was also using the bluetooth to chat, however. When not using chat, hardly any sound droppage was had. During game time, the bass isn't all too powerful, definitely not overpowering which is good, and everything sounds pretty balanced. I can't comment with music or movies, which I haven't tried as of yet. In my experience, using the Bass+Treble Boost playing MW3 and Dead Space, the sound location is pretty darn good. On MW3, I can hear my teammates behind me, and people shooting to my left or right. However, I don't know if its my reaction time, but it hasn't saved me much yet. I can't turn fast enough to shoot the guy I hear behind me. Doesn't mean I couldn't hear him, but I wasn't fast enough to do anything about it. On Dead Space, it turns what I think used to be a pretty mild game into a much scarier and intense thriller. The sounds are coming from everywhere around you. The ooze dripping behind me was my first real sound test on the game. Any direction I turn, I could tell right where the ooze was dripping with the headset. The little creatures are easier to pinpoint, and especially while playing the Zero G Basketball minigame, I could find exactly where the ball (it emits an obnoxious beeping) was. This headset transformed the game and made me want to play through it again. However, at least in Dead Space, the sound was a bit harsh. I had to have the volume up a fair amount, louder than I normally play it through my little sound bar, in order to fully hear everything around me. It made finding everything around me easier, but it was too loud and harsh for my liking. It was definitely cool, but I needed to take a break for my ears after an hour or two. So overall, the sound location is great, a definite improvement over my 2.1 Sony sound bar set up. However, it needs to be a higher than comfortable volume in order to get that god sound. If you like louder sound when gaming, which I don't, then you would like this.
CHAT:
Here's one of my main issues with headset. The mic build quality is fine, but the sound quality isn't. When using the bluetooth adapter to chat wirelessly, my friends on xbox said I sounded better when using the standard headset that comes with the xbox. I recorded myself, and I need to talk loud in order for the mic to pick me up. Using the 2.5mm jacks to connect through a cord from the headset to the xbox made for a bit less sound droppage, but my sound quality apparently didn't improve on the other end. Another annoying thing about chat is that when others were talking, I heard a hiss behind their voice, no matter what kind of mic was being used on their end. No hiss any other time, only when they were talking. The whole point of a headset is to have good sound quality and be able to chat with friends online, which this headset fails to do well.
I can't comment on battery life, as I haven't run them out yet. They've lasted about 6 hours so far though, and I use rechargable batteries.
SHORT VERSION:
PROS:
-7.1 surround sound that is wireless
-Good sound location
-Good list of features
-Nice presets, and the ability to make custom presets
-Very easy and fast set up
-Simple to operate
-Convenient buttons on headset
-Above average comfortableness
-Good sound quality when not chatting
-Cool bluetooth can be hooked up to phone
CONS:
-Must be loud in order to have good sound
-Uses a crowded wireless signal that experiences sound droppage when chatting
-Very poor chatting quality, either listening or talking with others
Overall, this is a pretty good headset. If not for sound droppage and if it actually had good chatting quality, I would have loved this for the $180 I got it for, and it has a long list of cool features. However, the sound dropping and chatting are 2 of the most important things a gaming headset should focus on, and this headset doesn't do those well for me. In a less crowded environment with less wireless activity, I'm sure these could be great for about $150. These were probably a really good headset when they first came out, just not in a world crowded with wireless signals. I just can't get over those facts, so I will be returning these and saving a bit longer for some Astro A40's or A50's, and get a real quality headset. The A40's are wired, which won't mess with the wireless signals at all, and the A50's run on 5.8 Ghz wireless, which will not be interfered with by anything else.
Anyways, hope this helped your expensive decision!
UPDATE:
I tried out the front 3.5mm port on the transmitter with my $25 pair of Sony headphones<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Sony-MDR-XD200-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B0007N55NW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Sony MDR-XD200 Stereo Headphones</a>. It turns any stereo headphones into simulated surround sound, so that pair of headphones hears nearly the same thing that the XP500 hears. However, the XP500 still has the advantage of presets, and general better sound quality than my cheap headphones.
I also hooked my phone up to the headset through bluetooth and called my girlfriend on it to try it out. She said that I sounded much more clear than a normal phone call, almost like I was in the room talking to her. I could also still hear the game sound of Dead Space in the background, but I imagine it would be confusing to try to pay attention to both at the same time. I also listened to a variety of youtube videos through bluetooth, and it sounds pretty good. Not super high quality, particularly bass heavy and not balanced the best. The presets also obviously don't apply to bluetooth sound. However, it's a really convenient and cool feature, great for anyone who uses their phone as their primary music player. So apparently the bluetooth works great when hooked up through the phone, just not so much when hooked up to chat for the Xbox 360.
I played Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012) on my Xbox, which I enjoy listening to the in game soundtrack. The headset sounded awful in comparison to my sound bar while playing this music. It was easier to just take off my headset and listen to my sound bar while chatting with friends through the standard Xbox headset. | video-games_xbox |
Great game, well worth the price of admission. Great game. I purchased from Best Buy since I still have GCU and Best Buy has been shipping me games extra early. As a result, I actually received the game on Wednesday 9/21. Of course, it's amazing how many people were playing and were well into the 100's of levels. I will address this on the cons list below.
Pros:
- Great graphics and typical Forza Horizon physics. If anyone has missed this game's past versions, this game is open world Forza. It uses mostly the same cars and physics, but much more of an arcade style than the arcade/sim racing Forza Motorsport offers.
- Large map with many different areas
- Large variety of game play types, though nothing new, giving you the option of different types of racing and playground games, speed traps, drift zones, bucket list challenges (driving a specific car for a specific task to complete).
- Many hours of single player gaming and plenty of multiplayer action
- Addition of Horizon Edition cars are nice. They are customized nicely and include a skills bonus to earn more points faster. I think it's a 50% bonus to skills.
Cons:
- Mostly the same catalogue of cars. This is typical of Forza. I'm guessing it's a money saving technique so they don't have to redo everything. However, I would love them to switch out some of the cars or add in some more dream cars. You have the same high value classic cars (Ferrari 250's and company).
- In Horizon fashion, you cannot budge other cars when you drive into them. While this helps with online racing to prevent the wreckers, it also takes away some of the fun of close racing. This also allows people to bowl right into you in order to make a turn they didn't brake for, as well as AI get in your way and not be moved.
- I don't know if it's just me or not, but the AI (drivatars) feel SO stupid this time around. On top of their added handicap, they easily catch back up to you and this tends to always happen near the finish. As a result, I have lost a few races that I have dominated because the end is a long straight. The best way to combat this is to watch your mirrors and when someone gets close, pull in front to block. AI will hit the brakes and back off. Another side note with the AI, and this is a consistent problem with Forza, is the automatic braking AI does when you get close or touch their rear bumper. I am not sure why they haven't worked this out, but it's extremely frustrating while drafting and racing in a tight group where you can't just pull out to the side. Overall, AI is dumb! You can also win almost every head to head just by cutting straight across the map to the finish as the AI rarely leaves the race line.
- Early release to T10 and others PREVIOUS to early release ensured that these players were able to get their names up on the boards for tuning and painting before everyone else. Since Forza paints don't work the way they should, it ensured that people like LittleVixen have multiple paints in the initial selection when you buy a car. I don't think this is very fair, but resulted in me creating a blackout paint for every car I win or buy just to try to get in on the action and make some money. I do feel for the real painters and tuners out there though.
Overall, my complaints are not major ones. Most of it has to do with slight inconveniences. I am a little disappointed that there isn't more "new" added to the game. The new options lead to confusion or over complication. I LIKE the new blueprint idea in theory, but I would rather deal with pre-set races and championships over making my own in single player. Personal preference, so I left it off the con list. I gave it 4-stars based on the AI and the early release preference to people involved with T10 and I can only assume "video game reviewers."
My advice: Buy the game and enjoy it. If you aren't sure and will wait, you might as well wait a while for a better version to become available with the DLC. It will take a while for sure, but that DLC adds up quickly if you're an early adopter. $60 is worth it. Ultimate Edition is worth it to someone like me who likes to own everything in these games. I am also happy they added a steelcase again for the special edition. | video-games_xbox |
Whew!!!! A WORKOUT THAT IS FUN for kids and adults. Quick Summary: This game is bomb!!! Me and the kids (37 female, 17 female, 14 male & 10 female) are having a blast! It is a serious workout and so much fun! You work-up a sweat and even if your tired, you still want to keep going! Great selection of new and old school songs. Also has a lot of new and older dance moves. Pretty accurate too. Kinect hit a home run with this game! We haven't played the first Dance Central, but it's next on our list as well as the Kinect Sports. Bought Dance Central 2, because it was $24.99 on Amazon and after the holidays I'm sure it will be back to full price if not close. It's save to say we are hooked!
MUSIC: You have to keep in mind this game was created for a wide range of ages and taste. From R&B, Hip Hop to Rock. What I feel is a good selection of music may not be for someone else. My taste is primarily Old School R&B and Hip Hop. My kids primarly like todays Hip Hop, R&B and my 17 year old also likes Rock, old and new. Here's a SAMPLE of the selection WE LIKE on this game:
Bobby Brown - My Prerogative
Chingy - Right Thurr
Ciara FT Petey Pablo - Goodies
Diddy FT. Keyshia Cole - Last Night
Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance
Mary J. Blige - Real Love
Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On
New Boyz - You're A Jerk
Nicki Minaj - Massive Attack.
Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back
Usher FT Lil' Jon and Ludacris - Yeah!
And so much more! To many to list, seriously!
DANCE MOVES: Again created for a wide range of ages. Dance moves are new and old. They have a easy, intermediate and a hard level. You can also have the moves broke down one by one until you get it right. You can even slow it down to make the move easier to learn. The dances really go with the music and it is so much fun to have a dance off. Especially with your kids! Lot's of laughs. They think it's funny and cool to see mom or dad dance with them. Kids love to challenge their parents and when you actually beat them its funny to see the looks on their faces. It's Fun, but a serious workout For all ages. You will feel it that day or by the next day! | video-games_xbox |
Not even close to the first two. Once again, we have a new age game that tries to be too realistic and succeeds on that front, however, fails to be fun. That's the problem I have with 90% of new games, they try to be as realistic as possible and that's it. They also worry too much about the story and in game cutscenes that break up the gameplay. You'll be fighting enemies and then the next thing you know, it's a cutscene. This game must have 200 cutscenes, all of which are taking away from the actual gameplay. I don't want to watch a freaking movie, I want to play a game. I thought the first two games did a great job telling the story while still allowing you to play the game. The only games I've seen this gen that were compelling enough to have this many cutscenes was bioshock and the new last of us game which is nothing short of amazing. Another thing I hate about this game is its difficulty. I'm not one to complain about difficulty usually because I love hard games that challenge me, but this one was way to hard even on the medium setting. I don't understand why they did this, but the ai in this game seems to never miss and max can only take a few bullets before he's dead. Idk, maybe I'm not very good, but I beat almost every game I play on hard and this one was tough on medium, so I honestly don't think I would even try hard mode. Now, with that said, I will tell you the two most underrated games in history. The punisher for the ps2 and original xbox is still the greatest third person shooter I've ever played and I can't see anything being better in the future because no developers give a crap anymore about fun. Except for Nintendo that is, but they don't make 3rd or 1st person shooters. The other one is zombiu. It's the greatest zombie game ever and it has great replay value just like the punisher because it has great gameplay and it's scary. Neither one of these games focus on story, the gameplay tells the story and that's how a game should be. You people can do what you want, but if this is the future of games then I'm out, and I'll continue to play the classics from my ps2, ps1, and n64. I'll also continue to play my wiiu because Nintendo obviously feels the same way I do about this. I'll also play the last of us again sometime because it really is amazing. | video-games_xbox |
Prepare to get your bloodlust on - again. Have recently had the opportunity to try out a BloodRayne 2 playable demo. Here are some first impressions.
First, the bad news: gone are Rayne's 180 degree quick-turn, spiraling kick-jump and her ability to drag victims to her to feed on via the harpoon. And, while she is still able to jump greater distances than mere mortals, no longer are they the ludicrous, yet eminently satisfying, terrain-telescoping leaps of the first game. Whether Rayne re-acquires any of these abilities later in BloodRayne 2 remains to be seen.
Now, the good news: Much more precise control over Rayne's abilities, including a lock-on target mode and separate buttons for kicking and slashing; Rayne's harpoon can now be used to hurl enemies as well as pulling bits of scenery down on top of said enemies; Prince of Persia-style pole swinging and vaulting, including the ability to perch on top of poles; Tony Hawk-style rail grinding, during which, Rayne can extend her blades out to her sides to dispatch any adversaries unfortunate enough to be standing at the bottom of a rail; "Kill puzzles" to advance to the next stage, solvable by catapulting foes into, say, a giant fan or garbage truck with the harpoon; gruesome fatalities which, when executed while feeding, will cause Rayne to perform on her foes such lovely acts as decapitation or hoisting them aloft with her blades as they beg for mercy before being eviscerated; Blood-powered weaponry which can be refueled in tandem with regular feeding; Blood Rage, Aura Vision & Dilated Perception have all returned as well, though, thankfully, the annoying Extruded View is absent. The graphics and level detail are considerably more robust than those of the first game and Rayne herself moves and looks more lusciously than ever.
Yeah, great features, but how does it play? Well, I can happily report that , taken all together, it's a blast and I have practically worn out my demo disk of BR2 playing the same stages over and over, refining my techniques in anticipation of the game's final release. The controls are relatively easy to master, so you'll be able to crank out the carnage in no time flat. This is going to be a worthy sequel. | video-games_xbox |
FF13... Epic... Fail. The upper world, Cocoon, has experience peace under the guidance of the fal'cie. However, a fal'cie from pulse disrupt the peace by turning the chosen of the fal'cie into pulse l'cie. These poses pulse l'cie poses a threat to the Cocoon fal'cie. Caught up in the middle between pulse fal'cie and Cocoon fal'cie lies our heroes...
Does the summary sound confusing? Yes cause the whole damn plot is. I was waiting for Final Fantasy to be something epic... and it is epic alright... epic PHAIL. Pros and Cons
Pros:
- AMAZING graphics
- Integrated battle system
- Lots (and I mean LOTS) of character development
- Cutscenes are pretty awesome
Cons:
- Horrible and unoriginal plot
- Awkward dialogue
- The game is super linear
- Lack of everything else except battle
Okay so here's why final fantasy 13 fails in so many aspects. First the developers decided lets just make this a battle focus type of game and really they did make it battle focus. Its one battle, after another, after another, after another, after another... forever. The area to explore is extremely linear. For those that bought the prima guide, well money down the drain cause you don't even need a guide for this. The map is almost fully explored and "hidden" items are so obvious that they might as well just put them out in plain sight. The plot is a pretty much two sides in a war and your in the middle trying to save the world type, laced with cliche. There's no main character of focus but rather all the people in your party are the main focus. The game spends a lot of time developing each character so when you're not in constant battle after another is a long cutscene reflecting about life and death and what not.
The only thing the game excel at is the battle system which is pretty integrated. First healing is automatic after each battle. You will recover full hp. There's no MP anymore, but rather skills and attack are based off of ATP gauges. You start off with 3 and depending on what type of skills you pick it drains each gauge. You also have different roles, up to 6, to set up tactics and each roles give you a different set of skills. Before battle you can organize your roles and set up what type of battle tactics you want then change them immediately during battle via paradigm. While the battle system is pretty interesting is also fails because half the time you don't even need to set up complicated battle tactics to actually win a battle. This system only works well on long boss battles where you actually have to fully use the tactics system. There's also a summon system that consumed TP. TP are recovered a little bit depending on the rank of each battles you get. While summons are cool I suppose, they are pretty much useless because they cost a lot of TP to use and they aren't really needed at all.
Speaking of the battle system, even though you can change your role in the battle, you cannot change how your teammates fight. There's no actually "tactics" where you can set up to tell them what they need to do. Rather its all based on their own knowledge. The AI are fairly decent but sometimes they are just plain stupid because they use skills you don't want them to use. There's also no option to turn off skills you don't want them to use.
On more bad notes about FF13 is how the gameplay is set up. About 80% of the game is set up so that you have absolutely no freedom in who you choose to be in your party or who is the leader. It follows a one way course. More freedom comes 80% later with sidequests but they are more tedious to do than actually enjoyable. It's like the developer thought, this game is too short like this, we need to add some really tedious sidequests so the game play hours will go up!
There's no armor in this game either. You only get weapons and accessories. Synthesis happens when specific type of weapon and accessories passive skills are equipped together resulting in a new skill. Weapons and acessories are upgradable by sacrificing other items to increase their experience. Problem is, these items are hard to find because 1. enemies don't usually drop them 2. even if they do drop them the experience you get from the items isn't much 3. the "rare" drops are really rare and again they don't even give a lot of experience. You also don't earn any experience or gils after battles. Rather you earn useless points (just so you know your score yay?) and CP which are points use to further upgrade your status of your hero. And because gils aren't drop money is hard to come by which makes things more frustrating. OoO I want that weapon. What!? It cost 10,000k!? I only have 5000 gil even though I been playing the damn game and encounter so many freaking battle for over 10 hours already!
Basically FF13 thought maybe if the graphics and cutscenes are so awesome, it'll make up for the lack of everything else.
The equation for FF13 = 90% constant battle + 5% plot + 5% cutscenes. | video-games_xbox |
Promising gameplay doesn't make up for a horrible plot. It has been a long time since I've played Lost Odyssey, but not enough time has passed for me to forget the overall beauty of the game. Ah, the terrific cutscenes splashed with brilliant cinematic effects, the simplistic yet addictive gameplay, the... cheesy music accompanied by a half-naked queen who is way too naive (and surprisingly sheltered, despite her lavish sense of fashion) to rule a kingdom, two children who tend to sing about their dead mother in such a weird way that I can only compare it to a carebears cartoon, a bad guy who loses any credibility of being a significant threat as soon as he opens his mouth, and one of the most annoying mages I've ever had the displeasure of teaming up with in a quest that just seems convoluted and thrown together like some new age art you'd see in a hollywood museum (seriously, the black dot in the middle of the white canvas is supposed to represent the coming of age?) Anyways, you get the idea.
First off, let's talk about gameplay. The battle system is perfect for a player of my tastes. I'm totally into turn-based combat, whether it's based on strategical positioning of party members, using the correct attacks in timing with your defense, or whatever. Many developers have tackled this aged method of role-playing with different approaches to make the general flow of the battles more interesting. The Legend of Dragoon introduced the addition system, where players timed their combos with button mashing. In a similar fashion Lost Odyssey introduces a ring system, where players execute powerful moves by timing the placement of their ring icons over a target for the most effective hit. Simple? Indeed. Fun? Absolutely. That is, if you're into that sort of thing. You can upgrade the rings attached to the weapons carried by the party, which either base their powers on elemental, spiritual, or brute attacks. The magic system is pretty basic: select a mage, select a spell, and boom. Enemies are challenging and sometimes unmerciful, hence the player would be wise to think things through before they decide to take action. So all in all, combat is pretty straight-forward, and in my opinion is the game's only saving grace.
If there was one other thing I'd have to choose that's decent about Lost Odyssey, it's definitely the graphics. It's not the prettiest game I've ever seen, but it's a fine-looking product. Cutscenes are epic, backgrounds are well-constructed, and the characters (for the most part) are visually compelling. Enemies are fearsome or cute or just plain weird, and this variety adds to the excitement of the battles.
But the story... is, well, just stupid, and the worst part about this is that it doesn't start off that way. We are introduced to a cast of immortal warriors, determined to discover who they really are and where they have been. Their minds have been mysteriously tampered with in some fashion and somebody's gotta answer for this. Kaim, the protagonist, is a pretty enjoyable fellow to follow, as he isn't your typical rpg hero. He's quiet, confident, and above all he knows how to get a job done. The plot gets very interesting when he discovers hidden pieces of his past (which players can read at anytime in the main menu once the first one is unlocked). Kaim learns that he has been married before, has had many children before, and is actually a grandfather now. He looks pretty good to be your grandpappy, huh? Yeah, it sounds pretty cool, until you see Kaim crying... over and over again. I swear, the guy cries more than his grandchildren (but they cry a lot. As much as they sing... over and over again) After these things are revealed, the 90% of the remaining story just falls to pieces. I won't spoil anything for anyone who is actually willing to risk the endurance of this horrible role-playing crime (hint: what do you get when you have a crap story for a story-based video game?), but let me say that I'm glad I never gave myself a concussion for banging my head against the table after every ridiculously cheesy, teeth-grindingly sappy, just plain LAME plot points that occured between the end of disc one all the way until the end. In all fairness, I can't say whether or not I enjoyed the ending, because I quit playing right before the final battle. It was just too much for me to handle anymore, and I had to move on to something more worthy of my time. Bottom line is this folks: Lost Odyssey had a lot of potential. Seriously, it could've been completely awesome. But whoever wrote the script needs some courses in plot development or a book entitled, "Drama for Dummies", because this is what makes this game fall below the mark of even "halfway decent". You've been warned. | video-games_xbox |
A True Classic - Plays Fine on XBox 360. Star Wars Battlefront II originally came out for the XBox system. I played it back in its release days on the XBox platform. I've long since traded in for an XBox 360, and was curious to see how well it had held up.
The most important thing to know here - the game plays just fine on the XBox 360! I had no problems at all playing on the newer platform. And even better, SWBII still provides great, engaging gameplay.
Where many games from the XBox era feel dated and old on the XBox 360, Star Wars Battlefront II manages to hold your attention and keep you engaged. The training section is great. It avoids the "shoot at targets. Now move to station 2" start-up that many games force you to slog through. Instead, you're tossed into the action, get to try out a variety of options, and you keep wanting more.
The game provides a wealth of combat styles. You get to run around on foot with guns, with a variety of character classes. You hop into various vehicles and explore locations which show an attention to detail in their design. There's space combat as well, if you've always wanted to fly a TIE fighter.
It's amazing to think this game was released in 2005. So many games from 2005 are painful to play - and yet this one draws you in right from the start.
Now, of course, the game does show its age. The graphics aren't quite as sharp or crisp as the latest games, as one would expect for a game designed for the XBox. Certainly there's areas of the game that you might wish played more smoothly. We've learned a lot about game design and user interface in the intervening years.
With all that being said, though, the game absolutely deserves a "classic" title. If you're a fan at all of the Star Wars storyline, and if you enjoy combat style games. I highly recommend you give Star Wars Battlefront II a try. You might find you play it far more than the latest releases on the market.
Rating: 5/5
I purchased this game with my own funds in order to do this review. | video-games_xbox |
Could have been better. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit for Xbox 360 is pretty much like the rest of the NFS series, however there are a few quirks. But lets not start off this review negatively.
This game is absolutely beautiful. If most of their budget went into making this game look amazing, my goodness it shows. I have a HDTV and the graphics are just totally mind boggling. The sound is good as well but I don't have a terrific sound system, just the one coming from the TV so I can't judge too much based on that.
They have a pretty wide variety of cars, mostly favoring the higher end end models such as Mazarati and Aston Martons, but there are still some fords and Nissan, as well as Subaru.
The handling of the cars is also well worked for the Xbox controller. I find it fairly easy to maneuver the cars (each car has their own handling) and should you have a problem where the nitrous would be or the hand brake, you can fairly easily change that as well in the setting of the game.
The single player campaign is pretty fun, frustrating at times but overall fun and I always find myself coming back to it. There are a few things that I do not understand about the game and how it was made, and they really show in the "career" or single player campaign which I've already started discussing. One thing that didn't make sense to me is if you are the racer, and you are being pursued by the police, you can destroy them (the police care) which is fine and dandy. Now comes the issue with your opponents, no matter what you do you will never destroy your opponent, which I believe you could in previous NFS games. Even if your opponent hits another "dummy" car head on or gets hit by 4-6 spike strips, he will never die. You of course can crash and die, but he can't which I couldn't understand.
Another thing that I couldn't understand was when you are the police, you hit a car head on and you crash. That's fine and understandable, but if the people you are chasing do this they get reset and placed back on the track going at a fast rate of speed (they DO NOT start off from 0 MPH, they will get reset at about 75-100 MPH on the main road). This was another thing that really bothered me. Unless YOU hit them, they can not die. They will lose strength and health, but until you make the final blow they don't die no matter how many things they hit.
That's really it for the career part of the game. Now I'll get into the multiplayer...or really lack there of. Previous NFS games allowed you to play with your friends on your Xbox. Not anymore. If you want to play with your friends they will need to buy the game, SIGN UP FOR AN EA ACCOUNT, and enter their NFS passcode in the code box to be able to play online. EA has completely removed non-Internet multiplayer. So you either play by yourself or play online, there is no inbetween with friends which I find reprehensible in my opinion. Also if you bought the game used you will most likely not be able to play online because the code card was already used, and EA will make you purchase another code to play online. I won't go into how I feel about EA because that's another tyriad in itself, but you get the jist...
There are a few other features of the game which I did like, and that was the ability of the game to see the scores of your Xbox Live friends and compare what you got in the race and put you up against their times. For example, I raced down eagles peak and got a time of 2:31:14 being min, seconds, milliseconds. Well it then automatically sees what your friends have done, and tells you if you are #1 among your friends or whatever other place you are, like friend XYZ beat me with a time of 2:24:52. It generally pushes you to be better and to try harder to be the best out of your friends. They call it "Autolog" which is a good feature, and that is free and will continuously gather information as long as you have an Xbox Live Gold account.
One other thing that really irked me is that when you go to choose your car in the garage, they do not give much specs on how it runs. Previous games gave you the handling ability, top speed, acceleration, etc. They hardly give you any information about this. The only things they give you are Top speed, acceleration and horse power. They don't tell you how the car handles which is a HUGE part of why I would pick it to race! This was another thing that I just could not understand why it would be left out.
All in all the game is fun, but there are some very annoying features and whatnot that you'll notice which will make you think geeze, why did they make the game like that?? | video-games_xbox |
Hard, Frustrating, Addictive, Amazing. Yep, the title of this review makes absolutely no sense right? Well that's where the beauty of Dark Souls comes in. My first introduction to this "series" was picking up Demon Souls for PS3 when it first came out. There was very little hype behind that game, and I was a bit scared reading reviews of how hard the game was, and it was just that. But wow, the feeling you get from beating those hard levels is indescribable, and this game is no different. To start the review, let me list off a couple facts about Dark Souls:
- Souls are a form of currency, and are used to purchase things and level up
- Estus Flasks recover HP, and you start off with 5
- Bonfires are where you save your game, heal, and restore estus flasks
- Humanity is an indication of your human form, when you die, you lose humanity and turn Hollow
- Hollowing prevents you from Kindling a bonfire
- Weapons, Armor, and Accesories all contribute towards your equipment load, and can hinder your movement speed
- Bonfires can be "Kindled" meaning they now can give you more Estus Flasks (10 during a standard Kindling). This can only happen with an extra humanity point, and only when you are not hollow
- Bosses drop special souls, that can be either "used" to gain many soul points, or, saved and used to create special weapons
- When in human form, you can summon other players into your game, or, be summoned into other games to help out
- You cannot 'pause' the game, if you need to walk away, make sure there are no enemies around, or, sit at a bonfire
Dark Souls is really like no other RPG. First, you are in complete control of character development, all of which is done through the gathering of Souls. Souls, which also act as the currency in the game, are obtained through battles with enemies, but also can be found in random locations, or on dead bodies of fallen soldiers (where you get 'Soul[s] of a Brave Warrior', 'Soul[s] of a Hero', etc). Once you obtain enough souls, it isn't as simple as pausing the game and clicking level up (a la Skyrim), instead, you must make your way to your save spot, known as a bonfire, to rest and level up.
There is one caveat to that though, and is one of the most frustrating parts of the game, and that is if you die you lose all of your souls that you have in your possession (souls that had not been used to level up or purchase something). You are then sent back to your last bonfire and must make your way back through the area you are currently in. Now, the good thing is that you can get your lost souls back by making your way through and reaching the spot where you died last, but, die again before you get to your souls and they are gone forever!
Already you are starting to see where the game has some "gotchas" and ways that it can really get you frustrated! But this is the beauty of Dark Souls, and that is that no matter how many times you die, and how many times you need to retry an area, the sense of accomplishment is like no other. You will soon find yourself putting 50-60-70 hours into the game and not realizing that much time has flied by as you are absolutely consumed.
Now one thing that you will notice about the game is that there really is no in depth story, actually some will even argue that there is no story at all, but the beauty of the game is that as you play, you seem to forget about that, and almost not even care. The game is rather addictive, which is something you do not really hear when discussing difficult games.
Tips:
- Honestly don't give up. There are some areas where are just damn near impossible to beat, and that is done on purpose. This isn't a game that you can just sit down and beat in a week, so please understand this before making the purchase. There are some areas that will require you to go out and grind and grind and grind until your character is developed enough to withstand the obstacles ahead.
- Use summons to your advantage! Dont be afraid to put a summon sign down and go into someone elses game and/or summon someone into your game. It can be a big help as you now have a partner to help you gain some souls and defeat an area you are stuck in.
- Don't go using Boss souls right away! You can use these souls to create powerful weapons and armor, and before you use them to gain souls, you should check to see what you can make and if you are interested in the item
- Take your time! Dont just rush into the darkness, take your time, examine the area and always plan a way out just in case you encounter something that you are too weak to defeat.
- On the verge of giving up? Check out youtube for some great tutorials on how to clear certain areas. Watching these videos will give you some pointers on how to advance through the area, or show you that your character isn't fully developed yet.
Note:
I really hope that my review helped open your eyes to this game, and hopefully you will give it a chance. If you found this review useful, please mark it as such! If you find some discrepancies in my review, leave a comment and I will fix it right away. Thanks, and enjoy the game!
Edit ( 2/13 ) : I realized i didn't really make note of any CONs, so let me just list a few that I came across:
1. The game tends to lag at times. This is usually due to all of the stuff going on in the screen at once. For example, if you have a big group of enemies that you are hack and slashing, and some start dying off, the game lags as it tries to create the animation of the death of the enemies. Although it hasn't caused a huge problem or affected my gameplay much, it is something to note.
2. If you are playing the game, and something happens to your Live connection, the game will exit to the main menu. No big deal because when you load you game it will put you right were you left off, except if you are fighting a boss! I was fighting Seth the Scaleless and was halfway through the battle. Started off with 15 flasks, and was kicking some serious butt. He was at half health, and I had 8 flasks left. Suddenly I see the "Disconnected From Xbox Live" pop up in the corner of the screen. The game goes black, and a message comes up saying that the game is returning to main menu. I crossed my fingers hoping that it would put me back right in the middle of battle to where I left off...... nope .... put me right at the "white light" before the battle, with only 8 flasks. I entered the battle, and he had full health! ... not fun :(
3. Falling death glitches. This one has bugged me out so much! There are times in the game when you will be fighting and the enemy has a strong attack that launches you back, notably the skeletons at the Firelink Shrine. I got hit hard once and my character got launched back into some gravestones that you wouldn't normally be able to walk through. I tried jumping out but couldn't clear some of the stones. Next thing I know I fall through the ground and die. This also happened to me in the Lost Izalith where i got stuck behind some branches of the trees that are in the lava. After struggling to get loose, i eventually was able to jump out of being stuck. For some reason though, when i jumped out and landed in the lava (no big deal because i had a certain ring equipped), it instantly killed me (i had full health). | video-games_xbox |
What Would Elvis Do. The original Perfect Dark was so darn good that when I saw this for a measly twenty bucks I couldn't pass it up. I spent a good year on the original--it was an all-purpose shooter. Even if you were alone, the multiplayer bots kept things fresh, and there were a million and one options to tinker around with.
That game stored not only your custom-tailored character but also your lifetime stats down to the mileage you've run and every round fired. This made it the cartridge of choice whenever I invited people over and we wanted something to play. There was fierce competition in my apartment for several months as people vied for dominance in one stat group or another. If you weren't a marksman, maybe you would only use mines and thus lay claim to the title of most explosive kills and so on. I tell you all this so you'll understand that not a little bit of nostalgia factored into my overall rating. If I hadn't played the original this one would probably get three stars. As it was, I enjoyed it more than a newcomer might.
So I was very pleased to see that bots were being included in this installment as well. I don't know why other games don't mimic Perfect Dark's multiplayer system. All I know is that between the original and Dark Zero, I kept wishing for a game that played just as well with multiplayer just as customizable, and never got it until now.
There are a number of standard rulesets like killcount and capture the flag but there are also scenarios that can be fought through against other live players.
The best, though, is when you have a friend over and want to play. Then you can have a real versus match--none of that one-on-one crap that gets old very fast. Want to play 5v5? Just add eight bots. Instant opponents, or teammates. You can adjust their skill levels anywhere from completely pathetic to death incarnate. And if you're better than your friend, you can add a couple extra bots to his team.
Missing, though, are a lot of those options I mentioned before. You can't customize your character in this one (forgivable), you can't tailor the bots' personalities or appearances (also forgivable), and you can't view your lifetime stats anymore (blasphemy! burn the witch!). That left Dark Zero feeling more cramped than the original. I still can't figure out why they removed all that content. Ah, well. The deathmatch arena in Perfect Dark Zero is still the most fun multiplayer--even just against bots--I've experienced in a while.
As far as the single player campaign goes, it's ruthlessly average. Not bad at all--not even implying that. Everything's rock-solid, action-wise. I just mean the story and the levels are so-so. Nothing standout here. Nothing unsatisfactory, either. You'll get your share of challenges. Some of the stretches you have to navigate in this game will keep you on your toes. I must have tried the bridge assault level ten or twelve times before I made it.
There were a couple of noticeable flaws in the otherwise smooth veneer of this experience, though. One was the physics of a downed bad guy. It's really common in this game for a dead body to start "dancing" on the ground, or even take off and hover in midair for a while. You'll waste a lot of bullets shooting at dead bodies you think are attacking you. Another is the shadows. I haven't seen shadows that pixelated since SNES. Still, these are pretty minor. You won't have a problem overlooking them in favor of the action.
I really liked the music in this game. It seemed to fit perfectly and it did a good job of getting me into whatever was happening onscreen. No thick atmosphere here, but that's a good thing. You're promised an adrenaline rush or ten, and it delivers. Consequently the themes in Dark Zero are much more energetic than in the original. The opening video and song reminded me strongly of Bond credits. Slick.
All in all, I truly liked it. There were flaws, but it was a well-executed game. When you factor in the price you can't go wrong. It's a solid shooter and the adaptable deathmatch will keep you playing for a while. | video-games_xbox |
Great game, and a must-have if you have young children that play Kinect. I got this game for my daughter one Christmas when she was about 3 1/2 years old. At the time, she had a little bit of trouble with it and needed a lot of help, but she's almost 4 now and she does great with me or by herself.
The game starts with a brief set-up, set of instructions, and then asks you to pick a cat, dog, lizard or pony.
Once you do so, you start playing games immediately. You only start with a few games and features unlocked for free play, but as you play these games and participate in talent shows (a chain of 5 ranked games, only can be done once per day) you earn gems which you use to unlock new free-play games or pet patterns.
Some of the games include but are not limited to: ball fetch (and my favorite variant, where you throw the ball at stacks of boxes and the pet knocks them down whilst fetching), bubble pop, pinata smash, run/jump, run/sit, wash, feed, and pose. The games range from very little physical activity to some where you have to run in place for a good 30 seconds or so and then jump as high as you can. There's also a game where it projects your image onto the TV and you have to move around to avoid bubbles that shoot from on-screen bubble cannons. One of my daughter's favorite games is where you feed the pet, and you have to pick foods that you think they will like based on what type of pet they are. Pets will even respond to voice commands during certain game sequences.
There's even a little bit of learning involved when you use gems to send your "Uncle" to locations around the world (some real, some fake like the lost city of Atlantis), the process by which you unlock unique pet body types and special patterns. You pick a location like one of the seven continents and it will show you what pattern or special pet you would unlock by sending him there.
