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Halo 4 is another quality entry in the Halo series. I'll start by saying that my first foray into the Halo universe was with Halo 3. I never owned Halo 1 or 2 for the original Xbox, but picked up the series on 360 due to my friend loving it so much. I thought the Halo 3 online multiplayer experience was really great, but wasn't all that excited by the campaign. After playing Halo Reach and passing over ODST, I was hesitant about Halo 4, especially since it was being developed by 343 instead of Bungie. Thankfully 343 delivered.
First off, many reviews of Halo 4 praised the campaign for being a step above and beyond Halo 3. Many critics said it was fun, engaging, and held your interest much better than the past games. I don't really agree with this at all. Aside from graphical improvements, and the sound/feel of the weapons (MUCH better this time around), the campaign is right on par with Halo 3. After playing through it with my buddy on co-op, I don't think I will ever feel inclined to play it again. He went through the game on solo Legendary (to get the achievement), but I just couldn't bring myself to spend the time on it. Although it was fun when I went through it with my friend, ultimately it's a pretty forgettable campaign.
Multiplayer on the other hand is a lot of fun. 343 did an excellent job of maintaining everything about the series that made the online component one of the most admired in the industry. There's not really much to say here, other than if you've played Halo 3, Reach, or ODST, you have a general idea of what you're in for. It's probably the best iteration of the Halo multiplayer experience yet.
Although Halo 4 is a great entry into the series, the ho-hum campaign knocks it down a star for me, especially because I'm an old-school gamer who really enjoys the single-player aspect of games. If you enjoy Halo or even FPS games in general, you're certain to love Halo 4. | video-games_xbox |
Almost Afro-tastic. The tough part about making an Afro Samurai game would be (in my opinion) getting the art direction and gameplay to allow folks to really experience all the things that made the series so notable. Specifically, finding a graphic way to bring the series animation to what should be a super bloody hack and slash console game and have it make sense...all while retaining the unique style of the series through the characters, story, design and music.
The folks that made this game, to my surprise, nailed the crap outta the hard part. Which should make this game be all kinds of super awesome and a ton of fun to play. The game retains all of the violence, RZA and Samuel L. Jackson goodness that the series had, and presents it all in a really swank and surprisingly cohesive way.
However, if you've read a review of this game then you may have heard mention of the very "brokeashell" in-game camera. This is because (as awesome as this game is), the camera is, in fact, dysfunctional beyond belief. However, if you give this game a little bit of time you will eventually get "used" to the camera and stop fighting it as much as you progress through the game. But, and I'm not going to lie here, that process will drive you nuts in the first couple of stages. So with that being the case, is this game worth playing through?
Yepper.
And here's why. When the camera does behave and isn't whipping around for no reason, chopping up frames, and generally blocking your view of what you need to see - it does deliver some of the straight-up coolest hip-hop infused samurai action moments in the history of histories... chock full of body parts, buckets o' blood in slo-mo, and it's all To The Beat.
If this game were rereleased with a functioning camera, it would be a solid 5 star game. No joke.
So while it definitely sucks, the camera doesn't make this game as unplayable as some folks'll lead you to believe. The game is certainly worth your time, and I would say money... but not at full price. I am a fan (not huge, but def a fan) of the series and actually enjoyed this game.
I'd say, unless you are super hardcore fan of the series, this game doesn't hold up well enough to buy new. Rent it or buy it used.
In summation - If you're into the series or just into the wonderful Reeses Peanut Butter Cup of Awesomeness that is the combination of Samurai Action + Hip Hop culture, then this game is certainly worth playing, but with the whole camera issue...not exactly worth owning outright at a new price. | video-games_xbox |
What you see is what you get... sort of. It's okay, What you see is what you get. Only weird thing is it comes with the steel game case and a regular game case, which actually has the game disc in it. The steel case has an empty disc slot so you can put the game disc in it if you wish to, and a slot for the metal serialized Kollectors card. It comes with almost the exact same DLC as the Kollector's Edition by Coarse, with what i believe are some regional differences. The main difference between the Import Kollectors and Coarse Edition is that the Import comes with that steel case and a so called "Kollectors Edition" of the 1st issue of the MKX comics. theres no real difference between the regular 1st issue and the Kollectors edition other than the kollectors front cover being in color and the entire comic being printed on nicer paper, and no ads. Its literally the SAME EXACT STORY.
The Scorpion statue is really KOOL, much more realistic and detailed than the Coarse Edition. It has a nice weight to it, the only gripes i have is the base is hollow, the statue feels like 1 good bump would cause it to fall over and break. also the 'Mortal Kombat x' logo on the base is just a piece of rubber glued on, but whatever. The Coarse Edition is Caricature Scorpion statue but it is still VERY nice. it has no base stand, instead uses the crouching stance of the figure for a nice 3 point stand. It stands nice and sturdy. They're both VERY KOOL and nice figures to Kollect and im glad to have em both!
As for the DLC included, tHE Import Edition comes with codes for Goro, Gold Scorpion skin, and The Kombat Pack, the same DLC as the Coarse Kollector's edition. However the Coarse Edition has no Cold War Scorpion. I do have a theory that different regions received different DLC. For instance, before the game's actual release people who had reviewed the Import Edition were generally from outside the US, their Kollectors Editions came with codes for Goro, Gold Scorpion skin, and a Cold War Scorpion skin but strangely DID NOT include the Kombat Pack at all. this leads me to believe that out of the 70,000 Import Kollectors Editions, they were all broken up as they were being made, packaged by region and all sent separate ways. Like US got maybe 15,000, Germany got 15,000 Canada got 15000 ect. You could obviously tell the reviewers were form outside the US the way their games were marked for its rating, ie: rated '18' instead of 'M'. just a small tidbit i noticed for anyone who happens to wonder why theirs doesn't have certain DLC included.
Now as for presentation, The Import Edition pales in comparison to the Coarse Edition, in the pic you see here the box is labeled as 'Kollector's' box. its literally just a box a regular flimsy cardboard box... with the Scorpion statue coming in that standard action figure plastic, and a little cardboard insert on the side for the game cases and comic book. The Coarse edition definitely has the much better box. A Nice heavy duty box, with gold innards, a little side with a ribbon to pull on to get the game out, and LOTS of nice layered foam cut out in different ways around the Scorpion figure for protection. However once you get past the packaging, all that comes in the Coarse Edition is the Scorpion figure with its card of authenticity, and the Game itself along with the DLC codes. The Import comes with just a little bit more, just in inferior packaging. They're both great for collectors to add to their collections at the end of the day, just 1 was made readily available from day 0. | video-games_xbox |
It feels good to be Prophet. Just finished the game, and it was another epic ending. I want to start this review off with the negatives. First, I liked Crysis 2 and Crysis the most. I play on XBOX, and I was introduced to this series with Crysis 2. I preordered Crysis 3 through Amazon and received a free download of the original Crysis. I am about half-way through the first game but still believe Crysis 2 to be the best overall game. I just loved playing in the urban environment and loved how the HUD gave you your tactical options. I also thought the ending was the best of the two games I have completed. Second, Crysis 3 was way too short. On the veteran (hard) difficulty level, I beat it in about 8 hours, so the 6 hour time frame on the default difficulty is most likely accurate. Crysis 2 had 19 missions that will take 10-12 hours on default and 14+ on veteran. The original Crysis is also shaping up to be longer as well. I felt like from the beginning of Crysis 3, you were plunged right into the middle of the game and you knew where the game was headed. I enjoyed the suspense and creepiness of Crysis 2 and Crysis and waiting for the big reveal which was so satisfying.
Now the positives. The graphics will be the first that everyone talks about. I thought Halo and Arkham City looked amazing. Nothing compares to Crysis 3-not even Crysis 2. This is as close to PC quality graphic as you are going to get. Be warned though, graphical fidelity takes a hit in multiplayer. Crytek outsourced the MP to Crytek UK (formerly Free Radical). Crytek UK is no slouch at MP and has a long history of quality MP games. So the gameplay is there, but the graphics do not compare to the campaign-Crysis 2 tops it in MP graphics. The controls and gameplay is tight and well-crafted. This is probably the most important quality in a game for me. I love Halo, and the idea of being a supersoldier is great. Halo is a well-balanced game that I love to play online with friends. However, no game makes you feel like a supersoldier like Crysis 3 does in the campaign and in multiplayer. I also love this sci-fi story. The critics have bashed it relentlessly for a lack of story and characterization, but I think the story is fine. It is epic in scope and gives you enough information or implies enough to where a reasonable person could figure it out. The only flaw may be that Crytek does not tell the story in the most effective manner. For example, we are left wondering the fate of certain characters such as Nomad, Alcatraz, Psycho, and Nathan Gould. Spoiler ahead---I have read somewhere that Nomad was killed off in a graphic novel. You learn of what happened to Alcatraz in this game. Psycho's fate is somewhat undetermined in this game, and I don't recall hearing anything about Gould in this game. I actually believe these are effective story telling techniques because they leave you wanting more or force you to use your imagination. People praised the original Star Wars but until The Empire Strikes Back came out, the fate of Darth Vader was up in the air- I don't recall anyone complaining about that.
Overall, I think this was a great game. I would have given it 4.5 stars if I could, but I refused to give it "just" a 4. It was better than that. I think the conclusion was satisfying, and am happy with what becomes of Prophet. Unless Crytek can expand on the Crysis universe in an original, meaningful way, I hope this is the definitive end of this trilogy. It is worth it. | video-games_xbox |
Fallout 3 is NOT - NOT! - Oblivion with Guns. I had read Fallout 3 reviews, both here, and on popular gaming sites. I did a good bit of homework that initially convinced me not to get this game - not because of quality, but simply because of gore. I'm not a big fan of gore, blood and guts, and had decided to just stay away.
Then I started hearing people say this was "Oblivion with guns." I loved Oblivion. I still feel that Oblivion deserves the title "best video game of all time." So I ignored all of my research and purchased it around Christmas-time. Even the guy at the counter said, "Oh this is a great game - you'll love it. It's like Oblivion but with guns."
I'll say it again incase you missed my title - this is NOT Oblivion with guns. Oh certainly the Bethesda influence is immediately recognized - save anywhere you want, fast travel, being able to "wait." You've got primary skills, secondary skills, leveling... It's definitely a Bethesda game - an Oblivion "sibling," if you will.
But Oblivion was a beautiful game, filled with swaying trees, multiple moons, beautiful horizons... Fallout 3 is hideous, ugly, forbidden. The main playing area is appropriately called the "Wasteland."
Please understand - I'm not knocking this. It's SUPPOSED to look like this. The year is 2277 - some 200 years after a nuclear war that literally destroyed the world. Every character you encounter has a weathered appearance, every building is littered with ruble, crumbling walls, etc. In fact, the few times you find a "clean" environment - such as a major computer mainframe during a main quest, or the area called "Oasis" which is a side-quest, it'll actually surprise you - you'll feel like you've left Fallout 3 and suddenly loaded a new game.
But it will affect you. If it doesn't affect you, then I think you should be placed in a room with rubber walls. The sheer concept of an irradiated wasteland in which exists multiple societies of dwindling populations sits just outside of what we normally consider "imaginable." The choices you have to make as a player - I think it's safe to say - exist at a level that a real human being will probably never have to consider. Sometimes you HAVE to let achievements (Xbox360) or certain rewards (such as weapons, armor, etc) be your guide to your decisions because if you actually try to think morally, you'll probably have nightmares and turn suicidal. This game is dark. It's cut-throat, it's vicious, and it'll affect you.
This game will also scare the s**t out of you, too. I can't count how many times I've been rooting through an abandoned building (most buildings in Fallout fit into this category) only to get whacked in the back by a mutant or some other hideously disfigured creature when I absolutely didn't expect it. I'm not used to my heart pounding when I'm playing video games...
Because of this, you'll never feel safe, never feel comfortable. Even in my own room (you only get one residence in Fallout 3, not multiple houses like in Oblivion. And if you want the GOOD residence.....) I was startled when a dog showed up. Turns out it was just a prop in the "pre-war" appearance I purchased for my room, but still - I almost pumped a round of shotgun ammo into it... For the first few hours of gameplay, I would skip nighttime in the game because it was just too creepy to explore in the dark. I since have gotten used to it, and at level 19, there's really nothing I can't handle, but again - it affected me. Oblivion was nothing like that.
As far as content goes, gameplay, quests, etc, I can't possibly review that stuff. I will say that the beginning of the game can be difficult from a combat angle while you're at low levels. This game does not level up enemies as you level up, so first they're tough - a rat takes 3 shots to kill! As you start leveling up, you suddenly realize that you're popping the heads off of super mutants with one attempt - that quickly becomes immensely satisfying. I find myself not minding the gore when I know that I don't have to worry about "that guy" anymore.
I'll also say that Fallout 3 is NOT a first-person shooter. If you bust into an open room filled with baddies and just start opening fire, you'll be dead. A lot. My only real complaint involves aiming. I found very quickly that I needed to be able to look around (basically, the right stick) quickly. So I set the sensitivity to max. This of course makes aiming very difficult. All of the guns use the left trigger to "zoom in," but it has no affect on controller sensitivity. In fact, with almost all guns, the aiming button is worthless. I use it with the Sniper Rifle - that's it. I would have really liked to see this button A) pull the gun up close to you such as with COD 4, and B) slow the movement of your character to allow for more precise aiming.
Because of all this, I tend to use the "V.A.T.S" mode very often. This mode - engaged easily with a button press - effectively pauses gameplay, and allows you to select anyone within range - good or bad - select a body part, and add it to the queue. You can make multiple selections if you have enough "action points" available, and therefore - at higher levels - can basically stack multiple headshots on one enemy, or even stack headshots on multiple enemies, all before selecting "OK." Then you'll watch your character take the shots in super-slow-motion, one at a time. I will say at higher levels that this is incredibly satisfying, and even starts to make the game a little too easy (but then again, you've earned it, so enjoy it.) I just wish that I could pull off headshots a little more confidently on my own without having to rely on the VATS system so heavily. Of course I could set the sensitivity down, but then I can't move as quickly - and believe me, when a super mutant is tearing into your a**, you want to be able to turn around as fast as possible!!
My only other complaint is that I can't level up individual skills as in Oblivion. If I wanted to be a Master of Sneak in Oblivion, I just had to sneak around a lot, and eventually I'd get it. In Fallout, you have to allocate skill points when (and only when) you level up. Because your levels are limited in Fallout to 20 (or so I've read) that means I have a finite amount of points I can allocate to skills, which means some stuff I'm just going to have to suck at, period. There's nothing I can do after level 20 to improve any of those skils EXCEPT for reading skill books, of which there are only books for a few of the available skills.
Fallout 3 is one of those few games that is definitely worth the $60 purchase price. But be warned - if you're the kind of person who finds an insect in your home, catches it and releases it "back to the wild," then Fallout 3 is NOT your type of game. More often than not I've had to replace a character's head with shotgun lead simply because "it was the humane thing to do..." Don't think I've enjoyed it - I'm usually the compassionate player. My Oblivion character was nearly God-like. This game forces you to think and act differently.
Fallout 3 is nothing like "Oblivion with guns." Oblivion was an adventure - it let you stretch your legs, explore, and was generally inviting. Fallout 3 exists on the opposite end of the spectrum. There's no adventure here - just a devilish trek through an undeniable hell-hole.
And it WILL affect you. | video-games_xbox |
Alive takes good things about Reflex and adds to them. I have been playing the game for the past 5 hours or so and wanted to get a quick review out, will try to follow up with more. First of all, to the negative reviewers. . . the reason that the game is less than $40 is because they intentionally left things like SX out of it so that they could keep working on them and sell them as DLC. Same with real bikes, Suzuki, Yamaha and KTM will all be available to download soon for a few Microsoft Points. This is by design. Honda and Kawasaki don't seem to be included in future downloads, maybe they couldn't work out licensing. Also, if you are complaining about not being able to whip, scrub, etc. it is because you still have the stock frame and need to keep playing to unlock (or pay the 480 Microsoft points to unlock all upgrades).
This game takes everything that kept me playing MX vs ATV Reflex for the past year and added real world riders, nearly photorealistic environments, better sound, better collisions (bar banging) and tons of upcoming DLC for things like SX and real bikes. No, I am not fooled, I will absolutely end up paying full price for the game after getting all the DLC. . . but for someone who doesn't want SX or care about real bikes, then they will save some money. I have watched a lot of SX and MX on Speed over the past year or two, and it is very cool to ride against real riders rather than the random computer generated (non-persistent?) AI riders in Reflex.
There a few negatives, but not many. For example, out of the box there don't seem to be any points series, but I assume that you will download those. Also, you start with most of the good stuff locked and need to play for a few hours to level up. This is no different than Gran Turismo, etc. and to me adds to the enjoyment of the game. By the time I have unlocked the good stuff, I will be much better at the game. It is a little harder to crash in Alive than it was in Reflex, but that is not a bad thing. Neither is the bike on rails though, it feels fairly well balanced overall.
I am ok with giving this game a 5 for fun and overall because the predecessor was one of the few games I played for a full year after I bought it and this one (after 5 hours) takes all the things I enjoyed about the previous one and adds more. | video-games_xbox |
Enjoyable, albeit not perfect. Enchanted Arms is a classic Japanese RPG. Though not 100% groundbreaking or original it isn't exactly like any one single other game. Unique or not, it is quite an enjoyable game and well worth it for anyone who likes RPGs.
If I had to choose one previous RPG to which I could compare Enchanted Arms, it would have to be Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Like FFTA, the turn-based battles of the game take place on a grid. You pit the unique abilities of each character on your roster against the numerous baddies you randomly encounter throughout your travels.
Speaking of your roster, in true RPG fashion you start with your main character and a couple of friends. As you progress you collect "Golems", which I would liken to summons, except that each Golem is it's own character and is not summoned by anyone. One of the highlights of this game is the quantity and variety of Golems you can collect as well as the level of detail that went into each Golem, not to mention the human characters!
While the visuals may be stunning, particularly the in-battle animations, the voice acting and storytelling can be annoying and even down right insulting. One character has a flaming lisp and clothing that made me ask "Was that entirely necessary?" In addition, most of the controls are mind-bogglingly simple (i.e. "Push A") but the game insists on forcing you through a cut scene during which one of your companions provides you with a dissertation on the proper technique for pushing A.
Some would also argue that battles are too easy and become repetitive, but to that I would advise simply switching out a few of your Golems- you'll be amazed how quickly the battle dynamic changes.
In the long run, any complaints I might have are trivial at best. The bottom line is that I thoroughly enjoyed myself while playing Enchanted Arms and if you like RPGs, you will too.
Summary:
Pros
-Stunning Visuals
-Wide variety of party members
Cons
-Fairly linear
-Unnecessary tutorials | video-games_xbox |
Not as good as I had hoped. I am a huge fan of MechAssault 1 and have been playing it ever since it came out. I've played the second one for 4 days now and am pretty disappointed. After 1 hour of game play I was so mad I was ready to take it back but I gave it a while to be fair. This review reflects online play only. The offline game you can complete in 3 hours. Ok storyline.
Graphics:
The graphics are up to date as I expected since it has been a couple years since the last release. The graphics for the maps are ok. It seemed like the put the power into special effects. Special effects for weapons and when mechs blow up are amazing. The lighting effects when missiles travel a crossed the terrain is really good. You'll see the lighting against the walls and trees and what not. When mechs blow up the screen kind of warps and debris is sucked into the explosion. REALLY nice effect. If a mechs blows up in water a bubble forms like in the last Matrix movie when Neo is fighting Anderson.. Neat water effects. When walking through water the waves are realistic. These neat effects are on some maps only. Some of the maps are amazing looking while other just plain out suck. See New River City. It looks like PS1 graphics. Maybe even Kelico vision.