As you play, unlock, and earn gems, your trainer rank increases and you earn the ability to use another pet type. At any time, you can switch from one pet to another, so if your kiddo starts with a lizard then decides they want a cat, they can get one without starting a new game profile. When you want to customize your pet, you can add things like wings and horns, and change pattern colors, hair colors, eye type/color, foot color, tail color, and that sort of thing. My daughter loved this, since she was able to make her pet look like one of her favorite My Little Pony characters. I would think this game would be great for boys too, since there are unique pets like a "robot dog" and a "spooky steed".
All in all, it's a very gender-neutral game and is a win-win in my book. Since I love video games but hate the sitting-on-your-bum aspect of them, this is the perfect game for my daughter. Almost every time she plays, she goes for a good long while and quits because she's tuckered out, not because she's bored. Blitz Games did a great job with this title and with the price being under 20 bucks, should be worth a try for anyone looking for a great Kinect game for their kids.
Oh, and if you have concerns about the Kinect responding properly to movements, don't blame this game. I've found that if you give the Kinect sensor ideal conditions as outlined in your Kinect setup guide, this game responds very well. Just be informed that the Kinect prefers certain lighting conditions and mounting height. | video-games_xbox |
Envision the Division as a game of the year contender. Update* 3/16/16 later in the day
It's sad. You think I would know Vince from IGN because I was right - I don't and had no prior knowledge of his review. He gave the game a 6.7. Because he didn't like the open world elements and not enough Darkzone. Like any bad fan fiction where author - think the story they have told is just awesome because it's what they wanted. When the real material doesn't match they believe the real thing is bad.
Update* 3/16/16 IF we get even get a IGN review. It has been 7 days and still nothing. Where as Gamespot and Polygon have given this game a 8 and 7 respectfully - I don't really agree with those scores but they are fair reviews. There are people with full time jobs. Who have made it to level 30. I myself only write reviews for fun but I also work on a novel and I managed one. This is Vince's job, he gets paid to review this game and can't even manage it.
Unprofessional and classless. I don't care how busy you are - you get paid to review the game. He is still stuck around level 24.
But I stand by my original claim the review will be horrible I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a 5-6 for all the idiotic fanboy reasons I always claimed. I have a feeling this will be one of these games reviewers are mixed about and many gamers love or like.
Update* 3/12/16. Be prepared for a horrible IGN review. The guy reviewing this game thinks the game should have been the Darkzone only. He gets extremely bored with the PVE aspect of this game which I consider the best part. He sounds like a Call of Duty player or typical online shooter fan hating this game for not being exactly like those. He also gave Evolve a 9 - a game many consider average at best. I expect more from a professional reviewer. Yes he is welcome to his opinion but he isn't accepting this game for what it is. That would be like saying, "Hmmm this apple isn't that good. It doesn't taste like chocolate cake at all."
Here is what many who are not paid critics don't seem to understand. As a Critic it doesn't matter what you want a game to be, nor does it matter what you like. Say you hate Superhero movies. Too bad, you go there and judge the movie based on what it offers, and the demographic who like that type of movie. You must look outside your own tastes for a fair review. IGN won't be doing that here. I have no idea what the score is but I just know it will be a 7 or even worse. All because they want a multiplayer gank fest PVP only game.
Here is the deal. If you want the Darkzone to be the only element of this game? Then stay there and just do that! Why hate on a game for offering things beyond a trolling gank wonderland?
Military shooters are a dying interest for me. You could say shooters are too. If they aren't mixed with another genre - like RPG. Because the reality is, at best you are looking at a short campaign and a series of hamster wheels offered for multiplayer (in various map sizes).
I am glad people enjoy "just shooters" as I call them. I enjoyed them for a time as well. My problem isn't with you. My problem is big publishers offer very little on the market for a player like me (Battlefront, Call of Duty, Battlefield - well after 2, ect). Destiny tired to offer such a RPG but the reality is I am a PC gamer first. Destiny would have added a lot to the RPG online shooter genre if handled right. But with all the lore cut out (at the last minute) it was a grindfest shell.
Watch it will be a 6.8 score and they will say, "Not all Darkzone. Not people running around PvE."
If you want to pick apart any game? Make it fair, pick apart bugs, pacing, story, graphics, soundtrack, mechanics, and character creation options. Try to be objective beyond, "I don't like the game it is CRAPZ!!!!"
Sure there are RPG shooters (Mass Effect 2 is my best game of all time). But what about just a military shooter set in our current time and a believable story? Where multiplayer is certainly an option, Co Op too, with multiplayer hubs, all the things that make it a great change of pace. But is merely an offering to the PVE. We have been crap out of luck until now. That is what The Division offers.
Much of the critizing launched at this game were by people who don't really understand what this game is not because they are stupid. Because they are used to the typical shooter offerings on the market (I do exaggerate their opinions to show how unfounded they are).
I would like to go over some of the more dramatic type of issues of complaints. The top three.
"DERE IS 2 MUCH RUNNNIN AROUND GUIZ! I jusss wanna shoott otha playas or stufff ta shoooot."
This one is probably the second most common issue I have read everywhere. The reality is there were a lot of enemy NPCs for the beta. For testing issues. Not to mention so much pve was sealed off. Not to mention PVP is in the Darkzone
"OMG PEEEPPOL TROLLL IS DA DARKKSONE! DEY JUMPP IN FRONNT OF MEE WHIN KILLIN DA STUFFS! PEOPPLE RAOM IN PACKS AND IT IS SOO UNFAIIRRR! NEEDSSS AUTOAIMMM!"
Are you trying to tell me online shooters have trolls? I never would have guessed that! Look the Darkzone is supposed to be unfair and an unforgiving place. If that is too much for you? Do not go there. The fact anyone can betray you, anything can happen, and it is without rules makes it interesting and fun. Make friends and bring them with you.
"I WASSS JUST SO BORED HORRIBULLL GAME LOLZ"
The type of shooter The Division is comes down to taste. This isn't call of duty, this isn't battlefield. Those games are great for you. But just because The Division isn't doesn't make it bad it just isn't for you. I think Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead is so boring I want to cry. But millions of people love those shows and my opinion doesn't make it bad. So you don't like the game's story? Open world? City setting? And gameplay? Those things are all opinion.
Here is the reality. If you craved for a military shooter with a long campaign that happens to have pvp elements? This is the game for you. If you are interested in such a game that tells a story and isn't thrown out before launch like Destinty? Again this is your game.
I play this game at 1440p and it is simply stunning to play. I also have played it on console and looks amazing as well. Simply beautiful. I really feel like I am running around new york and just the details on the clothes themselves shows immense care was put into the smallest details.
There is hundreds of hours of entertainment here with no microtransactions to speed up how fast you earn things offered (who knows that could change but great so far). Great value without a doubt regardless how much you paid. There are some reasonable complaints.
There is only a few types of A.I. and the way they move doesn't feel very inspired. The skill system could be deeper and even though safe houses will have stashes. They could really use one closer in the Dark Zone. Back at the DZ entry point. The character customization could use more depth.
But overall this is a sensational game. I'd argue at worst a slightly flawed masterpeice. When I sat down in the early 90s on a computer and thought about what PC gaming could be like. This is the game I wanted. I certainly hope this paves the way for other games like it and becomes the standand going forward. Hopefully Desntiny 2 take away some aspects of this game.
Because simply put this is one of the top games of the year. Like Witcher 3 that came out around this time last year. This will be a hard game to beat for top honor.
Grade A
Pros
The Dark Zone
Customization and outfits
Graphics
Simply yet interesting game play
Open world
Plenty of hours to invest
Building up your own base
In depth and changing in game vendors
Interesting story and characters
Cons
A.I. could use more variety in both appearance and voice acting. The main voice acting is fine. The supporting cast voice acting for enemies isn't good at all.
Could be a tad grindy for some - but I love it. If you dislike grind and hate gank style PVP - run away from this game fast. (No it isn't as bad or even close to destiny grind - I enjoy grinding got to level 30 in 27 hours and DZ 30 )
Character creation could use more depth - seriously this part of the game really sucks. There are limited options. Too many people look the same and with a deep customization system this could have been a legendary game. I guess it will have to settle for Amazing. | video-games_xbox |
Most Overrated Headset Out There. I rarely review items, but this one needs it. First, a little background: I've been gaming since the Atari, and have gamed competitively for the last 4 years or so. I've used several headsets over the years, but have always wanted the Astros. This year as tax refunds came back I decided to make the jump to these high end headsets. I genuinely wanted to like them, sincerely. Unfortunately, I feel these are the most overrated headsets I've ever sampled. Now, in the Astro's defense, I am NOT an audiophile. I want good sound quality, sure, but more than that I want convenience, comfort, a hot mic monitor, and durability.
Sound Quality: these headsets sound great, no doubt. As I am not an audiophile the sound quality didn't sound much different than the latest TB Stealths. Some of you will disagree and I'll gladly admit my ear isn't as discerning. I have marginal hearing loss at certain frequencies due to my old military job. Maybe that's why.
Convenience: I stepped away from wireless options for the A40TR Mixamp Pro because of the great reviews. In the end, however, wired headsets are the antithesis of convenience. Especially if you have small children wandering around!
Comfort: The A40's were comfortable. I wore them for a total of 8hours in 2hour increments (both gaming and watching a movie... gotta love John Wick!). They were not noticeably more comfortable than others I have worn, but overall I'd say they won't disappoint here.
Mic Monitor: Allegedly these have a mic monitor. Perhaps if the mic was longer it would work! I don't have a super large head, but the mic didn't even reach to the corner of my mouth. My team mates constantly complained of it being able to hear me, and I had no monitor unless I pushed the headset forward to where it wasn't sitting flush on my ear. Unacceptable.
Durability: I would rate the durability as pretty top notch. It seems to be well made, but the negatives elsewhere overrode this positive aspect.
Overall, if you don't mind wires (Two wires: one from the console to the mixamp, and one from the mixamp to the headset) and have a tiny head, these might be for you. For me? Meh. | video-games_xbox |
All you need is a little patience. Ok. So the game is [very] frustrating. Yes the wrestlers run out of steam quick and if you repeatedly use the same move then the voltage meter swings to the cpu's favor. Even set on easy, the game is pretty tricky and you'll probably find yourself getting really annoyed, wishing you hadn't shovelled out 50 bucks for it. What should you do about it? First of all - give it a little time - I found that the "how to play" section in the options mode to be very helpful in showing how to grapple your opponent properly. Don't try to pin your opponent if the voltage meter is in their favor - it's just about impossible. You've got to mix your moves up a bit - to regain your strength when you're tired, try getting out of the ring and on the opposite side of the corner steps ( the cpu gets real confused and just keeps running into the steps and doesn't go around...hehe). Yes, the game is a little disappointing because you can't do a lot of the things they said you were going to be able to do - wrestler's don't speak, just grunt. You can't fight into the 3-D crowd. There is only one arena and no, you can't go backstage. No season either, just title matches. Also a lot of wrestling faves seem to be missing ( I haven't unlocked RVD yet which someone claims you can do but I am shocked to learn that Fred Durst is available - yuk!) - no Scotty too Hotty, Grandmaster Sexay, Debra, Kat, Jacqueline, Tori, etc. There isn't even any blood or KO's! Is the game worth it? Most people would probably say no. If you have bought it then I say give it some time and you'll probably start winning your matches more often which makes for a more enjoyable game. I can't remember losing my last one - it's been a while anyway. The game does have some good points - like I mentioned, the graphics are unequaled and the intro inteference ( while it gets kinda old quickly) is a nice touch. Some of the moves are great ( once you learn to master them) and the create-a-wrestler, while not quite as diversified as PSX's Smackdown 2 Know your Role, is pretty good. Overall it's a so-so game - making you think that it could have been so much better but not being awful at the same time. I recommend you rent it, watch the "How To Play" sequence under the options and then give it a shot. First impressions are bad but with a little time and a lot of effort/patience on your part and it does somewhat pay off. Hopefully the makers of this game will see where they erred ( really - their biggest mistake was releasing the features on the game before having to remove a lot of them) and improve upon it in a sequel. | video-games_xbox |
Great ideas, but a poor stealth action game. The Good: Beautiful visuals, nice WWII setting
The Bad: Boring story, broken stealth mechanics, technical flaws
I have really given this game some time and I tried to forgive it. I rented this on Xbox 360 when it first came out and gave up after the second level. I bought this as a cheap Steam sale about a year ago and have just had it sitting on my HDD since then. I have gone back here and there to try to beat or continue this game. I just can't do it and have finally given up. After two years of giving this game a chance I doubt it will become better over time. The paper-thin story, poor stealth mechanics, and technical flaws just bring this promising game down.
You play as a British spy infiltrating Germany during World War II and other occupied territories for...I don't know really. The story is presented in flashbacks that don't really explain much other than why Violet is at that current location. You have various goals you have to complete, but there are enemies in between that you have to kill off or avoid. A stealth game has to have great stealth mechanics like sneaking, killing, and gadgets which Velvet fails in every category. First off, she moves way to slow when crouching. You can never catch up to enemies who are walking because they just leave her in the dust. This is extremely difficult when you are trying to quickly kill someone before you are spotted. The kill moves are pretty cool, but you have to be in the exact position the game needs you to be before you can trigger it. You also have to be extremely close which is ridiculous. This isn't Splinter Cell where you can trigger the kill at a reasonable distance.
You get a few items to help you kill these Nazis. You can use Morphine shots to become invisible, freeze time, and do an automatic kill. This is useful for a guard that has spotted so you can take him down really quick. You get a silenced pistol, but ammo is hard to come by so use it wisely. Some times you can also use a Nazi uniform as a disguise, but if you get too close to enemies they will recognize you. The game has shadow stealth which means if you hide in the shadows you will have a blue aura around you and enemies won't see you. This game has some of the dumbest enemy AI I have ever seen. You can whistle to lure a guard to some shadows but he won't see you even though you are two feet in front of him. If you are seen and try to hide the enemies know exactly where you are and you can't hide from them. What kind of lame crap is that?
The game looks good and has a nice visual art style, but there are some technical flaws here. Animations are pretty bad with some terrible sound effects. The footsteps all sounds the same and the animations just seems floaty and canned. I also found some of the guards patrols to be very long and the overall patterns are hard to work around. It's difficult to figure out how to take out enemies because there are no natural hints or obvious paths most of the time.
Overall, Velvet Assassin was a promising stealth action game set in World War II but has a pointless story, broken stealth mechanics, and some technical flaws. The game looks good, but other than that there is no reason for you to pick this up. Rent this if you want to play a stealth game with a sexy protagonist, otherwise look elsewhere. | video-games_xbox |
Worse Experience I've Ever Had With Any Company. I ordered this mixamp with hopes of attaining simulated surround sound and the ability to communicate with my friends on xbox live. The microphone input was defective on my particular unit, and this does not seem to be an isolated occurrence. There are plenty of people on their forums that discuss how customer service opens a support case, does nothing to help the customers with this problem, and closes the case without any real resolve. I had an even worse time with them than many of the people on the forums and in the negative reviews on Amazon.
I bought from eBay, received the product, and noticed it did not work properly. I contacted the seller, who happens to be ASTRO Gaming, and they referred me to their customer support team. The customer support team responded to my inquiry with a method of deduction to test if there was something wrong with my mic or the cable that runs between the mixamp and the controller, which they supplied. I did this test already and explained to them in my e-mail that I had tested very similarly and realized the unit was defective; however, against my better judgement, I went to radioshack and bought a replacement cord, I retested, and came to the same conclusion. I wrote a lengthy explanation of how I tested and explained that the cord and the replacement cord and two different microphones worked on various other equipment with the same input and output jacks. They responded to me and told me that they would get the unit back and do some tests on it.
I told them all along the way that I was not going to settle for some tested and refurbished product as I paid full amount for a new product. So, I contacted and opened a case with eBay hoping for resolve - the seller, ASTRO Gaming, responded promising that they would send me out a new unit all they needed was a shipping number to verify tracking that the one that I had was on its way back. I asked them in an e-mail if I should discard the shipping label that customer support was having sent to me and just mail it myself and get the refund for shipping mentioned by the seller. It took them a week to respond and by that time I had already shipped it back and sent them the tracking information.
In their response, they asked me if I had opened a customer support case, which is mind boggling. It was part of the dialogue since I opened the resolution case with eBay and had been mentioned in at least three e-mails. I simply responded yes and asked them when my tracking information would be e-mailed to me. They persuaded me to close the resolution case on eBay promising to send me a paid of earbuds for free, and three day shipping as opposed to their snail-ish paced regular shipping method. They also said they could not refund me the money for my shipping with the case still opened. Foolishly, I closed the case. The next day they sent me an e-mail stating that they had given all the information to customer support and that I would hear back from them about the testing process and any kind of warranty. There was no mention of any earbuds, or a new device or new unit being sent to me.
I have never dealt with such a deceitful company in all the time that I have been a consumer/alive. If you want to buy this mixamp I strongly suggest that you consider that this is not a large company. This is a small company with a somewhat unfavourable rating with the BBB. Their products are made in China and obviously are not being made with the sort of craftsmanship and skill to meet the specs of the designer of their products. They try to pass this on to the customers in a very shady, two-faced, manipulative manner. It seems their company culture is not of honest intent, in fact, it is the exact opposite. They obviously know that they have a huge problem with the production method and quality assurance of their product. They have cultivated a web of deceitful measures to not remedy the root cause. You may end up with an amp that works fine, or you may end up like me and many of the other people on their forums who received a faulty product and ended up wasting a lot of time listening to their lies and horsecrap. You are warned. This is a toss-up that may turn into a huge seemingly endless pain in your ass, wallet, etc.
This isn't the only simulated surround sound headphone amplifier on the market, but I can promise you, it is the one with the most problems with customer support, shoddy craftsmanship, and horrible business practices from the manufacturer. | video-games_xbox |
A little bit of a disappointment. Lets get this out of the way, first. I am NOT a time-honored Tenchu fan. The only previous Tenchu I have played is Wrath of Heaven, and I didn't finish that.
My first gripe proceeds thusly: The graphics were annoying. No seeing-through-walls glitches or anything of the like, but it was more than a mite annoying when my charecter's ponytail kept disappearing under his armor/jacket.
Secondly: Its all well and good to be carrying three swords and a pair of sai, but no change-up is ridiculous. A ninja-to (Thats the sword for those of you uneducated in weaponry) is only so fun, and its more of a tool that a sword (breathing tube, wall spike, shurikein-hiding fun). And (both) styles used are not the way a ninja-to is designed to be used. (Misdirection, chicanery, speed, lethality)
Personally, I'd like to see what type of stealth-kills can happen when using, say, a kama.
Thirdly: and its been said before, the repetive maps. Its a good thing Guard distribution and awareness changed.
Fourth: Boss fights? Forced? I Can't stealth kill the big baddie? Thats weak! One boss fight is justified, but the rest aren't.
Five: The forced execution of guards to obtain points and golds seems a little off to me. One of the great things about Splinter Cell is it promotes getting in, getting out, and not touching anybody as you do so (Although, truth be told, I'm a fan of knocking people out). This game forces you to do the slice'n'dice.
Shouldn't I get extra points for only killing my target, or taking all the bombs and stealing the documents without even being seen, much less without hurting any of the guards, so all their personnel are still tied up guarding for a few extra days? Yay, draining your foe's economic resources!
Now for the good stuff.
The controls are only a little bit sticky, but once you get used to them, its high-flying, ninja-high-jumping action! Stealth kills, although they lack variety and usefulness (The choke-hold -> pin is pretty much the only sensible move to take), are nonetheless fun to execute, and entertaining to watch as a small guy overpowers and flips over a three-hundred pound warrior before stabbing him through the throat.
The variety of places to hide is, as usual, awesome. They would be even better if I could perform a Stealth Kill while hiding under the house, instead of waiting for the target to pass, and then pinning him.
Despite all the gripes, the game is still good, awesome, and bloody fun. Pure and simple. | video-games_xbox |
Great game adaptation of the show. Whether or not you are a fan of the show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" you will enjoy playing this game. The graphics are beautiful and the action is great. The dialogue and plot are both creepy and funny at the same time just like the show. (For instance, if you cut off a zombie's legs, it will crawl around and gnaw on your ankle a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail) :-)
The voice talent is wonderful, and to be honest, I thought that Buffy was being voiced by the show's lead, Sarah Michelle Gellar. The actress who is playing Buffy sounds exactly like her. And all the supporting characters are voiced by the show's actors.
The training levels show you everything you need to know, and when you play on the easy setting, it is difficult to kill yourself accidently (a problem I have seen with other adventure games). I had a little trouble learning to distance my jumps, but the other controls are easy to learn and the inventory screens are intuitive. I enjoyed the game for several hours before I gave my thumbs a rest and finally looked at the game booklet.
I've already put about 7 hours into this game on the "easy" setting and am only about 50% finished. And this is not because any of the levels were impossible or frustrating. Just that some were so fun I wanted to do them again before I moved on!
Both I and my son enjoy this game, although I must say some of the monsters are a little creepy and might be a little too scary for a young child.
I would rate this X-Box game second only to Halo...and that only because with certain moves you will hear Buffy make the same comment over and over (something I never got while playing Halo). But, I don't mind hearing "You want a piece of me? I'll give you the whole pie!" a few times as long as Buffy is kicking the stuffing out of those demons!
I would actually rate this game as 4.5 stars if I could. | video-games_xbox |
One of the Few Titles I Tell People to Avoid. Shellshock 2: Blood Trails is a first person shooter for the xbox 360, ps3, and pc. Blood Trails is not a direct sequel to Shellshock Nam 67', the title may suggest it but the two are very different. Blood Trails moves the franchise to the survival horror niche, which again is very different from the gritty warfare of the original. Sadly, Blood Trails rubs off as rushed, and poorly executed.
Very rarely do I pick up a title for cheap, and feel I got more from the instruction booklet then the actual game (in this case I picked the game up for 4.99$). So much of the game is a letdown, tank controls (sluggish beyond reasoning), a story that's as random as an ink blot test, and of course the inability to live up to the previous title which was even met with mediocre warm views. I tend not to bash games without a good reason, and I hope people understand I do not mindlessly hate on this title. A next generation title that makes you question the year in which it was made by the performance (or therefore lack of) is not a good way to start.
The plot was a bit rough to digest, between the main character you play as Private Nate Walker and his Sergeants actions to secure your willingness to fight against the unknown. Your brother has information worthwhile to the U.S. about some cargo dubbed `Whiteknight', you are sent forth to extract said info. During the course of the game you are faced with supposed horror (which to me the only horror comes from the difficult maneuvers due to the controls). The game takes place during the conflict in Vietnam, with the finale resulting in a coin toss with two separate endings, based on the players' choice.
The game leaves you wanting something else to fill the void of your purchase, as the game is rather short if you do manage to complete it. There is no multiplayer to speak of, raising or lowering the difficulty of the campaign doesn't add much to the experience, not even the 360's version with `achievements' help lengthen the game. I've spotted random enemies `respawning' before my eyes, frame rate drops, rough graphics that seem even more dated then the previous title, and a color palette consisting of brown, grey, green, and red, with of course an unhealthy amount of black (even when tinkering with the brightness setting things become either too dark to spot enemies, or too washed out to see straight).
Levels aren't exactly linear in a sense, the player can explore areas, but often times this turns into a state of confusion as much can be skipped with little to no consequences. Engaging the enemy can become a nightmare if your brightness setting isn't adjusted just right (as mentioned above). Even with the brightness accordingly set, I still find myself tossing of grenades, and wondering what happened to my inventory. You don't automatically collect ammo, you'll have to go over to a weapon and collect it yourself. Guns fire closer to bb or pellet guns than an almighty deafening rifle. In case I wasn't clear, sound quality is lacking.
The original Shellshock though poorly received still had a reasonable following, for the simple reason it was believable, lengthy, and had a lot to come back to with collectibles. Shellshock: Blood Trails feels like an attempt to demo a handheld game for a home console. Shame too, I was really interested in the future of this series. If I was asked to point out the good, I'd have to say the game makes for a good venting session when explaining your grief to friends after playing this. | video-games_xbox |
Long-awaited finale for a fantastic series. Ever since the first game dropped in 2007, the Mass Effect games has proven to be one of the best developed, not to mention written, series done so far. The best known feature, the concept of player choice affecting the outcome of a story, is one that, to my disappointment, is something that isn't done enough. If anyone ever played Deus Ex, back in 2000, this concept - having choices, making decisions, and then having those decisions affect the game - it really was a bold step, and one done quite well. In my humble opinion, the Mass Effect series is a big step forward in that line - not only having your choices affect one game, but other games down the road. It will be interesting to see what comes next....
Anywho - Mass Effect 3 is the final chapter in Commander Shephard's story. Everything comes down to this game -- all the steps you took, all the choices you made, all the lives you spared (or didn't spare) -- it's effect is seen here. Something to note: if you're just starting the series with ME 3, trust me, go back and get the first two games. The story takes on a whole new meaning when you do.
The new features to come to Mass Effect 3 is, at least with the Xbox, Kinect support, and multiplayer. Kinect support is an interesting diversion, but after its 15 seconds of coolness is over, it really stops being used. You can use it to select options in dialog, and you can use it in battle to issue orders or tell which team member to use what power. For dialog, I think I used it like twice, while the battle commands actually were used for part of the first mission. Maybe others will get more use out of it than I did, but for me -- the top right and left buttons work just fine.
There are alot of strong opinions out there about multiplayer, some love it, some hate it, and I figured a good way to review it would be to keep it separate from the singleplayer portion. Multiplayer can and does affect your singleplayer, if you choose to play it, but you don't have to, if you don't like it. My impressions of it: it's well done, but nothing you haven't seen before. As anyone who played the demo has seen, there are 5 classes, and you start out as a human. Along the way, you can unlock other races in those classes, each with their strengths and weaknesses. You battle increasing difficult waves of enemies, and every so often, you're given objectives that need to be completed with a certain amount of time. I'll give BioWare credit - the AI is well done. They're tough, decently smart, and attempt to outflank you alot. I liked that the creators didn't have the AI spawn, but drop from certain portions of the map. But, like all other AI, eventually they get predictable. A real big gripe I have is that (at least on the Xbox, don't know about the PS3 version) unfortunately, it seems that BioWare fell in love with the A button. You literally use the A button for EVERYTHING. You want to run? Hold A button. You want to hide in cover? A button. Revive someone?? A button. Switch cover or jump over cover?? A button. Jump forward or side to side while standing?? A button. You get the gist. It bothers me because of this: you'll try to revive someone, and you'll end up going into cover. Or jumping into a bunch of enemies. It seriously gets to be a pain.
Besides that, and that eventually, the AI gets a little boring, the multiplayer was quite enjoyable. Feel free to play it or avoid it at your leisure...
Ok, so the singleplayer mode -- I'll try to write this as best I can, or those who either 1) haven't played the series before, and 2) to not give away too many spoilers. For those who've played before, alot of the old people return for the final showdown. It was quite surprising to see even a couple little (in terms of effect on story and ability to talk to) people return (Engineer Adams, for one - from the first SSV Normandy). The galaxy map is now nicely divided by territories, with certain systems having a nice big Reaper over them, to show where they are in relation to the rest of the galaxy. You now get to visit alot of the other races' worlds, something that was sorely lacking in the previous games. The graphics are quite good - at least to me. Even though I played the demo, I still found myself looking around at the cityscape just at the start of the game. And when you go to other worlds or places, prepare to spend some time just admiring.
While I'm on the topic of admiring the landscape, also pay attention to the music. The Mass Effect soundtracks are some of the best done for a video game I've ever heard. Even those who don't normally like soundtrack music admit that Mass Effect's is in a class of it's own. For a taste of what I'm talking about, look up on YouTube "Mass Effect 3 boy dies". Some powerful, emotional stuff...
I also like that the game gets going quickly. Mass Effect 2 especially suffered from this -- it felt like things didn't really start moving until you completed like 25, 30% of the game. Here, the initial mission is over, and things already have your blood pumping -- you know what you need to do, and what's at stake.
Your goal is to gather enough resources to confront the Reaper alien invasion. There are plenty of sidequests as well to this main objective, but what was interesting was that some of these sidequests were only available for a certain amount of time. That made sense - my problem was that the game didn't tell you how much time you got. I would get side missions, and say "ok, I'll get to those in a moment", and after, say, completing another mission, it would no longer be available. I didn't like not being told there was a time limit - so keep that in mind....
Some issues: There are times (actually, a quite a number of times) the game stutters and slows down way too much. I thought it was an issue with the Xbox not being able to handle the amount of graphics and data, but apparently it's a problem on the PS3 and PC as well. The game does eventually pick back up on its own, however. There's also a ton of loading screens. On the PC, it's not too big of a deal, since things load in 30 seconds. The Xbox is a different story. Be prepared to wait alot. This I attribute to the Xbox's age - it's an older console, and this is definitely one game which loses some points -- not because it couldn't be better, but because the Xbox just can't handle it.
That's pretty much the only things I didn't like about the game. It's a fitting end for Commander Shephard - one that guarantees he'll go down in video game icon history.
A note: If you ordered the Collector's Edition, it says it comes with the soundtrack. It doesn't. It comes with the code to download it. When you register your online pass with your EA account, EA then gives you access to download the soundtrack. To me, it's a really convoluted way to give something out, when all you had to do was just pop a 25 cent CD in the packaging, and put the music on there. Good grief....
I'll be updating this if anything else stands out to me. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions!!
UPDATED (3/11/2012) -- so I beat the game, and I must say, the game itself does really live up to the ME hype that EA and BioWare have been pushing out for it. It was quite good. They killed off a bunch of characters, but I mean - it's a galactic war, what do you expect?? What I did think was terrible, however, was the ending. I don't know who came up with that ending, but it was just not good. It doesn't fit with the storyline, and things that used to make sense now no longer. I'm not sure if this was because the rush to get this game out was that demanding, or if they just couldn't come up with anything better - I don't know. But the various endings - all were unacceptable. I even thought it might've been me, and maybe I failed to do something. But YouTube has all the possible endings you can get, and nope, BioWare just dropped the ball on it. I deducted one star because of it, since it's only the last 10 minutes that fails. | video-games_xbox |
Resident Evil in Sengoku era Japan-what could be better. The general consensus of Genma Onimusha is that it is too difficult. Well, it is-at least at first, particularly if you've played the PS2 version. You won't be able to hack n' slash your way through this one. Once you learn how to use the block button and the game's new special features (like charging up your weapons and using the invincibilty provided by green souls) it becomes far easier. You are forced to fight in a more defensive, well thought out manner , using your magic and items judiciously rather than blindly lashing out at everything. This takes patience so if you're easily frustrated Genma isn't for you. Still, despite being an average gamer at best, I was able to defeat the game on difficult mode along with all of the side quests without too many problems so with a little work everyone should be able to master the game. The new features really add to the game. If you are a PS2 version vet, ignore them at your own risk. The green souls can make you invincible and add to your health but will be sucked up by your enemies, turning them into furious berzerk red killing machines, if you don't get them first. There is another difficluty level to be unlocked, the aforementioned charging of weapons and magic attacks, and new enemies. One of these is the possessed adorable doll from hell, Ayame (same name as my fiance, which just makes it better for me!). Everyone seems to hate the near-indestructible Ayame, but with magic attacks, blocking, and charged weapons (or even better, the Bishamon Sword) you can kill her every time. And the payoff for sending her along is enormous! Still, keep your ears open for the tinkling of bells, girlish giggling, a glimpse of a little head, or the sudden appearance of pots in a hall where they weren't before. Ayame also likes to hide inside chests and make you think she's somewhere when she isn't. I like the unpredictability this brings to the game, and of course, since this game is so much like RE Ayame is serving the same function as Nemesis. That'll teach you to remove the Saito family crest from her lap! The game has 4 minigames/side quests as well. The Oni Spirits minigame unlocks after beating the game. Now, talk about hard...use a bullet when you shouldn't, hesitate a second, or kill a creature a second late...and you lose! The game has 12 levels of pot busting action, limited time, and enemies that can make you lose in a matter of seconds. It's beatable but extremely frustrating as you can't save at any point. Win it and get access to Ultimate Mode, enabling you to blow through the regular game and mercilessly obliterate everything in your path. There are two different Dark Realm side quests (one 10 level Realm with a secret key, and a 20 level one with the Bishamon Ocarina needed to unlock the all mighty Bishamon Sword). Best of all is the Ogre Tower that is unlocked with the secret key. 5 floors of 6 levels each, this contains the most powerful and numerous enemies in the game. When playing through it in difficult mode it is ridiculously challenging-the final level features parades of Moles, Dark Spider Ninjas, 4 (!) huge red Ogre bosses (2 at a time, no less), Soul Armors, everyone's favorite doll Ayame, and the lightning fast and deadly suit of haunted armor, the Tower Warrior. After this floor the final two bosses in the game, Marcellus and Fortinbras, seem like a Sunday School picnic. Best of all, the game is based on actual Japanese history (and allowing the characters to speak in subtitled Japanese makes this even cooler). Samanosuke's family name is Akechi, and it was an Akechi (Mitsuhide, I think) that assasinated Oda Nobunaga in the 1570's (this would work great as a sequel, but Onimusha 2 looks like it's using legendary warrior Fuma Kotaro as the hero instead). Okehazama (where Oda is shown as being killed in the game opening movie) was a pivotal battle in Japanese history. The Saito family castle in Inabayama (where most of the game takes place) was attacked by Oda at the time the game takes place and was conquered a couple of years later (and renamed Gifu by Oda). Putting the game in a historical framework makes it work a lot better. For those who care, Toei Movieland Amusement Park in Kyoto, Japan has a haunted house filled with demons and victims that looks like it was pulled straight from this game. All in all, this game has a lot to offer for those who are willing to work with it. Great graphics, sounds (give a listen to the soundtrack CD sometime-a full orchestra and great all on its own), extras, and secrets. Challenging but not impossible. Decent replay value, and Samanosuke's extra Panda costume with frolicking little pal (who actually has a function-he points out hidden items) has to be seen to be believed. The way-too-large-even-for-adults Xbox controller makes life a little tougher here. Great gaming with the best opening movie and "attract mode" you're likely to see! | video-games_xbox |
It seems to work, just requires a lot of setup. I see all these reviews are all over the place so I wanted to weigh in with my own opinions.
I barely play my Kinect, and really don't want to have to move my big L-sofa whenever I want to play. So like everyone else I was sold on the idea of playing Kinect with less space.
At first my Kinect was on top of my TV, and I slapped the Zoom on and turned everything on.. and it barely recognized my hand, let alone me. I messed with it a bit, including redoing the calibration with that smiley face card, and it helped a little. When I went in to run the Kinect ID setup I saw what the problem was - it couldn't see my feet, and kept showing me as having my legs crossed and in all kinds of strange positions.
So I moved my Kinect to below my TV, it's sitting on a speaker on my TV stand, so about 6 inches off the stand with the top of it in line with the bottom of my TV screen. I ran the calibration again, and it seemed to be somewhat better. I went and played Kinect Adventures, and saw in the pictures it takes what is probably the issue with the Zoom - everything is shaped different, and on the outside of each image you can see the circle for where the lenses are. BUT, you can clearly see it sees ALL OF YOU, and more, if the Kinect is below the TV.
So what I did was go back into Kinect ID and -deleted my settings-. All the saved things it had to recognize me I cleared out. Then re-did it. And everything started to move a lot better. My wife did the same and experienced the same thing. I think the original way of viewing the world and the new way it looks with the Zoom on all saved together confused the system.
So what I suggest for other people who are having trouble before they return the Zoom:
- Put the Kinect below the TV
- Clear out your Kinect ID settings and redo the recognition setup.