Sound:
The sound is much better. Depending on what you are walking on, the sound will change accordingly. Trees, brush, cement, whatever. Level 3 weapons don't sound as striking as they did in the last game though. I miss the Level 3 gauze rifle sound. You KNOW when someone is leveled up in the first MA and you better run. The second one I don't know if the person is level 1 or 3. I just know I'm standing there dieing.
The Game:
Four more mechs to play with which is nice. They aren't that great but it is more "choices". You now have a VTOL that you can carry items with to assist your teams mates. The VTOL is a great addition to Team Destruction. This adds a great dynamic to the game. Be prepared to have people nag you for powers ups the entire game if you decide to play VTOL. You have a new tank which at first I thought was useless but in Team you can knock a Prometheus or an Atlas on the ground and keep them there for your team to blast away.
In Destruction (which I think they ruined) you start out in power armor and most likely you will spend most of the game in the power armor. You have to find a mech on the map or jack one. You cannot pick the mech that you want. I feel like they should have called this game "Mech Jack II". For mech assault you sure spend a lot of time outside of a mech.
In Destruction most likely the person that wins the game would note have even been in a mech the entire game. You can score big points for jacking a mech so the incentive is to jack mechs for the entire game. I spend more time doing the mini game (see Simon) to keep my mech from being jacked more than anything. Y-X-Y-A-B-R-L-L. Basically you're forced to play Giant Killers the entire time. If you remember right that was not a really popular game type in MA1. Beats me, I only play it once and thought it was stupid.
It took me 3 hours to find the right map and get into even a promi. Then 4 kids came up and eventually jacked it. I haven't seen a Ragnarok or have even heard of it's where abouts though I see a picture of it in the manual. The fact that I don't have a choice in what mech I play pisses me off the most. This goes for Team Destruction as well. You have to beat your own team members to mechs.
Gameplay:
The mechs are excruciatingly slow and targeting is sluggish. Mechs are so slow it takes away from the aggressiveness of the game. The maps are much bigger too which is great but try to get a crossed the map in an Atlas. Once you get into a mech it's boring compared to the feel of MA1. The MA1 got my blood pumping at times and I remember sitting at the edge of my chair when a room full of good players were in the room. This one comparably is a walk in the park.
Teamplay in this game is much better than the first despite all my gripes. You will have to play with people who know what they are doing though otherwise it's frustrating. I love having someone fly the VTOL around without giving you powerups. Or some dork that doesn't know how to drive a heavy mech takes it and gets it kill continuesly.
XBOX Live options:
You cannot join games already in progress like most new games. They are still using the original lobby. You have to try to time when you go into a game with a friend. Good luck trying to get your friends into 1 room. And yes it's still the same old if you're playing a game and get an invite you have to leave the current game and ditch your current players and TRY to make it fast enough to your invite. They had 2 years to think about this so I don't know why this wasn't fixed. It's nice in Halo 2 when you start a room with 1 or 2 friends then eventually more people on your friends list join.
No biggy but finding your friends list in the menu is screwed up. When you get a friends game invite and you're struggling to see who it is you have to do like 3 or 4 steps to get to the invite (while you're being shot at or being jacked).
My gripes:
Slow mechs
Can't choose my mech.
I don't like the power armor idea. I never played elemental.
No choice to turn off mech jacking. I hate stupid mini games. I don't want to get good at it either.
The lobby is ancient technology.
Game still freezes and people still drop when starting games.
I wanted to say that I hate the game but I keep playing it just because it's new. The last MA had a huge following and very long duration. But I think this title will be played a lot then just fade away. I actually played MA1 almost as much as MA2 this past weekend. I had more fun in MA1 though the graphics were a little older.
If you were a heavy destruction player you will not like this game.
If you were a team destruction player you may like it better than I do.
If you didn't own or were a fan of MA1 maybe this one will be great for you since it is the newest game and is "ok".
**************
Update - after 2 months I found myself not playing the game. I took it in for store credit. | video-games_xbox |
Love Hate Relationship w/ the Arkham Knight. I was trying to hold off on writing a review the game until beaten but I finally gave up on it tonight at 80% mark. I'll start by saying I did not play either of previous batman games, this is my first in the series. Maybe the reason for so many positive reviews is people are committed to the series. It truly has been a love hate relationship but in the end hate overpowered.
Love's
Graphics are outstanding. The world is dark, complex and perfect.
Cut scenes and voice acting are very well done.
Story line is very good, especially the twists and psychosis.
Combat, gliding, grappling are terrific. Great fun to fly the roof tops taking in the scenery and dropping in on unsuspecting thugs.
Team combat and the dual take downs are great!
Hate's
The batmobile. Developers need to know everything in moderation. It's way overused and unavoidable.
Repetitiveness. Side missions especially! Why have the same drone fights over and over or require the same activity 6 times to complete a side mission? I'd rather the game shorter and original than the same old thing over and over again.
Taunt scenes. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I played a game with taunt scenes. The only way to make load times more unbearable is to delay them with taunt scenes.
Crashes exiting cut scenes. The game has been out forever now, why aren't bugs patched? I'd way rather lose the crashes than have these fancy cut scene transitions back to play.
That sums it up. All in all a lot of care and work was put into this game. Graphics are great and for a few hours I really loved this game. Unfortunately you just can't shake the batmobile and the tank battles are all the same just with more enemies dragging it out. Hopefully if Rocksteady wants to make a tank game in the future they just make a tank game instead of tagging it on another game. This would be a 4 or 5 star rating if the batmobile was 10% - 20% of the game instead of 60%. | video-games_xbox |
HORRIBLE gameplay for an FPS. Do not buy if you play First Person Shooters, or any shooter. It's a good controller...
Until you try to play an FPS.
I play a lot of FPSs, though I do have many other types of games. I initially started using this to play Sonic Adventure 2. For those of you who don't know is a third person platformer, mainly, with a back-camera view I thought at first it was a really good controller, I enjoyed it very much. I stopped using it for a few days, as I was too busy to play any video games. (what with school and all) I came back about a week ago and started trying to play Call of Duty, (yes, shame on me. It's a guilty pleasure) and started to feel how awkward the controller is. The analogs just feel inexplicably weird. I can't figure out what it is, in all honestly. Whether it be the placement, how small they are, or the possible stiffness. It just doesn't feel right. You'll try to aim and another player, and you'll just go all over the place unknowing how to precisely hit your target.
The buttons are extremely weird too. If you have an external mouse (something normally used, a logitech or something) you'll easily compare the ABXY buttons to that, at least the sound they make. Think of it like clicking your mouse, but being stopped about 1/4 the way through; they lack any depth. It feels strange. I don't see how this could be a problem though considering all of the 4 awkwardly placed extra buttons only program to another button on the controller, instead of being it's own button. (which would be useful on the PC) I've yet to use the two buttons between the bumpers and the triggers, as the placement is a serious inconvenience to reach, compared to the button it's programmed to. The ones on the bottom are strange to use, and you'll find yourself just going back to the normal ABXY, or even taking them off.
The triggers are horrible too. I've yet to use the controller enough to break any of them (like most of the complaints in these reviews say) but 5 minutes into playing any FPS, I can already feel how weird they are, and I feel like they could just stop working at any minute. It has a terrible feel as opposed to the Microsoft stock controllers.
This controller really does feel strange when playing any FPS. I do still use it to play my platformers and puzzle games (Castle Crashers, Sonic games, and I do use emulators to play Mario games aswell) But every other type of game feels unnatural, i'm not fond of this controller at all. There are some upsides though, like the wire being extremely tough and felt. The D-Pad is great in comparison to the normal Microsoft one, as the buttons are plural instead of singular. And you can even remove those buttons on the bottom if you dislike them. But these few upsides do not excuse the terribleness of this controller. PLEASE BE WARNED, it is not worth the cost. You will find yourself regretting this buy if you play FPSs. | video-games_xbox |
Disappointing. I was very exciting for 'Dead Rising' after seeing some gameplay videos online. Unfortunately, I have yet to and likely never will complete this once promising title.
First, the good. The graphics, in terms of level and character design, are very good, stylized and effective. The gameplay is great, dropping you in the middle of (literally) hundreds of zombies without a hiccup in framerate, to slice and bash away with any makeshift weapon of choice. It's open ended, ensuring no two playthroughs are the same. It has dozens of characters and missions. It is fun to play, for a while.
Unfortunately, the bad more than outweighs the good, and you may never see much of the story. There are a number of issues that, alone wouldn't be so bad, and might even enhance the experience positively (with one glaring, unforgivable exception), but combined cripple any progress past the first hour or two of the game. The inventory system is very limited; weapons, health, and booster items all use the same set of 6 or so 'slots', severely limiting the overall number of items you can carry. This would be fine, if player and weapon health were better. Unfortunately, most weapons will break or run out of ammo after a dozen or so uses, and player health depletes rapidly, so you'll want to carry a lot of health (in the form of foods) and/or weapons at once. This would be fine, if not for 'Dead Rising's unforgivable save system, requiring the player to use specific save locations that are few and far between. The level design is confusing and repetitive, further complicating the ordeal of locating a save point. Dying could set you back several hours of gameplay. It also features a "replay plus" system, where you can choose to save your character progress, level, skills, etc, but restart the story mode. You might want to do this a few times starting out, so you can make better progress with a stronger character.
Boss fights are truly terrifying, as most greatly outmatch the player, and each hit does at least 1 damage (out of <10 health). Some use ranged weapons or vehicles (or in once case, both), and firearms can be difficult to find, making these battles almost impossible without several tries. But with the broken save system, you may only get one shot.
The objective system is also weak, with several "calls" every few minutes, frequently when fighting hordes of undead. You can either answer, which makes you unable to fight, or ignore the call, in which case you are penalized. Each mission is timed, so you may have to chose which to do (not negative). Each is assigned with a text message, but the text is very small and difficult to read. Luckily, the objective selection system is intuitive, allowing you to choose which to pursue, and showing the time on each. | video-games_xbox |
Fable II is the reason you play video games. Fable II is beautiful, charming, and funny. It's everything you could possibly ask for in a spouse, -er I mean video game. The humor can be somewhat childish (farting in public) but can also be laugh out loud hilarious!
What motivates you? Is it love? Is it revenge? Is it a desire to protect all that you hold dear? Is it the desire to acquire more things, money, and respect from others? All of those can be very powerful motivators, and you can find all of them in Fable II.
Fable II is everything you loved about Fable I only more of it. (If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?) You can still buy shops and houses, only now you can set the price of rent and goods. (and get good or evil points in the process) You can also buy and upgrade each individual piece of furniture for your houses. You can still get married, but now you can turn any house into a marriage house. The towns look familiar, but are much bigger. You could spend a lifetime just doing all of the side missions. The choices are endless.
You get out of it what you put into it. If you really work to keep your wife happy, she will keep you VERY happy. ;) (and give you children if you so choose)
Not only can you buy every piece of property in the game, but you can also rename every townsperson who isn't a main character. Your creativity can run rampant here. I already have a well endowed, cleavage showing woman named T**s McGee and a bisexual cultivator of crops called F*g the Farmer.
Online and offline co-op is a nice addition from the last iteration as well. You can drop in and drop out almost as seamlessly as in the Lego games. Like the Lego games you share the same screen (offline, haven't played online yet). One of the biggest frustrations with sharing the same screen is when the 2 players go 2 different directions. This can be easily remedied by player 2 pressing the back button to warp up next to player 1.
Graphics: 9.5 Artwork in motion, characters are a little cartoon-ish though
Gameplay: 12! You could spend hours acquiring land, spouses, and children, hunting treasure and playing with your dog!
Story: 9 Clichd yet intriguing
Music: 10 The background orchestra music fits perfectly with the setting
Voice Acting: 9.5 Very well done, yet most voices are the same as the last Fable, who knows maybe you sound exactly like your ancestors from 500 yrs ago
The bottom line: if you're willing to invest the time and effort into Fable II, it is VERY rewarding. | video-games_xbox |
Pay for every feature, pay for the second half of every game. We wanted a change from our sony internet player, and thought the xbox 360 would do everything that that thing did and more. We wanted to play some left 4 dead, and the legendary forza series. Netflix on the 360 is extremely nice, is laid out well, and the menus are very pretty. My Sony Internet Player, however, had a remote that had a full keyboard on the back, which made searching for titles, typing usernames and passwords, and other such activities bearable. The controller method is very annoying in comparison.
In order to use netflix, you have to get on the massive money grab train. Its 60 bucks a year for Live, which allows you to use most of what the system can do. Another 99 bucks a year to listen to any music on it, even the music you already own, and have uploaded to xbox music on your computer. The sony internet player didn't require a subscription, and had google music installed on it, which is much better than xbox music in usability and interface. Also, google music is free. 99 bucks a year to listen to the music you already own is pretty ridiculous.
I do play games, but would not consider myself a hardcore gamer. This is why I thought the 4GB would be good enough for me. I will probably only pick up a few games, so I thought a 32GB flash drive would be fine. I only have two games so far, and I already filled up about a third of a 32GB stick. Also, 32GB is the biggest flash drive you can use. Feel free to stick a bigger one in there, or pick up a hard drive, or use a solid state drive like I did, but it will format it into a 32gb partition. This also means if you are able to play music from USB storage without paying the ridiculous music fee, you will only be able to listen to 32GB of your library.
The money grab continues within the games themselves. I have forza horizon, and in order to purchase half of the cars in the game, you have to purchase the expansion packs (or the season pass which is 50 bucks, more than I paid for the game initially.) The additional maps for Left 4 Dead are something like 6 bucks EACH. They are FREE on steam.
Moral of the story, I think I might try building a Media PC with steam installed. A lot of the games on steam work with an xbox 360 controller, and big picture mode is great. You have access to your entire music collection (and you don't have to pay to stream it.), and the entire internet at your fingertips.
I hope people are actually following the steam machine. I would love to see that thing put the xbox out of business. | video-games_xbox |
Great but still Flawed. LA Noire puts you in the hard-scrabble world of a Los Angeles detective. There are stars to question, witnesses to badger, and the dark, grimy, gritty underworld to deal with. How does it hold up?
First, hopefully it's clear that this is going to involve police procedure. You go from being a patrolman to a detective and along the way you have to search for clues, examine dead bodies, and chase down running suspects ("why do they always have to run?"). So if you're a wild-shoot-em type of person, this probably won't appeal to you. It involves a lot of methodical attention.
That being said, if you enjoy the follow-clues types of games, there's a lot here to enjoy. You search the crime scene. You figure out which witnesses are lying and which are telling the truth. You go from place to place to draw out the storyline. You get to interrogate suspects and in complex cases you get to decide who should take the blame.
The impressive facial system means you are seeing emotions and sidelong glances on the peoples' faces. You really can get a sense if they're dodging the truth of being honest. That then affects your choices.
On the downside, the LA map is long and narrow - and this can be a royal pain as you move through missions. You can waste long stretches of times navigating from one area to another. It simply isn't fun.
The interface can be fairly silly. You wave your mouse around waiting for something to buzz, to indicate a clue. You have a gun in your hand but you have to hold it at the exact right angle before the game acknowledges its presence.
While some aspects integrate smoothly - like having a notebook in your hand to keep track of witnesses, clues, and locations, other parts are more silly. You're chasing a suspect but you have to stand still pointing at them for 10 seconds before you can fire a shot in the air? You find dead bodies and just flip them over before anyone can examine them? A person asks for a lawyer and you continue to browbeat them into submission?
There's the find-cars-to-collect, military flashbacks, dirty cops, and other side-games to keep you entertained. Shoot-outs and boxing matches. But then there's also disembodied limbs floating through walls which bring laughter instead of serious immersion.
There was a great deal of potential here, but there are enough flaws that should have been ironed out during beta testing to make me think this just wasn't ready for full release yet. I'll give it an 8/10 for pushing the boundary, but it definitely wasn't perfected.
We purchased this game with our own funds in order to do this review. | video-games_xbox |
TRIPLE BOMB. CAUTION: Read before buying.
As with all sporting games, it's best to RENT before dropping [$$$]+ tax. You may like it, you may not. Sporting games, in particular, will appeal in different ways to different people, so find something that's compatible with your likes and dislikes. This game was certainly not for me. I'm a big fan of World Series 2K1 & 2K2 for the Dreamcast, and only hope they pump out a version for the XBOX. Here's a few rants that turned me off immediately.
>>> Corny music.
>>> When you're at the plate, the hitting indicator shows you where the ball is going to be pitched! Granted you don't know if it's a curve or a two-seamer or a sinker, but still, come on! Doesn't this take some of the challenge away? Is the catcher letting you know what's coming or something? ala, Crash Davis from "Bull Durham?" "...here comes the deuce, and when you speak of me, speak of me kindly..."
>>> Is it just me or is this some kind of "midget" league? The players are proportioned like infants, with extra large craniums who appear to be looming at a mere 4'9".
>>> Bad sound effects. The crack of the bat (which the Dreamcast simulated beautifully) sounds anything but.
For me, these CONS jumped right out at me and I was unable, in good conscience, to proceed any further. These are some basics that are critical in simulating the most realistic play possible. GOOD NEWS: I just read the May XBOX Magazine and they are collaborating with WORLD SERIES BASEBALL (SEGA) for an EXCLUSIVE XBOX release in May. How cool is this --- this is far and away my favorite baseball gaming package, and they're dissing PS2 on this release. They're utilizing the full graphic capablility to create the finest baseball game yet. I won't even rent this one --- I'll be buying immediately. Baseball is a huge part of my life, and a solid game is a must have for the season ahead!! On a side note, "ALL-STAR BASEBALL" was seriously lacking visually (again, thumbs down here); I have full confidence WORLD SERIES 2K3 will put the rest of these packages to bed... | video-games_xbox |
Say goodbye to your sex life and hello to the wasteland. Firstly, yes. It is true. This game will suck your lifes precious fluids from you, but not in an as pleasing fashion as thus performed yearly on your birthday by the one you will come to neglect after this purchase.
The Pip Boy edition despite some brats crying about the fact it's plastic and looks cheap is AWESOME. It supplies you with a wearable pip boy you can slide your nifty Android device into with an app to give it a pip boy upgrade, or an over priced status symbol that usually comes with a scarf and latte(aka iPhone)
This edition also supplies you with a nifty crate that holds the Pip Boy so you can stash it with bottle caps, pornography, evidence or blackmail. It really has no end to its uses!
As for the game itself well. prepare for the beginning of the end my friends.
The game is just what you'd expect of Fallout. It's endless hours of staring at yourself in character creator trying to decide if you make a creeper with paper thin whisp of hair or you're one of those who feels compelled to try and make the least like yourself game version of, yourself...Moving on! The story is a hell of a lot of fun. More so if you decide to be a rebel and go against what the game -wants- you to do. I won't spoil anything, unless you pay me in bottle caps.
With the new crafting system the game really feels like Skyrim was drunk as usual and brought back Fallout 3 to it's manor for some romantic fiddling in the dim light of candle while snow gentle painted the windows outside.
I'm not saying the game will wrap you up in a blanket of love and warmth and whisper sweetly like a mother to a child how happy it is you're back in the wasteland and listening to the same songs endlessly for hours, or keep you from realizing you haven't showered in days. But I am saying it is a possibility. If it happens you likely need to lay off of one drug or the other. Rethink your life.
In the end this game is amazing and well worth the cost. Be it the Pip Boy edition, or standard edition. I can at least say with the cost of the game you get exactly what you'd expected to pay for, unlike EA chopping up a Star Wars game and selling it off in sections to milk you of hard earned money leaving you feeling like a used street walker just waiting for Richard gere to rescue you. This game will not make you feel that way. You get a completed game with this purchase. So do it. JUST DO IT! | video-games_xbox |
A Great Buy. I was scared when I bought this. I'm a teacher and don't have a lot of money to throw around. I thought I should wait until the price went down. I am so happy I didn't. This game is a blast!!! Great story. FANTASTIC fight scenes. Challenges and extras. I played it... finished it after a week or so... and immediately started over. This games replay value is great. In the positive, this game has a lot going for it
-varied fight styles for each character
-easily mastered controls for all the moves
-ability to "rumble" outside of the story with any gang you like
-plus, those rumbles can be one on one or have up to nine guys per gang!!! That was awesome!! Although the Baseball Furies ate me for breakfast.
-Great visuals. I love how each gang is introduced with the freeze frame.
-Remarkably great and cheesy bonus game at the end. That was way fun.
-Bonus missions that tell how the gang was formed. Fun from a game perspective and very entertaining for grizzled old fans of the movie like myself.
-Best replay value of any game I've seen in two years.
-Lots of insides in the story for the fan of the movie.
Some downsides
-Gets a bit confusing when all the fighters are standing in one spot. I end up hitting my own guys alot.
-Lots of time spent trying to beat a gang's boss. I hate that but these bosses are few (maybe a half dozen) and relatively easy to pass (compared to other games)
-You "work out" to improve your fighting skills; chinups and such. I found this kind of tedious but necessary. Still it doesn't take much time if you remember to do it. If you forget you are in trouble in the later stages.
-May be too violent and criminal for some and was right on the edge for me. You make money by mugging people and you get your health from a pusher. Authentic, sure, but not something you want the church group playing.
-Language. This game definitely earns its M rating.
In the end, the perks FAR outweigh the negatives though. At last, a game that was worth the money. Thanks Rockstar. You did it again. | video-games_xbox |
A Solid Shooter That Holds Up Well. FEAR was one of those games that sat on my pile of shame for years, and was always on my list of games I wanted to play but just never got around to. I finally grabbed it and plopped it into the 360 this past week, and was pleasantly surprised at how well it holds up. Outside of a few overly long sections of the game early on, it really has a nice pace, solid mechanics, and good atmosphere (especially later on).
Pros:
-Even though this is an early XBox 360 game, the graphics are pretty good. Meaning, it runs very well, and it looks very good for such an old game.
-Nice atmosphere through most of the game.
-Interesting story line.
-Great mechanics and good use of bullet time, which is a core component of the game play (most combat situations take place in bullet time)
-You really get a sense that these guys were doing something ahead of their time. Many of the story telling devices and narrative elements are things that weren't common when this game came out, but are now, and for good reason.
Cons:
-Don't play this game for achievements, they are terrible. I played through the game on the normal difficulty and ended the game with 85 achievement points, 35 of which were for beating the game. Every other achievement I received was 5 points, with the exception of 1, which was 0 points for committing suicide. Nice.
-The sound design leaves something to be desired. Some dialog sounds very low resolution. There are phone messages you can listen in on to get more out of the story, and they are interesting, but half of them are so quiet you can't hear them. I tried adjusting the levels, but I could never get it to be satisfying. I will never understand how people making a game get that wrong, but it was a prevalent problem around the time this game was made.
-There are a few sections, especially early on, that are overly long and tedious.
Overall, it's a solid game. It holds up very well, and is still a fun and entertaining experience. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Half Life 2, and the way that game looks and feels on 360. It's not as good as Half Life 2 (which I would give 5 stars easy) but it is worth your time to check out, especially since you can get this game for under $10 used all over the place. | video-games_xbox |
ALMOST EVERY MAP IS LIKE FAVELA IN THE LAYOUT EXCEPT YOU CANNOT GO IN THE BUILDINGS. If you want a multiplayer experience that consists of someone always shooting you first regardless if you saw them first because they have a better connection or always being shot from behind because there are no hold down spots, then this is for you. First let me say that COD has always suffered from not using dedicated servers. Someone gets picked as host who has the best connection and it's a guarantee that person and who ever connects well to that host will see you a good 1/2 sec before you see them, which for this game is instant death. BF3 uses dedicated servers and it shows. But here is the main problem with MW3, there are NO medium to long range maps...90% of the maps are small close quarter street and alley type layouts that have no areas to hold down or go after and really no buildings to go in. They all play the same, just super fast paced with the same perks and guns from before. Forget maps like Wasteland, Terminal, Estate, Derail, Afghan, Carnival, Trailer Park, Overgrown....maps with personality letting you go in planes/airports, C130s, trailer parks, train yards, open areas with long lines of sight, etc. Most maps are single level with a few stairs for multilevel but the line of sight is terrible. Forget sniping. It's useless. EVERY MAP IS LIKE FAVELA IN THE LAYOUT EXCEPT YOU CANNOT GO IN 99% OF THE BUILDINGS. This is a sad rehash of MW2 with HORRENDOUS map design. So for a game that is based off a host connection, all these stupid little street/alley maps will literally make you so mad because someone will kill you before you even have a chance to react. Oh so they added something new in weapon proficieny eh? What a load of junk, just a sneaky way to give you a 4th perk (as if 3 wasn't chaotic enough) except it applies specifically to your gun. 2 weapon attachments? Sounds like Bling perk. Increased bullet penetration? Sounds like Deep Impact. Focus? Who the heck will ever use that since you die immediately. This game is pure trash. Bobby Kotick needs to know what if feels like to be fed the same thing over and over. I wish i could feed him eggs for breakfast one day, then eggs over easy the next day. Then eggs benedict the next day. Then eggs sunny side up the next day. Then repeat that same process adding a little salt and pepper. Honestly I hate to make the comparison, but BF3 is a MUCH better game. It has its flaws too but it's so much more realistic and fun to play and is at least something different. People get owned if they just run around and the map design is much better. | video-games_xbox |
GTA III & Vice City weren't games, but worlds you inhabited. Grand Theft Auto III changed the way many gamers both saw and played games. It wasn't the first to incorporate cinematics, storylines and solid acting into a videogame, but it, forgive the cliche, truly was an experience as you weren't so much playing a game, but rather you were inhabiting a world, and it was one world of a game. In most games, you follow its line straight to the end with little, if any, straying from that path. But the world of GTA III felt as if it were alive: you could play for hours without doing any missions, exploring the various cities and causing havoc to your heart's content -- and then you could go back to completing the missions. And Vice City went even further, expanding the world in which the characters lived, breathed, interacted. It's amazing to think how the game's designers could get all that data onto one disk (from 9 radio stations, to all the dialogue, cinematics, expansive cities with malls, stores, garages, etc. etc. and the intricate, full-to-the-brim levels.
Simply put, game-playing just doesn't get better than GTA III and Vice City. They set the bar for gaming: in a GTA-free world, games such as True Crime or Hitman 2 would seem spectacular -- but such games pale in comparison to GTA.
Before the Xbox version of GTA III and VC came out, my one small quibble about the games was that they were missing some music genres, or specific songs that would fit right in. (it was odd that the Miami-Vice themed VC didn't have a reggae radio station, when reggae really first became popular in America in the 1980s, and how could Glenn Frey's "You Belong to the City" not be on it? If there ever was a Vice City song, that's it.) But with the Xbox's capability to copy music to its hard drive, you can now cruise around to your favorite tunes. (and now I can cruise and wreak havoc while playing Peter Tosh's ever-fitting "Wanted Dread and Alive" album from 1981).
As others have said, the graphics do look better, more smooth. So, a couple of great games have become even better. Who would have thought you could improve upon excellence? | video-games_xbox |
A dichotomy of sloppy design and addictive looting. Forget about how many years Too Human has spent in development, or how loud-mouthed its nonetheless endearing director, Denis Dyack, has proven over the years. If we're going to be fair to this game, we need to take an unadulterated look at what the game is and does instead of its history.
Let's lay those answers out right now: Too Human is merely decent, and it doesn't do all that much. What it does do is present a loot-intensive dungeon-crawler in Nordic clothing. For those of you who aren't familiar with Diablo, the conceit is this: Choose a class of warrior, each with differing strengths and weaknesses. Then cut through hordes and hordes of peon-style enemies. Then collect the piles and piles of money, weapons and armor they drop. Also accumulate experience points with which to increase your dude's abilities, which can result in any number of damage-increasing bonuses.
It definitely goes beyond the mindless dreck that is Dynasty Warriors. There are tons of "runes" scattered about which you can insert into open slots of your weapons and armor, reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII's materia system. These runes serve to increase your damage potential, defense, probability of special effects (such as slowing down your enemy), and more.
So, certainly, there's quite a bit of content in Too Human as far as the collectibles and bonuses are concerned. The problem, though, is in actually playing through the game in order to get to that content. The combat is touted as fluid and accessible. Based mostly around the right analog stick, at first it seems as such. Pointing and holding in the direction of your enemy to attack is as simple an activity as you could hope for in an action-roleplaying game, and perhaps too simple: It starts to feel brain-dead very quickly.
So the game affords you the ability to mix it up by launching enemies into the air, assaulting them with any number of firearms, unleashing a "Ruiner" special move (not unlike a smart bomb in a space shooter), deploying your mechanical spider companion to cause bonus damage, and executing a combo finisher.
The good news is that this all remains accessible, as the commands to pull these off are simple button presses. The bad news is that it's mechanically and visually clumsy to launch your enemies into the air, which is a key component of combat. Double-tapping your analog stick to launch isn't difficult, but it just feels uncomfortable, especially given that you'll be doing it quite often. There's nothing pleasant about it. Visually, your enemy just kind of floats in the air while you follow it up and start to wail on it -- as if you're both standing on invisible platforms. It takes some of the physicality and even skill out of air combat, leaving you wishing for the visual stimuli of Devil May Cry -- the original Playstation 2 game that was released seven years ago.
So, you've got this odd phenomenon of mindless, almost boring combat that somehow takes more focus than it should simply because it's uncomfortable. You've also got environments that largely consist of wide open, mechanical-looking rooms. With the exception of some different color hues, everything looks very similar and thus gets old really fast -- just like the combat.
Yet, as with any loot-based game, it remains compelling for the simple prospect of collecting that next great piece of armor or that new sword. I'd personally stopped playing it after one playthrough in single-player and a few hours of multiplayer because the gameplay simply could not keep me interested past slightly-more-than-minimal due diligence, but I can definitely see the appeal there. Tinkering with your weapons and runes is a great time-sink diversion, and sometimes there's nothing better than coming home from a tough day and laying it all out on enemies that don't do much to resist.
In sum, then, Too Human has its merits. It doesn't do much, but if you fit the mold, it does enough. It isn't that great, but depending on your mood, it doesn't need to be. Nonetheless, here's to hoping that the next two installments of the trilogy are more involved and more varied. To have two more games in the series just like this would be criminal. | video-games_xbox |
Good....but not as good as the first one. First off...I don't have X-box live; so I'm ONLY covering the single-player aspect of this game; which is, quite frankly, a little disappointing. The developers have taken many of the things that made PGR1 GREAT and tweaked them in a fashion that ranges from a little disappointing to outrageously infuriating. It almost seems as if the game was rushed into release because Microsoft needed a Christmas title that could (at least partially) help deflect lost revenues from the disappointing delays of Halo 2 and Half-Life 2.
This isn't to say that the game isn't fun. A lot of fun. Heck, it's probably the best racer available on the X-Box right now...with the possible exception of its predecessor. It's just that my expectations were extremely high and I wanted something that was far better than PGR1...what I got was something that IS better in some ways, but, unfortunately, depressingly worse in a few CRITICAL ways.
The Good:
-- Graphics: Best. (racing) Graphics. Ever.
-- Sound: Praise the gods of video-game sound design, they finally figured out how to make a racing game where (most of) the cars don't sound like they just tried to force a huge helium balloon out of their exhaust pipes. Games like this are why having 5.1 is worth the expense.
-- Vibration that MAKES SENSE: In stark contrast to most other games that shake the controller with no discernable relevance to what's happening on the screen; PGR2's developers got it right. You can actually FEEL each individual crack on a cobblestone street. Very cool!
-- Location, Location, Location: Bunches of new cities to lay rubber in. (But nothing that even comes close to rivaling San Francisco in PGR1.)
-- Ferrari Enzo, Porsche GT1, Koenigsegg CC, Saleen S7, Jaguar XJ220, Delfino Feroce, Trident Iceni. Need I say more?
-- The Showroom: Think Halo in a car dealership...minus the whole "blowing up aliens" thing.
The Not-So-Good:
-- The "In-Car" View: A previous reviewer was absolutely right when s/he lamented the absence of the big PGR1-vintage numbers ticking away on the screen, keeping you informed of your Kudos score. In PGR2, you have to look away from the road in order to check your score...which is displayed in teeny white numbers and looks suspiciously like a designer's artifice specifically engineered to distract you into smashing into the wall. Also, time updates are, indeed, pasted DIRECTLY into your field of vision. Very distracting.
-- The Car Class System: In PGR2, cars are grouped into classes. From the dinky little Sport Coupe class (think Mini Cooper) all the way up to the Ultimate class (Think Ferrari Enzo). This is all fine and good, but there is NO way to drive cars from different classes against each-other. Think an Audi S4 could outrace a Nissan Skyline GTR? Too bad, you can't find out. 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS vs 1965 Ferrari 375 GTB? Sorry! This restriction takes an immensely important part of PGR1 completely out of the game. Racing cars from different "genres" against each-other was not only necessary to get through the game, it was also a freaking BLAST!
--The Time Attack/Arcade Race/Cone Challenge games: The races themselves are just peachy. The problem is, YOU CAN'T PICK THE CAR YOU WANT TO DRIVE! Now, it may seem that I'm nit-picking, but the little text dialogue saying, "this race uses (insert car here)" drives me NUTS! Why can't you chose from the cars you've actually gone to the trouble of unlocking and race them in these modes? Oh wait. I know. It's because, with the incomprehensibly stupid upgrade token system (more on that in a moment), if you COULD do this, you'd be able to drive the Enzo in every race after about 2 hours playing the game...and that's just too easy. The thing is, during the course of the game, it's impossible not to develop a favorite car or two; and becoming proficient at driving that PARTICULAR car against better competition and more difficult courses is one of those challenges that made PGR1 unbelievably fun...and one of those that PGR2 is sorely lacking.
-- Unlocking New Cars: In PGR1, you unlocked cars by completing certain tasks. Complete the Arcade Race "Very Hard" level with all gold medals, get a Ferrari 355. Can't pull that off? YOU DON'T GET THAT CAR! In PGR2, just by playing your way through the game, you'll earn kudos and level up, gaining upgrade tokens that you use to purchase cars. All of the cars in the game are unlocked this way...even the "special" ones. The Enzo...possibly the most capable car in the game? 22 tokens. If you're at least marginally competent, you'll accumulate that somewhere around the 2nd or 3rd race series. But, "purchasing" the Enzo won't do you any good, because, as previously mentioned, YOU CAN'T DRIVE IT until you reach the Ultimate series. So just keep banking these tokens and hope that you'll get to at least ONE race series where the seriously cool cars are drivable before you get bored with the game and quit playing it.
The frustrating thing is that it's not complicated to design this properly. Just make the super-cars impossible to unlock until you've played your way through most of the game; forcing you use your driving skills to progressively unlock better cars, earn more kudos, and (finally!) unlock the exotics. Heck, they could even have kept the upgrade token system...just make the Koenigsegg cost about 250 tokens; thus be UNOBTAINABLE until you've worked your way through damn near all of the challenges in the game!
All in all, Project Gotham Racing 2 is a wonderfully rendered, beautifully polished, great sounding game...that lamentably falls short of its predecessor when it comes to actual gameplay. Which is too bad, because this franchise has the potential to be the best racing undertaking of all time. Hopefully, this incarnation of Microsoft's flagship racer will just be an unimpressive blip on an otherwise spectacular radar picture... | video-games_xbox |
Arcade Racing Fun, but Misses the Feel of Monster Trucks. Monster Jam would have been a better game had it stuck with just being a good arcade-style racer. It has lots of varied tracks, each with lots of interest: destructible elements, wacky stunt jump points, hidden shortcuts, etc. When you're in a full-field race against other monster trucks, the racing is a lot of fun. You'll be bouncing off of other trucks, flying through the air, and crashing through every imaginable object (buildings, boats, parked airplanes, and even the space shuttle!) from the initial green light. Computer AI is pretty slow, so you'll have every opportunity to enjoy your fill of mayhem and then still use some hidden shortcuts to catch back up again. I once won a race flipped upside down riding on the hood of another truck. This amount of unpredictability gives it a decent replay value as an arcade racer; however, it also doesn't distinguish itself from any of the other titles that do the same (and do it better, e.g. the Burnout series).
So the developers tried to pump up the monster truck feel by adding game modes that mimic actual Monster Jam events (I'm guessing - I swear that I've never attended or even seen one of these things!). Unfortunately, this half of the game is where it falls really short. The freestyle events, where you must perform tricks like crushing cars, jumping buses and popping wheelies before an arena audience, are a real chore. The trick is to maximize the judges' scores by stringing together tricks one right after the other. Easier said than done. And the scores seem very arbitrary - you may think that you did pretty well and then you get a low score but also no real feedback on why. So, you don't really ever know how to do any better and these events become sticking points in the career championship mode. There is also a one-on-one stadium racing mode where you and another truck race for the best time through an obstacle course on the arena floor. Unfortunately, the course design is atrocious and oftentimes you get lost among all of the barrels, barricades and flags while your flawless opponent zips through. This mode would benefit greatly from an overhead map of the course in the corner of the heads-up, but there is none.
Finally, there is no online multiplayer capability or any Xbox Live support at all. In 2008, this is simply unacceptable for any game.
PROS
* Well-designed race courses with lots of destructible elements and hidden shortcuts
* Easily-reachable achievements if that's your thing
CONS
* Freestyle and stadium events are the least enjoyable parts of the game
* No online multiplayer or XBL support at all
* Announcer voice acting is annoying after a very short time | video-games_xbox |
Tetris... 15 years after it originally came out. Tetris Worlds does offer a new spin on the original game of Tetris, such as a story mode. The story is strange if not cheesy, a world made of block like creatures is being threatened, and they must escape their world by opening portals called Tetrions, which of course is why you play Tetris. Tetris has been out since 1989, it's a wholesome puzzle game for everyone, where blocks fall and you must position the blocks into rows. When you make a row of blocks, the blocks fade away if the blocks stack to the top, then you lose. The game has some new features, that make things a little too easy, such as the blocks have a shadow, so you can see where they will end up. You can see the next four blocks that will drop, and you can even throwaway blocks, before they drop. The final "improvement" is that the blocks are not permanently in place until you stop moving them, like when players have to drop a block past an overhang then wedge it in. There is some nice depth and distraction to the game, such as there are different worlds, jungle worlds, ice worlds and so on. When the blocks begin to stack the civilization in the background gets built. The further you go, the further the civilization grows. It's a nice touch, but of course it is really to distract the player! The music is good, but people might not like it, because it is futuristic and spacey, however if you have music on your X-Box you can play songs from that, rather than the Tetris soundtrack. The graphics are nice, but they could be so much better, its sort of like graphics for the 64 bit game consoles, not the super powered X-Box. There is now online play, so you can play against every other Tetris player using X-Box Live on Broadband. You can compete head to head, where when you complete a row, it feeds blocks to your opponent. For online play there are also scoreboards with the top players. Even with the online play, after Tetris has been available for nearly every game system this is nothing that any gamer can get excited about. Fortunately this game now comes as a part of a new X-Box Live bundle for Christmas of 2003. | video-games_xbox |
NBA DEAD 07. After playing Live for the 360, it made me fall asleep, it was boring and while the graphics are excellent, it just has this weird vibe. The shots do not come off right, the shooting animation is so slow that you can have a wide open guy on the wing and by the time he gets up and into the air and release the shot, a defender can make up serious ground and block it. Against the computer, I had JJ Reddick and Turkoglu blocked 5 times apiece by Mourning and Shaq coming from the basket on what were wide open shots. There are also a ton of missed dunks, even Howard missed several. It is hard to pull of three's as well, since their guaranteed bricks.
The point guard and fatigue issue also sucks. The comp team never subs regardless of sliders. And their point guard scores 90% of the points. I played vs. Milwaukee and Maurice Williams scored practically every basket. This occured regardless of what level. Edit player is also a joke; I cannot edit the height, but at least I can edit the number and position. The rosters were supposed to be as of Aug. 24th, but where is Turiaf? And why is Battie a FA, he was never renounced or waived!