Another thing: I think 40% less space is conservative. 5 feet away from the Kinect was freaking it out in Kinect Adventures. So I still need to check that out more.
Bottom line from me: For the amount I play the Kinect, once I worked the bugs out I'm happy with the device. It'll save me from moving anything but our coffee table, and that sounds good to me. | video-games_xbox |
Almost met my high expectations. I finally got ahold of this game for Christmas, and I wanted to write my review before finishing the game, while the impressions are still fresh in my mind.
It looks pretty good! Especially the neutrona streams; I'm sure they spent tons of time getting that right. The new weapons are fun, and so is the jargon associated with them. The controls are simple and work well. I suppose the Ectogoggles can be a lil annoying, walking around with them equipped, but in-game warnings about things you should examine with them make that unnecessary really.
The ghost-wrangling mechanics are good. You feel a definite sense of satisfaction when trapping a ghost. I bet it's even more fun on the Wii version, if the wrangling is at all similar.
It's spooky! I was impressed that they managed that. Of course dark foreboding passages are present, but unlike Doom3 that's not their only tool. The ghosts also have some pretty gruesome back stories, unlike most of 'em from the movies. The story in general is pretty loose, but it sort of makes sense and hangs together so far.
Other reviewers have complained about the re-use of the first movie's music for this game, and they're right in that it feels sort of like a shortcut. But they've scored it well. The music is very appropriate for each segment.
People were right about the 'social' aspect of it. Playing through the one-player game, the rest of the Ghostbusters are either with you or within radio contact, and they give you feedback on how you're doing. I like Winston's comments best, like 'You've got a MEAN streak, rook!'
I had worried that the various equipment addons for the proton pack would make it look very unwieldy (well, MORE so, you know what I mean) but they did a fairly elegant job on that. Small details and different colored cyclotron lights let you know which weapon is equipped.
I must admit I don't really pay much attention to the on-pack status indicators. There's usually too much going on to spare a glance at them when they're important.
The game's difficulty is uneven. I found certain portions very frustrating with a lot of 'mission failed' messages. But others (including bosses) were disappointingly easy. There really hasn't been a difficulty curve...more like an EKG pattern.
I was very disappointed to be hit with an 'end of KoTOR II' situation with the latest level. There was no cooldown period at the firehouse between the last level and the start of the new one, so no dialogue saying why we're going to x and what we expect to find there. Also, if you quit the game at the firehouse before you listen to the dialogue/exposition? When you resume later, you don't get any of that. You're just pushed into the next mission. It has happened twice now, and ticked me off.
The lip syncing is frequently off. Peter got the worst lines of the four Ghostbusters. I had hoped for some interaction with the containment unit, but other than damaging it in the intro, no joy there. The destruction of property with your weapons is good, but not all there. You can't burn through walls for example. The targeting on your slime blower is kinda lousy. You can hose down an area for five seconds and fail to register a 'hit' on what you're sliming. I had hoped for a vehicle segment but no luck there either so far. | video-games_xbox |
Flawed, yes. A bad game? No. I remember buying the first Homefront when it came out in 2011. As a person who loved the original Red Dawn, I was fascinated by the concept of a Unified Korea under the North launching a full scale invasion on an economically weakened United States. Back in 2011, my 15 year old mind saw it as almost plausible given the bad economic times during those days. Though the game was criminally short, I loved it and I couldn't wait for the sequel when it was announced.
Now we get to the topic at hand, Homefront: The Revolution. First off, the story. While I like the idea of fighting against a Unified Korean army, I can't help but feel like the original game did it much better. Aside from the Korean being spoken by troops, or propaganda blasts over radios, and Hangeul markings on KPA buildings. I don't feel like I'm fighting against the Korean People's Army. I feel like I'm fighting against some large corporation or some generic military force out of whatever latest Call of Duty game that was released. The KPA doesn't have the same feel to them like they did in the original. Nor do they exhibit the same brutality like in the first game. here are no references to Kim Jong-Un, the Worker's Party of Korea, nothing. It doesn't even feature the North Korean flag. The game doesn't demonstrate enough of what the KPA is supposedly doing to make me hate them like in the first game. I don't feel like my country has been occupied by the KPA.
Next, we move on to the environment of the game. This is the main area in which the sequel surpasses the original. The original game's main flaw is that it was a generic, short, linear campaign which could be beaten in 4 hours. Whereas Homefront: The Revolution features an open world environment which is free to explore. Though not on the same scale as Fallout 4, or GTA V, it does provide a lot of freedom, and hidden areas to explore. The free and open terrain gives you a plethora of options in which to attack an enemy patrol. You can hide in a bombed-out building,flank them from alleys, or just hit them head on. The sky is the limit. The one drawback to the open world however, is that it's broken up into separate sections that require a loading screen to access. Think GTA Vice city, and you'll know what I'm talking about. Not a game breaking flaw, but a little annoying.
As far as the missions go, this is where it starts to get tedious. Without spoiling anything, your missions are largely the same regardless of which area you're in. Bomb this, rescue these prisoners, capture this outpost here, so on so fourth. It's fun at first, but after awhile it quickly gets repetitive. The missions are by far the weakest link in the game. You will have fun capturing outposts and spreading the influence of the resistance, just don't expect much variation in what you do.
The combat system in the game feels a lot like most generic shooters out there. Although with some added flare. The weapon customization you can buy in the game are an added joy that is unique to this game. Fighting a KPA patrol with an AR-15 and feel like you're out-gunned? Now problem, with the simple press of a button you can strip the upper receiver, and add on a new receiver that instantly turns your AR into a light machine gun. Turn your pistol into an MP7 look-alike sub machine gun, M1A- into a bolt action rifle, etc. You can also switch scopes, and sights in the middle of a fight. Unrealistic as hell? Absolutely, but still a ton of fun. In addition, you can craft your own explosives from the primitive Molotov Cocktail, to homemade IED's in the form of thrown bombs, to RC controlled explosives. It's fun, and it adds to the overall experience that you're a resistance fighter having to make weapons from scratch. In addition to ground troops, the KPA will employ drones ranging from airborne drones that will follow you, alerting nearby KPA to your presence, to tracked ground-based drones, and armored vehicles armed with machine guns who are a tough enemy to deal with. The biggest threat however, are the KPA airships whom when summoned, will search for you with a spotlight, and direct large groups of KPA assets to dispatch you. Evading patrols can be very difficult, but not impossible.
As far as the AI goes, it's pretty decent, but don't expect to be impressed by either side. KPA troops will take cover, throw grenades, attack in groups etc, however they will largely stay confined to one specific area. Rarely will I see an try to flank me, or use any type of squad dynamics to gain the upper edge in a firefight. The same goes for your fellow resistance fighters, whom you can recruit to follow you around. Don't get me wrong, the game's AI isn't terrible, but it's also not Halo quality AI.
All in all, does the game have it's flaws? Yes, it is a flawed game. Was I disappointed? In certain aspects yes. However, the game is not terrible, and I legitimately had a fun time playing this game, and I would recommend it to anyone who was a fan of the first game. If you haven't played the first game, and want to give this game a try, I recommend either borrowing the game from a friend, renting, or maybe wait for the game to come down a bit before giving it a try. | video-games_xbox |
Good if you can weather some frustration. Homecoming is only the third Silent Hill game I've sampled. I know a lot of people hated "the room," but I fell in love with that one immediately. To me, it was as creepy as it was curious; every time I returned to the room, I'd scour it from top to bottom, looking for further clues to help me unravel the story. I really felt a serious need to get out, but then again, I wasn't sure if I'd still want out once I had escaped... Hate it or love it, you have to give props to the room for being original.
And then there's Homecoming. It's a bit of an odd dog, honestly. It incorporates enough atmosphere from the previous titles to make it feel 'silent hilly,' but it fails to add anything new. There's nothing novel about it. Sure, it looks good, and combat controls received a serious face-lift, but overall, it feels soulless compared to previous Silent Hill titles.
I may just be getting jaded in my old age, but the bad-guys don't seem all that creepy. The dogs don't have any skin on them. That's pretty standard survival-horror fare, anymore. There are big shambling guys that have blades where their head should be. Not sure how they can see me, but they always know exactly where I am. Then there's the weird smoker zombie that is impossible to land a full combo on because there's no way to avoid the constant stream of smoke that's pouring out of him. Oh, and then there are four-legged spider guys that have blades for feet. After you get to know them they aren't too bad, really. They're actually quite civil when fighting; they each patiently wait their turn to be bludgeoned to death with your lead pipe.
The truly disappointing aspect of Homecoming is the fact that Silent Hill's no longer an emotional/psychological thriller. It's digressed into more of a "boo! scared you!" experience. And even the cheap scares get to be predictable after a fashion. Oh...I'm entering knee-deep water...I wonder what on earth is going to happen next/again?
I remember the first time I ever saw pyramid head. The game switched to a cut-scene and he was... doing weird things to/with a zombie nurse. It was perverse, grotesque, and...disturbing. Yeah! That's exactly what it was. Disturbing! What the hell is that guy? What the hell is it doing? Somehow I knew to run away. I didn't want to fight it, I just wanted to be away from it!
You don't get that in Homecoming. You get dogs with no skin that never stop spawning and a dumb brother you're willing to chase straight through the gates of hell. Look, I have a brother in real life. I love him and all, but if I ever saw him run into a haunted hospital with crazy zombie nurses wielding knives, I'd probably consider heading back home and catching jeopardy. Maybe that's just me.
Homecoming relies heavily on darkness to build tension. I've seen this work well in other scary games, but unfortunately, there's *so much* dark in homecoming that it stops being scary and just gets irritating. When you realize there's no light to run toward, you just kinda stop running, you know? The same goes for combat in the game. When you realize there's no way to escape it, it loses its frantic edge and just turns into a chore.
Lastly, there were several times were I got stuck in the game because I couldn't figure out how or where to proceed. Most times this happened it was due to my own lack of attention to detail. However, at one particular section of the game the only way to further the storyline is by opening a door that looks just like the walls surrounding it. Because I didn't realize the wall was a door, I went back outside and died about ten times fighting endless hordes of re-spawning skinless zombie dogs. I was only able to get back on track with the help from an online game walkthru.
Looking back at my review, it doesn't seem like I have much good to say about Homecoming. As frustrating as the game is, I have to admit I do want to play through it. I think it's because I'm genuinely interested in the storyline and would like to know how it ends up. If you're a longtime Silent Hill fan, you really do need to play through Homecoming to get one of the more cohesive narratives in the series. It takes its sweet time unfolding, but the whole time you really find yourself wondering why everyone always treated Alex like garbage, why his mom's a lunatic, and why he's constantly chasing his stupid brother into certain death.
I bought Homecoming because I was in the mood for a good, scary game and yes, it has it's moments. I nearly came out of my seat a couple times to be honest. However, outside those "BOO!" scare moments, its pretty much devoid of emotional tension that was always characteristic in previous Silent Hill titles.
Complaints:
1. New / American development team relies on standard Hollywood horror staples -- to the detriment of the series.
2. The new combat mechanics, while improved, are irritating. Especially in cramped quarters or when facing off with more than one enemy at a time. If you miss one dodge, certain enemies can pummel half your life away.
3. There's no way to skip past some cut-scenes. If you have trouble beating a certain boss, be prepared to listen to the same lead-in schpiel over and over (and over).
4. Too much dark! When sound is your only indication that your face is being eaten by a bug, something's wrong.
5. Zombie Nurses. Again. And now with visible ass cheeks! What I'd like to know is who let them out of the hospital? Now they can turn up just about anywhere...
On the brighter side:
1. Graphics, music, and sound effects are all great.
2. The story is interesting if you don't mind dodging enough skinless dogs to actually get to it.
3. Locals are well done and apart from being too dark, they are very atmospheric, forlorn, and grotesque.
4. The puzzles are great, albeit a bit on the scarce side.
5. Boss battles are more challenging and, for the most part, fun.
As a game, I readily give Homecoming a 3/5. As a followup to the Silent Hill series, I'm afraid I'd only be able to award Homecoming with a 2/5... it has a lot to live up to and doesn't quite make the cut. | video-games_xbox |
Mass Effect is a Fun Video Game, but Lacks Depth and Long-term Content. This game trilogy was pretty good. I really like this universe they've made.
The gameplay is mixed.
The cover system is like Gears of War. The shooting, for me, is in some ways painfully bad. The amount of ammo you go through is just plain silly, some of these enemies you just shoot and shoot and shoot and it really breaks the flow of the game as some encounters last for several minutes as you will run out of ammo in your weapon only to see an enemy shield recharge. I would have liked to have been able to actually shoot someone in the head and they die, and as for those giant mechs that take forever, it would have been nice to be able to focus fire on the "knee" or something to destroy it, like how in Star Wars Luke tied up the AT-ATs legs to make it fall over. I was playing Mass Effect 3 on insane difficulty, and eventually I beat it, but it was SUPER ANNOYING. I was fighting a bunch of geth, and I ran out of ammo in all of my guns and there was no ammo left on the map. I literally had NO AMMO AT ALL. So the last checkpoint was like 20 minutes ago before I gunned down like 50+ geth, and then once I had no ammo left I had no choice but to die after trying to melee attack a Geth Prime that ended up killing me.
The characters were pretty cool, I like the aliens and the setting, and it is cool befriending new people and what not. I like how you can attempt to start a relationship with characters as well. I chose to date Liara throughout all three games, as she has a kind personality. Another option is a human woman named Ash but she was excruciatingly annoying and I would have liked a dialogue option to tell her she is fired and get off the ship, and Caden (I think that was his name) was very flat. Garrus is the best, definitely make sure you build a good friendship with him because he is the coolest character in the game. Overall characters were pretty good but like I said not enough interaction because some people I just wanted to get rid of.
The overall story was nothing special, but there are some moments that are good and some "quests" are good. One thing to consider is that every dialogue option means they have to accomodate that decision, so that is a big reason why you have limited control over what happens.
This paragraph contains a SPOILER for a mission in Mass Effect 1. I like the Krogan, and there was this part where you go to there outpost and try to help some Krogan from this disease they have called Genophage. I wanted to stop the disease, but the story wouldn't let me, so that was annoying. And there was a guy on my team that was cool, his name was Wreaver (I think that was his name) and he wears red armor. He had always been a good ally, but there is this REALLY STUPID part where Ash, the human woman I mentioned earlier, she shoots Wreaver with a sniper and kills him! She murdered my teammate right in front of me and there was nothing I could do. That made me feel like the "decision system" that this game acts like is so great is actually really lame because I couldn't even save my krogan and I also didn't even get to kill Ash or at least tell her to pack her bags and go away forever.
Anyway, overall the series was kinda fun, as I do like the setting and some of the characters.
The reason I say this game lacks content is not because of story mode, as the 3 games actually lasted me a total of about 40-50 hours or so if I remember correctly. The reason I say this is because after you beat the story there is nothing to do. No multiplayer, no survival mode, no capture the flag, no spec-ops mode, no missions mode, nothing. In Mass Effect 3 they added a "multiplayer" mode, and I had a lot of fun with that, as you and like 3 other people team up to survive waves, but there are also moments where you have to hack a computer or retrieve a little box or something, which helps add a bit of life to what would otherwise be just wave after wave. The downside is that you can only play 1 player on a single TV, so if you want to play with others they need their own gaming setup and can't just pick up a controller and join you. Another downside is that all it is is survival mode, so as you can imagine it gets boring over time as there is little variety. A major plus is making your own character, so you pick your alien and armor color and weapons. The downside is this really STUPID system where you have like a raffle ticket to unlock stuff, so if you just want to be a krogan soldier, you might never unlock it because all raffles are random. You can choose to use real-life money to pay for unlocks, but I really don't like that. I spent like $3 trying to get stuff for my character (this was years ago, I never support micro-transactions today) but regretted wasting real-life money like that.
This paragraph contains spoilers for Mass Effect 2 and 3. One other thing is that your choices carry over from game to game (if you select that option). I brought Garrus, my favorite teammate, on a mission into the insect hive at the end of the game. This mission was RIDICULOUS. So you allocate your teammates with different jobs that need to be done in the hive, like who goes down the left tunnel, the right tunnel, the tube, etc. Then, the game PERMANENTLY KILLS characters on certain paths. It's kinda hard to explain, but I will try. The same paths lead to deaths each time, so you could reload a save after finding out which paths lead to death, but I played the game without ever reloading (excluding dying) because to me that is cheap and you should just play the game straight, reloading and changing decisions is cheap and it's like what is even the point then. Anyway, I gave the options that seemed dangerous to teammates I didn't like as much. But then out of nowhere a cutscene plays and a Collector soldier flies away with Garrus and he is dead. So then when I beat the game and continued on ME3, Garrus was still dead. One of the guys that survived the mission was Thane, who is kinda cool. So, then, I was like, "well at least I have Thane." But then Thane says, "Sorry, I can't be your teammate anymore, I have cancer and I'm about to die." And I was just like WTF!!!!!
Well I think I covered everything! My memory is slightly foggy, as I played through Mass Effect 3 when it was new (it was a gift) then after enjoying that I sold that copy to gamestop (and only got a few bucks) and then bought the collection.
If you like Star Trek, you'll like this setting, as it is very similar.
Kirk = Shepard
USS Enterprise = USS Normandy
Green Alien Girl Sex = Blue Alien Girl Sex
etc.
If you are expecting shooting to be as good as Halo or Call of Duty, you will be disappointed!
Also, I forgot to address one of the "controversial" issues about this game. The first game shows Liara's nipples during a short sex-scene, and a News Anchor was saying the game is porn and easily accessed by children blah blah blah. This game is rated M for MATURE. So what if there are nipples, this is for adults. Just like an R-rated movie is for adults. It is so stupid how some people act like all games are designed for children. And there is literally only like 1 sex scene per game and it is very short and they barely show anything. I think the sex is fine, so yeah.
Oh yeah one more story from my experience. This is a spoiler from Mass Effect 2. So I was being nice to everyone, to include Jack, and the girl with the black hair and white catsuit, I think her name was Miranda? Anyway, so Miranda is this top-tier special agent girl that is supposed to be like really smart and good at what she does. Then Jack is this girl who wears leather straps for clothes and is covered in tattoos and has a shaved head. I was nice to both of them. Then they get into a huge fight, and you have to pick a side. I told Miranda to lay off of Jack. Now, the reason I did this is because Jack obviously has a messed up past, she is like a lost and abused foster child, and therefore I tried to shield her, thinking that Miranda would understand. But then I went to talk to Miranda alone, and she is like, "F you SHepard I hate you now and we can never be friends again" and I'm like WOW. And she literally was mad at me for the rest of eternity. | video-games_xbox |
I can say that the single player campaign is the worst in the franchise by far. I am a HUGE Halo fan with thousands of hours under my belt.
I can say that the single player campaign is the worst in the franchise by far. It is incoherent, not established and overall is a disservice to the franchise. The only good missions are the ones where you play as Master Chief which makes up less than 1/3 of the game. Ending is a cliffhanger and doesnt leave you wanting or even caring for more. Overall, campaign is total garbage.
The multiplayer on the other hand is a return to form of what Halo is supposed to be. It is the closest to Arena gameplay since Halo 3. Reach and Halo 4 decided to adopt loadouts and fundamentally unbalanced abilities that crippled the gameplay. Halo 5 just enables all players to have more mobility and lethality, thats it; they leave you to your own instruments to succeed, no crutches.
Warzone is a fun new addition but gets repetitive fast. The REQ cards are mostly useless and I cant see anyone who would actually want to pay real money on packs to increase their chances of getting s***. The multiplayer gametypes are totally gimped; the main modes are Slayer, CTF and Strongholds. Compare that to any other Halo game which had 5-7 different game modes. Hell, even the super popular Infection doesnt even make an appearance. What were they thinking???
Overall, the game is an incomplete mess with a garbage story and many fundamental multiplayer features completely missing. Forge mode has just now been released and while it brings revolutionary changes and quite honestly infinite possibilities, the omission of this mode from launch is not forgivable. 343 plans on providing meaningful post game support but all I see is a game that wasn't finished and rushed out the door.
If the gameplay wasn't so good and fun, this game would have easily scored a 1 out of 5. The gameplay carries it to a solid 3. Also, despite the huge advancements in Forge which can stand to change the landscape of community made maps in the console space (which I would rate the game much higher for), the lack of many basic multiplayer features does not make up for it.
The lack of variety may be fixed in future content updates but people many people have already moved on based on the initial offerings so it doesnt matter how many future changes they plan to implement or how many features they will add. What matters is what the game has TODAY and honestly, its not that much. | video-games_xbox |
Hopefully an informative review (deals with GOTY disc install. This review will begin with a summary of why I decided to purchase this third party hdd that is not an officially endorse Microsoft product.
I recently purchased, on this Black Friday, both Fallout 3 and Vegas GOTY editions. I also purchased, on Amazon, the pre-FAT32 formatted Digistor PS3 backup drive. Being a 500 gb FAT32 drive, the Digistor now temporarily serves as a PC backup, PS3 backup, and a Xbox 360 Slim external drive.
That drive worked great installing the Fallout 3 GOTY disc one, and the game plays without the disc in constant spinn. The problem was with disc two which contained all of the DLC packages. That disc WILL NOT install to an external device. On the dashboard, you cannot access the Game Details section and select install to device. The disc will automatically give you an error message stating that you need to install an internal hdd.
Thus, I had to purchase this drive since it would be a bit silly budget-wise to purchase a 300 some gb MS drive marked up to such an extent that it costs almost half of an actual console.
This drive arrived very quickly, like 2 or 3 business days from CA to NY. The packaging consisted of a lot of plastic wrap and a little box that screamed "Made in China/fake knockoff."
Nonetheless, I can confirm that the GOTY disc two installs and works flawlessly. I don't have gold subscription so anything regarding online play, I would not know.
I mostly use my PS3 while the Xbox Slim serves as a machine that I only use when I really want a exclusive title or if certain title's such as Bethesda's supposedly have more issues on the PS3.
Most people are also concerned with how this drive affects System Updates (do you have to remove prior to dl?), long-term reliability, and ability to play original Xbox titles and other Live DLC (I can't say either way).
However, I would also be interested in knowing if anyone can comment, esp. about the System Updates. | video-games_xbox |
My favorite game. I played Guitar Hero about 2 months ago and fell in love with it. I decided to go out and buy an Xbox 360 specifically for it. While shopping around, I noticed Rock Band, read some reviews, and picked that up before Guitar Hero.
I was blown away! I'm addicted to the point that my knuckles hurt (I play it more than my REAL guitar!) My brother's addicted...and even my girlfriend, who generally doesn't like video games at all, is addicted! We sit and play for 3 or 4 hours straight sometimes.
I enjoy playing solo, playing with my brother, playing with my brother and girlfriend, and playing with friends who come over. It's hands down the most enjoyable game I've ever played.
The good: the equipment is great, and if you get some that don't work, EA's replacement policy is stellar. We replaced our drum pads b/c of a faulty bass drum pedal and it works great now. The guitar is WAY better than the Guitar Hero guitars, in my opinion. The game graphics, animations and songs are better as well. It also features more "official" songs than covers (only a few) as opposed to Guitar Hero. The character customization is fun and detailed! The characters actually drum, sing and strum to the songs they're playing.
The bad: my knuckles hurt pretty much permanently. I like the game too much to quit! I recently got an LCD TV and had to take a break while waiting for an HDMI cable and they just now MOSTLY healed after over a week of not playing.
Sometimes it's difficult to tell which equipment was faulty. We were getting random bass drum taps, so we sent the pedal in and the new one did the same thing. We realized it was a problem at where the pedal connects to the pads. Sent the pads in and it works great now!
We were NOT able to calibrate Rock Band to my new LCD TV using component cables. After buying an HDMI cable and turning on "LCD calibration" it worked perfectly. Before that NOTHING worked - it was unplayable.
I ended up picking up Guitar Hero II and I'm so mad that Activision blocked the Rock Band guitar patch that I won't buy anymore Guitar Hero games until they allow it. That game is sub-par and the only reason I play it is for a change of pace. The guitar is crap and I hate playing on it now. (A far cry from originally being the game that COMPELLED me to buy an Xbox 360 - THAT'S how good Rock Band is!) | video-games_xbox |
One of the best racing games ever made. I bought this game after playing the 4-race demo. To say that I'm amazed with this game is a drastic understatement! Apex takes your standard racing game and adds an entrepreneurial spirit to it by making you responsible for the design, building and success of a set of performance automobiles.
You start off by naming your company, choosing a logo and then selecting a vehicle from the blueprints of three automobiles to build. You then race this car through a set of amateur, semi-pro and professional races. Basically, the more races you win, the more sales for your car. As sales improve, your company grows, and you have the ability to build and race higher-performance vehicles. These higher vehicles must, again, progress through amateur, semi-pro and professional races until you build the ultimate vehicle; a dream machine.
If you're wondering why I haven't mentioned graphics yet, it's because I saved the best for last! Apex supports 480i high-definition TV. This means if you have the High Definition AV Pack and a HDTV, you're going to experience graphical detail like you've never seen before.
However, if I had to point out some things that "non-purists" may not enjoy about this game, I would say:
- When two cars hit, the computer almost always awards it to the AI car
- The all computer cars will work against you just so one AI car can win
- You ALWAYS start out in the last position, even if you're in a multi-segment race and won the previous one
While they are simply design choices made by the developers, I mention this to people who may be frustrated by games which step up the challenge a little too much for your standard "Arcade racer" gamer.
All-in-all, this game will make racing purists salivate while also providing a challenging and fun game for the person looking for a "jump-in-and-play" style racing game. Overall, the game gives many, many, many (trust me, I'm still playing) hours of gameplay based on the career mode and a fun two-player mode. What else could you want? I know, X-box Live. If they add that, I'll buy four copies! -But as it stands, this game is an amazing racer that every X-box owner should have in their collection. | video-games_xbox |
Excellent game despite locking up often. Having already dedicated countless hours to the Game of the Year XBox edition of Morrowind, I'll summarize the major PROS and CONS as follows:
PROS
* Graphics and sounds are more than adequate for the game, the graphics far surpassing the sound.
* The gameplay is open-ended. You can follow the various quests or go off and explore on your own. The quests are actually fun and often somewhat humorous in nature.
* The land is HUGE and the terrain varied and really interesting. You could spend hours and hours just exploring.
* The items, spells, and NPCs are all interesting and well thought-out with interesting results when interacting. For example, if you steal something from an NPC it will like you less.
* The game is solo, so if you don't like dealing with bad attitudes online in RPGs like Everquest, you'll love this game.
* You can save as much as you want, which certainly comes in handy if you need to backtrack because you did something wrong.
* Creating your own spells and enchanting your items is a very cool way to customize your gameplay.
* Game cheats are available, which can be helpful in some situations.
CONS:
* The game locks up ALOT! This can be VERY annoying and requires you to save every few minutes to ensure you don't lose your accomplishments. I've had the game lock up more than 5 times in a few hours of play.
* Leveling up can be very tedious and time-consuming. It's easier to level-up by simply repeating an action (such as jumping for acrobatics) than to expect level-up from regular gameplay. The rewards gained from leveling are also quite minimal, except in the very long run.
* You'll likely need to use the internet as a resource for finding certain places (and perhaps to understand how to solve a quest); otherwise, you may spend hours and hours running around just trying to find a small dungeon entrance because the locations aren't always described well and you must "discover" terriroty to see it on your map.
* The loading time can take about 60 seconds, so if you find yourself dying several times in a particular spot, you'll spend more time watching the load screen than playing.
* Casting spells is tedious. You need to switch to the spell screen, select spell, go back to game, cast...then repeat for each different spell. | video-games_xbox |
Good but not great. I'm a Rock Band freak - I have 2 Strat guitars, the drum set and "pro" cymbals, the keyboard with stand, and 3 USB microphones. I wanted this Telecaster-style guitar but it was always too expensive. When the price dropped I jumped at the chance and bought it. The first one I received would not sync with my Xbox (when you pressed the sync button on the guitar, the "X-light" wouldn't spin, just flash.) Fortunately, Amazon makes it easy to exchange (just fill out a simple on-line form, and they give you a post-paid sticker to send the package back). My replacement arrived in a week and works fine.
First off, I bought the Tele in "butterscotch" with the pretend wood grain finish. I like the simulated wood grain but the color is very butterscotch-y :) I would have liked it to be a little lighter like a normal natural wood color ("blonde" as they call it in guitar catalogs).
The fretboard is great - the action is buttery-smooth. The frets hinge on the left side of the neck so I think this guitar will only be good for right-handed players.
The strum bar is a bit of an issue. I don't mind the loud click (I usually crank my home theater system to "11" when I rock out) but the spring on the strum bar is very tight so it takes more effort to move it. You also have to push\pull the strum bar a further distance to get it to "click". On my Strats I've switched to using a real guitar pick (Dunlop Nylon .73mm) against the strum bar as it's easier for me to do the fast alternate picking that way. With the strum bar on the Tele it's too stiff to use the pick effectively. I may open up the guitar and see if I can adjust\replace the springs and\or move the magnetic switches in closer so that it activates easier.
The whammy bar is also very stiff and takes more effort to use it. On the plus side the whammy bar lever is tight and won't rotate down during a song like on my Strats (I'll go for a whammy and can't find the bar as it slipped down while I was playing).
The typical Start and Back buttons have been replaced by a knob and touch bar respectively. To activate the Start menu, you rotate a silver knob until it clicks (and you have to turn it fairly hard to get it to click). The back button is now a silver touch bar across the body of the guitar above the strum bar - looks kind of like a "lipstick-style" pickup if you know what that is. You just touch it with your finger to activate the overdrive power or bring up the filter menu when selecting songs to play. I'm not used to using the touch bar to activate overdrive but with a little practice it may end up being better than tilting the guitar upward to activate overdrive (this method still works on this Telecaster, by the way).
Bottom line is that while it's a cool-looking guitar and has some nice features (especially the frets), the strum bar is too stiff to play fast with. | video-games_xbox |
Fun, but it has its problems. First the bad. You'll probably run into some weird glitches while playing, such as your wrestler twists into a pretzel, or maybe he float walks. The ropes at times act a bit weird, and the Road To Wrestlemania is not exactly my cup of tea this year. It is filled with many tedious backstage brawls, and you often don't actually finish the match yourself. You see, you have to weaken your opponent enough to where the Y button appears over their head, and lights up. Then you get a cutscene which shows you how the match ends. It's pretty lame to be honest. A majority of your matches in Road To Wrestlemania are like this, apart from your created superstars' "Jacob Cass" story. Nice to see WCW implemented here. The blood also seems to be toned down. Boooo. Also, the servers seem to always "not be available", for community creations anyways. They've never seemed to work properly since I've owned the game in late December, and to the day I'm writing this review. The online matches seem to work fine though.
The good. The graphics are great. Probably the best of any SVR game to date. The gameplay is fun. Universe mode is back, and pretty sweet. It's great to see all the belts you can swap for the current ones. Switching Raw or Smackdown for WCW Nitro and implementing the "WCW" spray painted heavyweight championship is awesome. Makes me remember the old days. There are plenty of unlockables, and downloadable wrestlers are cheap at a mere 80 points. The new physics system is still here, and it's awesome. It's great to suplex a guy next to the steel steps and have him actually hit the steps, as opposed to magically missing them. There's a new body limb targeting system in which you hold RB and the opponents body shows up, along with the damage level of yellow to red we're all so familiar with, and it allows you to target a specific area of the body. It might seem like I listed more negatives than positives, but this game is load of fun, and I do recommend it. | video-games_xbox |
Shouldn't things be better by now. First of all, I want to say that this is just "MY" perspective. Don't read this and get your feelings hurt.
I have been a fan of this series since Halo. It's what prompted me to buy my first Xbox. So without further adieu let's get this started in bullet point format.
Con:
*Weapons are weak, Armor is weak, etc
Elaboration: 343 Like Bungie studios seem to have an erection for "balance". But, like the hypocrites they are, that balance goes out the window on Legendary Solo campaign where the enimes can repeatedly "Show you who's boss" with their "OP'ed" weapons.
If easy and normal, and heroic are going to be a breeze, no matter what, Legendary, should be the starting ground for the weapon builds. Not the other way around.
Rather than focus on making an awesome game truly based on skill, IE aiming ability, it's all more a test of patience you have as a gamer. *duck behind a wall and pray your slow tech shields charge back up fast enough. Pop out, shoot with your weapons that do nothing, die, curse, start again, die.. pop out and shoot.. finally manage to kill one of the eight enemies, who are all elites with super shields. Yay! rinses wash and repeatedly get owned by the AI with god aim and abilities.
For a game where they can build a mile long space ship out in the coldest reaches of space, yet they can't improve basic firearms, or your armor? shouldn't all that metal actually do something!?
*You know that "Cake is a lie" thing? your constantly shown the spartans are awesome in videos, but in actual gameplay you play a big ol weak character.
-Shields go down at the drop of a pin
-Your killed cheaply and repeatedly
-auto aim you cannot disable.. (this has been a complaint since its existed) so an enemy goes running in front of you while your trying to shoot another enemy, it freaking pulls your aim off! Every dang time!
*The studio thought it would be a good idea that on the station if you throw a grenade and it accidentally kills a scientist, that it kills you automatically.. even though, well you know what happens if you've played the game.
*The Armor abilities are lacking
-Jet pack for instance... its like a broken pair of wings your handed, it was bad in Halo Reach, but they made it worse in this game.
*Weapons are forced onto you, like a weapon in game, want to use it constantly? Well 343 says screw you! you don't get to keep the gun you like, your gonna use the guns we want you to whether you like it or not. This should have changed by now. Its a garbage set up.
*343 Keeps referring to their game as a sandbox, I think that's limiting in scope. Not something really negative gameplay wise or story.. it's just a bad mentality to have for your game.
*Enemy is just ungodly. I Already touched on this, but its crazy in legendary.
*You have to complete dorky challenges/level requirements to get new looking armor in Halo4. They had it right in Halo Reach. You fight, you earn credits, you buy your armor. The thing about it was! That the amount of credits you had to earn for the armors, was ridiculously high!
They had it right with more armors for customization. The thing that 343 ultimately forgot about.. is multiplayer is about multiplaying.. not freaking buying armors. So another words.. if you play a decent amount of time.. you should be able to earn all the armors. Then from their, you can get your online look that you want.. and focus on gaming and having fun. I made it up to a pretty high rank from just playing a lot.. but I still could never manage to get all the armors. The amount of credits you earned, or the cost, either way you want to look at it, was ridiculously low/high in Reach. Anyways, the armors in freaking Halo 4 are even harder to get. (don't comment to me if your some god of Halo4. I don't care if you managed to get all the armors, I really don't.. ) Its very frustrating.
*In multiplayer, your forced to wear red or blue.. That's so freaking ridiculous! IT should be all about way points over the characters heads so you got your own look. But your forced into that.
Now the pro's!
+Pelican flight was done extremely well, I never felt like I was fighting to get the gameplay I wanted.
So they did an awesome awesome job here!
+Great great! sounding game. From the guns, to the warthog, and everything in between, the audio was top notch.
(I played with a headset on)
+Beautiful game, graphically.. everything is just so shiny and pretty. A lot of love is their.
+Customizable armors, if you can get them, they have a ton and its wonderful. You can really get a personalized spartan image.
+Gameplay is very well done in multiplayer. I feel that the weapons, even though weak, hit more when their supposed to, a lot more consistency. SO maybe they've improved their "net code" or whatever.
The game really hasn't grown with story material or characters.. you don't learn much about Master chief or anything. I was really left with the same feeling when I beat this game, as I was when I played Halo 2 and finished it. That shallow feeling, like they were holding a lot back, and saving it for the next game.
Anyways, if your a fan of the series, go ahead and buy it. It's dropped in price. I would suggest just get the regular version though. I regretted buying the LE edition.
I probably will not be buying the next Halo 5 game. Mainly because the improvements in the game, that should be, are not their. The matureness that should be, is not their. Plus, the story.. it just doesn't make any sense, dealing with a certain plot point.
Mass Effect 3, is a different kind of game, but the story.. is freaking well done, right up until the 3rd game.. They just screw it all to heck at that point. But the Halo series, doesn't even have that kind of story.. it needs so much work, or more from the books needs to be put into the games.. to get that correct "feel"..
Overall the series has been a good ride, but their were problems with the first game, issues that needed to be improved. And well, its been a hit and mix bag over all.. and they still continue on into Halo4. | video-games_xbox |
so far so good. I just got this yesterday and so far it's a lot of fun. I have always been a PC gamer and was missing out on some of the fun wacky platformer games (other than Rayman, which this game reminds me of a bit) that you find on Playstation or Wii so I picked up a PSP to augment my gaming, and this is exactly the sort of game I was hoping to find. So far I have only been through two different environments but both were artistically gorgeous and very creatively put together. There's also a lot of wacky humour in this game (so far), cute/clever voices for the enemy characters, and bizarre but fun cut-scenes done in different styles of traditional and not-so-traditional animation.
As for game play, I don't have a lot to compare it to other than the first Crash and Crash 2 that I played years ago on a friend's playstation (and Rayman 2,3 on the PC), but I can say I'm having fun with the game play - it's not too difficult for an old dude like me. ;) Spinning is accomplished by rotating the analog stick 360 degrees, and that movement just really makes spinning that much more fun. Jumping and climbing and hanging off of ledges works pretty well too - Crash clings to cliffs really well so it's pretty hard to fall off and get "killed". That should make it good for younger kids. You can also pause the game and save whenever you want, so you don't end up repeating things you've already accomplished if you bite it. The variety of movements is interesting, and jacking mutants adds new abilities (so far I have one mutant that can freeze water and really smash things - awesome!). The lighting effects are great too, especially when you are smashing things. At one point there are these huge dead dandelions you have to destroy and I've never seen so much destruction look so pretty. The water effects are not the greatest, but they are certainly passable. Roaming around freely is also great, but of course there are points when there is more of a guided path you have to follow. There's a digging feature that's pretty novel; at points in the game Crash can go underground and dig his way under rivers or hazards to other areas of the game world, and the view switches to a top view x-ray sort of thing that sort of shows you where you are underground.
Anyway, those are my first impressions. When I first heard about this game about a week ago I really had to go out of my way to find it, and I haven't seen any other reviews of it on any of the game review sites yet, so I was beginning to wonder if it even got released. I am really happy with this game so far, and my girlfriend is already coveting it (oddly it's a bit like one of her favourites - Tomb Raider, except with a wacky animated bandicoot and crazy villains). So far it's a fun and great looking little platformer for the PSP. Oh, I should mention, it doesn't have any multiplayer options on the PSP - I read somewhere that some of the versions have multiplayer action, or they allow you to play Coco, or something like that. This game may still allow you to play Coco, she is in the game, but I haven't gotten that far yet...
4.5 Stars! | video-games_xbox |
Great Shooting Game: Not Max Payne Bop Off. Dead to Rights is about a cop named Jack Slate that is in somewhat similiar situation as Max Payne (except he has a dog).
The gameplay is different from Max Payne and the game overall has alot of pluses and minuses.
PLUS: The disarms are great, it can always get you out of a tough situation, also the dog attack is an automatic killer you also get their weapon. The bullet time is done nicely (nothing to add more than its bullet time). The different choice of arsenals are great. The AI are also very intelligent and has great AIM which makes this game a bit challenging at times.
MINUS: Some graphics and cutscenes are just flat out horrible. Like the cars, and the cutscenes when they talk and their mouth doesnt move(Mind speaking?). Camera: you constantly have to find yourself switching to the default cameral because you are getting killed because you went around the corner... Stupid Submissions: some of the submissions are okay, like picking a lock and disarming the bomb, but the weight lifting and the punching bags and those type just test how long can your thumb last without getting tired or hurt.
Storyline: very similiar to Max Payne. A framed cop going after corrupted people with alot of power in their hand who hires people to kill you, and you find a mysterious girl who helps you named Eve but never gets to completely to know her (reminds you of Mona Sax???) and how you look for revenge.
Overall: Overall, i thought this game was great with some errors that could be ignored and overcame. It just takes alot of patience because some missions in this game just seem impossible until you find out your suppose to leave instead of keep fighting (OOOOOO!!!!) but the difficulty of the game is very high with very intelligent AI.
Gameplay: 8.5
Graphics: 7.5
Storyline: 8.5
Sound: 8.0
Replay Value: 8.5 *if you want to see the amazing disarming moves.
OveralL: 8.2 | video-games_xbox |
A worthy follow-up to the original. I played the original Dead Space a bit late (end of 2012) having never purchased an Xbox 360 or PS3, but finally played it after stumbling onto the AMAZING soundtrack album on iTunes. After that, I was completely hooked on the series and its incredibly horrifying universe.
After beating the game on every difficulty and maxing everything out, I was starving for more so I bought Dead Space 2 early this year for Xbox 360. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the purchase.
First of all, the game has one of the most intense first levels of any game on any console EVER. Forget floaties in the pool, they throw you in the river naked. The game easily beats the first Dead Space in its hectic pacing and gameplay, but somehow the horror aspect feels just a little more... distant (thus the 4-star rating). Don't get me wrong, I love this game and have already beaten it three times and maxed out most of my weapons, it's just that I'm a big fan of survival horror and the first game did it the best. I also loved the fact that the levels were more established in the first (I.E. after completing a mission, you return to the tram station every time), it just gave the game more sense of direction I felt. This game creeped me out quite a bit throughout but didn't really have its shining moment until you (SPOILER!!) return to the Ishimura halfway into the game. That part was genuinely scary with minimal lighting, looming necromorphs and haunting ambiences throughout.
As far as difficulty goes, I don't know why I'm reading negative reviews on here about how hard it is. If it was a simple game, you'd log like three hours and be done with it first night. The idea is that you are supposed to survive, not thrive in the game. You are supposed to barely get by in each level. That's why they throw you into the first level with not only no weapons, but no way to even throw a punch! Which I thought was Freaking genius.
Personally, I'd say this is a very solid game for any fan of sci-fi horror and is definitely comparable to James Cameron's follow-up to Alien (1979) in that they kept the horror, but turned up the action/adventure a bit more this time around. Give this one a go, if you're not too scared! | video-games_xbox |
EA finally looks to get this franchise right. For me, my love/hate issue with Madden has been that it has never produced a game up the the quality presentation of the 2K5 game. I have always complained bitterly that they bought the NFL and ESPN licences and never used them properly. If yo don't believe me, then check my past Madden reviews. After almost 5 iterations on the 360, EA finally sees the light and has produced a good quality game.
Control - You play one Madden, you have played them all nothing new here.
Graphics - Stadiums are rendered nicely as always with great lighting...a little more attention has been paid to the helmet reflections, however most of the faces on the players look busted as always.
Sound - a big improvement on the overall crowd sound as now you can hear individual voices call out during the game....something 2K series has done for years. On the other hand the commentary from Hammond and Collinsworth still sounds (and uses lines) from last year with some of the phrases that repeats (especially the one about the WRs catching the balls in pitch black) but again, I will take this over ESPN radio any day!
Presentation- Kind of a mixed bag but I am liking it more than I hate it. While EA finally gave you a feel like you are watching the game with all of the nice cutaways to the crowd and facts...a few things still needed to be fixed in order for this to be the complete game that 2K5 is.
- Halftime show improvements - Ok ok...yeah we finally got one but how about doing a Chris Berman-esque voice over as the best plays are being replayed...worse yet how about all of the highlights are out of order?
- The pregame show - Thank you for putting it in!!! But guess what EA!! Another 2K5 steal that you dropped the ball on! When showing highlights from other games...SHOW.HIGHLIGHTS.FROM.OTHER.GAMES. if a 6 year old game can show you 1 or 2 plays from another game or even from my own, then you guys should be able to do it too! Also get rid of Alex...I am sure there are more people male or female that can act as if they are in the game better than her!
- I do like the fact that the AI is more active in signing players and making sensible signings, nothing like going thru a whole season and seeing the free agency just be static.
- Ahhh yeah!! before I forget, the tackling animations look a lot more realistic and so far I have seen 4 5 and 6 man tackles. Slightly glitchy in a few spots but otherwise it's a step forward.
- Franchise mode has improved with team actually signing some players that were needed instead of going a whole season with many free agents just sitting static on the FA wire. Also you can't really rob the AI out of trades and draft picks as in earlier versions
Some of the little things that I have seen that makes the game a little more worthwhile:
- the chain gang
- refs getting run over
- refs meeting and confirming the TD
- players being carted off after an injury
- so far 3 different crowd screens
- coaches arguing with refs about penalties
- players clowning around on the sidelines.
- better crowd reaction to plays
** Added **
Gameplay
- To ME...gameplay hasn't changed all that much as far as AI and skill, you are either good at this game or you suck...just my opinion
- There are more varied player animations this time around and thankfully so far not a lot of repeat animations although as perviously mentioned you may get a really funky animation glitch but not so bad as to crash the game
- Accuracy of the stats... it depends on how YOU play the game and the time that you set it for.
- Is there a lot of gang tackling? NO...every tackle is NOT a gamg tackle but you do tend to see more defenders play towards whomever has the ball. It does look more realistic.
- Fight for the Fumble...i have only had it occur exactly 2 times...cheap...and arcadey and I believe actually, you can turn it off.
- In game ticker: Nothing makes you play a little harder than seeing how well other teams are doing throughout the course of your game...it's till not here EA...fix this!!!
So, really this isn't the year to be skeptical. It's improved a lot over the last 2 iterations but still has a few more steps now to go before it completely makes me forget about 2K5.
And actually, when all is said and done, it's really sad when you still can compare a new football game with a game that is 6 years old and last gen.
On a larger scale of 1 to 10 I would give this an 8.
Addenum: Buying cheats? EA...bad move...
Will I have to buy Michael Vick too? | video-games_xbox |
Wild West fans should add this to their library now. Red Dead Revolver is an arcade style shooter set in the Wild West. The music, story, characters, and settings all feel like they were ripped straight from a classic spaghetti western, and that's a good thing, since that's what the developers were going for. The story is about Red. As a boy, Red's parents were murdered, on the day his father found a massive vein of gold. To mark the occasion, The man and his partner had two guns specially made, one of which was promised to Red when he was ready for it. Years later, Red grows up to be a bounty hunter, and gets caught up in a mission to kill the man behind his family's murder, and claim what is rightfully his. While most of the game is played as Red, at times the game deviates to let you play as other characters, each with their own Deadeye power. More on that later.
As stated before, the game is an arcade shooter, and it's a lot of fun. There are three types of weapons the player can use. Pistols, rifles/shotguns, and thrown weapons such as knives and dynamite. You can pick up guns from dead enemies, which is good if you run out of ammo in a sticky situation. Once you acquire a gun and carry it to the end of the mission, you will be able to select it before most missions, but you'll usually have to repair it between levels. All the while, you earn money. Money is used to buy things such as new weapons, characters for showdown mode and journal entries (more on the latter two later).
Deadeye is something you'll be using a lot of, each character has their own power. For example, Red can slow down time, and target specific spots on an enemy's body. This is really helpful, but deadeye should not be wasted because you need to fill your Deadeye meter. You can also mount horses and use Gatling guns in some levels. Red will also have to duel several characters, sometimes multiple at a time. If Red draws his gun faster than his opponent, he will have more time to target areas on the enemies body and fire.
If I had any complaints about the game, they would be that at times the game can be downright frustrating. The perfect example is the level where you take control of General Diego, one of the game's villains. That level is tough, and short, meaning there are no checkpoints. So if you get to the last bit of the level, but screw up and let your allies die that you were supposed to protect? Well guess what you gotta do. You gotta start the whole level over again. It's a short level but I am never able to finish it in one try. It always takes the longest for me and I usually have to walk away from it for a while before I manage to beat it. And when I do, it's by the skin of my teeth.
When you finish the story you unlock bounty hunter mode. This mode takes twenty levels from the game and gives a specific objective that must be completed, such as shoot all enemies in the head, or finish the final level in less than one minute. These can get VERY hard, but the rewards are sweet. You get new characters and even cheats. And the cheats can be SUPER helpful in some of these missions so I'd say get the last seven levels done first.
Overall, if you are a wild west fan, or a fan of Arcade Shooters, this is your game. It is fun but at times you'll find yourself tossing your controller and cursing. If you can handle that, this is a great game for a great price. | video-games_xbox |
A broken camera ruined one of my favorite series. Resident Evil has been one of my favorite series, ever since the debut on the PlayStation, way back in 1996. I have eagerly awaited each (main) entry in the series, and I felt that each new title was an improvement over the previous one. #1 was shocking in its novelty, #2 (battling a giant croc in the sewers, among other things) was an absolute blast, and #3 (constantly fleeing from Nemesis) was thrilling. #4 was a quantum leap for Resident Evil, and it was exciting to see how vastly improved everything had become- the pacing, the controls, the camera, the combat, even small things, like the inventory system. Although #5 had its critics, I feel that it's the best in the series, taking all the improvements of #4, and improving upon them with HD graphics, and a stunning attention to detail.
But as for #6... I have no idea what happened, and this is, unfortunately, my least favorite of the series. This is not a good Resident Evil game... in fact, it's not a good game, by any standard. The most glaring sin here is a bizarre camera that ultimately makes the game unplayable for me. For some strange reason, Capcom chose to ignore the conventions of standard TPS camera rules. Instead of placing the camera at a reasonable distance behind your character's shoulder, it's jammed right up against them. This results in jerky, choppy motions when you turn from side to side, and for the first time in my life, I experienced motion sickness while playing a game. Another disadvantage of this approach is that it makes the graphics look far worse than #5, since the camera is constantly jammed up against every texture, leaving no room to cover the blemishes (the still photos look nothing like this game's poor performance in motion). Furthermore, you can't even see around you... your visibility is so severely limited, it's the final straw in making this game unplayable for me.
I had been eagerly anticipating this game since its announcement, but I can't even continue playing it. I am beyond disappointed. Capcom, please go back to the approach used in #4 and #5, and please consider releasing a patch that would enable a traditional third person camera in this game. I don't know if such a patch is possible, but it could very well save this game. I know there's a good game in here, somewhere... now you just need to make it playable for us! | video-games_xbox |
The End of the World...Again. In the original Darksiders game, players took the reigns of War, one of the horsemen of the apocalypse, as he went in to battle against angels, demons and more in an effort to clear his name from making all hell break loose. This time around, you are another of the horseman, this time the masked rider, Death. The story is still about clearing War's name, but it goes down a very different path. Does the sequel ride high, or is it the same old song and dance?
Story: The story for Darksiders II follows Death as he tries to come to the aide of his brother in arms, War. This takes Death to some new territory with some familiar faces along the way. As where War was very serious and intense throughout his journey, Death has no problem cracking a joke here and there and being a sarcastic terror to those in his way. I was a bit worried when I heard that the story would run concurrently with the original Darksiders story, but the experience is one all it's own.
Design/Art: The character design for the game shines throughout the story, as Vigil Games has a knack for that sort of thing. For those that don't know, Vigil Games was created by famed comic book artist Joe Madureira, who is best known for his work at Marvel Comics, as well as his creator owned series, Battle Chasers. His larger than life artistic style comes through magnificently, as it gives the game a look that stands above all games on the shelf today.
Gameplay: The gameplay is what has the biggest changes to it, and they are all for the better. Darksiders II goes from being a regular hack and slash action game to having many RPG elements added to it. Fans of World of Warcraft and Skyrim will no doubt see some nods to the genre in this sequel, like equipping and selling items, leveling up, changing and upgrading armors, choosing what to ask people and so on. It feels like a natural next step, and I can't see anyone being upset with this welcome addition.
Sound: The soundscape in this game simply sounds epic. With a Lord of the Rings type feel to it, the musical backdrop is perfect for this dark and vibrant world. The voice acting is superb, as can be expected from what we heard in the first game. Overall, we get a game that excels on the sound aspect on every level.
Overall: When looking back at this game, it is hard to find anything to fault, but there is one part that I am sure all will be a bit let down on: the load times. This is something we didn't see much of in the first game, and it is a huge detractor to the fluidity of the game. Other than that, I feel Darksiders II met and exceeded any expectations set by its predecessor. This is an action/adventure/RPG that can be seen as a dark, twisted Legend of Zelda, and that's a great thing to be. Let's hope a part three is already in the works. | video-games_xbox |
awsome game would recomend it to anyone. I just finished the full walkthrough for Halo 2, as well as played a number of multiplayer games. I'm finally ready with the review of this awesome game!
First off, this is obviously the sequel to the hugely popular initial Halo game. You are Master Chief, a space marine who is sent out to battle the enemies. You are fighting the Covenant, who are your main foes, but you also run into the Flood, who are a space parasite that wants to eat all life. In addition, there are mechanical creatures on Halo who want to kill pretty much anything including the Flood. So each location and creature type has its own look, feel, attitudes and reactions.
The graphics are simply gorgeous, from the rippling water to the clouds in the sky and reflections off of surfaces. I love taking screenshots of this game. The music is also extremely well done, in that the quality is always very high. But it's a little bizarre to be going from new age lilting softness in one heated battle to high intensity rock music in another and so on. It doesn't necessary track to the location you're in, either. It's just whatever the designers felt like putting in.
The gameplay and plot is where this game really shines. Your characters that interact with you are simply BRILLIANT in how they each do what a real live creature would do. Grunts are my favorite - these little Covenant front-liners are brave and talkative when they're in groups, but when you whittle them down they suddenly turn and flee, shrieking at the top of their lungs. Your teammates leap into vehicles with you, either driving or shooting depending on your preference. They'll come alongside you to give you support, and duck for cover when appropriate.
The quips the characters come out with mid-battle still make me laugh out loud. In one sequence you are the covenant Arbitor and are working your way through a room. You come across a pair of grunts and a jackal under attack, and take out the enemies. The grunt comes running to you in glee, shouting, "Arbitor! My savior!" Then he pauses and adds, "Jackal, say thank you to the Arbitor!" :)
The cut scenes are equally as brilliant and are truly movie quality in the interactions. The timing, dialogue, everything is great. The little touches are everywhere. In one sequence, the Sergeant is preparing his troops to get ejected in pods down to the surface of Halo. He walks past the Master Chief's pod and thumps twice on it, as if to say "All OK in there, ready to go?" Right on beat, you see Master Chief inside his pod, thumping once back in response. You really forget that these are just computer generated characters.
Multiplayer is the stellar addition to this release and there are reasons to be thrilled. You can play on a large variety of maps, in a number of styles, and there is even going to be downloadable content in the future.
That all being said, there are of course a few non-stellar aspects to this release. First, the ending SUCKS. The first one was bad enough with its "Oh I bet there is another Halo out there" so you don't even feel like you really saved the world. In this one, not only is it not a "you're done but it's not over" ending - it's pretty much cut off mid-battle! That is INCREDIBLY frustrating for a gameplayer. Obviously they want you to buy Halo 3, but that's going to be a year or two away. Can't we have some satisfaction in the meantime?
Next, the game is really short, even on normal mode. We had a friend start the game up Sunday morning at about 12:30 and he was done with the entire game by around 8. You can have fun replaying it on the harder levels, but that's a rather quick game. | video-games_xbox |
Renamed to:SPLINTER ONLINE'with a small bonus solo campaign. Splinter Cell is my favorite game series,and Chaos Theory is awesome .But Im a little ticked off that Splinter Cell has been turned into more of a dumbed down (easier)stealth game so novice gamers can beat it. IF YA WANT A shooter PLAY HALO2 ,DOOM3 Both excellent games. BUT DONT TAKE AWAY MY SPLINTER STEALTH! The whole design and idea of splinter cell was STEALTH ,now its turning into another shooter. Dont get me wrong I love First & Third Person Shooters. But Splinter WAS all about Stealth .I KNOW THAT YOU CAN PLAY CHAOS COMEPLETYLY IN STEALTH AND I KNOW THERE ARE STILL ALARMS .BUT I THINK ITS AN EASIER STEALTH GAME NOW SO MORE PEOPLE CAN PLAY THIS GAME.I think it was more of a callenge when it was Three alarms set and its game over .That was good. That was a challenge. That was STEALTH! NOW SPLINTER IS EDGING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO AN easier SHOOTER version. UGH! I know you can still play Chaos Theory completly in STEALTH if you choose. And you can play without so much as killing any enemies except for the mission targets. But there's not as many obstacles now to complete this game in stealth. Dont get me wrong I don't mind that they have added an assault choice I realy like it ,but I don't think they shouldve made the stealth part easier as they have in CHAOS THEORY.Im not a NAYSAYER I SUPPORT THIS GAME I THINK ITS THE BEST CONSOLE GAME PERIOD ,DID YA NOTICE I GAVE IT 5 STARS? ..BUT WHAT DRAW ME TO SPLINTER WAS THE SOLO STEALTH AVENTURE MODE ,NOW THERE IS MORE OF AN EMPHASIS ON 'ONLINE ONLY' AND THEYVE LEFT THE SOLO MODE TOO SHORT. Its like they threw in the solo mode as a bonus instead of it being the main part of the game. Now its been reversed ,the main part is ONLINE now and the solo mode is secondary. Also now you don't have the xtra zoom on the silenced rifle ,only the standard 1.5zoom .ONLY THE LOUD ASSAULT version choice has the sniper/rifle XTRA ZOOM capability WHY? WHY? WHY? The old silenced gun had an xtra 3.0 zoom .It was perfect ,and more accurate, for SILENT Sniper Head shots. Now if I want the xtra zoom I have too choose the LOUD ASSAULT version ,which is useless for stealth its LOUD!The third splinter cell is dumbed down(made easier) so more gamers could play because the STEALTH versions was too hard ,or too boring. You know its true !I just wish instead of putting more of there effort into the ONLINE portion of this game ,which is excellent from what I hear but I don't have online yet,so all get is a short solo campaign. DID I SAY I LOVE THE STEALTH aspect of splinter. I loved the adventure aspect of exploring new areas and new levels to see the rich graphics .But with online doesnt it get old? seeing the same areas over and over ?? doing the same tasks? I know the ONLINE Splinter is very kool ,and it will probably take some HALO2'S online status away. But what if they made a 30-100 levels of solo play. Imagine seeing new countries and new levels .That would be awesome a 30 -100 level solo SPLINTER CELL.With all different locales. The camera is a little different. Its a little better ,and a little worse. Now the camera floats out a little before it settles. AND on the ship LEVEL it actually was jumping on its own it was (fluttering)moving back and forth(the camera) ,especialy in the corridors of the ship. THIS is something the other SPLINTER CELL's NEVER DID! Also theres only two zooms on the (no weapon eqipped)Binocular type view ,I liked the old zoom of the second game it had a smooth zoom .NOW you only get two clicks ,instead of the OLD fluid d-pad zoom in. It was a good feature to scope out the enemies patterns. But now your limited to only two zoom clicks. OK now onto my PROS:once again EXCELLENT graphics..improved stealth A.I.,,,Nice level design.... Probably the best game on xbox...I LOVE THE FACT THAT THERE IS AN EXPERT SETTING NOW !THANK YOU ! THANK YOU!and the enemies searches for you much better than the first two games. They even use flares now ,very very kool...also you can save whenever you want ,no more waiting for checkpoints....I personaly felt the first 2 splinters where too easy even on the hard settings. I used to play them without even killing one guard or setting off even 1 alarm ,yeah its possible you whimps!.Its easy to just shoot somebody in the head ,the hard part is taking them all out by knocking them out in STEALTH, the other two SPLINTER'S actually had more levels where you were required(not a choice), to do just that,no kills,no alarms,to me thats a challenge thats the essence of sam fisher. THATS SPLINTER CELL. But as the saying goes the sqeeky wheel gets the grease .All you babies out there who couldn't handle the stealth 3 alarm ,or whatever ,got your wish .Splinter is now an improved action/online game .But Weaker in its original INTENT stealth version. MAYBE now you can beat the game. Maybe the next splinter cell game you guys will get your way again and even more stealth will be dumbed down (made easier)for the people who cant handle it. I like the fact that there is an assault choice,but couldn't you ALSO add more levels?? Instead more was put into the online and the assault portion,it kinda defeats the whole entire purpose of this game which is a stealth/action title. or is it? Introducing New Splinter Cell stealth lite for those on a diet. | video-games_xbox |
not for you if you connect to the internet through a proxy. Hands down the worst experience I ever had with a video game.
I am delighted, 'effin delighted to see that nearly a year after its release and after about 200 reviews, this video game has only a 2-star rating on Amazon. Oyez, oyez, oyez, all you programmers, voice actors, testers, customer support reps, writers, and investors: you deserve this. You deserve to lose your investment. You deserve to be thrown out of work. Oh, richly do you deserve this state. (Nor would I hate at lower rate.)
See, I couldn't get this game to start. The game evidently installed okay, but for the longest time I couldn't get past the splash screen. This went on for nearly THREE MONTHS, kiddies, with all sorts of back and forth between me and the company before I (helpless, doddering I) finally tumbled to what was going on. This, for example, is from EA's missive in which their technical support representatives finally throw up their hands in despair:
"Greetings, Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts. Sorry for the delay. I was out of the office and it slipped my mind to assign the case to another agent. As for the next step I am not entirely sure what the cause is, so it is hard to determine a solution."
Wanna know what the problem was? Simply this: this video game needs to connect to the manufacturer's central server to activate. So far, so good. But, incredibly, THIS VIDEO GAME IS INCAPABLE OF DETECTING OR BEING CONFIGURED FOR A PROXY SERVER. Simple as that. Even after several patches. So if you connect to the Internet through a proxy, as many people, say in businesses and apartment complexes are forced to do, you simply can't play it, and the bumbling reps at EA's technical support will never be able to figure out why, even if given months.
In the end, I did get it to work, owing to my piecing together others' postings on the Internet and learning how to bypass my proxy. But I barely remember the game itself: my lasting memory of it is staring helplessly at that infernal splash screen while the game says "The game can not start. The game needs access to the internet in order to verify ownership of this game. Please ensure that your computer is online and try again." | video-games_xbox |
Shafted Again. Before I berate this game, let me first say that I really like football. I want to play a simulation football game, not an arcade game.
Let's use some metaphors.
EA is getting blown out. The score is 28-0. Their starting QB got injured (actually, broken neck, he died. yep, sorry.) and because they don't think ahead, they have NO backup QB, so a 300lb DT is playing QB for some reason. He obviously doesn't know the offensive playbook. The team is then demolished, losing 98-0. They were sacked 13 times, fumbled twice and threw 8 interceptions. The fabulous EA team finished up with 38 total yards, and half of their team severely injured.
Now, on to the game. If you've played Madden 13, then it's the same old stupid mistakes but in a new box:
-Defensive AI is awful. Superbly, horribly awful. They always get caught out of position.
-Receivers AI is awful. When a ball is thrown to them, they never try to fight for it. They let the defense cut their routes, or worse yet, you'll see them just stand there and the DBs are standing directly in front of them the entire time, then get a pick.
-Wind direction is still backwards. No big deal, it doesn't change the game really. But, when this is constantly missed, it doesn't reflect well on this crap company.
-Simulated game stats are, again, horrendous. When you're playing a career, at the end of the season you'll see the top QBs (Brady, Manning, Rodgers) with 28 TDs and 25 Ints.
-The "Precision Modifier" is a stupid gimmick and just gives more power to an already overpowered offense.
-EA completely overdid the usage of the zone read. It completely breaks the game. Seriously. If you want any hope of balance, you cannot run the read option plays. You'll average 10-15 yards with them. Also on the option offense, teams that would never, ever, ever run them, still use them. I had Peyton Manning using the option offense against me. Good job, EA. "If you see it on Sunday, it's in the game." Well, I know I constantly see Peyton Manning breaking out huge 45 yard runs, smoking cornerbacks and trucking linebackers.
-You NEED to use sliders if you want to get away from the arcade game play. Out of the box, on any difficulty setting, you and the CPU can throw for 80%+ easily.
-The run blocking is too strong. With the right sliders, you can get it to where 100 rushing yards in a game is hard, but it hurts other aspects of the game.
-They recently released Patch #2. It didn't fix game play at all.
There's plenty more negatives with this game.
The positives?...
+Simplistic. Easy to pick up and play.
EA has been voted Worst Company in America twice in a row. Gee, I wonder why. | video-games_xbox |
A great continuation of Johns story. As far as Halo stories go that deal with the Master Chief, this is the best. It shows a more emotional component to the series in addition to the already decent sci-fi story. I should divulge now that I think the pinnacle of the Halo games story telling was reached with Halo: Reach so if my review of this game seems lackluster in regards to the story, you are forewarned.
The game picks up right where part three left off, on the ship where Master Chief last went to sleep. A few years have passed since these events and things are not looking to good for the dynamic duo of Cortana and John. As usual, John is putting boot to ass to achieve the mission goals and this time, he has set his own priorities. His number one priority right now is to get Cortana back to her creator for repairs as it seems she is dying. Along the way he discovers those wacky Covenant forces doing more silly shit, this time uncovering the origins of an ancient civilization that is determined to rule the universe, and trying to utiliza the power for themselves. The visuals are a little more polished from the halo: Rech time and the game runs a lot more smoothly. The best thing about this game aside from the story is all the added things that come along with it. Right now there is a guaranteed 10 week online component to the side story of the Spartans that further continue the story. That is 5 extra missions per week that are not simply multiplayer but addition to the story. There is a movie or a five part web episoded series that shows the beginning relationship and explanation of Captain Lasky and the Master Chief. If you watch it in it's movie form I guarantee you that it stands up easily to any big budget hollywood sci-fi movie. There is of course the always spectacular multiplayer and ever present DLC. This game basically picks up and runs with the ground work laid with Hal: Reach and makes an already exemplary series even better. If you buy it, get the limited edition as it comes with some very cool extras and a beautiful game case. | video-games_xbox |
Soup and salad before the meal. KOF XII. Having owned and played every iteration of this SNK series, it's with a bit of hurt that I have to say that KOF XII Isn't perfect by a long shot. As an arcade fighter, it's fine. As a console release, it's a bit lacking in extras, which is what everyone perceives as value nowadays. This is the arcade game with a couple extra fighters, and online play which we'll get to shortly.
There are no bosses, only 6 (really 5) stages, and no other extra modes like in other fighters such as BlazBlue or SFIV. That may make a difference to you, it might not.
There are 22 characters, which is a nice amount, but since KOF has so many favorites, there's sure to be a few that may be missing on your list. Mai and K, Yuri, King, Blue Mary, etc. are nowhere to be found. Also, the characters that are there have lost some of their signature moves...no Power Dunk or Buster Wolf for you. Character sprites are slightly jaggy, but they still look great, and they are animated very well. The backgrounds are gorgeous but, there are as mentioned, only a handful of them. Athena looks very out of place in her school girl anime look compared to everyone else.
Online play is debate-able. There is lag in both PS3 and 360 versions, pointing to some faulty netcode perhaps. A patch is coming that hopefully will address this. If it does, then consider the online point moot.
Gameplay is very good, and great when playing against people live. Hope you have friends because unlike the usual difficulty of SNK fighters, this AI is rather...stupid. It's odd, really.
All in all, I like KOF XII, I like the graphics and game itself. I just wish there was more. Give us Mai, King, Yuri, and and K back, give us more stages, and more moves for the characters. Give us online play that isn't laggy. I think we'll get that in KOF XIII, but while good, KOF XII is sort of an appetizer for what's to come. The real meal is visible, but this is just soup and salad to tide us over until KOF returns to the glory days. | video-games_xbox |
Not a necessity, rather a "cool" add-on. Remember the good old days of the past generations of video games? I can't say there is anything better than racing your friends on SSX, going deathmatch style on Goldeneye 64 and Super Smash Brothers, or making your buddy a "HOR" in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. The biggest worry that anyone had was a scratched disc. Then came the 7th Generation....
And suddenly gamers found themselves with problems they had never thought about. Due to problems with overheating, backwards compatability issues, and overall system failure, gamers found themselves going through multiple systems, trying to find a winner. Of all the problems out there, 3rd party developers decided to try and fix overheating.
After playing my PS3 for a few weeks, I was a little concerned when I got my Xbox 360. It was far louder, and ran much hotter than the PS3. But truth be told, if you have an Xbox 360 made after 2005 ended, you probably aren't going to have any problems with overheating.
This little add-on by Intec is worth the money for other reasons though. It provides a good support base if you want to set up your system vertically, and the green LED lights are a very nice touch. Don't be tempted by the Nyko or Pelican intercoolers. They plug into the back of the 360 and draw their power from that. Since it is taking power from the console, major hardware problems can occur, possibly even complete system failure. Just read the reviews of those units for proof.
As far as cooling goes, it really does the job well. Before I got this, my system would become noticably hot after a few hours of Gears Of War. With this, it now just runs warm. THe air that blows out of this thing is actually cold! It's especially good for keeping the system cool during long download sessions (I spent about 5 hours downloading the Crackdown demo yesterday, and it was cool to the touch when it finished).
There are a few cons to the product though. The fake chrome plating on the front is pretty cheesy, and it can get pretty loud. Aside from those two things, I can't think of anything truely bad to say about it. For $30 you get a verticle stand, a great way to show off the console, and if you're still concerned, a great cooling unit. | video-games_xbox |
. As with anything, there are good, bad, and really bad things about this device. Before you immediately dismiss this as 'he's a fanboy', understand that my FIRST (owned) console was a PS2, last generation, I owned both, two of them even, as the first was ripped off, and put a LOT more miles on the 360 than I ever did the tired old PS3. Just couldn't enjoy the PS3 as much.
That said, on to the One review. While I understand that some of this may be just the same with the PS4, that's not the product I'm reviewing here. I may (if I purchase the PS4) write a review for it, but at this time I'm not doing so.
Firstly, I do understand that this is a new product. That said, things will inevitably change, and hopefully for the better..
The good:
The system is a 'next gen' system, making gaming a completely different experience. For example, no longer am I stuck waiting for a 'save point' to exit the game. With this device, it's simply possible (as long as I'm in a safe spot) to go to the home menu, turn it off, and I'm right back where I want to be when I log back in.
Speaking of logging in, Kinect recognition in is a good thing, when it works. Being an early adapter of the Kinect (v1), I was impressed with how well it worked, and how they actually got it to work well enough on the 360. I'm still on the fence about how well the 'update' works, however, so I'll keep that for a later time.
Being a next gen system, the graphics and audio on this thing are just great, better than, honestly. They are miles above the previous generation.
One central location for most of your TV and media:
Having finally gotten around to hooking TiVo into the One, and exploring the BRD app, I have to say, this is a pretty decent feature. Frees up an HDMI slot from the stereo/TV (not that it'll control the stereo), and makes it a good bit easier to watch TV/Movies. Not bad
The bad:
Forced installs and 'motion control' are two reasons that I left the PS3 in the dust. Guess what's back on the One? Forced installs, and at least a semblance of motion control. I cannot STAND that garbage, but it's there.
The UI appears to need some work (read: a good deal of it), but they're aware of that and they know it needs to be updated
There's not a ton of AAA titles out right now for it, but, again, that's what I get for being an early adopter. Not complaining, just saying it's a bad thing (as well for the PS4).
In order for the Kinect to function properly, apparently, you have to sit right in front of it. Not off to the side, etc. This was noticed when playing Dead Rising 3, and the whole controller motion thing came into play. Assuming, of course that relies on the Kinect. Sitting to the side, doesn't work so much. Standing right in front of it? Yup, that did it.
No BR-3D , but I knew that. Not a complaint, just a 'bad' thing . They're rumored to be working on it.