The press box angle is actually not bad. I dunno why Live insists on having their players pass in uncoventional ways, things like hook-shot style passes, behind the backs, even though the situation does not need those. The subsitution is also clunky; you can do the sub using the D-pad during a break in the action, but by the time you select the player you are bringing in, the game resumes leaving you with the same people on the court.
The timeouts are also timed, as in if you call a 20, there is a 20 second clock and so on. But you can always press a button to continue. The archs on the shots are off as well. Who shoots a high-archer in the paint? There are no retroes unless their unlockable. The courts look good but they don't have mascots, so it seems kinda dead. That should be the new name of this series. NBA DEAD 07.
I don't blame Mac for signing an NBA 2K7 game during Live's launch party. He knows what game is better! | video-games_xbox |
Blazes. I love rpgs and wargames. I once spent an afternoon in Fallout III stalking the edge of the bandit hideout in a canyon; select a target, stalk, take shot, move to prepositioned followup; rinse and repeat; lob a nuke on the Gorxiya in the cage. Yes--a tad overfocused on detail.
When I say I loved this game, then, you'll know it's got appeal. The wife delights in these side-scroll CQC/duel games. I think 'fast-twitch' is on the slow end and fibre-optic nerves firing in the UV range with blue-shifting to speed things up are needed to REALLY enjoy these types of games. The game was smooth, easy to pick up, and made a winter wonderland evening even more wonderful.
So, whether you like to emulate rather than badly simulate (yes--most FPS are side-scrollers cast in a seamless world) or whether you like to get ready for a night's rest by burning off any serotonin you have left by punching buttons faster than the permittivity of the circuitry, Blaz Blu makes it happen.
<details to follow>
Genre-specific:
1) Most side-scroll duels tend to get a little captivated by sparks and spells--you know, by the time you've gotten three moves in, you can't see the room YOU'RE SITTING IN, let alone the game space because of all the stuff flying around--BLAZBlu maintains a crisp, distinct play-sequence. This is a superior assist.
2) Duellers tend to have weak focus-retention frames (backstory and context); I know nought of the anime behind the game; yet I enjoyed the way the world was spun around me. BLAZBlu transitions from faceOff to story and back in a way that keeps a character-based rpg-type like me embedded in the world. Granted, much like a piece of straw driven through a telephone pole by a tornado, but that IS a plus.
3) The last side-scrolling platform I wanted to stay in so bad I could see the world in the phosphene spark-show when I closed my eyes was Mr. Bones for the Dreamcast. I won't say this reached that level, but I have hope...one day...I can <sniff> reunite with my lost love...now only if they could do NIGHTS:Into Dreams...(yes, I know they did...yes, I loved it...but it's ANOTHER GAME). BLAZBLU pulls through and manages to make a wierdling like myself interested in the games...maybe not the GENRE, but the games and shows.
FINAL: BLAZBlu:Continuum Shift brings a tricky challenge to life; it manages to put together a side-scroll duel that is based on an anime series of some repute; it does this without the sense of having just looked at an airburst 10kT and having the fireball be the last thing I see due to blindness--seriously, some of these games get that overdrawn in the FX category; it maintains a solid link to gameplay and context-story, and does both without making you think the game is an episode of the show or worse, giving too much space between duels so your reflexes are back somewhere near spastic ansomniac rather than blinding photonic sublation. There's enough in the game for a person who loves the genre AND a strategic-pace rpg type to happify for quite some time. So stop reading this and go get it already. | video-games_xbox |
The Rock Gods have smiled upon us. For anyone who has been playing the GH series since it came out around late 2005 it's hard to look back at what music based games used to be like.
For anyone who has NOT been playing the GH series...WTF ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!
The third installment of the Guitar Hero series is here! Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. I bought this game opening day around 11:30am-ish and since have played a solid 8 hours straight. Frankly...my hands hurt. *whimpers*
GH3 is absolutely AMAZING! I've been playing GH from the get-go and it seems that Red Octane is going to continue to up the ante with every installment. The gameplay is polished to a mirror sheen in this version with the controls being extremely smooth and totally free of any errors or problems. (Anyone who remembers the original Guitar Hero remembers how bad the flawed hammer-on and pull-off system was.) Just to repeat: Shiny and very good system. Vastly improved from all previous versons of GH. Graphics for Legends of Rock is also very big. They new graphics (especially for the 360 and PS3 versions) are absolutely gorgeous. Half the time I find myself paying more attention to the female character's *ahem* charms, which are perfectly rendered in 3D, more than the notes I'm playing. Call me what you will but seriously the shadow effects as well as the new texture maps make the graphics almost surrealy-realistic. Thumbs up to Red Octane!
Finally...the song list...What else can be said other than..."Holy mother of all things held sacred...." If I had to sum up this track-list in one word it'd be "EPIC". These songs will be recognized by anyone into any genre of rock. Everything from Classic rock, to modern alternative, classic metal, heavy metal, euro-rock, it's all there. For a more detailed song-list there are hundreds of websites that'll give it to you if you just google "GH3 song list".
I've only found two problems with this game:
1.) Two of the promised tracks were shorted from the game. "Thunderstruck" AC/DC and "Stairway to Heaven" Led Zepplin.
2.) The learning curve of this game pretty bad. I could play Hard mode sections 1-7 quite well but as soon as I hit section 8 I was overwhelmed. The songs went from playable to downright insane in a split second. | video-games_xbox |
A great followup to 20-02. My friends and I have been huge fans of 20-02 since it came out a year ago. So we were naturally very excited about the prospects of 20-03. We were not at all disappointed. This version is a much deeper experience than last year's version. If you played 20-02, you may have noticed all the various logos available when you created a team. This year, all of those logos have computer based teams for you to play as or against. The modes are much deeper, including what amounts to a world domination mode where you begin in small arenas (those of last years game) against minor league teams and work your way up to play the big boys. Your custom rosters are also deeper. You begin with last years six players and one goalie but as you progress in this mode you can add additional players for even more depth. The graphics have been upgraded as well. You can now clearly differentiate between players solely by their faces. A couple of things different than 20-02 that I've noticed already. One, instead of scoring three goals to catch on fire and your team needing three one-timers for team fire, this year it is much easier to do both. By playing solid defense and making some nice plays, you have two status bars that gradually fill up. Hit the white button after the first bar fills, boom, you're on fire. If you wait until both are full, hello team fire. Another difference is in the fighting. This year, after a fight the winner and a teammate of the loser (who is still gone) are in the penalty box for 30 seconds. During this time, it's 2 on 2. One more difference I've noticed is that you upgrade your team's attributes as a team and not individually (after so much experience, your entire team increases speed, strength, and so on), but you also get equipment upgrades that can be used individually. It sounds complicated and I'm still feeling it out, but I think it's going to add great depth. Add to all this mini-games (tic-tac-toe, shooting out windows, king of the rink) and it just blows 20-02 away. It takes a little getting used to, but if you liked 20-02, you should be blown away by 20-03. | video-games_xbox |
20 Hours in. I was a little wary paying full price for this game, but I wanted a nice, long, involved game for the summer, so I took the plunge. It's funny, but just like someone else mentioned, this game is like a hybrid between Red Dead Redemption, Batman, and Skyrim. The horse, main character and layout of the maps are similar to RDR, using your witcher-vision and solving mysteries is like Batman, and the whole fantasy aspect is like Skyrim. So is it good?
All-in-all, it's a solid game. It's entertaining, and drawing from the successful aspects of the previously mentioned games, makes it a decent title to play.
Visuals - They're good. I'm glad to finally play a title that looks next-gen on my Xbox. The trees and ambient sounds are excellent. The character faces and clothes can look waxy at times, like they're wearing a wetsuit. The trees and landscape are beautiful.
The gameplay - It can be frustrating at times, and even on medium, I've died often. This can be frustrating, especially when you battle for a few minutes, die, then have to wait for the game to load again, which takes a long minute. If you die in battle, several times the story begins again at a point before the dialogue. Although you can skip through the dialogue, the fact that you might have to do it several times in a row can become tedious. Also, as others have said, the witcher's attacks seem about a second behind what you would imagine them to be, so you have to time them a little earlier. I think they really want you to use the different moves and magic in the game, so it's not just a button masher. This makes it a little more challenging, but it can be frustrating too, especially when you are in the middle of a battle with seven creatures. Ironically, often, it is better to just keep fast attacking rather than trying to finesse.
Another frustrating component of the game is the character's movement. He seems difficult to move sometimes, running past things, etc. and getting to a spot where the "loot" button lights up can be tricky at times, even though the character is right on top of it. Getting up on the horse can be frustrating at times too. I think it was a poor choice to make "A" the button to pick up things, interact with the environment, run, and get up on the horse. I think the same thing with with the "B" button, which on the horse is both jump and get off the horse. When trying to jump a gorge, sometimes the horse just stops, and pressing the button too long makes me get off the horse.
Some quirks also appear in the game, like the horse stopping at a bridge, forcing you to get off in order to get across. Also, when loading, sometimes the game will reset and take you to the title screen.
Although the trees and environment are very nice and realistic, sometimes if you battle creatures in the woods, the foliage blocks your view, and you have to blindly slash until your character and the monsters come into view again. (But this is rare)
The menus and tutorials are excellent. Also, the auto-savepoints are great. There are multiple ones, and this helps if you forget to save in the excitement of finding a new situation.
The story itself is decent. I don't know the original story, so I'm a little lost, but it's pretty good. The character acting is very good too.
So to sum up: At times I'm enthralled by this game. Especially in some of the settings and battles, I'm like, "Wow, this game is really cool!" But then there are a lot of little quirks that break the illusion and take you out of the flow of the game. This game borders on brilliance, but some of the little things detract from that. Still, it's a very good game. If you you liked Skyrim (or the other games I mentioned) then chances are this game should satisfy you. | video-games_xbox |
Not up to par. I accidentally submitted a review for the PC version a while ago and figured I probably should just review the item I purchased.
There were some good aspects: the game was, overall, quite pretty. The background scenery was often riveting, especially mid-battle. There were some incredibly good moments story-wise, though they noticeably digressed in frequency and quality as the game went on. Jennifer Hale was excellent as female Shepard, as always. The combat was much better than the previous two games. The OST was good, in my opinion, though the combat music took a little time to warm up to.
That's it for the pros. On to the negative:
It seems most people focus on the ending (since there's really only one) as justification for their negative review, and it certainly factors in mine. However, the ending is only a culmination of all the negative aspects of this game.
Instead of playing an RPG with some combat in between story-progression, what I played was a shooter game with non-interactive cut scenes (which cannot be skipped). For example, I counted the number of dialogue options in the first council scene. There were two. Two dialogue moments, with either renegade or paragon choices. In a parallel scene from ME1, there are at least 10 dialogue moments, with mostly 3 choices each and an Investigate option offering 4 more dialogue trees. I had to check and make sure I didn't have the RPG aspect turned off. (I didn't.)
This lack of dialogue lasted the entire game. Last month when I played the demo, I assumed Bioware had either cut out the majority of the dialogue options because it was a demo or simply chose not to have them in the beginning mission for the sake of shortness. Was I wrong. It was so bad that when I attempted to play through a second time, I ended up reading a book during the cut-scenes. That's how little player involvement and variation there is available in different playthroughs.
I'm not saying shooters with cut-scenes aren't fun. Halo: Reach was a fabulous game, and I appreciated the time and effort Bungie put into the campaign. But the Halo games are built and marketed as online multi-player first person shooters. Mass Effect is (or this one pretends to be) an RPG.
The complete dearth of dialogue options was a huge problem in the execution of the game. It comes to a head at the end of the game when my full paragon Shepard could both charm AND intimidate during the last interactable conversation. The lack of dialogue also limited what/how you picked up quests (by "overhearing" them, meaning I didn't hear them at all and wondered why it was in my questlog--which didn't indicate how I found them, what to do, or even if I had the item required), how much you were able to interact with squadmates (not much, considering it was a rare treat to actually see a dialogue wheel when you clicked on squadmates), and how much you were really able to actually make decisions in the game.
On the subject of decisions, this is one big example of player choice "making a difference":
SPOILER
Remember when you made a choice of who you wanted to be the human counselor? That choice doesn't matter; Udina's it. Remember the big decision about sacrificing the alien counsel? It doesn't matter, since Bioware put placeholders in if you did. Those are two huge examples, aside from the ending, as to why player decisions don't matter all that much in this game.
END SPOILER
While I hated the Mako in ME1, I sure missed being able to land on-planet and explore. ME2 reduced planet-landing to running a little obstacle course, but it was still exploration with separate maps and interesting scenery. In ME3, you tediously troll solar systems and click on pinpoints to pick up items for your "sidequests". The only time you leave the ship is for main quests. Given that and the fact I wasn't even aware the sidequests existed, I felt that the only reason the side-quests existed was to raise your 'resources' bar and tack on some play-time. Instead of rescuing a lost family member, unknowingly killing an asari's shameful sister, or finding out the mystery of a group of MIA soldiers, you click on a map. That speaks to the lack of creativity and immersion in this game.
All in all, doing all the sidequests, skipping no dialogue, and taking my time with combat, the entire game was 30 hours of gameplay. I went into the last battle thinking it would be a series of quests battling on Earth--which would have been wonderful to see--but the game ended almost immediately. The ending 'cut-scene' (spoiler: all "3" endings have the same cut-scene) lasted 2 minutes. That's after 15 minutes that involved walking down a hallway and having a short, completely predictable conversation with a villain...without a boss fight. (How is it that this game, which tries so hard to be a shooter, doesn't even have a boss fight at the climax? ME1's Saren fight was epic, despite the game's bad combat design.) 30 hours for an RPG is short. It's very short, and it felt short overall, despite the "exploration" system and all unvarying cut-scenes being so tedious they destroy any replay value of the game.
The character animation in the FIRST game was on par, if not better, than what we got in ME3--what, 5 years later? It was common for heads to be turned in the wrong direction during conversation or bodies to randomly phase to the other side of the screen. Joker's scenes were cringe-worthy because of his animations. The editing felt choppy, and there wasn't good transition between cut-scenes, which was especially jarring because a musical score would stop abruptly with the scene. Character blocking and voice-editing were off: there were long, clunky silences between two characters speaking. And you cannot import your Shepard's face, which includes Shepard's renegade scars.
So, the word I have to use to sum up this game's quality is: cheap. | video-games_xbox |
Old but innovative. Definitely not like call of duty. This game has a few pros, and a couple cons. The only reason I compare it to COD is because nowadays, COD is basically the baseline for all FPS.
1. Realistic feeling, destructive atmosphere. Grenades, unlike in COD, feel intense. Explosions give a loud convincing BOOM, the lights flicker, debris falls from ceilings, and the room shakes. Guns feels impressive as well. Assault rifles fill your enemy fulls of bullets, shotguns give a powerful concussive effect and provide the additional service of blasting the baddies in half, or sometimes into a pile of organs. The particle cannon leave a black skeleton. And even pistols don't fail to please.
2. Intelligent enemies. Not to be taken lightly. First 5 minutes, I died a few times based on their tactics alone. They'll actively distract and attempt to outmaneuver you. Although this is awesome, a lot of the levels are a little too linear for them to use their full capabilities. Which might be a good thing. Even though your slow-time ability can usually turn the tables around entirely. Which gets me to my next point.
3. Slow time. What's more fun than rounding a corner, blasting matrix-like bullets into an enemy squad before they know what hit them? Not only is it impressive to you, but even your enemy will comment on it in slow mo-"Ohhhhhh shiiiiii-"
4. Old school healthpack system. Some peope will hate this without a doubt, but I think it adds an extra survival element to the game. I'm tired of "Crap! That bullet made my screen blurry. Better hide til my wolverine powers kick in."
5. No map. Too many games allow you to rely on maps that destroy the feeling of being in a strange place, or motion sensors that make it too easy.
6. Creepy. I'll let you see this for yourself.
The bad:
1. Inconsistent graphics. For 2005, the graphics are pretty good. In most places. The first level dissapointed me because the background was heavily pixilated. Looked horrible. It's like the stage crew made a bunch of houses using cardboard boxes and spraypaint. But in the later levels, this flips around and the background is quite stunning for the time. This makes me think the developers got a little lazy or ran out of time. "Welcome to the world of wonder. Don't touch that awkward box over there.... paint's still wet."
2. Looong moments of inaction. Yes, I know it's suppose to be suspensful, but sometimes I'm sitting there thinking "um.... any time now." It's like walking in your own workplace after hours. And a lot of times these moments don't even scare you in the end.
3. Mundane enemy models. They wear paintball masks. Come on...
4. Akward, stiff controls. The aim assist is HORRIBLE. I'm not sure if it even turns off. It kills me more than anything. The best analogy would be if you're driving on the highway, you almost miss an exit, and the guy next to you grabs the wheel, overcomensates big time, and runs you off the road. "Hey, thanks aim assi- wait wtf are you doing! NOOOOOOO!!!!" Sometimes I just want to throw the controller.
Great game overall. | video-games_xbox |
Beautiful game... fun for a short while. I enjoyed Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast, even with that mongoloid controller they made you use (I did like the VMU's, though, that showed an image of your fighter twirling his/her weapon). It was different, fun, weapons-based - and the first game I had ever seen that just COMPLETELY blew away it's arcade counterpart in every way, particularly in the graphics area.
That being said, Soul Calibur II, almost 4 full years later, doesn't really offer anything brand new. It still features one of the better fighting engines available. Sadly, something just seems lacking in this version.
Having not played the game since 2000, I put it in, set the A.I. on it's most difficult setting (as is my ritual for fighting and sports titles)... ...and proceeded to beat the game in less than an hour, only once losing to Nightmare. To be fair, I DID play the original continuously for a good little while back then, and knew the game backwards and forwards. Hopefully someone picking up the game for the first time will find it to be more challenging. The ending sequences are a joke, which still irks me since that was my only gripe from the original game. Still images and subtexts shouldn't be included on a game this beautiful.
There are several hidden features and "unlockables" to keep you entertained for awhile. From what I've gathered you're rewarded with new costumes, variations of weapons, and secret characters the more you win, and if you can play this game in spurts of about 4-6 hours at a time. I choose to focus mainly on the 'meat' of the game - namely the fighting itself. The button layout is simple enough, while more complex combinations and moves require a bit more practice and timing. Button-mashing won't get you very far on the harder settings - by your third match your opponents will be slapping you around like you owe them money.
Graphically, as I've said before, this game is phenomenal. It could arguably be a toss-up between Dead of Alive 3 and Soul Calibur II for the title "Most Beautiful Fighting Game"... Thankfully, Namco didn't go with recent trends to just make a game with a lot of cleavage and legs all over the place, though there's enough in here to keep even those pause-the-game-when-the-girls-kicks-really-high gamers out there (you know who you are) happy.
Overall, I give this game 4 stars, or 8/10. I would easily recommend this game to those who may be new to the Soul Edge/Soul Calibur franchise due to it's intuitive control scheme and overall fun factor. It can be extremely addictive after awhile, so be careful. Fans of the series, especially owners of the original, may find it a little too familiar, with not enough new changes. Fortunately, Soul Calibur was far ahead of it's time enough that a breath of fresh air isn't particularly necessary at this point for this title series. I'll be looking out for Soul Calibur 3...
Soul Calibur II is definately worth picking up - a pretty solid addition to anyone's library. It's almost a must-have for fighting game fanatics. | video-games_xbox |
Best MMA game so far. I own both UFC Undisputed 2010 and EA Sports MMA. I believe the control system in EA Sports MMA is far superior to that of UFC 2010. In the UFC game you can win fights simply by mashing buttons. In EA sports MMA this is impossible due to the stamina system. If a fighter runs out of stamina they become slow, sluggish and unable to defend against a pass on the ground. To win a fight in EA MMA you have to have skill, use technique, and develop a strategy. This is a con for some people as they do not have the time nor dedication to master the fighting system. There is a steep learning curve and lower skill players are dominated in the online fights.