The ugly:
Probably the UGLIEST part of this system (and with the PS4) right now is the forced install, and updates. Seriously, 40+ gig for Ryse, 20+ for Dead Rising. With just 4 games installed (2 downloadable), I'm at 20% space used. I don't know WHAT'S going to happen if I actually get the collection as high as my 360 collection is (100+ games), because that's going to just be a disaster.
Sure, some of that's on the devs, but forcing a game install is just a bad, bad thing.
No external storage (yet) makes this even worse. We don't know what they're planning on doing about it, but eventually fans are going to get extremely upset when enough AAAs come out that their drive is just massively filled up. Bad Microsoft! At least Sony is allowing drive upgrades (as with the PS3), though, that's going to be a problem there as well, since you can only upgrade so far ;)
Overall? A decent system. I enjoy it, but it's a good bit of a letdown as well. Here's hoping that they'll fix what needs to be fixing in an efficient time frame. | video-games_xbox |
An upgrade only from Halo to Halo 2. This game Halo 2 is great. The game play of Halo 2 with the new levels, guns, and vehicles makes it that much better than the first one. The graphics are better than before but they were already good not in any way down grading the original halo, but graphics aren't everything to a game.
I think the game play online is unreal when you face six or seven other players. I mean I played it for the first time recently on Xbox live and the experience was an epic when I played over a friend's. Intense is a good word to describe this game. If you don't have live I recommend you go out and get it because I know I am A.S.A.P. The online game play has got to be the best improvement and also the most annoying part of the game at the same time. Finally Halo on XBOX Live! This feature alone is well worth the purchase of the game. The unpleasant part about this is when we tried to sign on it took about 10 minutes to get into a game.
I have yet to finish the game, but so far so good. In this game there are just more options. One of the best options in this game is the dual-guns. People are complaining because they can't throw grenades or can't reload fast enough, but in a real life situation if you were holding two guns, are you going to throw a grenade with anything else but your hands? A personal favorite is the dual-magnums and then the sword. I think the shotgun was the biggest difference in weapons in this game. It downgraded I think from the first Halo.
I think the night that this game came out was worth the wait of two hours standing in line to receive a copy at 12:00 A.M. at a local mall. The music they play in the back round could be a little bit more intriguing, but is well enough. I could be playing my music in the back round but it still qualifies for Halo. Just turn up the volume and you'll feel as if your there. Also the scenes before the actual game starts are great. The storylines I think you have to watch in Campaign mode.
What is Halo? Halo is the aura of majesty or glory surrounding a person or thing that is regarded with reverence, awe, or sentiment by dictionary.com. If you don't have this game I think your should go get it. If you don't have Xbox live get it as well. The breath taking, heart filled game is worth the price. It was rated the best game out. | video-games_xbox |
Great co-op game. This was the first Rayman game I played, so the characters and the story are all new to me, and it didn't matter much. The game play is fantastic. It's challenging, but doable, and so much fun to play together. My husband and I played this nightly this winter when it was too cold go go out, and we are sad that it's over now that we've beaten it. The difficulty ramps up at a nice pace, so you are comfortable with the controls and the new tricks you learn before the challenges get much bigger. The art work is beautiful! Sometimes, when one of us would die, instead of floating in our bubble over to the other person to be brought back, we'd just stay in the bubble and check out the background and take the time to appreciate the graphics, the detail and the colors.
The soundtrack is amazing. The lyrics are gibberish as far as we could tell, but we memorized the sounds anyway and sang along. The music is so much fun.
We beat the game and got to the credits before we had collected all 10 stone teeth, which confused us, so we went back and collected all the teeth and found that grants access to a bonus 11th level called land of the livid dead, which is SO HARD. I think the game creators made two levels of endings, the first at the end of the tenth level for kids or adults who don't want THAT much of a challenge, and then the 11th bonus world and boss for people who are serious platform gamers, or just tenacious as hell like us. We did a lot of cursing and screaming at the game to get through that 11th world. Most of requires perfect technique, perfect timing, and no stopping to regroup or to think for a second. The bonus boss is not easy either, and when we finally beat her we were glad to go to bed.
I would recommend this game to anyone who likes beautiful games, with a lighthearted theme, great music, and especially those who plan to play with friends, or people in their family. It was the most fun I've had since playing Super Mario 3, which was what, 15-20 years ago?!?
Get it, have fun, and get ready for that bonus world. It's BANANAS. | video-games_xbox |
For Military Enthusiasts, Not Counter-Strike or Unreal Fans. I've always been fascinated with military Spec Ops and the units thereof since I was a kid, and when I read the specifications on Full Spectrum Warrior, I was rather excited to purchase it once it reached the Platinum Hits list. I picked it up and was pleased with several things while disapointed with others.
I give FSW a 3.8 out of 5.
This is not your typical military game. Up until a few years ago, US gamers were bombarded with so-called tactical games and first-person shooter games like Delta Force, Doom 3, Counter-Strike and Unreal Tourny. While these games are extraordinarily fun to play, they lack in realism to the point where you can run in a room guns'a blazing and survive multiple shots while loading your firearm.
FSW takes that concept and turns it upside down. Now, instead of charging your enemies, you outflank them or you get shot. This concept is very repetative throughout FSW, but the whole point is to teach you how urban close-quarter battler (CQB) works. Veterans of Counter-Strike, Unreal or Doom 3 may not like this game because of its slow gameplay and repetitive gameplay, however, military enthusiasts will appreciate the realism applied to the concept of FSW. So, the pros and cons.
One big downside is the lack of control over the individual units, meaning you cannot shoot their weapons for them unless it's an explosive round. You may, however, set up individual fire zones, which can save you from being flanked. But the lack of control still adds a sense of boredom and frustration as a target could be just ducking and shooting behind a wall and when he pops his head out, your men will probably miss over and over until the tango grenades you.
The graphics, for its time, is very smooth. I loved the details in the weapons and the environment, however, graphics do not make a game. The story is somewhat propaganda in nature since it seems to praise military intervention of dictators, something that not everyone can agree with, however, this does not take anything away from the game but is worth noting.
Other than that, I loved it. I love having to actually think really hard about my every move, the game is not really challenging, but the guys with RPGs make me keep my head down. | video-games_xbox |
So much to do, so many choices. An explorer's dream. This is a long game, and therefore a long review. I glow about it and all its possibilities for a while, but skip a few paragraphs if you just want the straight pros and cons.
I'll get right to the point of how massive this game is by giving you a brief hypothetical scenario. First, you choose your character and decide on his or her face and hairstyle. Then let's say you begin the game by robbing everything from the first house that you begin the game in. But the guards spot you, so you run. Once outside, another guard gets in your way so you take a swing at him, accidentally knocking out an innocent townsperson in the process. You rush into the local pawnbroker to buy a weapon, but your criminal activity makes the owner hostile towards you. So instead you just grab the spear sitting against the wall and kill him with it, looting his body of all its goods and throwing on some armor along the way. You then jump back outside and stab the guard a few times, but he has friends so you need to run. You make it to the local silt strider transportation, and catch a ride to the next town over where you join the thieves' guild and pay the cost of clearing your name under the table. Interested in what they tell you, you decide to stay with them for awhile and hlep out their organization until the day comes when you kill them all and join the fighter's guild instead.
That's all possible, right from the start of the game. Morrowind is incredible. Without exaggeration, you can go anywhere, anytime, with the only limitation being your yet-undeveloped physical skills. See that mountain in the distance? Sooner or later, depending on your strength, you can climb it. Notice that underwater cave? Once you have the right spells you can breathe underwater and check it out. Wander day and night, walking where you want to with no pressure to do anything other than play the game in the order you want and at your own pace.
Oh, and you can do what you want too. Don't like the way that shopkeeper talked to you? Kill him. Oh, and he'll stay dead, so you might as well use his shop as your new home where you can drop off all your stuff. What stuff? Well anything you want to pick up. Barring furniture, you can pick up almost anything and use it or drop it where it will always continue to sit. Like those spoons on the dinner table? Take them. Think you can get away with stealing that helmet from the guard? Try it. There are definitely repercussions, such as being attacked or thrown in jail, but this game does not discourage you from doing things your way.
If the honest path is more your thing, then play the game straight or go and join one of the factions that share your interests. There are 3 great clan houses you can join, as well as gangs of fighters, thieves, magicians, assassins, soldier forts, and religious organizations. Spend your time making pilgrimages to various locations around the world, or try to get to the top of your magician's order. Or if you want just skip all this stuff and do the main quest, or skip that and do everything else. It's really your own choice.
And what a world Morrowind is. Composed of fields, mountains, volcanic barrens, islands, grottos, and hundreds of caves and tombs and ruins, it will literally take weeks and even months to cover everything and go everywhere. Just walking from one corner of the map to its opposite would take at least an hour or two of your life, and that's just a straight line without doing anything interesting. There is a lot, I mean, A LOT to do. There's so much variation though, it takes a lot to get sick of what you're doing. Don't worry about getting around though, there are boats, wizard teleporters, spells, and more to get around. Oh and you can walk on water and levitate once you get the right spells, too.
Okay, now for my more objective review. Morrowind, being the third game in the series (you don't have to know the first two at all), is all about open-endedness and exploration. Clearly there are hundreds of choices and dozens of ways to play the game, all presented to you in a first or third person perspective (your choice). You can play as a male or female of 8 different and very unique races who all have their own skills. And this game has dozens of skills to hone: Keep hitting living things with your sword to develop your long blade skill, or do lots of jumping to improve your acrobatics. The point is that your character develops how you want him to, with lots of customization and honing to do as you go up in levels.
The meat of the game is the exploring and questing. And there are hundreds. Any faction, such as clan house or guild, each has its own dozen or so missions, and there are about a dozen of these such factions to join. Each faction has its own specific mission style, too. Join the religious cult, and you'll run around asking for donations. Join the mage's guild and you'll be looking for plants and ingredients to make spells out of. In addition to this, there are also a hundred or so miscellaneous quests to undertake at your discretion, requiring you to just stumble on them. A man in the wilderness may ask you to help him find the thieves who stole his goods, and you can do it or not, and then even decide how you do it (such as getting the goods but then keeping them for yourself). The main quest alone is a good thirty or so missions long, and comprises an interesting tale of legend and deceit. It's all fun stuff.
There are a few gripes about the game. There are lots of things to kill, so one would expect combat to be better. It's very, very basic, with each weapon having three ways to swing and battle being nothing more than repeatedly tapping the attack button. Kind if cheesy and disappointing, but nothing that makes the game terrible. The other gripe I heard was that all the characters say the same basic roster of dialog, which to an extent is true. Conversation is initiated through dialogue windows, and you choose the topics from a list of relevant things. There are a lot of unique and specific dialogue options depending on who you talk to during your quests, but it's true that everyone will say the same thing when you ask about "fines and compensation" for example. It's somewhat boring and disappointing, but you get used to it, and it seems that this gameplay shortcut allowed the rest of the programming to go towards the exploring and questing which is fine with me. You won't feel like the only real person in the game by any means, since there are hundreds of characters in a couple dozen towns and they do all say a lot of different things, it's just that too many of them share a lot of the same topics.
The graphics are good, with beautiful skies and shimmering water but with some clunkiness such as a generic shadow and somewhat stiff character animation. But the entire game is fully 3d and gives you complete range of vision, which is quite impressive. The music is ambient and quiet, yet more dramatic and tense when the situation calls for it. It doesn't seem to get repetitive even after hours and hours of play because it's not very intrusive.
Basically, though the game has a couple flaws, there's still a genuinely startling amount of things to do, places to go, items to collect, and new things to try. I've had the game for a year and a half now, and there are still caves I haven't visited and items I've never used. There are still quests I haven't undertaken as well, and I've played this game for literally about four or five hundred hours (It can honestly be that involving). I only recently found out that I can kill the owner of a large house and then command people from all over the world to follow me and permanently reside there with me. That alone has been a fun task that's given me another dozen hours of gameplay, and that's just a silly task that I undertook to make my home seem more one of a kind. But that's the whole point of this game- you can do so much, with so few limitations, that this IS literally the first role playing game I've ever played that lets me overtake the home of my choice and force my favorite characters to come live in it with me (then decorate it with red candles and so on). More than anything, this game is meant for some good old fashioned exploring and discovering, with loads of mission variety and your own pace to set. Rent it if you want to just check and see how deep it goes, but I guarantee that if you like what you see, you will have multitudes of free-roaming action at your fingertips. All that's left for you to decide is how deep you want to go.
IMPORTANT: Last thing- you may hear about this game being glitchy. Some people aren't aware that SOME older Xboxes have trouble with this game, as mine did, so don't just assume it's faulty. Once I upgraded my old "Thomson" Xbox drive, It's been smooth sailing. | video-games_xbox |
New fan to NASCAR games... overall I'm enjoying my experience. First of all this review is written by a newer fan of NASCAR games. I've played a little in the past but nothing seriously due to not really liking the title. I thought the past games were boring, however this game seems a little different and more fun. With that said, my attitude may have changed not because of the game but because of my recent attitude towards NASCAR. I have a favorite driver now so it makes following the sport a lot more fun. As for the game, overall the game is fun and there are some neat features to it such as the things you can do in the garage to customize your car for race day, the graphics during gameplay are amazing and the different options such as career mode and season mode are great!
As for things I don't like about the game, I wish EA could be a little more creative when it came to coming up with the generic sponsors. There were a couple featured sponsors such as COKE that are cool however the no-name sponsors that EA Sports made up were mostly dorky and it was hard to pick out sponsors to put on my car and make it look good. I'm sorry I don't want sponsors such as "Pat and Son's lumber" on my car. I understand the game needed to put some of the lowerlevel dorky sponsors on there to make it realistic however there were too many of them which makes it hard to make a customized car look good on the track. Basically EA needs to improve on the sponsor graphics and take more into account how the overall sponsors' pictures look - they look too cartoonish and unsporty to me.
Another thing about the game I didn't care to much for is that the handling of the car while racing is hard especially when rounding a corner of a track. I'm banging into everyone and I'm not even trying to. I had to turn off black flag options (being disqualified for reckless driving) to even finish a race. This was frustrating. It was hard to pass other cars with out at least tapping them a little. To be all honest this may be due to me being a new fan of NASCAR games and I'm not use to this style of racing in which braking and patience is a must. Also I know nothing about adjustments to a car to make it handle better so all of those features to tweek a car are worthless to me. I wish there could be an option in which the comupter could take care of that based on my driving style... that would be neat.
With all that said, the game is worth playing and I am enjoying it. No major gripes..... | video-games_xbox |
Not the best Dead Space, but still pretty great. I remember when Dead Space 2 was first announced, Visceral was completely open about the fact that it was going to have "a little more action than Dead Space 1 had, some set pieces to counter balance the constant dread." A big chunk of the fanbase immediately lost their collective s*** over this and decided that they had ruined the franchise, DS2 would be all action, no horror, they were turning it into Gears of War, blah blah blah. It was a ridiculous overreaction. I myself took a wait-and-see approach. About a year later Dead Space 2 was released, and all in all I thought it was very close to the first game. Yes, it did have more action. But not much. Just enough to add some flavor. I still thought it was about as close as we're going to get to "classic survival horror" in the post-RE4 era.
The lead up to Dead Space 3 has been pretty similar. It was a long time ago that Visceral broke the news that the third entry in the series was going to have a new crouch/cover move, a dodge-roll move, human enemies that shoot at you, a co-op campaign. Again they were very open and honest that they were doing all of this in the hopes of attracting more fans. i.e. catering to the lowest common denominator. Cue angry fanmob weilding torches and pitchforks, rending their own garments and weeping tears of blood. I admit, I myself was not exactly happy when I heard these things. But I loved Dead Space 1 and 2 so much, I was so impressed by what the development team was capable of, that I continued to have faith. I never got as hyped up and excited as I had for the previous two games, but I never lost the hope that when the game did finally come out, I'd buy it on day 1, I'd play it, and I'd come to find out that there was really nothing to worry about.
Well, I'm very happy to say today: that's close to what happened.
For the most part, it feels like classic Dead Space to me. The new additions to the formula, the "shooter" stuff... The only occasions the cover mechanics are useful at all are when you're faced with human gun wielding enemies... and these guys appear so rarely in the game that it's a complete non-issue. The dodge-roll move... the only time I actually relied on it was against one particular boss. Other than that, it might as well have not been there. Most of the time I just felt like I was playing good ol' Dead Space. Making my way through grim environments, fighting off necromorphs, repairing systems (i.e. solving puzzles, and may I say a few pretty cool ones in the classic survival horror style) grabbing loot from containers and corpses. All at a very deliberate pace.
One thing I was not enthralled with and never really warmed up to is the new weapon system- crafting weapons from spare parts. I dabbled with this mostly in the demo, and it seemed like every weapon I made was a piece of crap compared to the weapons I already had in my inventory. So I pretty much ignored this aspect in the full game. I'm sure this has a lot to do with why this game felt so much like classic Dead Space to me- I relied on the trusty ol' Plasma Cutter 90% of the time, once in a while I'd try another weapon for the sheer hell of it, but would soon go back to using the cutter. This game didn't feel like Gears of War to me because I chose not to play it that way, blowing everything away with a rocket launcher duct taped to a machine gun. Hmmm... maybe I'll try that in New Game+.
Because of the addition of co-op, they had to ditch the traditional save point cameras and converted to a checkpoint system. I would have preferred save points. The first two games were generous with save points popping up often, but the checkpoints are sometimes few and far between. There are a couple of set pieces that are overly frustrating and annoying, worse than anything I can recall from the previous games. Climbing up a sheer ice cliff face while having to use stasis on multiple falling chunks and swinging gondolas is not something I will look forward to when I replay this game.
The worst I can say about this game is that I did seem to notice a subtle drop in overall quality. There were occasions were I thought I was back-tracking through an area I'd already explored, and then I'd realize "Oh, wait... this is actually a whole new area." DS 1 and 2 had their fair share of revisiting previously explored areas, but in this game some areas are literally copy/pasted. Generally speaking, there were other times when the overall look of things just seemed to lack the incredible attention to detail of past games. As an example- Apparently one of the team's new environment designers didn't get the memo that the little elevator holograph control panel in the previous two games wasn't just some generic abstract symbol meaning "press here to activate elevator," it's meant to be a directional indicator showing which way elevator will move. In this game, it always points up. Pressing it to make the elevator go down made me feel dirty.
All in all, I have to say that while this may technically be the "worst" of the Dead Space trilogy, it's still a damn good game and well worth playing if you're into the series. Ignore the whiners who blubber about it being turned into an action shooter, because you can ignore those aspects of the game, and it will feel just like classic Dead Space.
EDIT: I've come back later because I wanted to mention something. When Dead Space 1 came out, I bought it on day 1 and proceeded to play through it from beginning to end at least six times before I finally started to get bored. I did pretty much the same thing with Dead Space 2. With Dead Space 3, I played through it once, and then started a second game but stopped somewhere in the middle. Coming from me, someone who loves replaying games over and over, that's not a good sign. All in all I guess I have no choice but to admit that Dead Space 3 simply isn't as fun as the first two. | video-games_xbox |
Halo redefines First-person-Shooter genre. Normally, one game every 5 yrs come out re-defines the standards for future games. Ever since the previews of Doom 3 blew away most gamers with its graphics and level-design, a lot of gaming enthusiasts began wondering if there ever would be another game that would match Doom 3. This I say, w.r.t both PC and console. But a game developing studio called Bungie, quietly entered into the fray and released Halo as the flagship of XBOX in 2001.
And the rest, they say........ is history.
Now Doom3 might have to set itself gainst Halo.
Halo is unlike most other games you might have played so far. Agreed it is an First-Person-Shooter (FPS), meaning, you get to play the
main protagonist from your visual perspective. Any FPS will have the same basic characterisitics--Move, Aim, Shoot, Reload etc..
And the cycle repeats. But Halo takes FPS one step higher. It gives you enough freedom to engage your enemy in a myriad number of
ways, without ever losing sight of your objective. Much like GTA3, but with a more focussed theme. Hosting destructible environments
incrediblly mobile vehicles, mind-bending graphics and some really smart-ass enemy, Halo is now the pinnacle of 3D programming.
Story...
To keep it short....500 yrs down the line, Humans are forced to seek other planetary systems for colonization owing to their vast and
unmaneagable numbers on Earth. A mysterious alien race dubbed the Covenant, wipes out one the colonies called Harvest and threatens to draw closer to the Solar system. As a result, research into the Spartan-II 'super soldiers' program assumes greater significance on planet reach.
But the Covenant is the first to draw the sword and ultimately obliterates Planet Reach and the program.
The only undamages ship called 'The Piilar of Autumn' ,housing the final Spartan-II soldier-- the Master-Chief, i.e you, makes a blind warp jump into space, hoping to lead the Covenant armada away from Earth. You finally arrive to an uncharted part of the Universe wherein you make an emergency landing on a mysterious planet sized-ring called Halo. What is Halo? Why is it here?. Who built it and for what? And why is the Covenant so desperate to seek out the secrets of Halo?...is what the you have to find out. That is your mission throughout the game.
Graphics:
The very definition of surreal.. Simply put.....stunning!. It is a visual treat. Games with stories like this tend to have very gloomy and dark environments, but not so Halo. It perfectly combines lush outdoors with extremely claustrophobic indoor environments. Very much like Serious Sam. The lighting and in game-physics is truly magnificent. Take for instance your shadow, which moves when an external light source falls on you and the undulating shadows it can cast on the surface if you are say, near water. The landscapes are astonishing, with precise rendering of different textures to various elements of the game like buildings, constructs, enemy etc. The world of Halo puts movies like Star Trek and Star Wars to shame. The characters are so beautifully detailed that if you are inconspicuous enough, you can veiw how life-like they are....Magnificient.
Gameplay:
Along with the graphics, this is where Halo sets new standards. As the Master-Chief, your blood may be thicker than your fellow Marines, but the enemy views you just the same and believe me, the game isn't easy. Rather than allowing you to carry the entire arsenal, Halo allows you to carry just two, at any given time. Hence you need to strategize. Is your approach going to be stealth based or like a raging bull. The vehicles are diverse and downright gorgeous. The Marine vehicles include the superb cross-country Warthog, the indestructible Scorpion Tank while the Covenants have the ground hovering Ghost and the flying Banshee.
Another innovation is the use of a single button on the XBox controller for 3 different actions, such as reloading, weapon change and vehicle mounting. The console controller really complements the games' actions and makes the gameplay much simpler.
Level Design:
Another real standout. The outdoor environments are vast and beautifully detailed. Driving your Warthog or Ghost will be a treat. Since the action is on Halo, you will always see its distinctive ring as you move your gaze over it and ultimately you see it ending at you. A breathtaking sight, truly.
I must say that though the levels are well planned, the only downside is that some come out to be a bit repetitive. The indoors actually, because some feel the same. In the course of the game you would have to back-track levels of an entire chapter!.However, the story and the action saves it from being tagged as 'repetitive'. This minor blemish should hardly be considered when u buy Halo.
Sound:
The Music is award winning. The Gothic chants are superb and instantly recognizable.. Throughout the game, the music tempo changes with the situation you are in. Voice-acting is flawless and the sound variety is immense. Bungie has now released stand-alone music Cd's that are now amongst the industry's best-selling. Take time to listen to the tunes in the game. U'll love it.
Summary:
Dont let me fool you into thinking that Halo is the greatest...best...brightest...or whatever game it is. It really depends on your taste. An RPG fan will not even take a first look at FPS games and like-wise. Halo is serious stuff, with very little humour and NPC interaction. You might say that you've seen better gameplay and storyline. But objectively speaking, there is true brilliance in Halo. It cannot be touched by ano other game in terms of graphics except by Ninja Gaiden, which is on equal terms. A taut, gripping story bundled with jaw-dropping graphics and mersmerizing music is all you'll need to make a movie actually. Halo has two more things to better a movie. It has the XBOX...and it has you...... the Master-Chief. Start playing!.... | video-games_xbox |
Learning how to make a bad game the long way. As I was playing Too Human, one thought occured to me: this is a classic example of someone getting way too big of a head with an even bigger ego only they just so happen to be the main driving force in a given project and not knowing when to say when (or at least for someone to get the nerve to say "stop" to them). Too Human was basically stuck in development hell and was supposed to be a big Playstation epic (that's the first machine by the way), then on the Gamecube then finally on the Xbox 360. But is it one of those projects where the wait was worth it? Nope and in fact it seems only to enhance the problems of the game actually since it makes me look at the repetitive hack-and-slashing of the "Dynasty Warriors" games in a better light thanks to this: those are easier and quicker to make, fun in that boneheaded way and has enough story to at least compel in the slightest. Too Human on the other hand feels like it took so long because they didn't know when they wanted to stop.
Story: Using Norse mythology as a template, the game centers on Baldur, son of Odin who's been tasked to defeat the machine armies who seek to vanquish all life. Only the Gods are actually enhanced by cybernetics and Baldur with his non-cybernetic ways makes people see him in a lesser light, thus making him be "too human". The story follows Baldur through several levels as he takes on numerous enemies and the political ideals that are encouraged.
Graphics: For all of its copy-and-pasting of environments, Too Human's graphics look quite stellar with dozens of enemies on screen at once, facial animation and detail in cutscenes to be cool and "cyberspace", a garden that looks more real than anything in the normal world has a nice tranquility and feel. There's the occasional slowdown and inexplicably, collision detection with melee attacks actually not connecting in close quarters or power-ups I can't seem to grab even though I should be able to but other than that, it's a great looking game.
Sound/Music: The music is going for that cinematic and epic feel which is strange because outside of cutscenes, I barely noticed it. While I might appreciate more on its own, within the game it was like I was unconciously phasing it out and not even hearing it. Voice acting on the other hand is quite stellar and really delivers. Aurally, it's a mixed bag but some people might love the score while others are hearing some much sword clashes and explosions that you'll probably just tune it out.
Gameplay: As with other games, there tends to be a familiarity in your tasks and controls and it's up to the game to give fresh uses or change it up a bit via a vehicle section or special mission (i.e: the stealth sniper mission in Call of Duty IV) but in Too Human's case, it's a case of "get used to this because you're going to be doing it for a long time." It's basically a dungeon crawler hack-and-slash and believe me when I say this game get can mind-numbingly repetitive to the point where I get the feeling it took 10 years just to program the levels themselves since they seemingly go on forever. The phrase "here we go again" definately applies here as you'll be doing a lot of one thing the entire time.
The first of which is looting where better weapons and equipment can be found throughout the levels with better damage, better sell value and whatnot (though they have really silly names that sound like D&D to the extreme) and it's a common occurence to go into your menu and switch equipment, sell crap equipment or add Runes which act like special bonus abilities. Another way you progress is with the skill tree where you can get better damaging attacks, added status effects or new abilities to use and thankfully you can buy back your skill points should your initial choices suck. If you're a collection gamer and love getting that one weapon with better damage than the other than you're going to love this. The problem with this is that enemies scale with you so there's no real progression in your character, that fun moment when the enemy finally drops that one awesome weapon, it might as well just be another sword.
Now we come to the big issue and the one chief offender I have with the game: the Valkyrie cutscene. Essentially you don't really "die" in the game so much as respawn a ways behind where you were (though sometimes it spawns you in the thick of battle anyway) and it's unskippable, unnecessary since a "now loading" screen would've done the trick or for co-op, just have them disappear then re-appear later but the big problem: how many times you'll run into it and there's even an achievement for dying 100 times meaning seeing the cutscene that much. Enemies will continually firing lasers, big "trolls" pound the ground or litter the ground with bombs, swarms of enemies coming up to you and sometimes exploding with incurable status effects temporarily or freeze upon contact and let's just say the cutscene will not be a favorite among anyone.
Oh and for those of you who haven't found out, you melee attack using the right analog stick. Just push in the direction you want to attack in and Baldur goes from there though he'll actually stop should you stop so instead of repeatedly pressing B in a button-masher way, now it's a stick masher as one game website described it as. This leaves you having to rely on an ineffectual camera that will shift for no apparent reason, changing your direction and resetting the camera doesn't help either because it's trying to say "quit trying to reset the camera and look at something I want to show you." Also there's no lock-on meaning instead of focusing on the one missile launching cronie, you're shooting some foot soldier that you can vanquish with the greatest of ease. Also you have to actually be pointing at the dude so on one encounter I wanted to shoot a troll's arm so he'd quit shooting bombs yet I couldn't just lock on, I had to turn around, then start firing. It's the school of thought some developers have where it "sounds like a great and unique idea" but never figuring out how to make it work properly because it's too focused on how unique it is.
And yet after all this, I like it. Why is that? Who knows and I don't think I'll ever figure it out either. It's like Assassin's Creed, another short and repetitive yet beautiful and unique game that you want to dislike and yet you catch yourself going "I want to play that again". Maybe you had fun with it. Couldn't be cause you went on a rant about it but I guess that's sometimes the case. Critically acclaimed games are called "overrated" (coughs*GTAIV*coughs) and yet mediocre games are just simply "misunderstood", the black-haired outsider with the heart of gold on the playground. To be honest I don't know why I'm having fun with it and I like how Denis Dyack, lead designer behind this is trying to say it's not just gameplay but story, music and the presentation that make a game. Methinks he's just trying to convince people Too Human really is this awesome.
In the most egotistical and ill-fated development news, Too Human is apparently part 1 of an "epic" trilogy which is strange considering Too Human's story is interesting sure but doesn't have the draw a trilogy needs for return visits and considering Too Human's length of at most 10 hours, it's best that Silicon Knights either work on making Too Human 2 vastly improved over the original or don't even bother and work on new exciting material or an Eternal Darkness sequel...one that won't take 10 years to make. | video-games_xbox |
An (overall) decent game that heavily lacks polish. After careful inspection (having played through and mastered the game on practically every difficulty level), I can honesty declare that Bullet Witch is nowhere NEAR as bad as some of the critics have panned it out to be. The game was met with a rather moderate reception when it was originally released in the 2nd quarter of 2006 in Japan. Fast forward several months later and the title finally sees the light of day stateside, thanks to Atari. Problem is, it hits at a time when the consumers have already been introduced to much higher budgeted and produced shooters (from the Gears, to the Lost Planets, to the Rainbow Six Vegas' and on down). It almost seems as though the critics were so desensitized by the other shooters on the market, that when Bullet Witch finally came along (stateside), they viewed it at as a competitor, thus rating it unfairly. Sure. the game has flaws, (some more overt than others) but what games don't?
You play the role of a reclusive witch by the name Alicia. The setting takes place in 2013 A.D., at a when time demons appear to be an even bigger threat to the human race than before, summoning Geist (subhumans made from demon quota) to do their dirty bidding for them on Earth. As Alicia (the only witch powerful enough to take them on) it's your duty to vanquish the hellspawns to wence they came. However, you're not entering the battle alone. Along the way, you'll be allied with humans who will fight alongside you in hopes of salvaging humanity from the demons.
Gamesplay basically consists of getting to point A to point B. Weapon's consist of the machinegun (your primary weapon), shotgun, cannon, and gatling gun (my personal favorite). These weapons can either be upraded or powered up (in-game ). Upgrading can either be done between stages or from the title screen's options menu. It enbables for stronger weaponfire damage, as with powering up. Powering Up gives each weapon a special, unique, attack effect. For the machinegun; fire, shotgun; wind, gatling gun; lightning, and cannon; first-person sniper view. You never really run out of ammo since the guns' ammo are magically generated, thus require magic points to reload. Magical spells (BW's main highlight) are generally a well balanced mix off offensive and defensive skills. In some instances you'll need to use a powerful attack spell to take out an overpowerful enemy, in which normal weapons simply won't take out. You recover magic points by taking out enemies with your guns. Through battle you'll occasionally run into civilians and soldiers (NPCs) to whom you can lend help to (granted their in need). Some will express their gratitude in by giving you an item in which will replenish your health much quicker (your health recovers gradually overtime, considering you've lost any). You aren't required to rescue or save any civilians or soldiers, but doing so (or not) does have a substantial hold on your overall ranking at the end of each mission.
The graphics are for the most part, decent. Huge, open-ended, scenic environments. Most objects in the game are fully destructible and can be used to your advantage in many instances. The physics are quite impressive. Especially being that Cavia (the developers of BW) used their own proprietary physics engine, rather than working off an existing one, such as Havok or PhysX. However, there seem to be some MAJOR clipping and collision issues. Despite all of Atari's attempts at cleaning these up for the stateside release, some are just too unmistakably obvious to pass up. You'll walk through a trash can, yet can oddly shoot it to pieces. There's also some irregular pop-ups (in the background) from time to time, knowingly in the wider scenic areas. The game is visually at it's finest on the airbase/railroad stage (beautiful scenery and dynamic multi-tiered environments and physics) and it's somewhat a pity that the developers were unable to achieve this type of quality all throughout the game. My only guess and reasoning for this is that the game was rushed at some point.
Enemy A.I. is alright for the most part. Geist soldiers are cocky and arrogant (they have plenty of character, some will even attempt to bribe you into sparing their lives) but can put up a fight. They'll try to strafe, dodge, and roll out of the way off oncoming fire, so it's not like they just stand there and let you hit them. You'll occasionally run into some overly aggressive soldiers who will practically do everything in their power to not get hit by you (some geist soldiers weapons doing more damage than others) but will constantly keep a strong trail on you in the process. The snipers appear to be the most unbalanced enemies in the entire game. Seemingly having godlike bird's eye accuracy and can aim from 200 acres afar (literally). They never miss. So the moment you see red lights trailing you, if you've not hidden yourself for cover in time, it's all over.
Controls are average. Ducking/crouching is pretty much useless being that you move like a tank when trying to do so. This leaves you open as a huge magnet for gunfire, since you can't evade attacks while crouched (cannot roll or jump). Another huge issue is the magic window. There are times when you can be well positioned (with the right amount of magic points) and for whatever reason, the spell won't activate. Since spells can only be casted through live window, it's very common that you can be killed while attempting to assign one. For instance, if you try active the lightning spell and miss, you're open to attack for a few agonizing moments. Perhaps the developers were trying to make is so that you'd make tougher decisions in using spells in tight situations, but in the process made it more frustrating. It's almost like they were trying to torture and penalize you for trying to enjoy the features in which the game possesses. Hit detection is also off some. There are too many instances in which an object can be hurled at you and be off several frames, yet it will still do full damage (as if landed at you accurately) wiping you out in an instant. Other instances, you can be aiming/shooting directly at the enemy and your attacks won't register.
Voiceacting is a mix. It can range anywhere from intermediate to "When's my next break at again?" The music, on the other hand is astonishing, with a great deal of the compositions being symphonic, fitting the game's atmosphere.
Bullet Witch is an overall decent game. While the game spands only six stages long, extra missions can be unlocked via Xbox Live, along with constumes, which help add replay value and longitivity. It's a fun fast-paced/action shooter. If you can look beyond some hindering flaws (and ignore the overly harsh critic remarks) , beyond all of the rubble lies a potentially great game (which just seems that the developers weren't able to fully capitalize on for whatever reasons). Unfortunately some may find the game's faults too unbearable to consider giving it a fair chance. Hopefully these problems will be addressed in the sequel. I'm anticipating much in store from Bullet Witch 2. We'll definitely see more of Alicia (whether it be in comics, games, or even potential anime spin-offs). | video-games_xbox |
GTA: The Sims but BEST ONLINE MODE EVER. this game does a decent job at capturing the feel of New York and all its different areas. the structures of the buildings and streets scream NYC. you get used to the handling of the cars. creativity went into the media aspect as far as internet websites, tv shows and so on..but thats expected from Rockstar for this series. the prostitutes are back...and this time, they actually show them performing sexual acts in the car...so points for realism. iv only handled the 9mm but it feels pretty realistic...but u get shot about 5 times, your dead. basically, the fun comes from Living this game like you do your actual life. its not over the top or exagerated, its designed to be realistic...and i love that about it. kind of like GTA meets the Sims.
i will say that it doesnt hold a FLAME to GTA:SA in ANY way...which incompassed so many things on the side to keep you interested in it. i am also busy playing The Godfather right now...which is better than GTA4 by a longshot. True Crime: NYC, in my opinion, does a BETTER job of capturing the actual FEEL of New York City. not saying GTA4 isn't a good game...but i can only play it for short periods of time before im on to something else. i play sparingly but i don't see myself keeping it much longer.
UPDATE: the Online Mode for this game is Awesome. practically the Best shooter online EVER. i love doing the Rocket Launcher matches with 6 men to a team and having EVERYTHING around you be blown to Absolute Pieces and people Flying All Over The Place from the explosions...or doing the SMG/Pistol matches and hiding behind trees and cars and shooting it out, its VERY realistic. just being able to Scale the ENTIRE WORLD of the game with 10 or 12 people online and have MINIMAL to NO slowdown or lagg is just an Amazing Accomplishment. iv played COD, Ghost Recon, Halo, everything online..but this is BY FAR the best shooter for Online. you may KEEP IT for that Mode..but not the Offline mode.
overall, pick it up if you like gta and want an Excellent online experience...but get THE GODFATHER or Godfather 2 when it comes out...
iLL . | video-games_xbox |
Ironically, "becoming legend" is not the point of the game. I am a day-one Destiny player, and I have enjoyed the game from the very start. It's been a hell of an adventure and some of my favorite moments in gaming have happened in Destiny. That's taking into account my 20+ years of gaming experience.
The community is (for the most part) extremely welcoming, helpful and friendly, which contrasts with the stereotypical FPS attitude that you commonly encounter in others (I have been around since the days of Halo 2, and it wasn't always fun to have a microphone). The gunplay feels smooth, and a nice RPG element is added because of each Class and Subclass. Overall, it's a fun game.
However, once you hit the max light level (or close to it), you'll feel like you've run out of things to do to progress. There is only one "real" raid now, since Bungie decided not to revamp the old raids Vault of Glass and Crota's End. It's a real shame that they were left behind, because clearly a lot of work was put into designing the old raids (VoG in particular). Making those raids relevant again might be just what the game needs: more variety, more options. More ways to customize your Guardian's appearance. Shaders are cool and all, but a lot of us would like to be able to equip our character with different-looking gear, without sacrificing our light level. You will see too many Guardians running the same equipment, and it takes away the feeling of individuality and true customization.
I am also more than slightly disappointed in the direction some gun "patches" have been going. Bungie's attitude towards certain weapons clearly shows they have no idea how they want the game to run, and it feels like we are in a constant "test run" cycle. Hell, year one felt like the beta in many ways.
The introduction of "skill-based" matchmaking was a great idea on paper, but in reality it changed PvP from enjoyable, to an absolute lag-fest. Since they no longer take into account the connection speed, you are often matched with players who have red or yellow bars throughout the match. It's not fun when that happens. It can be frustrating.
Despite its flaws, I love Destiny. It's nowhere near perfect, but it has that "something" that I can keep coming back to. I feel that too much emphasis is put into "becoming legend" when in reality, it's all about the journey in this game. The memories you create while playing and advancing. Your first raid, your first legendary, your first exotic. Forging friendships (or rivalries). Sharing laughs with your fireteam, and the feeling of triumph when you finally overcome an endeavor alongside fellow Guardians. All of these things make Destiny a memorable experience, or at least they have for me. | video-games_xbox |
Decent Sound, Lightweight, Versaitile Connection Capabilities. I'm using these with my entire media setup. It supports optical-in, so I connected them to the optical out of my HDTV. It obtains its power via USB, and since the USB ports on most TVs are powered, I have it getting power from a spare USB port, so the base unit switches on and off along with the TVs power. This particular setup only requires two cables. The package includes additional cables and connectors so that you can use the headphones with other setups (Xbox, Playstation, PCs, portable players, etc.). The most important cable is the charging cable, which is long enough to use while connected, several feet from the TV. For the Xbox 360, there is also the voice-chat adapter which connects to the headset adapter of the controller, and allows for a true wireless solution for 360 voice-chat.
Major thing I don't like about these - charging them leaves the unit on all the time. They don't turn off when charging is complete. If you turn them off, and then plug them in to charge, the unit powers-on and stays on to charge. When they are powered-on for charging, they also activate the transmitter base, which means it is also on the entire time. If you try to turn them off, the voice announces USB connected.
The voice samples that announce the state of the device are male which gives these headphones a very male-centric feel. The voice is rich and deep. It simply announces Powering on or powering off and provides the state of the game mode and chat mode. There are no obnoxious bings and dings of previous models. This is a great improvement.
These headphones are lighter than previous models. I'm not sure how Turtle Beach managed to make them lighter, but they feel much lighter on my head, and are therefore much more comfortable to wear for a long duration. The materials of this particular pair are definitely different. The leather headband seems to be a softer material, and the grey-white plastic is a welcome change over the blacks of nearly every other Turtle Beach headset.
From a sound-quality perspective, these are OK but not great. I tend to believe they are typical Turtle Beach in terms of sound quality. I don't believe they have enough "punch" in the bass, but midrange, voices, and highs are well-defined. I find that preset #7 provides the best sound quality and helps accentuate the bass. I also don't use the "synthesized" surround-sound because I believe it makes the sound "too thin" and tends to add an artificial echo that I just don't think is natural. Fortunately, there's no distortion, no interference, and the wireless signal is always good, even in my very WiFi-busy home. These don't let me walk more than 30 feet from my console, and trip to the kitchen to grab something results in the audio cutting-out completely.
These headphones also support Bluetooth wireless, which means you can sync the headphones to your phone, simultaneously while using them with wireless audio. This allows you to take voice calls on your phone while playing a game, a useful feature. What I really like, though, is that these allow you to sync Bluetooth audio from a phone or laptop, which allows you to listen to music, as an example. This is actually helpful, because the sound quality is quite decent for this purpose. The Bluetooth audio and the chat audio have separate volume controls, so you can adjust the Bluetooth/chat audio separately from the game volume.
In general, I like these. I think the design is good, and the sound quality serves its purpose. I just wish, for once, that Turtle Beach could design big headphones that have a decent bass response. If you're looking for ultimate high quality sound, these aren't for you. But if you need decent sound and want to be free of wires, these could serve your needs. | video-games_xbox |
Revamped, bigger, and better, or is it. Live takes a below and beyond fall in it's competition with the 2K series
Pros:
-Sweet graphics(On close ups, you can see the fantastic modeling on your favorite NBA players, and sweat)
-Marv Albert and Steve Keer comentating
-Updated rosters
-Still got create a player mode
Cons:
-The camera angles are so poor it makes a bum seem as rich as the creator of this console.(Seriously, I can't see layups or dunks for the life of me cuz of the crappy camera angles.)
-2 Modes!?(This systems younger cousin had a crapload of more varietey than this usless excuse for modes)
-No superstar abilities(Well, everything from the previous version was just flat out stripped, including the modes)
-The gameplay went from fast-paced to slow.(Now I'm in a diffrent paced limbo. I'm used to rabbit speed, not a turtle)
-Too many blocks(Not a issue in the previous version, but I find me playing as Tim Duncan going for the dunk, and getting swatted by Chauncy billups. Ok now they've done something you never seen before. Good job EA!!)
-Ah, impossible free throw shooting(You know, I might have been able to eventually get over not having other modes, as long as I could win! Free throws just blow more than wind. I mean, they just completley threw away their old chemestry, and invented a crappy new one. Using the R trigger to go down and up. You can't limber to the left or right even a bit, and if your free throw shooter is 65% or below and on superstar, ods are you're gonna miss even if you get it right. I mean it isn't ingenious at all. I lost by 3 points on superstar against the Heat by going 2/33 at the free throw line(And I am dead freakin' serious about that). And I was leading near the end, but the kept fouling me, I kept missing, and they came back like a bad memory. The free throws just ruin everything, since I can't win, almost at all. My last shot is always blocked!)
NBA Live 06 is just another reason for bEe gAy sports to just bow down to the 2k series and seriously just give up. I mean even Madden blew donkey butt. With this masterpeice of crap EA just completley lost all my trust in them. I thought the Xbox version of NBA 06 sucked, man when I got a taste of this I vomited and thanked God I still kept my Xbox version. I mean at least in that game I can hit free throws to still win. I was hoping EA was holding out to make this better on the 360, but the took a giant crap on me and many other EA fans who bothered to shell out 10 more bux than the Xbox version to see if it would pay off and it didn't. No body should buy this overpainted version of NBA Live 2002(That was the last live game to have 2 modes). Go get 2k6(At least it stays to it's chemestry)
peace | video-games_xbox |
3 star game, 5 star potential. *UPDATE 04/12/13* I have to hand it to Trion, the company responsible for making this game. I received an email yesterday from them stating right at the top, "Let's face it, there were problems with Defiance at launch" mostly referring to the server issues noted in so many other reviews of this game. I'm guessing they greatly underestimated the demand for an MMO on xbox360, which was the platform that suffered the most from servers going down. I have a lot of respect for their admission of the problems and their commitment to fixing the issues for all their fans, on every platform. There were NO server issues I've noticed in a couple days now, and I figured they'd get it together soon. They also included some in-game gifts for my character as a way of saying "thank you for being patient" which was a very nice touch. More companies should take note of when to issue an apology and follow Trion's example.
*Original review*
This is the first MMO I have really gotten into, I've never had a PC worthy of gaming so I stick to my 360. This review is only for the 360, not for any other platform.
There is a lot to like about Defiance, very interesting to see the tie in w/the TV show and how that plays out. I like the story, like the characters and love the environments in-game. I'm not even going to complain about the server issues, (sigh) or needing 10 gigs of storage as a requirement to play. What I will complain about are the little things that really should have been fixed before launch.
The first thing I noticed is the instruction book included with the game. It's noticeably short on any usable info whatsoever, the worst most uninformative instruction book I've ever seen. You get a controller map for what buttons do what, and that's it. For a game so detailed, we deserve more, esp. since you don't get a lot of explanation in-game about certain things such as weapon customization or in-game currency. It's been a little confusing as to which weapons can be upgraded while others seemingly cannot. (I.E., I have an assault rifle, have a magazine attachment for assault rifles, yet cannot upgrade said rifle. hmmmm)
Vehicle physics are poor, steering is tough and overall should be a lot easier to drive, esp. since the world is SO large you really need to drive more often than not.
my biggest complaint really isn't with the game, but the discourtesy of other players you encounter in your travels. Yeah, I know the idea is that it's an open world with all manner of interactions from all types of personalities, but I feel that the game could have been made better by having fewer interactions with random people coming along to "help" with your quest or side mission. The worst are the people who get in their cars and drive around at "arkfalls" (mass gatherings to take on a boss-monster) and run over the bad guys you're trying to shoot. too often I find myself losing interest in a mission due to there being so many people around, I feel like I can't make a meaningful contribution. what fun is it really to take an enemy's health down to almost zero, only to have some random guy get the kill with one shot after you did all the work? they could have limited the number of players at arkfalls, and opened another once the player limit was reached. also, put up obstacles to discourage the people from driving cars around the arkfalls, that really ruins the experience for many players. if you want to plow your car through crowds, go play grand theft auto. Trion should've taken into account that you cant count on others to play as intended and made the game more rewarding of an experience for those that don't have a huge party or clan. So often I find myself avoiding others so I can have more fun, and accomplish more on my own.
What saves this game ultimately is the core gameplay itself. I really enjoy the world created here, it's a lot of fun sniping bad guys, plenty of guns, plenty of character options, etc. You can make this game feel very personalized and I love that. There is great opportunity to play YOUR way...provided some random DBag doesn't come along and complete your mission for you or spin donuts at the arkfall. It's a solid 3-star game for me with 5-star potential. Hopefully after more time, players will be spread out over the map a bit more, and not be so concentrated in one area. It's good enough to stick with it for a while though, and could really develop into a serious addiction. It's already cut into my HALO playing time quite deeply. If you're on the fence and unsure, bottom line for me is that I don't regret this purchase despite my complaints. 4-star graphics, 5 stars for great music WITH the option to turn it off (I'm lookin at YOU HALO!!!)
and 5 stars for gameplay. 2 stars for explanation of in-game details, 2 stars for overcrowding at arkfalls. | video-games_xbox |
If Bungie is Coke, then 343 is definitely Pepsi. Oh, and if Bungie is Infinity Ward, then 343 Industries is Treyarch. Lots of people didn't like Halo Reach because they thought it was too similar to the CoD franchise. I never felt that way; to me, Halo Reach felt like Halo:CE except with cool new abilities and horrifically unimaginative multiplayer maps. So, despite the boring multiplayer maps, Bungie still nailed the same great things I've always loved about the series while adding some fun new twists. The voice acting in the campaign was fun, the mechanics were spot on, and the weapon systems were new and inventive.
Now - here's what I would like to have been told prior to purchasing H4. The thing MOST important to the Halo experience (the mechanics) is delivered pretty much unchanged; this thing feels like a Halo game. Trust me - in the last three weeks, I played through EVERY single Halo game in chronological order to be ready (Reach, CE, 2, 3, ODST*), and Halo 4 felt like more of the same. The jumping, aiming, running, driving, and everything else that defines Halo at its core is intact. If you like the feel of previous Halo games, you'll find this fits like a glove.
But I don't love this game, and I have to say, though it feels like a Halo game, it doesn't "feel" like a Halo game. First, the voice-acting is boring - no really great moments so far (I still have about 3 levels to get through). Second, the new weapon systems are not very inventive - all the Forerunner guns are like "Do you want a Battle Rifle, or a Forerunner Battle Rifle?" or "Do you want a shotgun, or a Forerunner shotgun?". The weapons basically fill slots that were already filled. The last thing that doesn't feel the same is the level design, for better or worse. I'm trying to think of how to put it in words, and the only thing that comes to mind is CoD. This thing actually DOES feel a bit like CoD at times, which is fine, except for it means Halo is shifting.
Remember when Coca-Cola brought out New Coke? Probably not if you're 30 years old or younger (I'm 30, so I barely remember it), but Coke brought out a new drink to combat Pepsi since Pepsi was coming on really strong with blind taste tests showing that most people prefer Pepsi. Coke reacted with its own blind taste test drink, New Coke, and it was a colossal failure. Soon after, Coca-Cola Classic came back with a vengeance and today remains comfortably ahead of every other soft drink in terms of sales and popularity. What does this mean to Halo 4?
Well, Halo 4 is not New Coke - it is MUCH better than that. In fact, I really like it. But it certainly isn't Coca-Cola Classic either. I would say it is actually Pepsi to the Coke of the previous series. Most people are cool with Pepsi, and if you don't mind having a Pepsi when you actually prefer Coke, then you probably won't mind Halo 4 and will have a great time playing it.
NOTE: I haven't played multiplayer yet**, only the campaign. I'm sure I will enjoy it, though. Also, I haven't noticed the cursed reticle bloom from Halo Reach, but I wasn't totally looking for it either.
LAST WORD - Halo 4 is fun. If you like Halo, you'll probably like Halo 4. Just know that you'll be getting a Pepsi rather than a Coke.
* These were all played on Legendary. My friend Brazle was my partner in crime for this massive undertaking.
** This is ironic as I will probably spend 98% of my time with Halo 4 in multiplayer. | video-games_xbox |
One of the best WWII games of all time. My love affair with Call of Duty began with the release of Call of Duty 2: Big Red One for the original Xbox. The battles were intense, the scenery and graphics were top notch (at the time), the controls were smooth, intuitive, and easy. Years later I played the original Call of Duty on my laptop. I loved it. Naturally, I wanted to play Call of Duty 2 on the Xbox 360 as a throwback. It had the same feel as Call of Duty with updated graphics. Personally, I prefer how the Russians were portrayed in Call of Duty: people oppressed by a Communist nation being literally forced at gunpoint to sacrfice themselves to the better equipped Germans to serve their natural end for the State. In CoD 2, they seemed to shift gears and make the Russians perfectly willing and honored to die for the glory of their Communist oppressors (which I think was a departure from history in a way). It's almost as if CoD 2 decided to present Russia as an honorable nation worthy of praise when it hadn't been but a decade or so prior to the battles you partake in that the Soviets deliberately starved their own people in a man-made famine, killing 5 million of their own citizens. The "drive" of the Russians in the game, which seems one of honor, is a slight departure of what exactly they did to Europe after their successful fight against the Nazis (who were pretty closely related, philosophically). All in all, I was empathetic to the Russians in CoD, as anyone with a heart or knowledge of history should be... but I was actually irritated with the Russian campaign in CoD 2. Nevertheless, the fighting, missions, and chaotic action in CoD 2 remains strictly loyal to that of CoD and its expansions, which is a very good thing, believe me.
That gripe has nothing to do with the gameplay, just a personal issue I had with historical presentation. Though there were a handful of memorable moments in this game, there were not as many as there were in CoD and CoD 2: Big Red One for me. I think that CoD 2 was a great sequel with better graphics and a nice change up in engagements (I really liked the Pointe du Hoc mission... very intense, even moreso after you ascend the cliff).
CoD mastered the sound of warfare. They carried that over to its sequel. The explosions, gunfire, screaming from mortally wounded friends and foes, chaotic commands being shouted by soldiers in a state of panic. It's all there. CoD and CoD 2 cannot be knocked for sound. It really sucks you in.
Overall, the single player campaign is great, and I would recommend this throwback based on that alone. Most of the missions provide intense battle moments with checkpoints that are spread out enough to make you think twice about running recklessly into the action. It's a welcome return to classic CoD style where "story" is a history already written, no extensive dialogue and cutscenes with pretentious acting required. You're given the time, the place, and the objectives, then you're thrown into battle as a private with a bunch of other privates (presumably one of the many 18 - 25 year-old greenhorns that volunteered for the war). No one is a super warrior and at times you get that sense that you're just "winging it". In the midst of this panicked chaos of war fought by inexperienced soldiers, you hardly will notice that you're kept on the rails by scripted levels. The other thing I thought was nice is that there is enough size and freedom in the maps to allow you to flank the enemy or attack them head on. Basically, it doesn't "feel" scripted, though it is.
The multiplayer menus and functions are obviously outdated and obsolete. If you're looking to buy this game in 2011 or beyond, do so only for the single-player; forget about multiplayer. For single-player, it is a great game even more than for pure nostalgia. I daresay I prefer this old-school CoD gaming style to the later ones that rely a bit too much on dramatic storylines to make the fighting interesting than just making interesting fighting scenarios. The fighting is intense, chaotic, and a lot of fun. I recommend buying a used copy for cheap. It is definitely worth the $5 or $6 that you'll spend. Don't overlook it because it's outdated. The action and excitement it invokes will never become obsolete. It's nice to be treated to what built the everlasting CoD franchise foundation. | video-games_xbox |
Brink. Brink... If you absolutely love Call of Duty, I recommend you find another game. Call of Duty is senseless killing with almost no effort to perform any sort of actual goal. Brink assumes you will work as a team in order to achieve some sort of greater goal such as hacking an important device, blowing up a wall for ease of access to an important area, etc. You cannot go this game alone. Without the intent to help your team, you will surely fail. That being said, I haven't really talked all that much about the game.
Graphics (8.5/10):
The graphics in Brink are great. It has a cartoonish vibe with an underlying feeling of realism. The environments are perfect given the setting and the execution is generally smooth. The game does have the occasional hiccup, but after the recent patch they are few and far in between. Cutscenes are often plagued with poor texturing as they take a while to load the textures giving you the poor milky graphic that no one really wants to see.
Sound (9/10):
The music in Brink is quite nice. It provides an excellent background without overpowering the sound of intense firefights or the sound of a teammate calling for your assistance. I have heard numerous complaints about the sound of the guns, but honestly I find the sound to be right on the spot. Each weapon's sound fits the weapon well. The only complaint I have is the constant updates from your team leader (he will frequently tell you to do an objective so much so that it becomes a nuisance fairly quickly).
Controls (10/10):
The controls in Brink are near perfection. The left bumper controls your SMART (Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain) movement, and aside of that the controls have the making of a classic shooter. I must say, the SMART system is brilliant. Nothing makes you feel like a bad*** more than leaping over walls while firing a spray of bullets toward an enemy team. I will say however, that SMART does have it's times where it isn't perfect, as rare as they may be. You may be attempting to climb some crates to get to the top of a building, but your character will see a random ledge that he seems to find more appealing and feel inclined to take that instead. Generally however, the controls and movement are quite smooth and add quite a bit to the feel of the game. The system is based on your body type (Light, Medium, and Heavy). The light body type is the most versatile of the three. They have the ability to traverse the map in no time, although they have a much smaller life bar to compensate. Medium is restricted in movement by the inability to wall hop, and it is somewhat slower than the light weight, although still quite fast. The medium class also has more life to withstand more damage. Finally, the heavy weight. Although slow, and generally not able to abuse the SMART system too much, they have a great deal of life and are much harder to kill.
Story (6/10):
While I found the story quite interesting, I felt it was very poorly executed. While playing through the single player campaign I found myself not caring about a single character in the game. There is no attempt to even moderately connect the player to the characters, and you can tell that they focused primarily on the multiplayer aspect. The cutscenes at the end of each level are shallow and uneventful, and tell you virtually nothing about what's going on within the Ark. Resistance wins, Security wins, who cares? I honestly can't even tell why half of this stuff is going on.
Gameplay - Single Player (7/10):
Yes, I have been praising this game thus far, but this is it's one vital flaw. Now before you get too excited, the game wasn't built around single player. It is designed for multiplayer (in my opinion), and should be played as such. In single player, the AI teammates you are given are so impossibly useless, that you will essentially be performing all objectives single handedly. On any difficulty above easy, this can be more than just a pain. The game itself is still quite fun, but there is nothing more frustrating than watching your teammates do absolutely nothing as you attempt to kill an entire team, disarm a bomb, destroy a turret, plant a bomb, hack a terminal, and try not to die. For those of you that are skeptical as to my 7/10, I have in fact beaten all 8 missions for both sides on the normal difficulty, and have gotten through about half of them on the hard difficulty. Although the bots can be incredibly frustrating at times (a medic is right next to you but decides he doesn't really feel like reviving you,, I still generally had fun completing the missions, and I enjoyed the challenge.
Gameplay - Multiplayer (10/10):
Phenomenal. This is where Brink truly shines. Working as a team has never been so rewarding, and so entertaining at the same time. Providing allies with health buffs, damage buffs, revives, or even simply covering fire helps you better achieve your mission objectives. If the objective is to hack a terminal, your team moves together or splits up to flank the enemy. When you arrive at the terminal, your operatives begin the hack, and you support them by providing them with health buffs, or simply covering them as the enemy tries to destroy the hack box. If you are concerned only with your K/D ratio, then I advise you find another game. Brink doesn't even have a scoreboard that reflects K/D ratios considering it is so far off from the primary objective that it is forgettable. Although you don't get perfect teams with the matchmaking, if you have a group of friends, big or small, supporting each other is still a ton of fun. The objective wheel that Brink features allows you to quickly and easily help you discern what the most vital objective for the team is, as well as what the secondary objectives are. The secondary objectives will always help you more easily achieve the primary objective by giving your team more health, more supplies, or easier access to the primary objective.
Customization (9/10):
When you make your character, you have both a resistance character, and a security character. Both of these characters' appearances are customizable with a great degree of options. Clothing, hair style, body type (body type does affect gameplay however), and the ability to change the color of any of the above. The weapons also come with a degree of customization, although not as in depth as Call of Duty: Black Ops. You cannot change the color of your weapons although you can add a variety of attachments to each one. Attachments are unlocked through challenges that you can attempt. I was also somewhat disappointed that they only had around 10 outfits per faction to choose from. I felt as though they could have added a bit more for customization options, however I am still able to customize my character enough to where he feels like my own creation.
Replay Value (10/10):
Although you only have 8 maps to choose from (the same 8 maps played in the single player campaign with the same objectives), I have found that the maps simply have not gotten old. With the SMART system, it is near impossible to traverse every corner of every map. Your options are endless. Leveling your character is not hard, but it's not too fast either. The speed at which you level allows for you to feel empowered, but prevents you from leveling up too fast. With each level you are rewarded new outfits and with each new rank you are awarded new talents for each of your classes. You also have the ability to create new characters that you can built towards a specific class if you already have a character built more towards another class. Overall I can see myself playing this game well into the future. The online multiplayer is awesome, and if you have friends that own it as well it's even better.
Overall Rating (9/10):
Aside of the occasional minor complaint, Brink is fantastic. With the patches Bethesda and Splash Damage have in the works, they will hopefully be fixing even the subtle problems I have addressed in this review. DLC has been announced for June, and the game most certainly has high hopes. Many claim Brink falls short of the hype it received prior to release, but Brink is nothing short of brilliant. The game performs as it should, and I assure you if what I have said has even sparked your interest then Brink is worth at least another look.
EDIT *5/18*:
I understand that the comment on this review claims that I work for Bethesda/Splash Damage. I don't, but if you feel inclined to believe that then fine. I just figured Brink deserved an honest review from someone that can safely say they have put a good amount of time into the game and have found it to be an excellent experience.
EDIT *7/31*:
Recently SD released an update for Brink, fixing lag issues, AI problems, weapon balance, and a host of other issues Brink's critics were bringing up. The DLC (which will be free for two weeks after it's release) will be released on August 3rd, and will feature a variety of new content to liven up your visit to the Ark. Given these new updates, my opinions on Brink have changed, and they have changed for the better. I most certainly recommend at least renting this game to determine whether or not it's for you. It's not the easiest game to judge, as it brings a lot to the table, and for some it simply doesn't bring what they want to the table, but I assure you it's worth at least a few hours of your time to say the least. | video-games_xbox |
A Very Bland and Weak Attempt At A Wrestling Game. You couldn't pay me to play this game again.
When I had my original Xbox before the 360 came out, WWE Raw was the first wrestling game I got for it. I had high hopes for it as I expected it to be in great competition with the PlayStation's SmackDown! series of games. How disappointed and wrong I was.
There are so many problems with Raw, and it reeks of a slack and lazy game development company that's never watched a WWE pay-per-view in their lives.
My first problem is with the roster:
The roster is limited, there's about thirty something superstars yet so many were left out. This game came out in 2002, why are guys like Haku, Justin Credible and K-Kwik in here, but other main event wrestlers from that era aren't? Where's Shawn Michaels? Where's Booker T? Where's Rob Van Dam? Where's Brock Lesnar? This game seems to be more designed for late 2000/early 2001.
I know development started in 2001 but surely they could have at least kept it up to date.
And my next problem is the unlockable wrestlers. There are four unlockables, those are Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit... Where is the incentive to unlock any of these wrestlers? Unless you're a die hard Limp Bizkit fan, then you won't care about unlocking any of these.
Why didn't they use some common sense and put wrestlers worth unlocking in here? i.e. Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Bret Hart. Guys are legends and are unlockables in other wrestling games. Who the hell wants to play as Fred Durst?
Next agenda is the lack of game modes. There is no season mode here whatsoever. You have exhibition, king of the ring and tournament mode. Obviously Anchor got lazy and decided not to put a season mode in here.
There is no real proper match types. I mean, sure there's single matches, tag matches, triple threats and fatal four-ways, but where are all the gimmicks we're accustomed to? Where's the cage matches? Hell In A Cell? Ladder matches? All of these match types are missing.
The graphics are okay, I've seen much worse, but the models all look hunched over and lurchy. The gameplay is annoying and fidgetty, and I even found a lot of finishing moves are just weak and useless. For example, if I were playing as Steve Austin against Spike Dudley, I could give him three Stone Cold Stunners in a row and he would still get straight back up before I even had a chance to try and pin him. But then if I gave him a simple scoop slam, I could easily get a three-count.
There's no real submission system here, you basically just have to keep on locking on the same submission for a couple of seconds before they finally tap out. It's more effective to put them in a submission move, then pin them once you let go then to actually try and make them tap out.
There's no weight system either, so Molly Holly can powerbomb the Big Show with ease if she wanted to.
There are no backstage or locker room areas, in fact, there is only one arena in the entire game and that's the Raw arena. There are no pay-per-view arenas or even a SmackDown arena.
There isn't even a referee, instead when you pin someone, numbers counting to 3 just magically appear on the screen.
There's no ringside commentary or ring announcers.
The only thing that is mildly good here is the create-a-wrestler section which goes fairly indepth, but the rest of it is dreadful.
This is a mere shell of an extremely bad wrestling game, making WWE Raw, a weak and empty game with very little content or replay value. It's heavily outdated, the gameplay is poor, the graphics are average and there really isn't much here to keep you interested or entertained for very long. It's not hard to see why the SmackDown series has survived so long whereas the Raw series died after only two games.
Don't pay for this game. | video-games_xbox |
Despite all of Sudeki's negative reviews . . . The game is definitely worth a look.
So, you start off Sudeki with an absolutely lovely scene that has you floating through Illumina Castle, and by now you are already wow-ing the amazing graphics, vivid colors, and overall inviting scenery of Haskilia. A few moments later you meet our first hero, Tal, who is daydreaming in his mess of a bedroom. Within no time, you are in control of the muscular redhead and asked to give a demonstration (read: play through tutorial). Then, after a quick drill in the game's combat system, you are off on the linear path to save the world, and despite the lack of decision making, it is one trip to remember.
Gameplay:
Sudeki is much more of an action/adventure title than it is an RPG, so hardcore RPG gamers: don't expect complex level-ups, endless screens and menus full of attacks to scroll through, or millions of tedious find-and-fetch sidequests. Rather, enter the world of fast-paced real-time action that Sudeki provides knowing that it isn't a typical slow, lengthy Role playing game, and you are bound to have a blast.
Combat is where Sudeki really shines. It thrusts a sense of urgency into your face that simply doesn't exist in your standard RPG, But that doesn't mean that the game is your typical hack-'n-slasher's paradise. If you jump into combat simply pressing the 'x' button as fast as you can, you are doomed to die again and again (or at least waste all too many potions). As you learn the first time you control Tal, Combos are the key to success. Combos are executed by stringing together different 3-strike combinations of horizontal (X) and vertical (A) attacks, and each combo in the game has a different effect on those hit by them. For example, Tal and Buki both have one combo that stuns most enemies, allowing you to set up a skill strike without having to worry about your victims moving outside of the damage radius.
While on the topic: Pressing the 'Y' button in the midst of battle will bring up a menu on the left side of your screen that will allow you quick access to your character's devastating skill strikes (which your character either starts off with or attains through leveling up). These various skill strikes can give your team a razor-edged advantage in combat, depending on how you use them. Some skill strikes inflict damage to your enemies directly, while others provide the Sudeki gang with strength boosts and other positive affects that can really lead to some memorable battles. However, choose quickly, because the 'Y' menu doesn't pause the game. Rather, it slows the game down to a crawl but enemies are still perfectly capable of knocking you down, so I don't recommend bringing up the menu as an enemy is preparing to attack. I personally found this slow-down move by Climax to be ingenious. It does an amazing job of keeping up the urgent pace of the game.
My one complaint about skill strikes: The aiming is waaay too sensitive. You have approx. 5 seconds to aim your strikes, position your enemies within the orange perimeter of the damage area, but simply tapping the analog sticks will send the general direction of your strike's path spinning. However, with practice you will find the strikes easier and easier to control. Try not to be too frustrated when you miss your target. It is bound to happen sooner or later.
Graphics:
Another brilliant aspect of Sudeki. The varied worlds range from bright and anime-esque to dark citadels, and we can't forget the downright creepy locals, such as the Hall of Heads.
Yeah, we all know this game has a mature rating. Your first mission will show you just why Sudeki was tagged for violence, blood, and gore. Granted, the graphics make even the bloodiest peasant-on-a-pitchfork look like a brilliant piece of artwork. I found myself going into first-person view to stare at most of the unfortunate victims of the Aklorian raid. However, Anime-ish violence sure can turn a few sensitive stomachs, so if you don't think that seeing enemies explode like little blood fireworks upon death would appeal to you, either play the game with your eyes closed or don't buy, because in this world nobody dies a clean death.
Sound:
Perhaps the most criticized aspect of Sudeki is the Voice acting. Yes, every NPC in the game has all of its furry little lines voiced, and while many of the voices work perfectly with the character, Climax seemed a bit over-ambitious with the variety in accents. German, French, Hick- It's all here, folks! Not to mention, some of the lines (while entirely amusing) can raise a few eyebrows, such as the German Pelt trader's "Lay your skin on me, I can't get enough" or our main man Elco's "I'm going to kill you in the face!". The lines don't really affect gameplay negatively, but they are there and strange, regardless.
On to the soundtrack:
I personally loved it. Each area or town had a theme that fit it perfectly, and I have to admit that I received the soundtrack free when I preordered, and it has been in my stereo plenty of times since.
Story:
The story is actually quite deep, and has a few major plot twists that I hadn't seen coming, but it isn't told to it's fullest and is not as lengthy as the average RPG, but just as deep, in my own opinion. The main characters (Elco especially) each have an interesting enough background, though I am unhappy to report that their stories were barely scratched in the game itself.
Replayability:
There are no cheats that I know of, and no alternate endings in existence. The gameplay is linear, so you will always know what will happen next in the storyline. All of this aside, I have replayed Sudeki 3 times since initially beating it. I couldn't really tell you why I find the game so amusing, but, from experience with other gamer's opinions, I guess the game is really a hit-or-miss thing. Love or hate, but no happy medium. I think, however, that if you love action games, Sudeki will sit nicely in your library.
All in all: Sudeki makes for a great action title, and is a great first step in the RPGish direction for Climax, who previously had no RPGs under their belt. Though it has its flaws, as all games do, it is unexplainably fun, and to a certain extent addictive, but if you are still sure that you don't want to shell out 50 bucks, at least rent it. You would be missing out on a very entertaining game otherwise.
And be sure to keep an eye out for the sequel ;P | video-games_xbox |
A half finished masterwork. The Half finished game that could have been the greatest game of all time.
There is no real story. It teases you, a bit to allude that there is some epic tale here but there is none.
Take that in for a minute. I know most people think you don't always need a story, and hell lots of games don't really have one. But this isn't one of those games. This game bleeds style. This game is so detailed, so epic that the lack of the story to explain wtf is going on frustrates you. Why is there a giant wolf with a sward guarding a massive grave? Who are all these NPCs? Can you elaborate on the chosen one quest a tad more? Its really disappointing. If the developers spent an extra month or two adding some plot in or even giving the story equal priority that they have given everything else in the game they would have had created a masterpiece.
I'm sure there will be at least a dozen books and movies created later on that will be inspired by this game. Its that epic. Unfortunately along with the story they also left out any explanation on what you really need to do in the game. There is no explanation. There is crafting that unless you buy the strategy guide or go online to guides you will never know how to use. There are online guilds that you can join that again offer no explanation whatsoever. They also have crimes you can commit in game that will make online player invade your world and attack you. Funny thing is there is no explanation for this unless again you buy the guide or go to the interweb to find out what's going on. But the best part is even the guide book is incomplete! And the online websites and guides that help people with this game are still playing catch up. So expect to keep your ipad next to you as you play so you can figure out what to use and not use and what you can feed to the giant demon in the shrine. Its REALLY confusing.
It's a beautiful game. And when you get a handle on the combat its fun. But unless you don't mind grinding levels hundreds of times you shouldn't buy this game. Also the game design goes from brutally hard to flat out cheap. Lots. It is all about trial and error and not throwing your controller through your 50 inch plasma. And FYI, a lot of the important NPCs look like ordinary bad guys. So try not to kill first and ask questions later. Because they don't come back to life and you might have just killed the only person in the game who can sell you items that you NEED.