The create a fighter is better. You can fully customize your fighter to your style. The attributes are very specific such as right hand power and ground punching power. You can even put your own face on your fighter using EA's game face application.
The online gameplay is awesome. There is an online belt system in which you earn XP to earn the next stripe or belt level. Once you earn enough points towards a title match you can fight a champion for a chance at a strikeforce title belt. The coolest thing about the online gameplay is that occasionally there are live fights. They are broadcasted both on the web and in the game. The live fights feature fighters who have proven their skill and also created unique hype videos. There are live announcers who provide commentary on the fights just like a real MMA match. I watched one of these live events and it was very entertaining.
The graphics appear more realistic. For some reason the graphics in EA sports MMA are just better. When I see an in game replay it looks almost as if I'm watching a real MMA fight on television.
The only con I can think of is the fact that there are never very many players online. I like to play the game online but have trouble finding an opponent.
If you want to play a game for the fighting and the fun and don't mind using your own fighter or fighters you may not have heard of, this is the best MMA game out. | video-games_xbox |
As a family of Kinect users. I finally traded my 360 for the Xbox One mostly for the Kinect upgrade. At first I was sad to give up the 72 games I had for the 360, I quickly found that I don't miss them (well, most of them... ahem, where is Ace Combat this gen?).
Here's what's good: my family uses the Kinect a LOT for dance games, fitness games, and voice control for movie time. The Kinect II that comes with this bundle is worlds ahead of the Kinect for 360. It's sensitive enough that my 8yo can command it (though it still struggles to understand the 4yo). It is FAR more sensitive for movement when playing games like <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Just-Dance/dp/B00KTNU40E/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Just Dance</a>, eliminating a lot of the old frustration of "WHAT does it think I'm doing?!?" that the 360 Kinect elicited.
The original Kinect supported kids 8-and-up, but depending on the game it sometimes had a difficult time adjusting to play with an adult and child at the same time. The new Kinect seems to have a wider range of view and doesn't have to adjust itself up-and-down nearly as often. Also super-helpful is that the new Kinect recognizes who has the controller, so when passing a controller between players it will automatically switch who's logged in and apply their controller preferences (where the game allows). That's fantastic!
While Assassin's Creed has never been my game, this bundle does come with a couple AC game download codes. For the same price as the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/regular-Kinect-Bundle/dp/B00CMQTVUA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">regular Kinect Bundle</a> with no games, this one comes with a download code for Dance Central Spotlight, which the kids love.
If your family uses Kinect often, this is definitely worth the upgrade. I'd like to see more Kinect games for the XB1, including some of the iconic Disney and Sesame Street franchises from the last-gen, but there's enough to do for now to keep up entertained. And the hardware and graphics are simply much better. | video-games_xbox |
A real war game for real war game fans. First, to let you know where I am coming from in this review:
1) I was a US Army Platoon Leader for a M1A1 tank platoon and then a light Scout Platoon during OIF 1 and then OIF 2. I like to think that lends some credibility to my case.
2) Love GRAW 2 multiplayer and Coop campaign, but hate the campaign mode
3) Enjoy COD campaigns (despite the more arcady moments), but dislike the multiplayer and its olympic sprinter/high jumping capabilities imparted on players.
4) I love Halo and the Halo universe, though the XBOX live crowd is inarguably one of the most obnoxious pack of mountain dew fueled 12 year old brats ever assembled. ODST is brilliant by the way if you haven't tried it.
So here we go.
Positives.
PLAY / GRAPHICS- Probably the most realistic game I've ever played as far as weapons, tactics, underbrush, movement, command of AI, and whatever else you want to throw on there. As stated, I love GRAW 2 (1, not so much), and will continue to play that for years to come, but this game has moved it to the next level. Will you see the grenade rotating in mid air when you throw it? No. That is my first example of some things that may be observed by many players and find frustrating. Yes, its cool in World at War to see the stick grenades pass head over tail as you chuck them into German positions, but don't forget about what you miss out on and what makes this game so remarkable. SIZE and SCOPE. COD and even GRAW limit you greatly on what your left and right limits are either by barbed wire/terrain, or by simply killing you should you venture from the acceptable path. This game is mammoth, and leaves all options on the table for the player to decide where, how, and when he wishes to conduct his operation. The mission profiles are literally boundless, with the exception of drowning in the ocean (which is honestly not an option I have tested now that I write it), and the environment is fantastic. You will find more graphical detail in some games, you will find some more beautiful (as Modern Warfare 2 looks to be by all accounts) ,but as of yet, you will never be as immersed in an environment like this so large and so grand. The sacrifices for some of the trivial are more than made up for by the playability and realism provided by the size and scope of the world you are injected into in this game. No game can be all things to all players, the current technology in a home system just can't support it yet, but this game made great decisions on what to keep and what to ignore.
I like that my boys call out enemy locations for me to plot on my map, and that map stays set until the enemy positions are updated or I find them absent or destroyed already. Not radar, just as close to Situational Awareness as the game makers can give us (though granted, your character is THE MAN if he can really track his squad, fight his fight, and update the map all at the same time to this level of perfection) and maybe the developers assumed we would have some FBCB2 or better capability to rely on in this FUTURE conflict. That "Future" word is important and worth remembering.
AUDIO - If you don't have a surround sound system, I would look into it because of games like this. In a creepy sort of way, I loved hearing the battle going on a few Km to my flank and actually remembering the tension of knowing that over there was something very real that could impact me, but was out of my hands while they were plenty full of their own tasks. I like that enemy positions are radioed to you to help you keep track. Sustain: X talk. You know what I'm talking about.
NEGATIVES- These affect my "fun scale" more than the overall scale because they are little things some people can get past.
AUDIO- I don't know where the grid coordinates came from, but the developer picked some weird stuff. Its called "MGRS" or Military Grid Reference System, and the Marines use it as well. This alpha numerical stuff is just weird. I don't like that the grid gets called out everytime i tell my boys to move, just say "Roger" like everybody else and get your duff moving.
PLAY- Love incorporating vehicles, but they are a bit touchy. And realistically, it's tough to use some of these things and that's why there are different MOSs in the military. Unless you have the certificates and training like Corbin Dallas from the 5th Element, an expert in all weapons and vehicles you may encounter during this mission, you may be less than polished in your skills. It's not really a negative, and maybe there are negative factors applied against you like they did for GRAW when you grab a system you are unfamiliar with. The command features are pretty in-depth. Bigger than Ghost Recon ever was (not bad) but at times its just a bit cumbersome. I think Ghost Recon 2 got it down by giving your boys a ROE and telling them where to go, after that it gets a bit too into the weeds sometimes for some players. As a military man though, I love this attention detail and being able to guide my guys like that.
Some of the more "Hoo Rah!" (Hooah! if you're Army, and "Errr!" I suppose if you're that kind of Marine) moments are...well...stupid. Never have I experienced these moments in the service, but the understood image of the military for a normal person has been skewed by hollywood and...I don't know, but it's a bit silly at times.
Some, probably the same who complain about GRAW, don't feel the game should be so realistic and difficult. I agree. It's the players money afterall. This was not designed for the aforementioned 12 year olds though. Don't think you and your 12 year old will appreciate this game. Let people blow through a rediculously easy game if they like, and if they grow up and want to stay with the game community, they can mature into it, but give them the choice. It takes patience and intelligence, and at times, yeah, it's boring. Thankfully not as boring as the real military sometimes, but its not you slaying 500+ jihadists while you run through their town like its the suburbs you grew up in.
The checkpoint thing is VERY long, so you need to keep your head on straight. There is no rushing to cross some magical line that will autoload you when you pass it in the middle of a firefight. Each objective is a mission to itself, play it smart.
I think that is enough. Rent it, appreciate the size of the game before you bad mouth it too heavily, and if you like it, make the buy. The game is blinding, absolutely great and I can't wait to get more friends into it to run the campaign coop because it will be great to talk instead of search through the buttons for a (admittedly great)AI to interpret. If you liked GRAW 2 or the other Ghost Recon games, I think this will make you happy. If you enjoy overshields and think it won't hurt when a 7.62 slams into your body armor, or being shot in the leg will negatively impact you, keep on walking kiddo. We don't want to hear you cry in-game and you probably have to go study for that big algebra test anyways. | video-games_xbox |
Battlefield 1, FPS of the Year. Battlefield 1, my what a beast of a game. The moment the rumors began to swirl about this game going to WWI, my excitement began to mount. Then finally DICE unveiled this game and boy was I hyped. This game lived up to it. Recently first person shooters have been just overabundant with modern and futuristic shooters. This year sort of took a turn with Doom to a degree, Overwatch, and now Battlefield 1 a game that decided to go to the past. Having played nearly every Battlefield game since the first Bad Company, BF1 is my favorite entry. Here is why:
1) The campaign. The last few Battlefield games really lacked here. DICE was able to successfully deliver us a solid campaign that albeit short is done very well. Instead of opting for a campaign that follows one cast of characters, the game instead showcases 6 different stories highlighting major points of WW1. You get to be apart of a tank crew on the frontline, take to the skies as a pilot (one of my favorite war stories, especially the traversing through the No Man's Land section), fight as an Italian soldier, take part in one of the biggest naval assaults of the war, and fight with Lawrence of Arabia. All in all, a good campaign with an interesting story. I particularly liked the prologue though that showcased the destruction and death of WWI though. It was well done.
2) The main reason why most people play the Battlefield games, the multiplayer. This is hands down my favorite online FPS of the year. With BF1 you see the return of classic conquest and rush, the inclusion of team death, and a new mode based around carrier pigeons. Out of these core modes, I have only played Conquest. Conquest is just a blast. All the maps are relatively great and unique. My personal favorites are Amiens (an urban city based map that packs intense urban combat with a mix of vehicle and close quarters), Saint Quentin Scar (a big map great for vehicle play, sniping, and I must say a beauty to the eyes), Monte Grappe (a map based in the mountains around Italy and Austria, its like fighting a war in the Sound of Music), Suez (a small map that makes for more aggressive and intense play, the Operation Metro of BF1), and another favorite of mine is Argonne Forest (a map that in conquest only features infantry combat and is just very fun). All in all I would say most of the maps are pretty great, but those are my favorites so far. In regards to classes, this game has your same run of the mill BF classes like Medic, Support, Scout, and Assault I believe. Medic and Scout are my personal favorites just because I love using semi-automatic and bolt-action rifles. I will definitely dip my toes into the other two classes eventually. I do feel they did a solid job fairly balancing them as well.
Now continuing with the MP, BF1 does offer a new mode to Battlefield, Operations. Operations is sort of simulating key segments from WWI like the German offensive in 1918 and the Americans battling in the Argonne Forest. For anyone who played Battlefront, the game mode mixes Turning Point with Rush where you have to capture two points and push back the defense. I dipped my toes into one match and it was fun. The 64 player match is just a blast and seeing you and your team just charging forward really makes you feel as if you are a part of some WWI simulation what with all the sounds, people yelling and screaming, and the visuals. Cool new mode.
So there you have it. BF1. A fitting new entry to the Battlefield franchise that will be popular for years to come. DICE did a solid job on it and I am glad EA decided to let them go with the WWI idea. It is a very fresh and immersive experience. The sights, sounds, and destruction of the environment has been the best in a BF game for sometime. I particularly like the craters that form on the maps. It just adds to the immersion. I definitely recommend anyone pick this game up if you love a good first person shooter and are especially looking to get back to a historical era shooter as well. Plus perhaps after BF1, DICE will follow up another BF2 and have it be that WWII era Battlefield game we have been wanting for a long time now. Awesome game, hands down my favorite release of the year. | video-games_xbox |
It's all been done. I could go and drill on what's all been done before about this game, or... I could let you read just about any review that's been published thus far: Nolan North lends his voice to the hero, Will, and the story is reminiscent of the Rocketeer, Independence Day, etc., and so forth.
So yes, I COULD say that, but I won't.
Even though I did.
So sue me.
NOT REALLY, THOUGH.
In any event, the game, despite its shortcomings, is still a lot of fun. I wouldn't rate it as the number one game of the year by any stretch of the imagination (I'd actually set that particular honor aside for Mass Effect, Darksiders, or Bayonetta (in that order)), nor would I rate it the worst. The controls are rock solid, and I absolutely love how the transition from ground to flight is perfect. That is, I can have non-inverted controls on the ground, and it immediately switches to the inverted controls typically associated with flight sims the second you leave the ground.
However, the problem with leaving the ground is that it can be a rather lethal affair if you're not ready for it. And sadly, even after hours of playing, you're still very seldomly ready for it. The jetpack, as is noted by one of the characters when you first find it, is dangerous. It's a prototype, and surprisingly, works rather well for a prototype. It's quite amusing to note, though, that just about everyone I've talked to about it has smashed into the cliff upon taking their first jump.
That being said, let's go ahead and wrap this up:
Gameplay: 3/5
Despite the fact that the controls are pretty solid (buttons are placed where you'd logically expect them to be), the game suffers from various hiccups and other glitches here and there. For example, I managed to get stuck in the environment at one point (only being freed by CHANCE after a minute or two of struggling), and at another was killed, but didn't know I was dead for at least a minute after (I'd thought my console had just frozen). It also took me a while to figure out exactly how the game's unique radar worked, but... that may just be my inadequacy as a game, I dunno.
Graphics: 4/5
Nothing truly special, but nothing shy of... pretty, either. The environments, specifically the large outdoor arenas where you get to take advantage of both flight and ground combat, are very well done. Going back to the first mission that you're introduced to the jetpack, I really loved how they executed that. If you haven't bought the game, do yourself a favor: check out the demo. It's this mission that they showcase in it.
Audio: 5/5
I'm a stickler for audio. That being said, the game's score is very well done, though a bit repetitive after a few missions (as the track does seem to be a bit... limited).
Replayability: 3/5
I don't see myself going back to replay the game after I've beaten it (and I have). It's a short game, roughly eight hours long, and you can purchase upgrades from tech points that are either dropped from slain enemies, or found casually laying around the various mission areas. One aspect about replay, which I particularly enjoy, is that you can go and choose a specific mission. So if there's one that you prefer above all others, you can go back and play out that portion of the story alone. Obviously, if you're into Achievements, you've got that to look forward to.
Bottom Line: 3/5
It's a neat game, definitely one of those games you play through once and then put on the shelves to... well, rest. Check out the demo, you may be surprised. | video-games_xbox |
Decent. They don't compare to a true five speaker and sub set up. Picking out sounds left and right is easy enough with this headset, but front and back is a trick. Sounds coming from the front often times sound like they're coming from behind, and well, back left and back right... good luck.
When the sound really picks up and it's coming from all directions (like it will in any intense FPS), you simply can't tell which sounds are coming from which direction.
It is an upgrade over TV sound, stereo sound or mono sound. But if you can make a lot of noise and not worry about disturbing other people, I recommend a real 5.1 solution.
The actual sound quality is good enough. Bass is weak, but I never had a problem with that. For music and movies I do not recommend this headset. They're designed for gaming and you'll quickly find that out with the first audio track you play.
People rave about the mix-amp, but it is light on features. It only has 1 input for each set-up, 1 tos-link input which means only one 5.1 hook-up at a time, which turns out to be a moot point because you can only hook it up to one device at a time. I tried hooking it up to the PS3 and my PC at the same time. I was only able to get audio from the PS3 and then only able to get audio from the PC when I disconnected it from the PS3.
The mix amp has two volume controls: one for volume and one for voice. The volume dial is self explanatory, but the voice dial is somewhat of a nice feature. Turn it to the left and it quiets all voice communication so you can hear the game better. Turn it to the right and it rises the volume of all voice communication and quiets the game volume. More often than not, I have to turn it to the left because even the default pre-set (right in the middle), the voices are too loud.
It is a comfortable headset. Takes some getting used to, but it won't hurt your ears or squeeze your head.
If I could do it all over again, I'd take a closer look at the competing brands, which I've never tested, and re-decide. The headset might be better than Turtle Beach and alike, but if you're wondering if this is a good replacement for your 5.1 set-up, the answer is no. | video-games_xbox |
DONT BUY THIS GAME BEFORE YOU HAVE READ THIS REVIEW FULLY. NASCAR Heat Evolution is a good looking game, the cars look good, the drivers photos look good, and the tracks look good. You start off with a very limited number of mostly 1.5 mile tracks and you have to have a speed index of 2 at every track, or I think 7000 speed points. You earn a speed rating for every track after racing there. I don't think it has any meaning because after I raced at Atlanta I earnd a speed rating of 95, when I raced there again I thought the AI would be more difficult but they weren't. I had to manually set the AI difficulty. DMI, the developer clamed that the AI didn't have a programmed line around the track, but I found out that this was a flat out lie because if you were going 10 mph slower than other cars, they would stick to their line and hit you. You have 1 hour to practice, which is good, but in real NASCAR you would have multiple practice sessions. Qualifying is realistic, but you can't fast forward time in the pits. For the race length you have preset percentages. It would be better if you could just chose the amount of laps you wanted to run. You have to have a race length percentage of 7 percent or more to have flags turned on. The options for flags are, no flags, black flag, and caution flag with black flag on at the same time. The caution doesn't work if you spin out or wreck another car, so you have to wait for the pack to come around and hit you. Sometimes even that doesn't bring the caution out. If you pit under the green flag, the pit stop animation looks great, the pit box belongs to the team as well as the uniforms. Under caution you don't even go to the pits you just start back racing after choosing repairs. During a pit stop you can fill up, put tires on, make repairs, add tape, adjust wedge, change tire pressure. There are no changes for track bar or spring rubbers. The pre race setup is very good, you can change a lot of stuff but you would need to work on real stock cars to know what to do. There is no tutorial. You can't read the gauges in the car. When you find them by pressing the b button it only tells you oil temperature, damage, and tire wear. When in the car there is no speedometer or tacometer that you can read on the screen. The menus suck, there is no way to change assists like, traction control, anti lock brakes, stability control, auto braking, and there is no option for a racing line that tells you when to brake . They might as well not have a spotter because he rarely says anything even when you are in a pack of cars. If he does say something, its usually to late. You have 3 views to chose from when driving, the car interior, roof, and chase, but you can't look around the cars in any view. The most important part is the physics, you have normal or simulation physics. In normal physics the cars is very jerky. In simulation physics your car drives better but if you hit the wall, apron, or the grass forget it because your race is over. You will spin out and no caution will be thrown. Damage sucks, it looks pitiful. You can chose from, no damage, light damage, and full damage. In full damage most of the times if you hit the wall kind off hard, but not stupid hard, your engine will blow and there goes your race. They have add-ons for the game, challenges, different spotter, and paint schemes because the game only comes with the Daytona 500 paints. You will have to pay anywhere from .99 cents to 9.99 dollars for them. I RECOMMEND THAT YOU DONT BUY THIS GAME EVER, OR AT LEAST NOT UNTIL DMI GAMES FIXES ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS. IF I WERE NASCAR, I WOULDNT WANT TO HAVE MY NAME ON THIS PRODUCT. IF I WERE CARL EDWARDS, I WOULDNT WANT TO BE ON THE COVER OF THIS GAME. THIS REVIEW IS BASED ALL ON SINGLE PLAYER STUFF, AND NO ONLINE. This game was bought for my son as a birthday gift. He is very experienced with racing games, and is a teenager. He wrote this review. | video-games_xbox |
Do you have what it takes to survive. Let me preface this review by saying this game is amazing! Before playing this I was already reasonably sure I would like this game. It uses the same engine Half Life 2 does and I really like the mechanics in that game. This game is a first person shooter co-op capable game. It's sort of like having a dream come true. I really wish there was a Half Life 2 split screen co-op capability, but Left 4 Dead is a great supplement for that.