So really the only thing to say is it's a fun game with amazingly detailed graphics and bad guys that behave differently and keep you on your toes, that lacks any plot, tutorial or explanation to what you should do and what it is all about. If you just wanna hack and slash and kill stuff just to get stronger and kill more stuff and see cooler places well this is for you. But you are going to need to google this game at some point (Early on) to figure out where to go and what to do. If you get frustrated easily and don't want to resort to guidebooks and online forums and wiki's avoid this like the plague. Im almost don't with the game but I don't see myself doing a new game + on it because there really isn't anything more to see after the first playthrough.
I really wish next time this company makes a game they give the story side of it all some more staff. | video-games_xbox |
Jameson Thottam as Sam Fischer in Splinter Cell. Jameson Thottam as Sam Fischer in Splinter Cell
Splinter Cell (a Tom Clancy project) began in 2002 with the X-Box version of Splinter Cell - the game that blew gamers away by graphical shadowing alone. The game was intended to be the first "true" stealth game and rival the Die-Hard-like competitor Metal Gear Solid. In some ways, even then, the game seemed revolutionary. Sneak in the cloak of shadows and through the gaps of broken light in silence to destroy enemies was basically what Splinter Cell was about. Despite the neat gadgets the game had (surveillance cameras that dispersed gas, guns that fried electrical units), the game seemed simple; in fact it was simple in a linear interpretation. When the game ended, there was no real reason to go back through the game, even if it was an instant classic. So, out came Pandora Tomorrow, two years, later that tried to expand Splinter Cell. In some cases, it did; larger levels were built, the lighting was better adjusted, and it even featured multiplayer. But, once again, when the time came for the game's completion, Pandora Tomorrow fell shallow - even with the multiplayer. So, out comes Chaos Theory; a game where they expanded the levels even larger, readjusted a few things, and added a few perks to enhance the gameplay and make it worth a second, or third, go through. Did their attempt succeed? Yes it did. So much that it not only impressed me, but made me realize that UbiSoft is the next major contendor in third-party manufacturers and may just be the next Rareware (although Rareware is a second-party company, but you know what I mean...).
Gameplay 5 (out of 5) : James Thottam
You are top stealth agent Sam Fischer, who is reprising his role of serving the U.S. Government way beyond his deadline for retirement. You are twice the age of the new recruits who you serve, but the Pentagon values you more than the other men. Why? Well, its easy to say that your record of killing people exceed even your commander-in-chief, you have survived two other world-threatening missions and above that, your a very dangerous killing machine who doesn't sleep. You smell, see, taste, hear, and feel death around you, its in your blood to kill for the good of decent men and you can't accept life any other way than offered to you by your career. You are Sam Fisher. The Chaos Theory has been assigned to you and you will not fail your mission; it's in your blood, it's why you were born to live.
Putting you in the Mood: Jameson Thottam
That's the overall attitude the game puts in you. That is what successful games do, puts you in the mood and makes you believe you are that character until you get a game over and restart and reenact through the same belief that compels you.
The newer installment has been redefined. The levels are huge, complex levels with different niches and ways to get past it. For instance, you can go through crawl spaces to get around an obstacle, fall from catwalks to knock out guards, or just go ape-wild with your machine gun and blast them. It's truly up to you. A few levels do seem linear; especially the post-apocalyptic Seoul stage; where you have to follow building top upon building top across a city of destroyed structures and, when you get past the buildings, you have one-way alleyways to worry about:, but then again, you can follow the route either on ground or through fire escapes and zip-lines.
From Start to Finish: Jameson Thottam
At the beginning of the stage there are very impressive GCI rendered cut-scenes about sudden incidents that will cause you to pursue the particular mission given to you by Colonel Irving Lambert. After a briefing is made, you are given the option of three types of weapons to enter; Stealth (has weapons like the sticky camera, silent pistol, and combat knife with limited ammunition), Assault (You are given grenades, machine guns, etc.) and William Redding's Recommendation (The amount of weapons and weapon types that best suit's the chosen level). I usually choose stealth because A, I love it, and B, I am trying to get passed the entire game undetected (which means not killing anyone). Though I don't think B will be possible, sense the bosses recognize you. But even so, it's still a challenge. If you don't want to use your weapons assigned to you, you can always use natural entities (as of rocks or wine bottles) to hum at their heads. Be careful though on how you aim an object; a few times I totally missed their head and they instantly pinpointed from where the bottle was thrown.
Thinking about the AI: Jameson L Thottam
Yes, the A.I. is more advanced in this version. They hold conversations with each other, cough, and even struggle for their lives from your deadly grasp. With their impressive realistic natures, comes more enhanced protocols. The enemies in the game can now sense something out of the ordinary, are able to notice you from across the yard if you are exposed in the light, and gain a funny feeling if you follow them. Meaning, you can make the slightest noise and they turn and shoot you. So, this game really pushes you to the limit and demands you to be quick with the toes if you intend to go about the game as a stealth figure. They will even call out reinforcements or walk out of their jurisdiction to investigate whatever disturbance. A few times, I was sniped out by someone who noticed me in the shadow from an upper floor of the building; I guess the scope of their sniper rifle has a night-vision lens.
Ending the Game: Jameson Thottam
At the end of each level, you are offered statistics on how you performed in the stage (how many people you killed, how many times you were noticed, etc.) and a percentage grade is given to you; which is not only challenging to get 100% on all stages, but through harder difficulties it is even more tricky). Do not ask me what happens when you get an overall game completion of 100%, because I haven't yet reached that, I am at 97% in the easiest difficulty. I, having been pulled into the (complete the entire game and receive a special prize) have been fooled too much into the ploy; I am not expecting much of out this supposed conspiracy, but it Chaos Theory alone is just so spectacular that I have no problems replaying it again for the umpteenth time.
Training: Jameson Thottam
If you get bored of the main game, there is a training mode, and online play via XBOX Live. But I will be frank with you, I don't have an XBOX-Live and couldn't even afford to have one even thought I would like to add in a review on how Chaos Theory runs online. Yet, I'd rather play the single player campaign anyways, it serves a breath of fresh air in the gaming world.
Graphics 5 (Out of 5): Jameson Thottam
I don't know how well the enhanced Ninja Gaiden: Black looks because I haven't had the chance to try it out (though I got annihilated by the boss of the first stage of Ninja Gaiden for XBOX, so I am in no rush to try it's revamped version), but I should feel safe to say Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory renders the best graphics I have seen out of the XBOX. It is twice superior to that of Pandora Tomorrow and rivals the visuals of Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Between the expression of fear seeping out the faces of the enemies held hostage, the tarps swaying lightly with the wind, the leaves of ferns and blades of grass drifting back and forth by the breeze, and the moistened glow of the nightlight running up Sam Fischer's suit give one of the most realistic console atmospheres I have played yet. The only problem with Splinter Cell, is don't the A.I. drones notice the three round beams (from the visors attached to Sam's crown) glowing in the dark? I found that a bit perplexing. But either than that, the colorization of the levels (most importantly the golden stage of Hokkaido) are beautiful and vibrant.
Sound 4.5 (Out of 5) : James Thottam
While the soundtrack is on the border of non-existent, every natural sound (waves rushing upon the rocky surf of the lighthouse stages, the gusts of rain catapulting with the gales, and even the range of other people voices (as they are down the hall or in another room) all sound true to it's nature. The gadgets sound high-tech and the rapid firing of the guns blare at a full Dolby Digital 5.1. If there are fans who dig sound effects, this is your game.
Replay 5 (Out of 5) : Jameson L Thottam
With over a dozen intricate ways to kill your target, I don't find any two experiences through a single stage will be enacted in the same way, there is just too much happening. There is the "Save anywhere, anytime function", which I humbly adore in any game, included in Chaos Theory. While some of the missions are hard, this game screams to be made into a movie. What with safe-cracking, hacking into a bank's security system, taking over Japanese conspirators, defusing bombs, being hunted by hovering robotic sentry units, finding dozens of secret passages in the game, and actually racing to destroy a nuclear weapon before it hits land... who would want more out of a video game? Although this game is far from epic, it the adventure can be fun and quick, intriguing and slow paced, suspenseful, or whatever you want it to be. It is Sam Fisher's life you are playing and, just like your own life, you can experience it however you want to with the understanding of the consequences involved with the actions you take. Although I haven't played it online, I heard it was pretty awesome. There is also offline Co-op, I haven't tried it however; don't have any friends close by who are still interested as I am in playing video games... But, it doesn't matter. The Single-Player campaign will last you a good few weeks or, if you like it as how I do, Chaos Theory will last you a very long time.
Overall 4.75 (out of 5) : Jameson Thottam
I know I haven't gone into critiquing the controls. They are the same as what is found in Pandora Tomorrow, except now they have a hanging upside down move and you also get to decide if you want to crack their neck or knock them unconscious (I don't recall if you were given the option in the previous installment). But anyhow, Chaos Theory delivers and makes you feel as if you are actually working for the Pentagon. A classic XBOX game that is worthy to be in anyone's collection. I can't wait until I can continue my fictitious career of Sam Fischer in the Splinter Cell sequel coming out on the XBOX 360, if I could actually afford to buy an XBOX 360 later on in the future. Here's to hoping...
Jameson Thottam | video-games_xbox |
Not Worth The $60 Price Tag. UPDATED: Star Added and Review Adjusted (6/23/2015)
The frustrating logon queues that plagued ESOTU during the week of its launch are no longer an issue. Logging in is fast and painless.
Once the connection to the server has been established, gameplay is smooth for the most part. The frame rate will dip, but this is an MMO after all and one of the first to be implemented on this platform. These frame rate dips, while noticeable, are not a game-breaker for me and do not detract from the experience. In some cases, however, I have noticed some pretty extreme "rubber banding." This usually occurs just prior to losing the connection with the server.
I cannot help comparing this game to Neverwinter, which was released a few months prior to ESOTU. I found the launch of Neverwinter to be much smoother. This is sad considering the fact that Neverwinter is free. Furthermore, while the user interface for ESOTU is more intuitive and better implemented overall, the quality of gameplay is about the same as that of Neverwinter. The graphics are markedly better in ESOTU, but this is more due to style and animation. What I can confidently declare is that while ESOTU may be slightly better than Neverwinter in most areas, it is not $60 better.
For those expecting this to be a multiplayer version of Skyrim, don't get your hopes up. ESOTU does not even come close to achieving the depth and level of detail seen in previous Elder Scrolls titles. And this is to be expected considering the scope of ESOTU. Having said that, this game is still fun and has a great deal of potential when and if Bethesda/Zenimax can work the kinks out. Again, they are trail blazing here with the MMORPG genre on consoles and they deserve to be cut some slack. But considering the relatively smooth launch of Neverwinter (which is free to play) I expected more from a premium title.
My advice is to wait until ESOTU goes on sale and pick it up then. Hopefully, by then, the bugs will be patched and the experience will be much less frustrating. | video-games_xbox |
Knights of the Old Republic: Kung Fu style. I've loved most of the Bioware games over the last several years. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, the Baldur's Gate series and all the spin offs based on that same engine by Black Isle. So while I hadn't really tracked the development or feature set of Jade Empire, and I haven't been playing many games at all the last year or so - I decided to pick it up.
So I got it home, tried it out, and got into the old pattern of a week-long, late-night playing spree until I reached the end.
It was good.
The characters and writing were pretty decent. The quests were pretty varied (although I got really sick of ghosts and spirits by the end). The dialog was funny at times. You had choices about whether to be good or evil throughout the game. It definitely had an Eastern flavor and philosophy throughout. There were some really original segments and nice cinematic sequences and some fairly well-done plot twists. But overall I'd say the story and characters were just decent - not as good as an average novel. Not quite as good as Knights of the Old Republic. And not innovative - still plagued by the same issues that have affected previous games in the genre (e.g. no real freedom to make choices to avoid big plot quests or go in your own direction, not much subtlety in the good/evil choices and rewards given for being either as good or as evil as possible, smashing barrels and boxes and urns around towns and houses to find loot without any consequences).
Where the game really shined was in combat. Your character is skilled in Kung Fu, and starts with 2 fighting "styles" that he or she can switch between at any time. Each style is relatively simple in it's own right. There's a basic attack. You can sequence 2 or 3 attacks in succession before needing to pause a second. You can block. You can "power attack" which takes a second to warm up and leaves you open to regular attack - but can break through an enemy's block. And there's an area attack that knocks foes down but doesn't really hurt them. And you can roll and flip around to evade enemies. That's it. So basic strategy is "rock, paper, scissors." Block beats regular attack - power attack beats block - regular attack beats power attack (during warm up).
So in the beginning of the game you get used to this strategy against one opponent or a few at a time. But before long you start learning new styles. There are new "martial" styles (different forms of kung fu), there are support styles which tend to hinder opponents and set them up for finishing combinations, there are magic styles that usually let you blast enemies at range, there are weapon styles, and there are transformation styles (which let you become a big baddie of some sort for a short while to kick some butt).
Each of these styles has the same categories of moves described above... but very different versions. E.g. with the dire flame magic style, the basic attack fires a small flaming projectile at your enemy, the power attack fires a large flaming projectile that immolates the enemy for a time and makes it impossible for him to attack back, and the area attack summons a dragon to breath flame in the area.
So the core mechanic of the game stays fresh throughout, since you're continually collecting new styles, trying them out, learning their strengths and weaknesses, and investing your limited pool of points into improving the ones you like best. Then at some point you start to really experiment with the "hamonic combinations" in which you have to use a support or magic style, get someone with the slow power attack, then quickly switch to a martial style and hit them with another power attack to finish them off and produce a power up. This can be fun, and it very efficient when fighting large groups of enemies at once.
I have to admit - at times I really felt like a bad-ass kung fu master during the game. Start with my "Flawless" staff style, then switch to "Spirit Thief" to suck up some of their spiritual energy, then flip over their back and use "Thousand Cuts" for some quick punches, then finally to "Stone Immortal" to encase my enemies in rock. The switching between styles is very fast and natural - and before too long I became very familiar with many of the styles, and I could recognize and name the styles that foes were using against me. This really brought scenes of kung fu movies to mind such as "Ha - you don't think you can beat me using "Leaping Tiger" style do you?" or "Ahh, Tempest style. You must be a master who follows the way of the closed fist - and I must take care to avoid your vortex area attacks."
And in the end - that's what makes a game memorable. The way it made you feel when you were playing it. This game made me feel like a Kung Fu master in a way that straight fighting games with never could.
-Mike Arcuri | video-games_xbox |
its worth trying. The missions are fun.
Ark falls are fun. And they are vastly different.
The world is open and huge, you can walk around in a very unstructured way. Jump on a jeep and explore the country side.
It is pretty fun to go full speed on a vehicle, through hills. Blindly jump your vehicle into who knows what...sometimes it land, sometimes water, and sometimes enemy camp. Nothing is more humorous than driving your vehicle into full speed, straight into an ark fall and jump out shooting, while letting your car crash into the ark fall. Then the post battle Dukes-of-Hazard style, drive your car in circles in the mud celebration.
Events are happing all over the place, sometimes you can get drawn into an event on the way to another event.
The guns have huge differences, one gun can behave completely differently than another one. I see no one using the pistols. This is an oversight. I pistol, up close, with a well placed, well timed shot can do huge damage. In close quarters, inside buildings, a pistol can deal devastating damage. In a large open field, trying to use a pistol is going to get you killed.
You can reset all your skills. No point really stressing out about starting with the right skills.
This is an MMO, so there are other people out there while you are there. Other people can help you complete your mission, because they are doing the same mission.
This is a game that you can play for a certain amount of time, then leave. The game displays the time. You could play for an hour and do just one mission.
My wife likes the game, she wants to play tonight.
Bad:
Played this a couple days. Normally I would never play a 3rd person over the shoulder game, but it works.
When you first install the game, patching and updating takes a long time, maybe an hour.
When you first log in, go quickly through the tutorial as a fast as you can. The tutorial servers must be getting hit hard. Otherwise you will be forced to redo it.
The game sever has issues from time to time. Sometimes you cannot revive people. Sometimes you cannot pick something up. Sometimes you are frozen.
The game needs better armor. Armor is purely visual.
Navigation through menus can be hard.
You use MS-points to buy some in game items.
Now that you are playing the game, please learn how to "milk the ark fall" not just complete it. Sure the EGO says you need to hurry up and destroy the so and so, but the timer says you have 19 minutes. Don't focus on what she says to do until you get down to 5 minutes or so. | video-games_xbox |
Not as good as the first. After being blown away by the first Battlefront, I bought Battlefront II on the day that it came out, and was disappointed. It just doesn't have the same power that Battlefront one did. However, that's not to say this is a bad game; it just pales in comparison to the original. The developers were so focused on including space battles and playable Heroes (both of which are pretty pointless) that they didn't take the time to make a game as amazing as the first for them to be used in. They should have utilized the stronger aspects of the first game instead of completely redesigning everything. It's still an awesome game and I don't regret buying it at all, but I was hoping that the sequel would be an improvement.
PROS:
-One of the few things that's better about Battlefront II than one is that now blaster bolts actually move at a believable speed. In the first, you could watch every shot come at you nice and slowly and dodging them was no problem. In this game, shots move at the speed you would think futuristic projectiles would move; not as fast as, say, bullets, but still at a decent speed, making them harder to dodge and allowing you to fire right at your target, instead of ten feet in front of them so that they run into the shot.
-The idiotic radiation and grenade launchers and the useless bolt caster that the droid, Imperial, and Republic pilots, respectively, were forced to use in the first Battlefront have been done away with, and pilots (now Engineers, or in the case of the Rebels, a Smuggler) now have decent shotguns. I actually like to use the Engineer as a soldier now, while in the first Battlefront, I would only play as the pilot only when I wanted to fly or drive a vehicle.
-There are many new maps, such as Coruscant, Dagobah, the Death Star, Mygeeto, Mustafar, Utapau, the Tantine IV, an improved Kashyyyk level, Jabba's Palace, and Felucia, all of which are just as good as the maps from the original: expansive, well-designed, and challenging.
-The Rewards system is a nice addition (however, one aspect, which will be discussed later, is a major con). If you perform certain tasks with one life (such as 12 kills with a balster rifle, 4 critical hits with a rocket launcher, slicing yourself into a vehicle, etc.), you get medals and with enough medals you get improved weaponry, such as the commando rifle (which fires in three shot bursts), the flechette shotgun (pretty much the same as the regular shotgun, but slightly more powerful), heat-seeking rocket launcher, etc., or benefits such as increased stamina and health. The game also keeps track of your total kills, deaths, and kill to death ratio.
-When starting up an instant action game, there are new expanded options. You can set how many reinforcements each side will have, from less than one hundred to more than seven hundred, so battles are as short or as long as you want them to be. You can also turn off Hereos, which are pretty pointless and can become annoying.
-The graphics are slightly improved, but everything is much more colorful, giving the game an almost cartoonish look.
CONS:
-The first major con that I noticed is the new aiming reticule. It's a huge circle with a tiny dot in the middle, which is fine for playing in first person, but when you like playing Battlefront in third person like I do, aiming with the huge crosshair becomes virtually impossible. The smaller crosshair in Battlefront one was perfect for both first and third person. Maybe this is no big deal to anyone else, but it was a huge difference to me and I had to get used to playing in first person.
-There are now only two positions: standing and crouched. You can no longer go prone, which was of great use when sniping and trying to remain undetected. This greatly hurts anyone who enjoys using stealth sometimes (such as me).
-When in a ground vehicle, there is no first person view (while I like third person view while on foot, in vehicles first person is my preference). There's no way to change the view, except while in ships in space. Why they would only allow fighters to choose which view to use makes no sense to me. Also, only vehicles in space are repaired automatically (as long as you're a pilot, not a marine). Ground vehicles must be repaired by hand when they get damaged, and you have to earn the ability for your vehicles to repair automatically.
-The Dark Trooper, one of the best soldiers in the first Battlefront, no longer has a shotgun, and instead has that crappy bolt caster that the Republic pilot used to have. This makes the Dark Trooper virtually useless.
-While there are several new maps, many of the old ones are missing, and some of those that remained now suck. Both Bespin and Rhen Var levels are gone, as is the Naboo Plains, Yaven Arena, Dune Sea (which, I suppose, wasn't that great in the first one, but still), and Kashyyyk Islands (though thankfully the Kashyyyk level that remains has been greatly improved upon). The two Bespin and Rhen Var maps were some of the greatest and most fun of all the maps in Battlefront I, and should not have disappeared like this. In Battlefront II, both Geonosis and Kamino remain, but they're now terrible, useless maps. On Kamino, every single one of those blaster turrets knows right where you are and is firing at you and only you at all times, regardless of how many other targets there are or how far away you. As soon as you show yourself, turrets on the complete other side of the map, the occupants of which wouldn't be able distinguish between friend and foe let alone even SEE you from that distance, all start firing on. And they're all great shots. Kamino was a great map in the first game, but now I never play on it at all. The Geonosis map, which was great in Battlefront One as it actually looked like it did in the movies, is now some crappy, boring red desert that doesn't look like anything and shouldn't have even been included if they were going to ruin it that badly.
-One of the problems with the reward system is that once you earn a reward, you begin glowing and the game makes this really annoying sound in the background, both of which persist for as long as you have that reward. When you reach Legendary status and your rewards become permanent, SO DOES THE WEIRD GLOWING AND THE STUPID NOISE THAT IT MAKES! It's the most annoying thing that I've ever heard, and while the music will sometimes cover it up, there is no way to turn it off!! After a while, you start to get used to it, but I'm not sure if that's good or bad.
-Another bad part of the rewards is that the supposedly "improved" sniper rifle is a piece crap, with only one zoom level and DECREASED range. It's a huge downgrade from the "unimproved" sniper rifle.
-The AI in Battlefront II must have fallen out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down. There's no sense of strategy in anything they do, and you no longer have the ability to give them the most basic instructions such as "Follow Me" and "Hold Position" like you could in the first Battlefront. Soldiers will try to walk through walls, blindly run into enemy fire, barely shoot at anything (and when they do, they usually miss), and if you're not constantly capturing CP's, you'll lose the game because no one else seems to be capable of doing so. As soon as you capture a CP and move on to the next, the one you just took is recaptured because the allied AI is too stupid to even attempt to defend it. This cycle repeats over and over again, often making the game frustrating and repetitive.
-Space battles are a real let-down, as they're tiny little maps with only three of four capital ships, none of which are moving. You're supposed to destroy as many critical systems of the capital ships and enemy fighters as possible, and all the space maps are exactly the same. You just fly around randomly shooting things and then getting shot down. They made such a big deal about the new space battles, but there's nothing interesting or innovative or fun about them.
-The playable Heroes aren't anything special. Lightsabers are rarely one hit kills, and you constantly have to be killing enemies to keep playing as the hero. If you don't kill enough enemies, your life meter goes down at a constant rate until it reaches zero and you die. Getting hit also lowers your life meter, but you can't pick up health. There's really no point to ever using Heroes, as you'll usually get many MORE kills in one life with a regular soldier.
While Battlefront II is a good game, when compared to its predecessor, it loses much of its greatness. I would still reccomend buying it, just don't get your hopes up. It's a decent sequel, but if you don't have the first Battlefront, you should get that as it's a better game. | video-games_xbox |
Solid Product. Update: Nov. 24th, 2014
For those wondering I did eventually receive the D rings about 9 months later.
The system is still up and kicking - that's very good.
I recently tried to transport my Xbox One to work for a little Destiny party but I had to remove the rubber/foam insert to make the Xbox One fit. It was a little awkward and a little risky. The velcro straps barely held it in place. I see they have an Xbox One upgrade kit for it. I'm going to order it and see how that works out.
I will say that there's no way an Xbox One, power brick, controller and cables will fit in the Vanguard altogether so be prepared to carry many of those items separately. It's kind of a bummer but to be fair it was not designed for the Xbox One. Might be nice to see an updated unit that will fit both an Xbox One and all the accessories and also support 1080P natively.
Update: Jan. 23rd, 2013
Still have not heard from them with regard to the missing D rings. I'm starting to think they fein concern for the sake of looking good but don't actual act on it. Come on guys it's just two pieces of plastic probably worth 25 cents. In any event they lost a star because of this...
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I'll keep this somewhat short (not really) and sweet. All-in-all a solid buy. I think it's a great little luxury (I got it as a Christmas gift) for those with the extra cash. Keep in mind this review is relative to the cost (i.e., it's a ~$350 unit and the value your getting for that price point). Is it great? - yes! Can it compare to a $2K TV? - no, but still pretty damn good.
So here's the nuts and bolts:
I use the plus symbol (+) for things I like, minus symbol for things I don't (-) and tilde (~) for things I'm indifferent about.
Build & Packaging:
(+) Solid product construction.
(+) Great care was taken to package the unit so it doesn't get damaged in shipping. This is a rarity these days.
(+) It keeps your console snug and secure.
(-) My unit was missing the little "D" rings which attaches the shoulder straps to the case. So basically cannot use the strap.
Screen:
(+) Picture quality is very good. I used Digital Video Essentials to calibrate the picture because out of the box (default settings) it was a tiny bit bright and washed out. All sorted after making adjustments.
(+) Bright and crisp picture.
(+) 720P (native) but accepts 1080P input as well. I've done a cursory look and this fact doesn't seem to be advertised on their site. There's a tiny blob about the resolution in the manual but nothing is said on any advertising about the unit or on their site.
(~) I have two stuck pixels but I'm fine with that. Others might not be so forgiving so I'm putting it out there for those who may care more than I do. I don't even notice it unless the screen is completely black and even then you have to look for it.
Sound:
(+) The sound blew me away. Loud, clear and without distortion. I read other reviews saying the sound was great but I was a little skeptical.
(+) Two headphone jacks - nice touch.
(~) Volume output for the headphone jack is okay. I had to raise the volume control near max for my taste. I mainly use A40s (MLG edition) headphones but I tried others and still have the same concern.
(~) Cables, connectors and accessory storage is a bit tight but satisfactory (I'm using a non-slim xbox). I have to be careful when closing the unit to make sure the mesh bags (they provide) don't get caught in seams.
(-) In addition to storing all the cables/connectors/power/etc. you'll need to play, you can only store one controller. I was a bit bummed by this but it's really a minor concern. Other folks may not even be concerned about this.
Support:
(-) If I had to have a criticism it would be their support structure. Their site list a few ways to get support: forum, Twitter, etc. so I tweeted them about the missing "D" rings and haven't heard back. Kind of a bummer.
Truth be told I know they pay extremely close attention to Amazon reviews so if I want immediate resolution to this - without having to give the gift back to the gift giver and have them exchange it (kind of a pain for something so small) I have to write a review. This is an awkward way to get immediate support methinks...
On the positive side they care about the products they put out. This is evident by their careful attention to reviews and by attempting to address all concerns raised by reviewers in a positive and professional manner. So their you have it... | video-games_xbox |
Zombie Blasting Fun. I bought this game the day it came out, and man, it is awesome! First off, this is a light-gun game, meaning that you can use a light-gun peripheral to play it. This game is pure fun from the get go. I highly recommend you get the light-gun along with this game which is the Mad Catz Blaster and is the only light gun currently available for X-Box. The game has the best graphics I have ever seen in a light-gun game. I own Time Crisis 2, Vampire Night, and Endgame on PS2 and have seen/played Dino Stalker and Ninja Assault so I've been there. The graphics are phenomenal. This time around the characters are equipped with a shotgun, so when you shoot you get a wider blast. If you use the light-gun you can reload by shooting off-screen or pressing the button on the grip of the gun, or it will reload for you once you run out of ammo. The gameplay is fast, intense, and the story follows the previous two installments. Another great thing about this game is that it is really two games in one. Once you beat the game you can unlock and enable the complete and full Dreamcast version of "The House of the Dead 2" it is the exact same thing as the Dreamcast version and contains all the same modes (a direct port of the Dremacast version, so no X-Box enhanced graphics), but hey, you get a bonus game in this package, two full shooting games in one, you can't beat that. Some people complain that the game is too short, well the inclusion of House of the Dead 2 more than makes up for this. I think the lenght of the game could have been a bit longer, but it is a light-gun game and you have to keep in mind that people get tired of holding the gun and what not so a 1 or 2 hour light-gun game would not be the best idea. This game is pure fun from the get go. It is a must have for light-gun game aficionados and fans of zombie movies, you get the best of both worlds. Oh yeah, the game also includes a 15 minute feature of the upcoming House of hte Dead motion picture which hits theaters in 2003, this is another great bonus that comes with the game. House of the Dead 3 includes two modes, Survival (the main mode), and Time Attack. House of the Dead 2 has Arcade, Original, Boss Mode, and Training Mode. You can adjust the difficulty for both games and increase or decrease the number of lives and continues to suit your taste. This game is excellent, I have not played it with the controller so I can't help you there, but it works great with the gun. If you love zombie flicks, video games, shooting games, and having a blast then you owe it to yourself to get this game. I highly recommend the gun (Mad Catz Blaster) it works great with the game, accurate, comfortable, and gets the job done. I got to go now, going to blast some more zombies!!!
**PLEASE let me know if my review was at all helpful-thanx | video-games_xbox |
Great game, great Co-op play. I've had this game for a while now and have played through it in its entirety once already. The gameplay itself is fairly simple, consisting mostly of punching and using special attacks but the character development system is incredibly deep. You have the ability to level your characters moves and outfits, equip different items, level your own specific team, acquire special team bonuses, and of course level your characters stats. This keeps the game entertaining because as your skills and attack level they become more useful and look slightly different. Depending on your skill your characters can end up being really strong compared to the enemies or really weak by the end of the game. After you have completed the game on normal you can start a new game on the hard difficulty using your already leveled characters. With so many characters to use, even some additional ones available soon through download, you are bound to find a team that you like and build them up to be incredibly powerful.
My personal favorite part of this game is the multiplayer cooperative play. You can play locally with you friends on one system or online. Playing online and offline is almost identical except that while online all players can upgrade/change their characters at the same time while you have to take turns while playing locally. Also if you start a local game with your friend and decide you want to continue playing online later you can do this by loading your save file on xbox live or vise-versa. Its that easy.
Overall there really isn't anyone I can think of who wouldn't like this game. Unless you don't have any friends, don't want any friends, and absolutely hate all things marvel. Otherwise I would say this game is worth playing. If one of your buddies is tired of you targeting him all the time in online play maybe you could get him to work through this game with you. He'll probably like you better afterward. | video-games_xbox |
If you're a Bioshock fan, expect to be disappointed. Summary: Average game. Combat fun and engaging, but by no means is this worthy of the Bioshock title.
Be warned, this review ***Contains Spoilers***
I had been looking forward to this game for the past 6 months. I am a huge fan of the Bioshock franchise. Each time they explore an idea gone too far in an isolated world and the results are always entertaining. The first focused on objectivism and the second collectivism. This leads into my first disappointment with the game, this one explore American exceptionalim (despite the morons who think it's communism). The beginning will set you up to thinking it might be a theocracy but Bioshock quickly pulls that thought back.
Keeping it simple so I don't ramble, here's a list.
Pros:
-Elizabeth: One of the most creative ways an NPC has been used.
-Aerial combat. So much fun I wanted more!
-New powers. I was a little sad to see Ice go away, but a water blast that can push people off of a floating city, yes please.
-Visuals. There aren't as many details (fun signs, recordings, etc.) as in Rapture, but a city in the sky is impressive. One side issue, the buildings dead end below 'ground level'. Just look, the buildings continue below the level you stand at but they become solid boring walls. I would've liked to be able to explore Columbia from around the edges and go down as well as up.
Cons:
-The thing that makes Bioshock awesome aka The Story, is terrible. I've played the game twice straight through to see if I was being harsh, but the second time you play it, you see even more holes than the first. First, Slate is just a huge plot hole. He can recognize you as Dewitt but not as Comstock, really? Furthermore, if you look at the dates of Elizabeth's invasion of the US it's 1984. I like the idea of Columbia but Nukes and Surface to Air missiles can bring down blimps and a floating city.
-American exceptionalism essentially equals racism in this fictional world. So the writers had be very careful to make racism not too successful.
-Anyone not new to the multiverse/time wobbly theories will be unimpressed.
-No moral choices. Therefore, no multiple endings. Yes, you make choices. No, they have no meaningful effect.
-Doesn't follow human behavior. A man who rejects God isn't later going to give up a child just to be 'cleansed' of his sins. Also, the Vox who aren't meant to equal the Splicers of old don't make much sense as crazed bad guys. The Splicers have been driven insane by genetic mutations by Adam. The Vox just want food. It's not like Unions murder the children of business owners. | video-games_xbox |
The best college basketball title for the original x-box. First off I'd like to address the people that currently have College Hoops 2k6 and are unsure whether they want to purchase 2k7. I didn't explore every available facet of 2k6 but the game modes and options that I do use were all exact carbon copies of their 2k6 counterparts. The only notable difference was the color they chose for the in game menu, the music, and menu splash screens. Yes, it is that similar. You still purchase the same pennants, jerseys, trophies, and mascots. Even the create a player skins have not been updated in this year's version. The only things you will get are updated rosters, a few new school fight songs, and very slight tweaking in what are now the default slider settings. If you have 2k6 you are better off sticking with it.
Second, if you are unsure whether you want this version or the 360 version I'll try to enumerate the differences. The graphics on the 360 are obviously going to be better so I'll try to focus on the main differences with respect the options that are available on the 360 version that are absent from the original x-box version.
On the 360 you can create your own chants, there are confidence and team unity meters, a recap show of big games that were played during the week and big games that are coming up, and there is a feature called hoopcast which allows you to control certain aspects of a simulated game. Also there is a much larger online community for the 360 version. You have to decide for yourself if these things are worth the extra $40 price differential between the 360 and x-box versions.
If you do not own College Hoops 2k6 then the choice is much easier. This is simply the best college basketball game available on the x-box. If you look at reviews for both 2k6 and 2k7 on major game ranking web sites you will notice that the 2k7 is uniformly rated below 2k6. The lower ratings are a direct result of there not being a significant difference between the 2k6 and 2k7 versions. If you have neither rest assured that 2k7 is the correct choice.
The only true cons I found in this game (and 2k6 for that matter) were the inordinate amount of turnovers. Steals are far too easy and turnovers from intercepted passes occur far too often for a game that prides itself on simulation over arcade like play style. I have found passes get intercepted close to 50% of the time when passing up court where you cannot see your teammate (fast break situations). You can adjust sliders that do help remedy the situation.
I also noticed some other minor things that really don't detract from the actual gameplay. The team I use in legacy has the new first year coach just like in real life, but unlike real life this new coach (whose record should be 0 - 0 ) has a record that is the same as the old coach's previous season. A minor foible, but something I noticed nonetheless. | video-games_xbox |
Finally! A bettter/easier/explained version of Dead Or Alive. I have been a fan of Dead Or Alive one and two. when they switch the game to xbox box, I barely got to play DOA 3. So finally the 360 came out and along came DOA 4 (the game that whoops yo azz no matter what) DOA 4 had to be the most hardest fighting game ever That last boss which is a Kasumi clone was terror. On top of that it was hard for me to understand the controls for some reason. The fighters seemed way off balance too.
FINALLY DOA 5 has made it where you learn to play the game while doing the story! WOW if only they had did that with DOA 4! Also I just like the length of the story mode. It seems like im playing a RPG only with out the loot or the level up and with out weapons and mindless walking in a open world. You play as all of the characters in story mode. How is this done? Each character you play with 3 times then it goes to the next character and you play as them 3 times and so on and so on. but with in between matches you get a bit of in game cinema.
The story is not all that but its not bad either. It fits to keep you entertain enough to continue playing the story mode. Also guess characters from Virtual Fighter are on here as well. I'm not really a Virtual Fighter fan so I don't care much about them. They could have put more interesting characters in instead of them.
Costumes are still unlockable as in the other DOA games and also characters. However I notice they cut down the boob bouncing feature that made DOA famous. It dose not take away from the game but it is kinda missing if you were fans of the other titles. I spent a good four hours straight playing this game today. I have not enjoy a good DOA game in a while. Not since I was a teenager playing the first DOA game putting in gameshark codes to make the dress stay hold up or to see Kasumi naked! (DOA 2)
I give it a 4 star out of 5. Why? They added those lame characters from Virtual Fighter. | video-games_xbox |
Buffy's great fun. Okay, I'm not a fan of Buffy and here's why. I am a fan of parapsychology. The study of ghosts, and vampires, and other mythological monstrosities has been an interest of mine since I was a child. Vampires are my favorite monsters because when used correctly they can be a very deep and compelling monster, on that serves as a symbol for what we as a society have become.
My book shelves are jam packed full of vampire literature, from the works of Bram Stoker to the great works of Anne Rice, to the not so good, but still kind of fun work of Laurell K. Hamilton, to the masterpiece of storytelling that is Vampire: The Masquerade, and its many companion game books, or novels based therein, to Hunter: The Reckoning, and so on. I'm no stranger to vampire mythology, both from a modern, and a historical aspect.
It is because of my background in this field that I have always detested Buffy, and their portrayal of vampires. Vampires do not lack a soul. If you take away the soul you take away the vampire's meaning for existence, and usefulness in a good story. They become wallpaper for action flick, and nothing more.
I have only watched a few episodes of Buffy, and no offense to Buffy fans the show is too juvenile for my tastes. However, I'm still looking for a must have title to sit next to Hunter: the Reckoning in my XBox collection. This game may very well end up being that lucky title. This game does almost everything right.
The control and camera scheme is very Soul Reaver like. This made it very easy for me to get into the groove of the game play. My only complaint is that the combat seems a bit simplistic. I find myself kicking my way through out the baddies and the punching seems pretty much ineffective, plus I don't want to risk breaking the sharp objects Buffy can carry.
Another minor complain is the dialogue. Since I'm not a fan of Buffy the bad puns are big time groaners. Although she does have a few good ones, a lot of the puns are just bad. There's also a lot of repeated lines throughout the game play that are repeated so much it gets annoying. It's tempting to hit the mute and leave it on mute until the next cut scene.
The lack of variety to the vampire models is also a complaint. How many times do I have to kill that guy/girl? The Xbox could have easily handled a larger variety of models. The zombies of Nintendo/Capcom's Resident Evil had a great deal of variety. There were very few zombies that looked identical to each other. More variety along these lines would have been nice for the vampire bad guys.
Graphically, Buffy falls somewhere between Eternal Darkness, and Resident Evil. It is step up in character models, but Eternal Darkness was sharper and crisper, still it is impressive graphically, but not as impressive as Resident Evil. Some of the characters don't look as good as others. Buffy and Spike look great, as does her mentor whose name slips me. Xander is okay, as is willow, but whoever that other cheerleader is (the brunette) looks terrible. Again, the models look better than Eternal Darkness, but ED is sharper and crisper, but the game is still not quite on par with RE. I guess Capcom raised the bar unreasonably high, as critics like myself will always compare horror titles to RE.
Definitely a game to buy, I think. But it may not be for all non-Buffy fans. The dialogue can get quite tacky. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game - Naruto Fan or Not. Let me cover this from two aspects - as an anime/manga adaptation and simply as a game.
Ok, I'm not a Naruto expert. My son started watching it on Cartoon Network and got really into it so I (trying to be a good parent) looked into it to make sure I was cool with the content - which I was. He has since also been reading American Shonen Jump. So, most everything I know about Naruto is simply due to proximity to my son. :) That being said, I do like Naruto story and characters quite a bit.
I also am an anime fan and have bought many games on different platforms that were based on manga or anime I liked. I think most anime fans, when they buy these games, are looking for faithful recreations of the characters and universe they love. They want to be able to interact with these people and places. If that is the criteria, this is probably the best I have ever played. All the voices (either the Japanese or the English versions) are the same actors as in the anime. The conversion of Naruto's world to 3D is remarkably well done. The "village hidden in the leaves" looks perfect, all the character (down to their special moves and fighting style) are dead on, and it faithfully recreates the first 80 episodes as the primary story thread you follow through the game - integrating scenes from the episodes themselves as the cut scenes in the game. For Naruto fans as well, this is the only Naruto game that includes story based, role playing elements as well as fighting game elements. So, from the perspective of an anime adaptation, I would give this game an A+. Really outstanding.
But what if you aren't a super-otaku Naruto or anime fan? You are in luck because this also happens to be a really fun game. Think of any character/story driven platform game (Ratchet, Jak, Sly, etc.). This game develops the characters and story as if you have no context, and does it very well - so you can simply think of this game as a platform game about a boy ninja and never worry about the anime. The game mechanics are very good, using a good variety of components to keep things interesting while never getting complicated or overly frustrating. You will see a lot of familiar aspects, like platform jumping and rail grinding, as well as new things like wall and water walking. You will see familiar activities, like object collection and timed races, and some more unique ones like hide-and-go-seek and healing broken hearts. And finally, the fighting aspect of the game is fun and fair (even for people who aren't into fighting games) while not being too easy.
My biggest complaint is that the game is pretty short and the missions can start to feel repetitive at times. So, while I find every aspect of the game of the highest quality and extremely fun, based on how short it is I would give the game play a B (but not enough to bring in down from 5 stars). | video-games_xbox |
Necessity for Long Gaming Sessions. The X-One Charge & Play Kit is an absolute necessity for any hardcore Xbox One player. The reasoning is simple, without a powered controller you cant play. Run out of batteries and well, no gaming for you. While you could make your way over to the Energizer Bunnys neck of the woods to stock up on mountain of AA batteries for controller fuel, its more cost effective, environmentally conscious, and simply more convenient to play with a little help from a rechargeable source. Meet the Charge & Play Kit.
Appropriately clad in uber-green packaging, an Xbox trademark, HC GamerLifes Charge & Play Kit does exactly what its supposed to do nothing more, nothing less. The contents, a 650mAH lithium ion battery pack and an 8-foot USB charging cable, are just about all you need to embark on a gaming marathon of epic proportions, well that and snacks.
The Charge & Play kit serves multiple purposes, granting players the ability to recharge the controller during gameplay (an option unavailable to both rechargeable and standard AA batteries) or afterwards even when your Xbox is in standby. You can expect a full charge in about 2 hours, and the juice lasts for up to 6-8 hours of continuous gameplay. While the official Xbox One Play and Charge kit boasts (a somewhat exaggerated) 30 hour battery life on a single charge, that's more than three times charge of what you'll find here even if the 30-hour claim isn't all that accurate. That being said, youll have to shell out more cash for the Microsoft version and itll take nearly double the amount of time for a full charge. Keep that in mind.
While HC GamerLifes rendition of the tried-and-true Charge & Play Kit doesnt reinvent the wheel in any way don't expect any Tony Stark-esque limitless arc reactor energy or the life-granting powers of the Transformers Allspark it successfully keeps players in the game by eliminating the need to constantly replace controller batteries, and that is exactly what I was looking for. If you're in the market for saving money and keeping your controllers fueled and ready to go, look no further than the X-One Charge & Play Kit.
Review sample provided by manufacturer. | video-games_xbox |
Stop Eating My Brain. There's just no way for that line NOT to be funny.
"Stubbs the Zombie" reminds me in many ways of "Destroy All Humans!" Both are set in what's supposed to be the 1950's, although the technology encountered seems to be advanced beyond anything we have today. Both feature B-movie monster archetypes as heroes, and the "hook" in both cases consists in the sociopathic glee of taking a bite out of humankind on their behalf. Specifically, both games involve the wholesale harvesting of human brains, which is depicted pretty graphically (especially in "Stubbs" - DAH had to have green blood to secure its "T" rating). But the gore is always in service to the comedy tone of these games, if only because of its ridiculous excess. If you don't laugh at the demo reel off the main menu of "Stubbs," which ends in a literal bloodbath of brain-eating, limb-severing quick cuts, this game might just not be your cup of ovaltine...lol.
Another comparison is that both are unfortunately extremely short. "Stubbs" has a cooperative split-screen mode (as you have no doubt heard, it's built on the Halo engine), and if you play through with a friend, you'll have a lot of fun, but you'll probably beat the entire game in a couple hours on the default setting. Even by yourself, it's maybe 5 hours tops. There are no real "extras," either.
That said, one of the reasons it's bound to go fast is just because it's so much fun. For every human you kill either in the traditional brain-eating way, or by swiping them to death with your grisly meathooks, or by blowing them up with your guts that you hurl like hand grenades, or your head that you roll like a bowling ball, you earn an undead henchman to be used in your ongoing battle against the remaining humans. This means that there's going to be a lot of spontaneous bloodshed happening all around you in a busy room, and if you find yourself in trouble, you can usually go to a quiet corner to recover (your "health" automatically recharges after a few seconds without a hit, again like DAH!) and let your zombies take care of things for a while. In addition to the powers described above, you also have the ability to fart your enemies into a stupor, and to possess armed enemies with your severed hand and make use of traditional firepower in classic 3rd-person shooter fashion. All of this, plus the ability to pilot some very obviously Halo-ish vehicles in certain areas, makes for more varied gameplay than you might expect from the first couple levels. But again, it's hard not to feel like the whole thing's over too quickly.
I like this game and I'm glad I bought it, although I'll probably get sick of playing through the same levels with friends pretty quickly, as fun as it is. Hopefully the game will really catch on and they'll release some new maps - I can think of a lot of obvious campy suggestions. (The game isn't online enabled though, it's purely old-school co-op.) I would definitely recommend renting before you buy, but you might wind up buying it anyway. I don't see how it really matters whether you're a "zombie fan," although if you're repulsed by over-the-top Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, and Strong Language ("M" rating criteria) - then what the hell are you even doing reading this?? | video-games_xbox |
Tons of options and unlockables combined with solid action. THE SHORT: A pretty good story mode, and tons of things to unlock in the addictive challenges and combat modes- all of which can be played alone or with multiple players. Decent but limited mapmaker.
THE LONG: I flat out didn't like TS1. The single player or "story" mode consisted of running back and forth for fetch quests, and the mapmaker let me set up corridors but gave me just a tiny handful of patterns to design it with. It was fast and it was pretty (minus the overly stylized goofy characters) but I didn't think it was much of a game.
This first sequel improves on almost all of what I had issue with. For starters, the game's just as pretty and runs very smooth and very fast (keeping fairly consistent in multiplayer as well). The storyline is better too- it's like Goldeneye with actual mission goals that change or grow as the level progresses. But I personally had the most fun with "arcade mode", which is multiplayer combat. I want to specify here that this is where the game excels over such titles as even the much hyped Halo (and even more recent games): like Perfect Dark, this is one of the very few games where I can play multiplayer matches against computer opponents. If you're like me you don't always have enough people around for 16-player, 4 system links and whatnot. Frankly I usually prefer to play alone anyway. And in this way, Timesplitters 2 accommodated me.
For example, like Perfect Dark, this game features some levels that I liked more than others and so, not wanting to play the story mode, I wanted to just jump into that cool level and fight some opponents. This game allowed me to do so, picking not only what opponents I fought but also how tough they were and what weapons were used. In addition, I could set parameters such as time/kill limits, and by the time I unlocked them, could choose among more than a dozen different combat variations such as "Flame Tag". In other words, this game lets you play multiplayer, storyline stuff, or plain old combat- with or against other humans in each case.
There are loads of unlockables, as well. There are more than 100 different characters in the game, with at least half of that number representing legitimately unique and interesting choices. Each has their own stat rating such as speed and accuracy, and some characters such as robots have extra advantages like immunity to fire. This adds even more strategy to deathmatches but can be turned off as well.
In addition to unlocking the characters, you'll be unlocking goofy cheats such as pirate hats or practical things such as new levels and combat modes. This is one of those games where every level, challenge, or combat scenario rewards you with new stuff once completed, so there's a very satisfying feeling of constant progress and perpetual motivation to try to meet each goal. Some of it is tough- sometimes tuned to be just barely within your grasp, but there seems to always be other stuff to accomplish if you get stuck. For each of three nights, I went to bed satisfied that I unlocked some of the cool stuff I'd wanted, then played the next day and opened up even more. It was addicting.
Thankfully, this was all set up within a very pretty package. The stylized, exaggerated look from the first game is still here for those that liked it, but for people like me it's nice that characters are a little less goofy looking. And with more than a hundred, it's easy to develop favorites. The graphics during gameplay itself are solid and the game moves quite fast for being several years old, even during multiplayer combat with a
handful of AI opponents thrown in.
And again, that's where the game gets its highest marks from me. While the storyline is interesting enough and fairly engaging in its disparate levels, it was that combat that made me keep playing this game. By the time I played through most of the basic and "arcade league" challenges, I'd unlocked around 15 different deathmatch types- modes such as capture the flag, king of the hill, last man standing, and more bizarre stuff such as monkey helpers- in which the person in last place gets monkeys with heavy weaponry. When you figure that you can pick from a dozen or so stages, add up to 10 AI opponents whose difficulty you set, throw in weapons of your choice, and then pick the score type and combat parameters, that's a huge amount of customization. As I said, it's a level of single-player control and immersion the likes of which I haven't seen since Perfect Dark.
Controls feel natural and very intuitive, the graphics and sound are appropriate (and downright amusing) and the options are very thorough. The pace of unlocking stuff is great, with a couple dozen hours of perpetual new stuff. Altogether this is a fine game, which at this point you can grab for just $10-15 bucks. Do it, especially if you're a guy like me and doesn't want to rely on a bunch of others to have some good interactivity with your first-person shooters. | video-games_xbox |
DECAPITATIOOOOOOOOON. Brutal Legend is a fantastic journey into a video game representation of the heavy metal music genre starring Jack Black and the legends of the art form in a madcap adventure that combines elements from a great many styles of gameplay to make for an unforgettable (albeit brief) gaming experience for fans of heavy metal. Newcomers to gaming might be put off by the RTS learning curve, but veterans should have no trouble adjusting to the multiple game types. Virtual explorers will have plenty of ground to cover and hidden treasures to search for and there is even multiplayer if you feel like battling you Xbox Live buddies for metal supremacy. Given the extreme brevity of the game, I'm glad I got it for only $20; but at that price it's well worth it since this is the kind of game you are going to want to play more than once. Brutal Legend opens with one of the funniest cutscenes ever. While watching this brutally sweet intro, you have the options to PG-13ify your gaming experience to bleep out the swearing and do away with the dismemberment. If you are a loser, that is.
Eddie Riggs is the best roadie in the business, but he is not pleased with today's popular metal scene. He longs for songs about vikings and album covers with demonic monsters on them and singers who shriek as if they were being dragged into the bowels of Hades. Well, he's about to get his wish. Finding himself transported to a savage land filled with demon nuns, rocker chicks, and medieval weaponry, Riggs finds is true calling when he encounters a group of human rebels waging war against the Tainted Coil race of demons. All they need is for somebody to show them the ancient power they lost. The power of METAL! Brutal Legend is really more like 5 games in one. It's a hack-and-slash action game that has Eddie wielding his two weapons (guitar and battleaxe) to mow down the baddies with cold hard steel, pyro, and of course, heavy metal thunder. He gets around the world in his highly customizable hot rod The Demon Plow (affectionately referred to as The Deuce) which he can summon anytime by busting a sweet guitar solo. These solos are activated in a Guitar Hero-like sequence of timed button-presses and serve many purposes throughout the game from uncovering relics to delivering orders to troops or slaughtering large groups of baddies (by melting their faces, see). The landscape is littered with side quests that earn you Fire Tributes (aloft lighters), which indicates favor with the Metal Gods and is used for currency to upgrade your weapons, abilities, and vehicle. Waiting to be uncovered in every corner of this epic land are chained stone beasts who will grant you power and tales of the history of the world you now inhabit if you can figure out how to release them. Plus there are bonus songs and powerful new solos to discover and unlock. Most of your time will probably be spent just cruising around smashing random hordes of demons and staring at the amazing landmarks while you search for more hidden hotness. Exploration is very important in this game.
The meat of the game's primary missions revolves around the "stage battles", where Eddie sets up a rock show war machine to run the enemies of their group Ironheade out of town. These large-scale battles are a simplified version of the classic real time strategy format, but can also incorporate the other aspects of the game for a unique experience. Flying above the battle on wings of a demon, Eddie can summon and give orders to his troops or he can get personally involved by kicking tail on foot or in The Deuce. He can also activate powerful double-team attacks with any member of his army, which is very cool. My personal favorite has to be the mosh attack, where Riggs thrusts a devil horns hand sign in the air and calls his troops to gather around while they bang their heads in unison and bowl over enemy infantry. It makes for a very cool and funny gaming moment. Brutal Legend has a lot of those. Over the course of the game, Ironheade will not only take on the Tainted Coil, but the evil forces of Lionwhyte (representing for hair metal) and the emo/goth-tinged Drowning Doom. The way these armies and their leaders are presented is extremely satirical and is a blast for music fans familiar with the countercultures they represent as they trashtalk their way through each fight.
Now all this is well and good, but what really makes the game a must is the story, the cast, and the music. Sadly, the story is short enough to easily play through in one sitting, but it is funny enough that you'll want to play it more than once and you will have to spend significant time to see everything there is to offer. The soundtrack is MUCH longer than the game and I still haven't heard all of the ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN songs included. The music is a diverse sampling of various styles of metal featuring everyone from big names like Black Sabbath and Rob Zombie, serious death metal like King Diamond and Loki, 80's pop metal from bands like Def Leppard and The Scorpions, industrial from Ministry and KMDFM, power metal from Dragonforce and Manowar, and a hell of a lot more. Naturally, the metal gods who lent their voices to the game also lent their music and Jack Black's folk/metal band Tenacious D is on hand, of course. The way certain classic songs are used in the narrative is pretty awesome too. Now, I keep telling you about how great the characters voiced by the legends of heavy metal music are so you're probably wondering who they are. Well, do you want to lead a cadre of headbangers flanked by Lemmy and Rob Halford on choppers to smash up an emo pity party? Yeah, you do. Do you want to ride out of the underworld with a brand new batch of weapons while Ozzy shouts "Go f@#%ing CRAZY!" after you? But of course. Sadly, the late great Ronnie James Dio was stricken from the game due to a tantrum by a certain Prince of Darkness (or more likely, his wife) and his absence in this is HUGE. I'm sure Jables was devastated by this criminal omission and the fact that I played Brutal Legend mere days after his passing didn't help. Still, Dio or no, one cannot underestimate the awesomeness of battling a giant chrome spider to secure the steel webbing necessary to string Lemmy's bass so he can heal your Lita Ford-inspired ladyfriend (Ford also voices a character). That's right: Lemmy Kilmister's bass-playing heals the sick in this game. I always suspected he could do that. The story is only a few hours long, but its' packed with awesome and a surprising amount of emotion for what is essentially a spoof. The game does a masterful job of slowly introducing the various elements and it never gets particularly challenging on normal difficulty. The only way I really died is by carelessly driving off of a cliff (or ten).
My biggest complaint with Brutal Legend is that it feel as though it's just getting started when it's already over. By the time each game element is brought to bear, you are at the final confrontation and already anticipating the next big battle that will never come. This is just plain wrong. There's only one battle in the whole game where you have your entire selection of units to utilize. What the hell? On the other hand, multiplayer allows you to challenge the computer or another player to rock as many stage battles as you like as either Ironheade, the Tainted Coil, or The Drowning Doom, which is an excellent addition. However, the difficulty is ramped waaaaayyyy up on these so the clumsiness this RTS veteran showed integrating into the different aspects of the main game's stage battles did not go over well. The multiplayer AI plays to win. All in all, the only real problem with Brutal Legend is it's extreme brevity and failure to integrate the entire world into the story. If you want to see all of the great metal-themed visuals, music, and powers that the game has to offer you are going to have to spend a lot of time just driving around. The main game's stage battles are few enough that it feels like they are more of a tutorial for the multiplayer (which is NOT the reason to get this), and that's a big wrong. But still, at a discount price and with all the great music and heavy metal coolness of this game, it's still a rockin' way to kill some time. | video-games_xbox |
Outstanding for both casual and extreme baseball fans. I should preface my remarks by saying that I haven't played any of the other modern baseball video games and so can offer little in the form of comparison. However, standing on its own merits, WSB is an excellent game. The franchise mode is everything it has been hyped up to be and it sets the standards for sports franchise gaming on the Xbox. Gameplay itself is slick and accurate, with a huge range of options to create an ideal gaming environment. You can make the game incredibly easy or incredibly difficult, making this the perfect "father-son" game. Dad can play with a slower pitch speed and really enjoy all the nuts and bolts of the franchise mode while the kid, with the reflexes of a eleven year old, can play with blink of the eye pitching speeds. The baseball is balanced and realisitc, with scores and the sort of plays you would see in a real, major league game. Pitching and hitting are both a ton of fun and the pitches really act the way they should. Curve balls curve, change ups look like fastballs until they suddenly droop out slowly at the end, sliders will flare out and then break sharply over the plate, and so on. If you have a good eye, you can spot pitches as they come out and hit accordingly, but better pitchers have better stuff that is harder to read just like better batters have larger hitting cursors and can drive the ball farther.
My criticisms of the game are minor, but enough to keep it from earning five stars. The baseball AI is occasionally questionable. Baserunners will make some of the most idiotic mistakes sometimes, manufacturing double plays that never should have happened. Also, against the computer, stealing a base is nigh to impossible, even with speedsters like Ichiro, and walks are not nearly as big a part of this game as they are in real life. Finally, it can be hard on the eyes to read over your stats sometimes as the folks at SEGA have decided to put colored stats up against similarly colored backdrops, causing them to meld together on poorer quality TVs. Straight black numbers against a white background would have been much easier to read.
However, please don't view the above list as a serious set of detractions. The game as a whole is enormously fun and dangerously addictive with tremendous replay value. The franchise mode is truly something special and if you like baseball, you'll love this game. | video-games_xbox |
The Ultimate Fighter Game For Your XBox. Like a kid in a candy store, I just can't have enough of DOA3. The game looks so sweet it makes my eyes ache. DOA3 has established itself as a formidable contender in the fighting game genre, along side with other great titles like Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and Street Fighter. This installment on the XBox IS the best looking fighter game currently available.
Graphics 10
Tecmo's Team Ninja has really showed off XBox graphics power with DOA3. I don't want to be repetitive, just let me say every graphical aspects of this game, i.e. character models, background, lighting, shadows, different effects, etc., are Perfect. Everything runs smoothly and beautifully. One thing worth mentioning is that XBox has great built-in anti-alias function. Most of other XBox games "look" and "feel" dull and blend because anti-alias blurs out sharp edges, so the 3D models don't "stand out" as much. Miraculously, Team Ninja utilizes this anti-alias technology discretely and make the proper things look "stands out" and others properly blended into the backgroud.
Sound 7.5
Music and Sound Effects are well done. I cannnot say I am impressed with the soundtrack, or that any of the sound effects are special. The game sounds good... I don't believe Team Ninja put too much emphasis on the sound department.
Gameplay 8.5
Button mashing? Skills? I do not think it is relevent. Like many other games, you can invest a fraction of you life and perfect those 200 chained combos and whatnot, or you can just button mash! The game does provide those 2 options. Which ever way you choose to play your game, most importantly is that it's fun!
Value 9
Not as many features to be unlocked like other installments, but it still has extra goodies to keep you interested in discovering the whole game. The Tag Team mode can be a whole new game by itself because the tag attacks are fun and very well done. The recent release of Add-Ons Discs for North America consumers adds even more costumes (quality costumes, not chessy ones) to the game. When you want some quick fighting action, you can always come back to DOA3... or when you are extremely lonely, you can always come back for Tina.
Overall 9
I really like this game. It is FUN, and BEAUTIFUL. It is definitely worth purchasing if you own an XBox. I don't usually recommend purchasing a game; however, this game is SO SWEET to look at that you should just buy and play the game on "Watch Mode" to show off to yourself and your neighbors =). With what they have accomplished so far with DOA3, I can't wait for the next Team Ninja title on XBox. | video-games_xbox |
98% of this game was perfect. But that 2% is just....a massive slap in the face to the fanbase.
First the postive;
The graphics and combat system are all richer, more varied, and significantly cleaner and more fluid looking than in the past. The characters are fully developed and likable. The dialogue is crisp and snappy. And you actually get to meet a lot of the characters you saved earlier.
The Multiplayer system is fairly standard 3rd person shooter, but it's reasonably well done. It's fairly challenging, and encourages actual cooperation which is a relief for someone who is used to COD. The kinks in the weapons system have been ironed out so they have a nice balance between the variety of the first and simplicity of the 2nd. The powers and leveling up system have both been cleaned up, and a bit more variety added in from the second. The cinematics were gorgeous, as was the soundtrack. Although maybe not as much as ME2. The weird dreams that shepherd had, and the part at the end where he and Anderson were on the Citadel had a sort of Survival Horror feel, that actually worked pretty well. Not to mention driving home Shepherds humanity. No other games that I know of have the macho space marine dealing with PTSD, or possibly having a same sex romance. I have honestly not cared this much about so many different characters since...maybe Crono Trigger. No I take that back, this one is better.
You get to see the illusive man's base, which is awesome, Conrad Verner actually does something good for once. You See Tali's homeworld and face which is awesome, and Jack with Hair.
And it should go without saying, as we have come to expect it from Bioware, The story was well-developed and ties together most of the plot points.......
Which is why it sucks so much that they had to screw the pooch on the ending so much, and on some of the character deaths.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
Without spoiling too much, they kill 3, potentially 4 of the maybe 7 best characters in the entire series, two of them in the most messed up way possible. Some of them are completely wasted. Zaeed, Miranda, etc. The army that we build up the entire game, painstakingly I might add, we don't get to see in action, it's mostly them shooting at the reapers in two short cut scenes, and the humans mostly. And We basically get 3 awful endings
1 BLUE Paragon: You become a reaper by taking control of them, destroy them, earth is saved. You die
2 Green: basically do the Reapers job for them. create organic synthetic hybrid, same as above otherwise.
3 RED Renegade: Only one where Shepherd maybe lives. Destroy Reapers and in process commit Genocide against the Geth, and probably EDI...Real nice ME3 writers.
And there are so many plotholes. In each one the endings the Mass Relays are destroyed and the Normandy Crashes on a jungle planet.
1) That is not the 16 different endings we were promised. It is 3 endings that are mostly the same.
2) As established in the Arrival DLC an explosion of a Mass Relay can wipe out a solar system. Did the massive military force above the earth, or below survive?
3) ...Even if they all survived and THIS Relay explosion was DIFFERENT, they are stranded away from home on a planet that has been devastated. Wrex himself points out that they may need a new planet. At a minimum there is going to be a refugee crisis on Mars, not to mention a bunch of pissed off future warlords. The quarians might be okay, but they more or less had time to plan out how to have a spacefaring society that could survive, most of which will unfortunately never be able to see Rannoch.
4) What happened to Joker? Why was he in a relay, he would not have abandoned Shepherd, much less gone to earth, rescued your teammates, then made no effort to save shepherd, AND fled the fight.
5) Some people have said your love interest can wind up with him, and I have seen cinematics of this happening.
....WHAT!!!???
6) What was that idiotic thing at the end with the grandfather, was all of this in Shepherds mind? Did they defeat the Reapers, and everything else was just a hallucination? If that is the case, it is slightly preferable to the as of now official endings.
7) Also, what the hell happened to the rest of the galaxy, are they okay, will they master Interstellar travel without the relays, what happens to the Krogan.
I have found out recently, from IMDB, that Bioware did actually write a pretty good ending, but that it was scrapped at some point. It was as follows:
"The original motivation for the Reapers was trying to find out a way from keeping Dark Energy from ultimately destroying the universe. In a way, you could look at each individual reaper as an entire nation compressed into a single form, sort of like a think tank, to try and figure out a way to solve this issue. Think of it as if you took every mind in the entire human race and focused them all onto a single problem."
It seems the Reapers saw Organics as a key to solving the Dark Energy issue, which is why they were so focused on creating a human reaper and getting Shepherd.
"Supposedly, the original ending to ME 3 was Shepard speaking to Harbinger (rather than the Catylist) and having to choose between two options: let the Reapers harvest Earth and hope that the ends will justify the means, or kill the Reapers and hope that the galactic community can find a solution to the Dark Energy issue on their own".
And what's more
"your military resources were going to play a bigger role, specifically on whether or not the team you bring with you on the final mission survives (if they did survive, they'd cover the entrance to the Citadel from reaper husks while you make your decision), and it also determined whether or not Anderson would survive to make it to the Citadel".
See, that had all the elements that we were expecting. You can either destroy the Reapers, and put all of the Galaxy at Risk, or sacrifice a few billion humans, and drastically decrease that risk. It had all of what made the ME2 ending great. A well written twist and a decision that honestly, everyone has to be kind of ambivalent about. Do you sacrifice your home and billions of lives for the greater good? Or do you take a risk and do things on your terms?
A tiny handful of people have said that the ending is good, that we just want a summer blockbuster heroic ending, we can't appreciate heroic sacrifice.
I say Malarkey to that!!! In ME2 you could get that ending, or you could heroically die destroying the Collector base, or something in between. But you had to earn your heroic blockbuster ending.
When we are promised 16 endings, yeah, I think at least...maybe 2 of them should be just that. Keep these endings, but keep them as, "didn't quite do everything right" endings.
I know I said it was just 2 percent, but that was a BIG two percent. It deserves better than a 2 star amazon rating, but it bloody well does not deserve the straight up 9 out of 10 the reviewers are giving it.
Storyline Game: 96 out of 100
Multiplayer: 78 out of 100
Story itself: 94 out of 100
...in last 20 minutes: 13 out of 100 | video-games_xbox |
Great replacement sticks for your Xbox One or PS4 controllers. I've had my PS4 for awhile now, but recently got an Xbox One on Black Friday. Didn't take long to realize how superior the analog sticks were on the XB One and of course Amazon sells the replacement sticks! I'd known since the earlier console days that the analog sticks were actually compatible with each other between Sony and Microsoft's consoles. I'd done the same with the original Xbox and PS2 analog sticks (xbox sticks on a dual shock 2 for example).
The Dual Shock controllers have always been great ergonomically, but my main complaint about them has always been the analog stick. The DS1-DS3 had the convex surface, all rubber. On the DS4 the design was a little improved, still all rubber surface, however there was now a slightly concave section in the middle, then it has raised outer edges. The issue however, is that the whole surface is still soft rubber. If you play for an extended period of time (or even a short time and you happen to have sweaty/oily hands) it soon became a game of keeping your thumbs on the sticks as they start to slide around. Not to mention they will wear out pretty quickly. My PS4 analog sticks were already showing pretty good signs of wear and I haven't even had it a year yet.
On the XBOne controllers however, the sticks have a nice concave plastic surface (which is important because it won't wear down as easily as the soft rubber) with a nice "sharp" inner ledge I suppose you could call it, to provide nice grip for your thumb. The outer edges are a checkered rubber coating it appears. The outer edges will likely wear eventually because they're rubber, but the inner portion is the important part. Your thumbs will stay on the sticks regardless of if they're sweaty, oily, etc.
Installation was easy if you're technically inclined. Remove four screws on the DS4, use a plastic spudger to crack the top and bottom halves open (be mindful of the ribbon cable connected to the top and bottom halves!), unscrew the circuit board from the top half and remove it from the top half to expose the analog sticks, pull the old ones off, and smack the new ones on, then reassemble in reverse order.
As mentioned in other reviews, the XBone sticks are a touch taller than the DS4 sticks. They also have a slightly narrower diameter overall. The base of the sticks also have a narrower diameter and if you push the stick all the way to one side, you can kind of see into the controller. Not really a big deal in my opinion, but it may bother some people.
**Protip**: Buy some teflon tape (search "PTFE Mouse tape" here on amazon) and wrap the stem portion of the analog stick to avoid getting the "plastic dust" as the sticks wear down. This prevents your analog sticks from wearing down where the stem contacts the controller body, but since it's teflon, it has the added benefit of making movement of the sticks on the outer edges really smooth. I had some teflon tape I purchased for use on my gaming mice (only suckers buy high priced teflon mouse feet) and had the idea back in the PS3/Xbox360 days to wrap the analog sticks in the stuff. Works great and my analog sticks never wear down...at least not the stem portion. | video-games_xbox |
Most Realistic Madden Experience Ever. The reviews on amazon are stunning to me. This game is top notch and DEFINITELY WORTH your money!
Now let me keep it REAL with you, here are the cons, and pros, if the cons are too much than the game isn't for you.
Cons:
1: The menu's are sort of disorganized
2: The menu's can be a little laggy, it's not quite as smooth all around as previous maddens.
3: There is no franchise mode! There is a mode called connected careers. While this is a plus for me, many people consider it a con. In connected careers the menu's are disorganized, and there are a few glitches still being worked out. Also, there is an online connected careers and offline connected careers. Currently there is no fantasy draft for offline connected careers. There are a few problems with the online version of fantasy draft (some bugs) but at least it works.
4: On the offline version of conncted careers you cannot play games with your friends, and you cannot have multiple people be multiple gm's. Again, not a con for me. I play with my friends online, so no big deal.
5: You cannot edit players, again, not a big deal for me. But to others it is huge. BUT, THEY WILL FIX THIS.
6: Players Tripping- While your calling plays, when players go back to the huddle and stuff ,they tend to trip on each other and bump into each other. People are whining left and right about it. Come on. I play madden for realistic gameplay, and I'm too busy calling my plays to care if a player bumps into another player.
________________________________
Seems like a lot of cons. But in reality, you can't edit players, play with your friends in connected careers offline, and you can't do a fantasy draft offline. Also some lag on the menu's. But that's not why I play madden. I play madden for ALL THE REASONS that THIS GAME IS GOOD!!!!
PROS!
1: Realistic Gameplay- This is by far the best thing about Madden. Realistic gameplay. Almost every play I stand amazed, and tell my friend "that never would have happened in old maddens". If your looking for a bunch of ways to jip the system, you won't find half as many ways on this game. That might be why half the players are frustrated. They run into their offensive lineman and than they whine about their RB tripping over him...
WELL HOW ABOUT YOU DON'T RUN INTO YOUR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN!!!!!
It's realistic, running backs get backed up behind o lineman, and if they run all up on him they will slow down, and trip up. That's awesome. I love how you can slow a player's progress based on hitting him. Break away plays that were crazy unrealistic, thirty broken tackles in one play, they don't happen.
The gameplay is as realistic as it's ever been.
And that reason ALONE makes this a 5 star game. I don't care if there are a few bugs. That's what UPDATES are for. And update has BEEN UPDATING THIS GAME AND FIXING THE BUGS.
But what EA gave us was the most realistic madden experience in history. No question about it.
There are also a few other things, like:
1: Madden Connected Careers- It is deeper than ever in connected careers. Just this week I advanced my game from my computer. While the online portion is still IN PROGRESS (so chill, they are working on it), being able to see team stats from my computer and ready up for the week is pretty sick.
2: The XP System- I love the control the XP system gives you in connected careers. You can choose areas to focus on, and mold your team the way you want it. But you can't just unrealistically mold your players, it is realistic and awesome.
3: Commentary- while they occasionally might get mixed up, is better than old Maddens.
4: Graphics- Pretty good graphics.
5: Kinect- You can use the kinect to do last second changes and things like that as a Quarterback. Pretty cool.
But all in all, this game is definitely worth it. If you play offline all the time, you will probably hate this game. If you play online with friends though, and don't mind a couple kinks, this game will be AMAZING. Because the gameplay is AWESOME.
Frustrating sometimes because of how realistic it can be, but it's REALISTIC, and GREAT. | video-games_xbox |
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