On some levels I find this game a curious liking for me. I'm usually a very story oriented player, meaning that if there is no story line I tend to not be as interested. Even if the story line sucks, at least its there and I usually wind up wanting to find out what happens at least a little bit. Left 4 Dead isn't setup that way. It really is one of the ultimate zombie survival games. (Okay, I admit, I haven't really played that many in my day...) It essentially has no real background story; you are merely thrust into a situation where you need to run to survive. No explanation on who you're with or who they are, you just want to get out. This sounds pretty on point to me. Despite these seemingly obvious downsides, I barely noticed them. I still thought this was a great game.
My friend and I sat down to play this game a few weeks ago. I was disappointed to see that there were only four missions we could play through. I thought I would find this game mediocre at that point. This completely blew away those expectations! Basically you play one of the four survivor characters. There are four different scenarios with the same basic theme. You are in one location and the extraction point is someplace else. The only way for you to get rescued is to travel through the area until you get to the extraction point. This is usually pretty far away and can take over an hour of game play to reach. There are safe houses in between to break up the level and so you can resupply with ammo and health packs. On your way you have to battle through literally hordes of zombies! Despite the four scenarios having essential the same theme, the environments are pretty different, so I never felt like I was being fed the same thing over and over, even though I technically was. I was far more concerned with accomplishing the goal! Seriously, this game is so much fun that we've played it several times already. Usually I don't care much about the achievements on the games, but this game has us trying to actually unlock these achievements! I'm honestly surprised at how much replay value this game has with only four missions of a similar design theme.
The minor complaints I have are really tiny. I wish it had more weapon options. Don't get me wrong, the weapons that are available are incredibly useful and fun to use... but part of me wants more. In most FPS games I have a whole slew of weapons at my disposal. I think this game would be really cool with more varied weapons. The only other thing that I didn't like is that you can't run through the campaign as a zombie in offline co-op.
If you really like zombie survival scenarios then this is absolutely a must have game. If you just like FPS co-op games then this is still a must have game. The game is an intense run to rescue and you will feel on the edge of your seat most of the time while playing this. Maybe with the success of this game it will prompt the developer to actually write a more story oriented type of game. I know this was predominantly made for the Online crowd, but there is a huge interest (as far as I can tell) for adding in a full on campaign to play through. That would only sweeten the deal. My one concern would be that this developer would get too focused on online play and remove the basic campaign mode... hopefully they'll never do that (*cough* like Quake Arena... *cough*). In the end this really is exhilarating and I'm looking forward to achieving my 53,595 kills someday! | video-games_xbox |
Cheap alternative to the TE stick. I actually picked this stick up for about $15 the other day, so my opinion may be a little different. But I still think that for up to about $50, this is a decent stick.
For people that are brand new to using an arcade stick, it's a good way to get used to using one. There was an issue with a part in the joystick scratching the PCB, but it's very easy to fix and I believe this was only an issue with the first set of sticks coming out. Also, if you replace the stick like I mention below, this won't be an issue anyways.
The buttons and stick are not official here. They're made to be very similar to Sanwa parts, but they're not. Once you try out Sanwa parts you'll definately notice a difference, but for someone completely new it shouldn't be a problem until you're ready to get more serious about the games. I myself started with cheap sticks, and while I wouldn't want to go back to them, it was a good way to get used to playing with them.
The issue many people have with the stick is that the buttons and joystick aren't authentic. This is true, but the beauty to this stick is that everything can be swapped out with ease. I picked up a new stick (JLF-TP-8Y-SK), and 6 buttons (Sanwa OBSF 30,I have no need for 8 buttons), and a balltop for the stick (Seimitsu LB-39 Bubbletop,optional, you can use the one on the stick) for about $40 at FocusAttack.
When the stick is opened (6 screws removed on the bottom) you'll see that everything is connected with quick disconnects. All you have to do for the buttons is slide down the plastic covers, and yank on the disconnect with some plyers to take them off. Then you pop out the old buttons, put the new ones in and plug them back in. The stick is even easier, unplug the connector, unscrew the mounting plate, take the old plate off if the stick you bought didn't come with one, and put it all back together and plug it back in.
It may sound complicated to some, but even if you run into trouble, the beauty of this stick is everything is easily fixed.
-If you hook the cables to the wrong buttons, just put them back on correctly.
-If you plug the connector to the joystick in upside down (most directions besides down won't work), just plug it in the right way.
-If you strip the screws for the mounting plate, drill them out and get some similar replacements at Ace Hardware or order them online.
I'm guiilty of both the 2nd and 3rd problems. The screws I bought weren't even the same type (they had a rounded head, unlike the recessed heads of the regular screws), but because there's a little extra room in the case, they fit just fine.
Most cheaper sticks have buttons that are soldered on, which is a whole new game when it comes to replacing parts. So even if some say that they're better quality then this stick, you can fix that in about 5 minutes. This is also great for people who have complained that some buttons died after use, just swap them out and keep going.
Heck, if you don't like the colors of the buttons and balltop of the stick, or even if you don't like the artwork, those can be changed too! Just pick whatever colors you want when ordering your replacement parts, and then check online for various templates to customize your own artwork and get it printed and slapped onto the stick. There's plenty of tutorials available at various websites to help with this step, and with all the part replacements too.
The price of the TE stick is dropping, and due to some major sales it could drop even more. If you can get this stick, and the parts, for less than the TE, I would say give it a shot. The TE has official parts (the same as what you'd put into this one) and is also set up like this stick (simple to open and replace parts). You also have a storage compartment for your cord in the TE, and a larger base to rest your hands on. The TE as a whole is much more solid and sturdy.
If you're not sure that using an arcade stick is for you, or want to get something entry level to get into the game with something cheap, this is a great start. If you don't like it, you're not out alot of cash, and if you do, it's not too expensive to upgrate to authentic parts.
To sum it up, you're paying for a case that's already wired up to let you use the so-so parts it comes with, or to easily put authentic parts in. But if you're already a serious player, and it's about the same cost for this stick and the replacement parts, I'd say get a TE.
The reason I gave a 4 instead of a 5 is because while it has the ability to be a great stick, it's not one out of the box. And the case itself is not as large and sturdy feeling as the TE. | video-games_xbox |
Not as great as the first one, but still way cool. Just finished this game on easy, now I'm playing it on the hardest level, and let me tell you, it's like night and day, alot more challenging, tons more baddies and even a few more bosses. So, I got to say I'm having a blast playing this, but then again, I had a blast playing the first one. I have been playing games for years, and I have only given 1 game 5 stars (Manhunt), but the first Suffering comes close, and this one is just a tad bit behind that. I like the fact that you can't finish this game in 1 night, some levels take numerous attempts plus there is also the exploring. For example, a couple of times you come across characters who are there to help you if you follow them, and then they run ahead, but you want to take it slow, because just like the first one, there is lots of cool hidden stuff.
Torque is now in bleak and dreary Baltimore, when has become overun with alot of the same monsters from the first one and even a few new ones, and you can read about every one of them with the journals that are at your disposal to read anytime. You again have the choice of playing good or evil. I played good the first time and I'm killing everything in sight this round, so I'm not yet sure if that is going to effect the ending.
The weapons are numerous and powerfull, we are even talking grenade launchers and 7 or 8 other guns this time. But another thing that separates this game from others like it, is that with some levels you just don't blow everything up and advance, no, you got to think the way out, and I'm not going to lie, it's not so easy sometimes.
Yes, it's very violent and graphic, also lots of language, but if you could handle the first one, then you'll have no probs with this one, but, like I said before, take your time, explore every angle and corner, cuz' I guarantee you, there is so much to do and see, that you don't wanna miss a thing.
Here's looking forward to Sufffering 3....
graphics............4.5 stars, Sometimes a bit dark, but overall very, very impressive
game play............4 stars, Nothing distracting, just gliches here and there
sound/music..........4.5 stars, Perfect horror music, and I can actually understand what each character is saying
horror rating........4 stars, I thought the first one was scarier, but this one is still creepy | video-games_xbox |
Great fun but quality comes into question. Okay, I have had my 360 since last November. I have bought and enjoyed many games. I do not have HD TV but I still appreciate the next gen graphics over the current consoles. I have played my 360 on a 62" DLP HDTV and it looked great. The only problem I have had with my 360 (currently on my third one right now) is a failure of the console. My first console last from November up until June. It would start to lock up and I would get a E65 error message. This indicates a hardware failure. I fortunately had purchased mine from EB Games and had the one year warranty so I just swapped it out for a new one. I did have to repurchase the warranty for another 40 bucks but I was glad I did it with the first console. I never buy the warranties. Luck was with me when I bought my first one. Anyways, the second console lasted from 6/18 until 7/2. I started to get the same E65 error message and then the console would lock up right after turning it on. Fortunately EB Games worked with me to cover it under their instore warranty. The disk drive would not even open up on the second console. I have had the third one now just for a couple of days but it is playing fine so far. I would highly recommend that if available, to purchase some kind of warranty for the console. I was told the first time I took mine back in that I was in the 5-10% range of people who had purchased a 360 and had failures, and I wonder now after having two failures with one not even making it two weeks, what kind of range I fall into now.
An extended warranty should be purchased. I cannot stress this enough. I have my original PS2 from 2000, two Xboxes that are several years old and a PSP. The 360 is the only console system I have ever had any problems with.
Aside from that, the games are awesome and we are now getting into the 2nd generation of games that are available. I was anxious to get the PS3 but with a $600 dollar price tag, I will be waiting for a major price drop before purchasing a PS3. The whole HD DVD vs BluRay is enough to make me hesitant. Current DVD format is good enough for me right now.
Also, the wireless controller for the 360 is one of the best wireless controllers I have ever used. I have the Logitech for my PS2 and Xbox and this 360 controller is better. You can plug the headset into the controller so you aren't limited to a distance when you are playing over live.
Another recommendation I have is to buy the quick charge set. This allows you to charge two batteries at the same time in 4 hours, 2 hours for one battery alone. You can simply take a battery and plug the other one in and it matches the look of the 360 console so it doesn't look out of place. I had the plug and play set and used it one time before I got tired of having to stand next to the console since the cord is only around 8 foot or so. I am a little gun shy of the 360 right now but hopefully this console will last. Gears of War is coming out and there are many other great titles that will be available this year, many of them only on the 360. FEAR will be out and that looks downright awesome. Hope you all enjoy your gaming. This is a great time to be a gamer.
Well, I just thought I would edit my previous review. I have now had to exchange several moer 360's after they failed on me. I am currently on my 5th 360. My third console failed after only about 4 months with the 3 red lights on the ring of lights. I decided to use my warranty and pick up another 360. This 360, upon plugging it up at home, I discovered the plastic slot that the hard drive uses was broken and wouldn't hold the hard drive. This was straight out of the box. I swapped it out for another and have had it for about a week now and will wait to see how it goes. This current unit runs much cooler than any of the others I have had. I still hear that Microsoft has a 5% failure rate on the 360's but I believe it is much higher than that. I have gone through 5 myself and now others who have had multiple units. I love the games but the quality of the console itself is leaves a lot to be desired. I have really been disappointed with a console I spent several hundred dollars on keeps failing on me. It is well ventilated and all that so I believe it is all hardware related. Buy this with caution. It is a great system but the quality is lacking. | video-games_xbox |
Extremely Underwhelming...Sadly. The thought of not having my 7.1 surround sound on late at night was an idea welcomed by everybody in the house. I started looking into headphones, and after hearing the Tritton 720's really started to like the idea.
I did alot of research, and read nothing but great reviews about the Astro A40's, I finally decided to throw down the cash and get the most expensive gaming headset I could find. I purchased them from [...], for $240. After a few days, they arrived at my door step and I was pumped to fire them up on my xbox.
The amount of cables and connections is sorta crazy, but in a good way, since these will connect to just about anything you have. Astro doesn't include an optical cable, which I found a bit surprising...luckily I had one laying around. I plugged the mix amp into the optical out on my xbox, and the USB port on the front. I ran the cable to the headphones, from the mix amp, and another cable from the mix amp to the controller (for voice chat). By now my living room is looking like its wired for a concert, but I'm ready to hear the amazing sound these headphones can produce.
I turn everything on, and put the headset on, the ear cups are really soft, and quite comfortable. The entire headset feels light and well positioned on the head, I turn on the mix amp, and start a game of Modern Warfare 2. From the beginning of the menu, I notice the sound is a bit tinny, in the high to mid range, and the lows are basically non existent. I didn't wanna judge the Astro's based on the game menu, but this was kind of a disappointment.
The game started and the first shots rang out in the distance, I took off running and found the action, grenades, LMG's, footsteps, and eventually a Harrier strike...but everything sounded like it ran together, the footsteps were trumped by the gun fire, and the gun fire by the grenades, then like a cherry on top the Harrier just filled both ears with a roar. Now I realize its hard to get all this projected into your ear but I was expecting a bit more from a headset in this price range.
As the game went on I was continually underwhelmed, the bass is literally not there, I'm used to a 12" powered sub woofer providing my lows, but honestly my Ipod ear buds had much better bass response. I would describe a good game of COD MW2 as an inconvenience as the sound is all just one big mess. I messed with the mix amp, to find it was basically a volume control box and only mixes voice and game sound...sadly this too was disappointing. It was frustrating trying to find a good mix of chat and game volume, it was way to one sided even with the knob set in the middle.
The Astro A40's are physically really nice headphones, but in the end fell short for me, with no bass response, tinny highs, and a mess of audio during a game...I couldn't force myself to keep them on. Consider my above review the "cons" section, and this the "pro": Having it quiet in the house while gaming was nice for everybody around me, especially late at night, however for the price tag and overall sound I got...I'd just assume wait to play till I can use my real theater set up.
Ill be trying the Tritton AXPros next, and will follow up with another review/comparison. | video-games_xbox |
A Stellar Story Experience, Marred by a Lackluster Multiplayer Suite. Microsoft's juggernaut shooter franchise returns with a bang in the hands of 343 Industries. From the moment that you boot up the menu for the first time, the quality of this game becomes apparent. The story of the campaign is one of the most emotionally charged experiences that can be found on the Xbox 360 while retaining the combat focus of the series. The player gets more of an insight into the Master Chief's humanity than ever before, meets a fantastic new antagonist as well as faces off with a whole new breed of enemy the likes of which have never been experienced before. This game also manages to take elements from the extended universe and work them into the story as small tributes to the franchise's most loyal of fans. In short, this campaign is a must play for any Halo fan.
Now on to the multiplayer. One undeniable fact about the Halo franchise is that its multiplayer suite has revolutionized the first person shooter. This release takes inspiration for its multiplayer from many sources such as Halo 3, Halo Reach and even that other game everyone plays, Call of Duty. Halo 4 meshes together the best elements from these games into a fun and fast paced gaming experience but ultimately fails to do anything truly new and revolutionary. Perhaps the biggest letdown of Halo 4 is its lack of good maps for its War Games mode. In the game's most populated playlist, Team Slayer, there are only FIVE maps in the matchmaking rotation. While there are ten maps that shipped with the game the majority are exclusive to specific playlists as they are either too large or too small to fit comfortably in every game type. This makes for a frustrating experience when attempting to play for an extended period of time. Don't misunderstand me, I like Haven. It is likely Halo 4's best map, but seeing it eight or nine times in a row just isn't cool. Nine more maps have been promised as downloadable content in the future, but the majority are still a long time away and will cost you around $25 to get them all with the War Games Season Pass. All things considered, the multiplayer suite is better than Halo Reach (that isn't hard) but will likely disappoint anyone looking for a rich, long lasting experience until more maps become available. | video-games_xbox |
Is this the one. NCAA Football 11 is a pretty good game overall. Its got great graphics, and a better running game.
Gameplay: Personally, I have not had a new NCAA game since NCAA 07, so I noticed a lot of gameplay changes. Passing is a whole lot harder then it used to be. Like sometimes I would throw it to some random reciever and most of the time the pass would miss the traget because the reciever suddenly cuts in the opposite direction. On the other hand, running the ball is a whole lot easier. Now you can make 5-7 yard rushes almost every running play you do. The Offensive Line is not that great. Sometimes a DE would get around him and my RT would just stand there. Kicking and Punting have improved some.
Features: NCAA 11 has some new and old features. Like Dynasty mode. Dynasty has not really changed but the recruiting has been changed around. There is a Rode to Glory mode where you create your own player and go through the end of your High School Year, to your College Graduation. Its pretty fun but can get boring after a while. There is also Create a player but Create a school has not returned which I was disappointed about. There is an online Dynasty mode but I don't do it because of the servers. Also, Create a Fan has still not returned.
Graphics: The visuals are just stunning. It felt like I was actually watching the game in real life. Man, Compare these graphics to the Bill Walsh graphics.
Controls: The Controls are pretty much the same, there is a hit stick, juking, spin move, and those buttons you need to press for passing. Not much of a difference if you played NCAA 10
Overall: I gave this game a 4 star rating because I think this game is really fun. You can get bored from doing the same things over again, and the same commentary over and over again which Lee Corso is not in this game. The Dynasty can get boring, graphics are amazing, controls are pretty good, and an okay kinda like story mode. I give this game a 7.8 - good
- the reviewer | video-games_xbox |
Do NOT buy newer edition if you don't have Windows 10 (look for older edition for Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 7. As the review states be VERY careful which edition of this you buy if you are not running Windows 10 ! I went off the reviews listed here when I ordered this from the Microsoft store and found myself to be sadly mistaken (thank goodness that Microsoft pays to have the item shipped back to them for a full refund ! ) ...
Pay careful attention to the kind of adapter you are ordering.. if you order the smaller, slimmer one that's advertised as having a 66 percent smaller design it will NOT work on your computer unless it is running Windows 10.. I found this out the hard way after wasting hours struggling with the gosh darn thing trying to get it to cooperate... and that's where amazon let me down (which is admittedly rare, normally they are a great company)... I should have known better however, I was aware of the fact that amazon will group reviews together for entirely different products... the reviews for the older (bigger , not sure but I believe the one that came out in 2015? Don't quote me on the 2015 thing) adapter are mixed in with the reviews for the newer , smaller adapter.
Microsoft itself states on their website (google "Windows Wireless Xbox One Controller windows compatibility ") that the newer adapter will NOT work with anything other than Windows 10 ... and I can verify this myself after hours of research spent looking for drivers to get the darn thing to work, looking up information on forums, and so forth... originally I was scared away from the " Microsoft Xbox One Wireless Adapter for Windows (Bulk Packaging)" (amazon asin number B0785SFKYF, copy and paste that number into the amazon search box up on the top and it will pop it right up) since it doesn't come in the original Microsoft packaging.. but then I looked at the picture and realized that it looks different than the (newer, 66 percent smaller) adapter I got from the Microsoft store.. it has a button on the side.. so hopefully the user reviews for that one are correct and it will cooperate with my Windows 8.1 computer. I will post a review under that product once it arrives in the mail from Amazon.
Needless to say, make sure that you select an option such that you're either ordering this directly from amazon or from a seller where amazon fulfills the order so you can make the return as hassle free as possible if necessary (amazon will pay to have the item shipped back to them and give you a full refund within 30 days if the item is defective, damaged or otherwise doesn't work - their customer service is nothing short outstanding if you go this route, love amazon, just hate how they group dissimilar reviews together )... I made sure I did just that by selecting a "fulfilled by amazon" seller for the older adapter I mentioned.
Not 100 percent sure on this but I THINK that the older edition has the circular button on the side of it in the picture while the newer edition does not have a circle-shaped button on the side (I think the newer one has a button it's just rectangle shaped and right in the front of the adapter - sadly I didn't get far enough to the point where I would have been able to test out said button since the darn thing wouldn't install ). | video-games_xbox |
The worst NHL game I've ever played. This is by far the worst game in the series, and I've been playing since 2001 as a kid.
CONS:
-The passing is atrocious. It often goes completely in another direction.
-Your AI players are useless. Complete idiots who skate right into you.(Even in Superstar difficulty) Defense-men let skaters just blow past them. Yep. Just keep skating backwards and do nothing to stop them. They will crash into your goalie and cost you goals and games.
-Player switch is awful, and is completely random. I've given up easy crap goals due to this issue, as your AI defense men do absolutely nothing. AI players will completely let passes just go right by them, or head to the bench unexpectedly as you pass towards them.
-Puck pickups are god awful. You can flatten a guy and he still has enough time to get up and regain possession. This his also cost me plenty of breakaway opportunities and gotten me scored on.
-It's WAY too easy to lose the puck. Opposing skaters don't even need to poke check you. As long as they're anywhere near you, you lose the puck and they gain possession
-CPU is way overpowered. The momentum system in this game is insane. If they have the puck and you're down or up by a goal or two the AI has no problem roaring back. Expect to get scored on with half a second often from the strangest angles. Think the Karlsson goal on Henrik. -Scrub goalies like Greiss and Mrazek can absolutely rob you consistently while your goalie lets in everything and everything. This applies more to HUT. I find my goalie performs as he should in Franchise, but in HUT they are awful. Their rating doesn't matter. Especially after 20 games or so. They let everything in. Expect your stick to break or to whiff a shot when up by one or two late in the game. It never ceases to amaze me.
-Whiffed shots. So many whiffed shots. Why? Why is 97 Heatley, 94 Rob Blake, 99 McDavid etc whiffing on wide open one timers and slapshots so frequently?
-Slingshotting. Every now and then players will slingshot across the ice, as well as the puck. Why? How lazy are these guys?
- Menus. So many damn menus. Plus they're really slow.
- Music. Most of it is just god awful. And there's no option to turn off certain tracks. Again, why?
- Many star players aren't face scanned or haven't been updated in ages/have the same player photo since NHL 15.
-Crowd doesn't react appropriately most of the time, nor is attendance realistic. Why do the Panthers play to sold out crowds every time I face them?
-Commentary is awful and lazy. Players are often referred to as "the shooter" and teams as the "away team" and "home team". There are audio discrepancies in which certain pieces were recorded lower. Just very boring commentary. Doesn't feel like an NHL game, especially in the playoffs. There's just no excitement.
- Be a Pro is awful and boring. Nothing happens. You can score 50 goals in a season and get 2 contract offers for 1.5 million because you're an 81 overall. lol
-Celebrations are horrible. Just look at them. Stiff like robots. Player facial expressions are robotic. They showed more emotion in 15.
Pros
-Tie ups. Pretty neat addition and helps defend against one timers
-The crowd goes nuts with a late important goal, accompanied by camera shake. Neat!
-You can relocate in Franchise. Kinda cool if you want to bring back the Whalers.
That's about it for the Pro's. This game is god awful. Stay away unless you want to be filled with rage just about every time you play. Hopefully 18 is better. I'm sure I can think of more cons, but you get the picture. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing game. In my honest opinion, the first time I played Halo 4's campaign and multiplayer, I did not love it as much as I did Halo 3, more than 5 years ago. I believe that it's because I was still a kid 5 years ago, so I would have thought differently about video games. However, I still think that Halo 4 is awesome. The campaign, while short, offers a lot of replay ability (I've done it myself on normal, and co-op on legendary several times and some missions solo on legendary). I missed the option to search for skulls like in Halo 2 and 3; skulls are available from the start. This is one of the games that I feel is more about telling the story, and just has the action in random places to please those people that just want to shoot things up. The first time around I skipped a bunch of the cutscenes and I was totally lost, but it's really a great story if you watch all the scenes and videos/terminals. It's related to some of the newer books.
MULTIPLAYER
Not nearly as competitive as Halo 3, but a much better than Halo Reach. They add new playlists every week, new Spartan Ops missions every week, and in January they're releasing a true skill ranking system similar to the one in Halo 3 (I probably missed that the most). 99% of the armor looks ugly as hell by the way, but that doesn't matter to me at all. A lot of people say that the game is now like Call of Duty, but at it's core, it's still Halo. There are some playlists where the only different between Halo 3 and this are the weapons, and sprint. No custom loadouts/ordinance in Team Slayer Pro. 343 is doing a good job of fixing up the game and responding to player feedback.
Pros:
- Best graphics for an Xbox 360 game (except maybe Forza) - I'm a PC gamer but these graphics look like they can almost beat Battlefield 3 on lowest settings (for PC), which is amazing for the Xbox 360.
- Loadouts give people more options for customization, but for people that want complete balance, there are playlists for that too.
- Joining in game lets me join my friends, in game.
- Spartan Ops: great way of telling a story and giving out XP at the same time
- The graphical UI is one of the most efficient and nicest-looking ones I've seen. Although it's slightly laggy sometimes.
- Weapon skins look really nice
Cons:
- When my friends come over to play and we have to do splitscreen, some of the larger maps have FPS lag.
- Some of the weapons are overpowered (mainly ordinance weapons). I don't mind though, since they have a low chance of dropping, and I mainly play SWAT/snipers where there isn't any ordinance anyways.
- You can't change your map vote after you've selected one
- Some people still lagswitch/host-boot
- Joining in game is also a con, because sometimes you get put in a match with a game that's already almost over.
- BIGGEST CON: Some of the weapons sound like airsoft/paintball guns instead of sounding cool and powerful (EX: BATTLE RIFLE)
I know this game isn't perfect but I still give it a 5/5 because it's probably the most enjoyable game out there (at least for me. I love all the Halo games, I'm mainly a FPS gamer, and I love sci-fi) | video-games_xbox |
Nokay. I don't write many game reviews, but this one feels like it needs a clear warning so you know what you're getting. I went with 2 stars but would go 2.5 because the story is decent and I like the voice actors. And because flying around in space in a space suit is pretty cool. The rest bogs down, though.
My main complaint is similar to what someone else said about this being Michael Bay's Dead Space. They dogpile you with monsters instead of challenging you with strategy, puzzles, etc. There are puzzles and strategy, and some are pretty cool, but not enough to compensate for the constant dogpiling. What I hate about it is that it seems like the game (any game that does this) gives up. They can't think of something better to do to challenge you or make it interesting, so you end up fight hordes over and over and over again. I wouldn't mind it if it were occasional and integral to the story, but for the most part it's not.
Second, and somewhat related, is the weapon system. You find components and put them together using benches you find along the way (similar to The Last of US). I like that system, but there's just not enough variety to make it particularly interesting in the long run. Worse, as the game progresses, the weapons don't seem to keep pace with the difficulty of the monsters. And worse still, some weapons are just no good at all. The reason this is related to my first complaint is that, although you can tweak your weapons, you don't know what you're going to need (or whether a weapon upgrade is good) until it's too late. The result is that you really can't "play", only re-play once you know what's coming up. Using a mix of weapon types is, in theory, a good idea, but in practice it just doesn't work. Too many of them are unreliable, and, more importantly, it doesn't matter once you're being dogpiled because then it's just slapping buttons and cursing.
Another big drawback is the way the game saves progress. When you're killed, you start over at your last check point. The problem is that if you've used a bench to change your weapons since the last check point, your weapons don't save. You have to go to the bench and re-build them and hope you make it to another check point this time. Ditto any items you've picked up or created. You have to get them all over again because your inventory reverts to what it was at the previous check point. It's a horrible system when you combine it with the above two problems.
Additionally, when you exit the game and start over, you don't start at your last save (even though that's what the menu tells you). You start over at the most recent story save point. This means that if you were working on a side mission, you generally have to run through it from the start again -- and fight all the same monsters again, and beat all the same puzzles again. It's just a really sucky way of saving the game.
These problems were too much for me to get past, because they're not at all minor or occasional. They're persistent and constant throughout the game. There are some other, story-related things I didn't care for too.
(Possible minor spoiler?)
The game takes place in an area that was abandoned 200+ years earlier. Despite that, the power is still on, lights are still on, film projectors are still on, and even more impressive, corpses are still amazingly squishy! Again, this feels like a lack of concern for story and gameplay. I could see power being more advanced and thus some things still running. But 200+ year old incandescent lightbulbs that don't burn out and corpses that don't decompose (in atmosphere, btw)? Not so much.
Also, the first suit you find is what you use to jet around in space. Yet when you land on a frozen, icy planet, it's not enough to keep you warm. You have to find an "arctic" suit for that. So I guess that means a parka would be more than enough to keep you warm in space.
There's a lot of variety in what you do in the game. Unfortunately, the lack of variety in monsters, along with the other big flaws, overwhelmed my interest in the story. I gave up on it once, tried it again a few weeks later, and gave up on it twice. I don't think I'm going to give it a third try. | video-games_xbox |
Fun for FM Fans, average shooter maybe deserving of your attention. I am personally an avid FM fan and had this pre-oredered for the Xbox 360 for quite a while, and as of this review I have completed the game on Normal and Hard, and I am a Staff Sergeant 2 in Multiplayer.
Story/Characters/Cutscenes 2/5
The story (about 10 hours in length), though cliched, is truly weakened by how forced it feels--a little more exposition and well-placed dialogue explaining some of the under-lying themes/plot holes would have improved the otherwise average story I felt like I was watching a new addition to the Gundam series with no fight choreography. However, since Motomu Toriyama, the lead writer for Final Fantasy XIII wrote the story, it should come to no surprise that it has all the same issues as FFXIII's story; that being a lack of exposition manifested in unspoken themes and massive plot-holes. Additionally, The Character development was predictable, but the voice-acting, produced by Hydrogen Whiskey Studios, wasn't too bad. However, the dialogue provided to record was terrible--thank you Toriyama. The Cutscenes, also outsourced to Hydrogen Whiskey Studios, were quite good and went a long way to enjoying the otherwise below-average story.
Gameplay 4/5
Gameplay mechanics are tight, (Double-Helix did a great job) and the additional modes: On foot infiltration and Gunship Defense are well thought out and fairly fun (except on hard in which case they're a nuisance). I was very pleased to find no bugs in either of my two playthroughs, and quite frankly, a little shocked. It was quite refreshing as it has been too long since I have been able to say that. The gameplay, though not anything revolutionary, is the highlight of the game and makes the game worth buying for Hardcore FM fans and Hardcore Mech fans alike.
Customization 3/5
Customization mirrors that of FM, FM2, and FM4, so fans of the more open upgrade driven advancement in FM3 and FM5 will be disappointed. At different campaign levels and cash milestones more parts are available, and these new parts will yield the old parts obsolete (in most cases these new parts are upgrades to the previously purchased Wanzers). This doesn't bother me much, but I know this will be a concern to some FM fans and AC fans. An issue I have with the customization is the lack of strategy involved in the campaign and multiplayer as a result of customization restraints. For instance in FM4 and Evolved a Ballistics Wanzer could use a Recon Wanzers sensor backpack to extend the Ballistic Wanzers Range, and though the repair backpack makes a come-back, it comes at the cost of mobility as the roller-skating ability, though still accessible, is less maneuverable without the A.G.I.L.I.T.Y backpack. It feels like the strategic component is overall lacking in a series that has ever emphasized strategy.
Overall 3.5/5
For all its faults it was better than I expected. The story was written by Square-Enix, The voice acting and Cutscenes by Hydrogen Whiskey Studios, and the gameplay by Double-Helix, and despite this, the overall cohesion of the product is exceptional and exceeded my expectations. I truly enjoyed the full experience of it all despite it's shortcomings, so I recommend this for the true die-hard fan of the FM series and die-hard Mech Fans starved for more robotic slaughter, but everyone else should consider renting first.
-Tommy Race | video-games_xbox |
I'm new to the franchise - the best RPG ever created so far. I've been playing video game RPGs for 23 years... It is hands-down the best I have ever played. I've never seen anything like this. EVER.
As a new Fallout gamer, I know I'm new to the whole idea behind the franchise. I took what I had read all over the net and a tiny bit from friends and just bought the game, hoping it would live up to the massive hype it had gotten in months past.
Disclaimer: I have not yet played Fable II (I hear it's pretty amazing too)
Did it live up to the hype? In short, YES. It blew away EVERY expectation I had going into it. I played Morrowind and Oblivion, so I had some idea of what Bethesda might be doing with this one. I would say it is Mad Max meets the European theater of World War II meets Waterworld (from gadget/gizmo and new vs old perspectives) meets Fable (you can be good or bad, or in the middle, and it affects what happens) meets Oblivion (in concept).
Fallout breaks the mold of RPGs of old, going all the way back to the Ultima series (especially IV), where in order to progress in the game you had to play elaborate games of Go Fetch, just to get a cookie. Most of those games became a tedious trek across huge areas of uninteresting landscapes with a little bit of spice thrown in here & there. Morrowind started this idea, and was even better with Oblivion, but yet still tedious. With the additional advent of GTA III (though not exactly same genre), the "open world" concept really caught on, but was still never implemented all that well.
Enough intro. Here it is. Fallout starts you off as many RPGs do with getting familiar with the system, and getting to know your stats and how the player interface works. It *quickly* moves you through that in a story-based way, that takes less than an hour to complete, yet sets up the rest of the game brilliantly. Perfect, I say.
Graphics Rating: 9
You break out into a world foreign, yet somewhat familiar. It is Earth, but not as you know it. The landscapes, however scorched and destroyed, are absolutely picturesque. I was *stunned* the first time I saw the 'world'. After playing for 20 hours already, I'm still in awe.
The only problem I have is the people. They are still a little stiff, much in the vein of Oblivion. No big deal, though, it doesn't take away from the overall game IMO.
Sound Rating: 10+
Amazing. It's like you're there in person. Insects sing at night, you often hear creatures in the distance before you see them (due to obstructions). Conversations are not old and tedious, voice-overs are amazing and I don't think I've yet heard the same actor in 2 conversations yet. Weapons? BIG FUN. FINALLY SOMEONE PUT SUBWOOFER ENCODING IN A GAME! It's about time. Seems to be very rare for XBox 360. So explosions literally jolt you. And there are a lot of explosions.
Mission Rating: 10+
FINALLY a 10. The core of the game, but implemented much in the same manner as Oblivion, only better. You can complete the main story in a matter of a few hours (I'm told, I would guess 10 hours or so), but you have the opportunity to take a mission or just ignore it. And the missions are actually INTERESTING. GAH! What a concept! I do have to say Mass Effect had very interesting missions, side-missions included, but the developers of Fallout tried even harder to keep your attention. Well done.
Story Rating: 10+
Absolutely the best part of the game. Well, in the top two. Very interesting characters, interesting stories of hardships taken on by the people in a post-holocaust world. Sometimes I have to stop for a minute to remember it's just a game - gives me chills. The underlying social commentary really makes you think... and wonder if this could be what happens should Earth really be destroyed by nuclear war?
Combat System: 10+
The best I've ever seen. It's just fun. Similar in ease of functionality and quickness as Bad Company. Comes with an added bonus (V.A.T.S.). A combat option you'll have to experience yourself. Amazing.
Game Functionality Rating: 7
I give this game an 8 on the 'Game Functionality' side - meaning is it buggy? I've had some trouble with mine - locking up in certain areas and such, some things not working quite right, and graphics collisions. These are isolated incidents, not a general problem. In hopes of alleviating all concerns, I installed it to the hard drive... after 10 hours of starting a new game, I've had no problems at all.
Summary:
I would not deign to call this one "Oblivion with Guns". It is SO MUCH better than that! If you're on the fence, and you're looking for a non-tedious, incredibly interesting game with lots of explosions in an open world, then just get this one. I will be playing this for months, probably years, to come. | video-games_xbox |
Pretty good system. I found a Jasper unit. I bought it at Wal-mart. It runs cool and it is fairly quiet, excluding the disc drive which is insanely loud (think tower PC rom-drive spinning at 48x). I have already ordered the starter kit with a 60gb hdd so I can load the games I am playing currently. The performance has been flawless so far. No lag. I actually liked the old xbox live layout better I think (it seemed easier to navigate), but the newer features are a must.
My only real complaint right now is that the bottom-right corner of the faceplate doesn't snap down all the way. It is no biggie, but it just makes the console seem cheap, although I know the cpu and gpu are nothing to laugh at (even at 3 years old, although the nm have shrunk). Speaking of hardware, I actually think MS went the better way with their machine than Sony. At $200-300 for a console, I will be happy if it lasts 5 years (I spent a grand on my tower PC a year and a half ago and already it seems out of date with the i7 intels making the core 2 duo's look like a joke). At the rate computers are advancing, it doesn't make sense to design a 10-year machine like the PS3 is suppossed to be. MS will gain further market share if it brings out a new system by 2011 that will of course be superior to anything now, and blu-ray will be much cheaper then also. I also hope they end the hard disk drive system for a bigger solid state internal memory (maybe 8 or 16 gigs), and they can sell an external 3.5" HDD with a terabyte for the downloading types. Oh, and it better have wi-fi built in, especially since they are pushing on-line play so hard. That is a shameless ploy to sell those outrageously priced adapters. The wi-fi adapter at retail costs HALF what the base console does? Absolutely ridiculous. In fact, MS would be wise to stop or at least lessen the 'nickel-and-dime' trend they have been on. It generates cash revenue, but at a cost to consumer satisfaction. The DVD adapter on the first Xbox was the worst of all time. Sell the remote to people who want one, but do not block DVD playback to force buying the adapter. I could not believe that one. Sony would never stoop so low. Show some class please, at least a little. I know people love to rag on MS, and I too have issues, but sometimes it is just unwarranted. If Apple had the courage to lower their computer costs (perhaps allow other vendors to build machines?), we might have some real competition. But, as is, how can the world hate MS when they have encouraged competition in the pc sector and we now have laptops under $500 and towers for even less? Anyway, got off track there. Enough talky, time to play. | video-games_xbox |
Great game, but glitches and a poor ending tarnish this excellent game. From the start, Fallout 3 is an excellent game. Unfortunately, glitches are common (less than Fable 2, however) and the ending was horrible, to put it lightly. The entire game takes place in an alternate universe, where the culture remained as that of the 50's, and China became the USA's rival, not the USSR. Something went awry in 2057, after the United States drove Chinese Forces out of Alaska, and a nuclear exchange wiped out everybody on Earth.
The game picks up 100 years after the events of Fallout 1, and 20 years after the events of Fallout 2.
The beginning of the game starts out in Vault 101, one of numerous vaults constructed in the event of a nuclear war. You're safe in the vault, protected in the vault, forced to work in the vault, forced to basically worship the vault overseer in the vault, etc. You start out from birth, and you learn the controls and game features as you quickly skip from birth to your toddler years, and then to your 10th birthday, to an exam taken at 16, and finally your father's departure of the vault in your 19th year. After the tutorial is where the game starts to really shine. You aren't constricted to following the main quest (thank god) and you can truely do whatever you want. Steal, kill, donate, save people, scavenge for items, do quests, follow in your father's footsteps, it's all entirely up to you.
Unfortunately, this is also where the game starts to get glitchy. Graphic glitches abound, and although none are game-breaking, they can get annoying. Gameplay glitches involve characters and creatures falling through "gaps" in the world, and some characters will accidentally fall from their deaths. These glitches can easily be ignored however, as long as you save and re-load frequently.
The main story is, at best, bland, whilst at worst it comes off as unimaginative and predictable. It gets to the point of ridiculously stupid when the ending arrives. You, the main character and hero, has to make a difficult choice. The water purifier in the Jefferson Memorial, the main focus of the main quest, is about to explode and release a deadly amount of radiation. Radiation is already flooding in, and anyone who goes in to activate the purifier and release the radiation will probably die. You can let another hero (not a follower) go in and activate the purifier, or you can do it yourself. Here's where the plot holes open up. At this point in the game, you can have a multitude of followers. You can have: A mutant unaffected by radiation, a ghoul (radiated human that looks like a zombie) who is actually HEALED by radiation, a robot named RL-3 who is unaffected by radiation, and a slave who bassically has to do anything you tell her too. NONE OF THEM WILL DO IT. Even if you let the hero in, you won't be able to play after the game's end.
There has been DLC announced that will let you play after the game's end, but it is due in May of 2009.
Overall, it is an excellent game to play. While extremelly gorey and graphic, it offers hundreds of hours of replay value. | video-games_xbox |
Good, But Not For Hard Core Gamers. Good points: The game has beautiful graphics the player can explore trying to get all the light seeds. The story is also new and interesting. In fact, the player can spend hours just listening to the character side conversations. If you are a fan of the series you might be put off from the fact that it doesn't follow the original story, but the game play is pleasant enough to play through so you won't be lost in future installments. The new main character also can do new things that allow something else to explore.
Bad points: Everything else is average to mediocre. There is hardly any fighting and the puzzles are pretty simple. While the sands of time allowed you to redo events making it so it was hard to die, it also took strategy to use. Now it is impossible to die. Younger and less experienced players might find the inability to die a plus, but it means that it is less fun to explore and less challenging. I might also add more annoying because in the few battles there are the enemies health just regenerates when you are close to death.
I will admit I am not finished with the game, so I can't comment on much more. However, I'm far enough in that improvement doesn't look that promising. While the game has a new story and abilities, the application of those abilities are so far not that creative. I have also not found anything really hidden yet. But, as I mentioned before, its just not as fun to explore because the abilities are not as versatile and playfully plummeting to ones death is much harder when you are saved the moment you step off the cliff (some cliffs allow you to fall farther before being saved, but if you are trying to jump from somewhere there is absolutely no chance of ending good you don't get far).
All in all it is enjoyable enough to keep me playing, but I'm hoping I don't have much longer. The game play is just not as great as the earlier versions. | video-games_xbox |
Awesome collection but could have been perfect. I was ecstatic to hear the collection of titles for this collection. Since I sold my genesis a few weeks ago to buy this I figured it would be a great trade off and I could now play all my favorites on the XBOX360 without having to fuss with having another console hooked up.
I want to point out a few of the things for people on the fence about this collection. First if you enjoyed these games growing up you will love this collection. They play great, look great, and each game has a museum where there is tidbits of information about the game and box art.
Now to the negatives:
1. Sonic and Knuckles in the collection can not be used in "Lock on" mode. So you can not play Sonic 2 or Sonic 3 with Knuckles. This is disappointing considering the fact that Sonic Jam on the Sega Saturn has this feature.
2. No online leaderboards. I was surprised by this announcement. Other gaming collections feature online leaderboards and it would have gave all the games a greater sense of replay value. I am one of those people who loved and conquered Sonic 3 so many times I would have played it over and over just to make a leaderboard.
3. Achievements are fairly easy. ([...] Where the heck is the achievement for beating Streets of Rage 3 on hard? I can not tell you how many nights I stayed up when I was younger trying to beat it on hard with a friend. This leads me to my next point.
4. No online multiplayer. I will not go into this. Obviously this feature would have been awesome.
Some positive feature include being able to save your game and being able to organize the games by list so that your favorite game will always appear at the top of the list when you start up the collection.
Regarding the video quality. I have a 42 inch 1080p Westinghouse LCD TV and all the games look really bright and colorful when stretched to full screen. By default all games start in a windowed mode and you have to press the "Start" button and select "Video Options". From there you can stretch the game to full screen and enable a "Smoothing" option that makes the colors a little better. You have to do this for every game so it makes a little annoying when starting up each game for the first time.
In the end if you are a die hard Sega fan and want to relive the games of the past you owe it to yourself to pick up the collection. If you are hoping for something new then you might as well skip this collection for now. I doubt Sega will patch in online leaderboards or multiplayer. | video-games_xbox |
Welcome to the Darker Side of the Star War Universe. I was wondering when the more militarish side of Star Wars would emerge, Republic Commando brought exactly that. With a mixture of elements from Halo (Shields), Rainbow Six (Squad Tactics and aiming), and Unreal Tourny, you get a mixture of some degree of realism and tough gritty warfare.
The graphics are pretty good, but not steller. A few things I liked was getting blood, grease and rain on your windshield and your helmet automatically wipes it off; whoever thought of that was pretty creative. I also loved the helmet tactical HUD feature, which displayed numerous gauages and dials but didn't take up an unnessesary part of the screen like in soo many movies, it really went well with the helmet.
The voice acting and dialogue was hilarious. Between the nonchelant Fixer, the creepy sniper Sev and the I-blow-stuff-up-but-Sev-creeps-me-out Scorch, you've got quite a trio of comic-relief characters that say the whackiest things such as, "Never say no to bacta," or, "Sir, with all due respect but what the hell are you doing." You almost get a sense of brotherhood from your fellow commandos.
The gameplay is fairly well done; the squad commands are comprehensible and easy to use during a firefight. When using hand gestures, you temporarily lose control of your weapon, which adds to the realism, which many games ignore. There are only four commands (Hold position, take offensive formations, rally and form up) with the exception of pointing to a position and telling that commando to do an action. It's easy to set up door breaches and they execute many manuevers like real US Special Forces do such as the door breach and movement to contact.
However, the AI can foul up every now and then and a commando may get caught on a corner and not move. To counter this, punch the guy till he goes onconscious, then revive him and his action will reset.
I think it's kinda cheesy that you can "revive" your teamates infinitely and they can revive you, but it's Star Wars and they can get away with it. When you're down you can tell your commandos to back off, attack of come revive you, which is a cool feature since most games (such as Rainbow Six) call game over when the main hero is down.
The music is incredibly well done. It is quite a mixture of choir and opera singing that gets your blood boiling and, of course, they mix some of it with the old Star Wars music.
The enemies can be relentless and either extremely easy or extremely hard dependind on the dificulty level. The Super Droids are nasty in groups so beware, however, the Droidekkas arn't that nasty so it can be weird sometimes.
Aside from that, the only beef I have is that the ending comes aburptly and downright sucks. The game seems too short for what it's worth, I hope they make a sequel.
All in all, an 87%. | video-games_xbox |
Day One Edition / XBOX One Review. 1) Console - The new console looks pretty boring, even with its glossy finish. I expected a lot more from it. I'm not too worried about its large size. I rather have the extra space for airflow and proper cooling. The design, however, could be greatly improved. USB ports in the front would've been a huge plus as well.
2) Controller - I like the new controllers. I purchased the battery kit too and can charge it with the USB cable provided. This allows me continuous playtime. The layout of buttons is great and much improved over the 360 and previous designs.
3) Kinect - Unlike most people, I like the voice controls. It is probably about 90% accurate in understanding what I say. The camera also picks up my face very quickly - even if I'm wearing a hat or holding a burger in my face - I'm still recognized.
4) Interface - Greatly improved in most areas. However, I miss the ability to view storage usage. I also don't like that it takes forever to scroll through achievements and other areas of the dashboard.
5) Games - Very limited. I have Forza 5, COD Ghosts, Madden 25, and Battlefield 4. All but 1 is an XBO exclusive. However, I'm fine with waiting another year or two for a solid game library lineup to come.
6) Performance - Very quick gameplay, even navigating the dashboard seems much quicker than previous 360.
7) Specs - Not happy that I'm locked with 500GB. Can't 'upgrade' or add external storage. This system should've came with 1TB standard with the option of external storage. With having several games already containing 20-30GB of storage being copied plus game and console updates, I see this going very fast. I don't want to have to delete games to play new ones. Especially if I'm purchasing from the online marketplace.
8) Pricing - Online marketplace is expensive. I received $10 game credit on each game that I ordered from Amazon. Making most of my games $49 instead of $59 like they are online at MSFT. One game I even got for $39. MSFT needs to offer competitive pricing.
Overall, very happy with it. I hope they add 3D support, fix some bugs and apps to make easier to use, add ability for external storage (at least for saved game play, DVR clips, etc). Also the ability to backup the internal drive to external would be great. Even if it backed up system settings and saved game stats to OneDrive (it may have and I just don't know). | video-games_xbox |
a review from someone who has acctually played it. closer to 4.5. Its one of the better RPG's ive seen in awhile. Even though it is setup like an rpg, it looks like a tomb raider type of game. (graphically). What is really cool about this game is you can choose the light side, or the darkside path to go. If you want to be good or evil, choice is yours. According to the book (even though I haven't tried it yet) If you choose the darkside, I guess your characters appearence will change too as you get "darker". I've only tried the lightside.
This is a good game, probably one of the best RPG's out right now. Even though it is pretty cool, and has consumed alot of my time, I have nit picks:
(1)the price: maybe if it was 10 dollars less it would be a happoer buy, i think this about alot of the new games.
(2)Graphics - really good, but, xbox can make breath taking graphics, and there really is no new teritory covered here in that depart, like someone else mentioned, maybe PS2 graphics.
(3)TOO much dialog (ONE OF MY BIGGEST COMPLAINTS) I know, its an rpg, its supposed to have lots of dialog, but i think its overkill. For example, you have to keep talking with your party members ever so often just to maintain relations with them, this is stupid! plus when you do talk to them, they tell you 20 paragraphs of information Less yack'n and more action!!
(4) Only able to hold 2 other party members besides yourself. Most rpg alow big partys of diverse characters, you only got 3
(5) even though you can play this game 3-4 times and have different sequences, or dialog played to you, even choose more than one path, but in the end, the game acts like it plays on a line, its no a truely free world, goals are set into play, not as spred out as like Ultima
(6) Lacking ability to ask town citizens to join your party / attack them - It seems liek each citizen is there jsut to speak with you, only certain characters with join you, or fight you (which goes back to what i said on 5) | video-games_xbox |
My fav rpg game definately worth buying. I will start by saying that this is the best rpg game that I have ever played or have seen being played. Oblivion really is like a whole different life from the one you already have, once you have created your charectar and gotten into the game a little bit you will feel like the charectar has become a part of you, a reflection of what you are like. Every charectar in oblivion is completely unique. You can spend hours just making your charectar just right. You will have to see it to believe it how detailed the designing of your charectar really is. Trust me you have never seen a charectar designing system like this before. In fact if you wanted you could even make your charectar look like yourself or anyone else. The only thing that I see lacking in the designing system is the hairstyles for each race there is about six different hairstyles to choose from. This does not bother me much though because you will probably end up waering a helmet or hood or something of that nature anyways.
The graphics are stunning, especialy if you have a high-definition tv. Its amazing just to sit there and look at the world around you. The atmosphere of the game is really realistic when it is supposed to be scary you feel it, when happy likewise.
The replay value is incredibly good for this game. ( providing you finish it with one charectar anyways) There are 10 classes to choose from ( Argonian Breton Dark Elf High Elf Imperial Khajiit Nord Orc Redguard and Wood Elf) each with their own different skills and abilities. Then you get to choos from about 12 different classes rangin from a feirce warrior, a stealthy rougue, a powerful mage, and all inbetween. Plus you can create custom classes to so you see the possibilities for this game are limitless.
The difficulty system in most games is horrible with just three levles easy medium and hard. When games have that you may feel like you are not being challenged enough with easy and medium, but cant even walk two steps without dying in hard. Well, oblivion's difficulty system is a slider which gives you the perfect difficulty. Also not only does it make the opponents harder or easier, it changes them. For example if you went from easy to hard what before may have been a wolf would now be a bear or the other way around.
There is so much more to tell about oblivion but i have run out of time. Ill let you discover that on your own. One last statement.
DEFINATELY WORTH BUYING | video-games_xbox |
My First Game. My husband convinced me to start playing games in the hopes that I would play other games with him. Instead, I got so immersed in Oblivion (and so set in my ways) that no other game seems fun! This is my first game since playing Space Invaders on Atari, and I have to say, it is amazingly fun. I see lots of comments about graphics, and they are beautiful, but the best part of this game is the sheer freedom to explore. Even opening barrels and picking up ingredients from plants is so cool.
I'm on my third character, and have played from the warrior, mage and mixed perspective, and it's all awesome. As your strengths increase, the strengths of your enemies increase as well. The one issue I have with this is that run-of-the-mill goblins take more effort to kill than Xivilai (very high-level Daedra); I find this unrealistic. As far as your character goes, the sky's the limit. You can play a completely good character, a completely evil character, or employ characteristics of both sides. The creation tool where you get to choose everything from the shape of the nose to the shade of lipstick is creatively satisfying.
I have played the Shivering Isles expansion, and find it just as fun and fascinating as the main game. I downloaded this expansion, as well as Mehrunes's Razor, Knights of the Nine and the Orrery from Xbox live, and am very happy with each purchase. As I am a beginner, each new game adds hours of play time.
I play on Xbox 360 and am impressed not only with the beautiful graphics, ease of play and first-person action, but also the speed with which the game loads and saves throughout. The only problem I've encountered is that the game freezes for no apparent reason every once in a while - so I save a lot!!
I recommend this game highly for any beginner. Aside from the very beginning where you're faced with exiting the royal sewers, there is no constraint or pressure, and no time-sensitive quests until you level up a bit. You're completely free to wander through all the towns (excluding Kvatch), plundering barrels and crates, picking ingredients from plants, talking to townsfolk and increasing mercantile skills (and sneak and security, too, if you've a mind to shoplift). To increase your fighting skills, hang out on the waterfront all around the imperial city and fight mudcrabs.
Bottom line, I have played for hours, created three characters, and have not run out of things to do or finished every quest. Whether you're a serious gamer (like my husband) or a beginner with little to no hand-eye coordination (like me), you will more than likely find in Oblivion exactly what you're looking for in a game. | video-games_xbox |
More a jumping game than an action game...(some plot spoilers. Having played all of the previous games, I can't say how this holds up as a stand-alone. It's also the first XBox game I've played, and the first game I've beaten so quickly. (Yes, I'm one of *those* gamers.)
Theme and setting-wise, DMC4 shares a lot of traits with DMC2: you have an isolated community heavily influenced by Sparda, living in modern times, having elevated a demon into a god. You have a group of protectors , and you have a POV character with an obscure background somehow connected to devils.
That's where the similarity ends however. There's an actual plot here, with enough references to previous games to make anyone familiar with the franchise happy. (Even Dante's battle music harkens back to the original game, while Nero's echoes Dante's music from DMC3)
The camera angle problem is still present, but that's almost agiven in DMC games. If they actually fixed it, I think franchise fans might complain about *that* and say it made the game too easy. (But it's nowhere near as bad as 2, where you often couldn't even *see* what you were fighitng.)
I know it's an action game, not an RPG, but there are some irksome things about the characters in this game:
*Credo: For a general who earned his place through battle prowess, he does an awful lot of running off to 'report' and fetch reinforcements, leaving a subordinate to do the fighting. Apparently, while cars,music headsets, and elevators exist in Fortunate, phones do not.
*Kyrie: Everything I hate about female videogame characters, wrapped in one bland package. After Trish, Lady, and even Matier and Lucia, a character whose sole significant contribution to the story is to drag in a swordcase during a cutscene is a cop-out. The rest of the time, she's either out cold or needing rescue.
*Agnus: A Hojo clone, and you know what they say about a copy of a copy.
Pros:
*Gorgeous graphics. I noticed only one real instance of tearing, and that was at the near end of the game.
*Voice-acting. In what has to be a deliberate decision, the voice-actor for Nero is almost identical to Dante of DMC3 (and may even be the same guy), while Dante is voiced by his anime voice-actor.
*Decent replay value. It's pretty easy to get sucked into this game.
*Sanctus is a suitably creepy, Machiavellian sort of character, with a nearly understandable motivation.
*References to past games, giving a decent sense of continuity.
*The sheer *huh?* factor of the weaponry. If you thought *Nevan* was the most bizarre weapon in videogame history, wait'll you see Pandora. Nero's weapons are all pretty cool, and a good reflection of his audacious character (I mean, a double-barrel *revolver* against Ebony and Ivory?)
*The Devil Bringer. Think of the comic book version of the Witchblade gauntlet, on steroids and minus the attitude.
*Dante's Style can now be changed mid-mission, without recourse to God of Time statues!
Cons ( a longer list, as one notices the problems more than the pluses)
* The bosses are kind of flat. In DMC1 and 3, the bosses had attitude. DMC4... not so much. Echidna in particular was screechy and annoying. The bosses all do a variant of "Puny mortal! RAR!" followed by "Beaten by a mortal! WAH!"
*Change in shop usage. Red Orbs made for the 'currency' in past games. DMC4 has two: Reb Orbs and Proud Souls, both of which are earned by completeing missions. Skills and weapons upgrades are now purchased with Proud Souls, while healing items and Devil Trigger/Life upgrades are bought with Red Orbs. You never seem to get enough of either, requiring you to re-do missions to 'bank' up orbs.
*Major continuity glitch: Now *Yamato* is the sword Sparda used to seal Hell. Which doesn't explain why *Vergil* had it...
*Trish and Lady are reduced to fansericve placeholders.
*Jumping/platforming. This is endless, and by far the biggest detractor of the game. It seems like every other mission has a major platforming puzzle you must complete to advance, and the atrocious camera angles mean you will spend a lot of time missing the mark until you all but memorize where everything is. You will also spend a good amount of time jumping in place, as many of the 'bounce seals' have to be hit just right to work. Don't get me started on the Grim Grips.
Ultimately, the big questions of the game--where did Nero come from? What exactly is the Devil Bringer? What is his connection to Sparda/how is he descended from Sparda?--go unanswered, largely in favor of the extremely token 'love story'. Luckily, those cutscenes are easy to skip through.
Overall, this is a fun game, with enough eye/ear candy to entertain and enough bash'em opportunities for action fans. | video-games_xbox |
Risen 3: Could have been a good game. This is only Risen game I have played so I cant compare it to the previous two, I decided to play this game wile I waiting for Far Cry 4. Visually the game is just OK their are a lot better looking games out there but its not terrible. This game will never become half of what skyrim is for the two following reasons which I will go into detail on. First the combat system is the most frustrating I have ever played and second you are just thrown into the game with out any sense of how things work. The combat system is favored to your enemies, impossible to fight multiple enemies. Enemies are faster then you the best strategy I found is dodge until your companion tanks the enemy and then attack, also there seems to be a slight delay when pressing button to the preformed action. Very little is explained as far as how the game functions like joining faction, spells, upgrading etc. I have played for 12 hours so far and although I have my character upgraded enough so that the game is playable I don't think most people will give a game that much time just to be able to play the game. I did have to look up how to do many things online so I could progress, you should not have to do that. Also some of the quests don't show up on you quest list this happened to me in Calador very frustrating. The story so far is good, I completed a quest on Calador that started Chapter 3 I don't know what happened to chapters 1 and 2. I wish the quest layout was more comprehensive as far as some kind of order to do thing and importance (you need to do certain quest in order to get in some areas they should tell you what quest you need to do, but you have to guess or look it up as I did). I think that this game is a missed opportunity with a reworked combat system and better quest layout and some general instruction of how the game works it could be a great game, however in it present state its to frustrating for most people. Unless you have a lot of time to invest playing and researching better to skip. | video-games_xbox |
A pretty good headset, better than OEM one. I bought this headset on my way to a friends house because I had forgotten my OEM one. Would have bought a wireless, but then I would have to charge it and would have still been without one for awhile.
Fit:
First it does take a little time to figure out how to put the headset on correctly, and have it stay on, but once you figure it out it fits great. Far more comfortable than my wireless headset, which I purchased at a later time. The boom extends to about an inch to an inch and a half from my mouth which is perfect, you don't get the breathing sounds being picked up, nor do you need to yell to be heard. The boom is semi-flexable, so you can position it for your face contours. ***Added 12-17-07. I have actually stopped using this headset, although i like the shape more than the OEM headset, the part of this headset that goes in your ear starts to hurt after an hour or so. So for extended gaming, not a good choice.***
Sound Quality:
Great sound quality coming through the earphone. No problems there. Volume adjustment is easy, as is the mute/unmute. Both are located on a "box" in the middle of the cord. I have heard no complaints of my voice quality to others, unlike my Mircosoft Wireless headset that pics up the sounds from my TV or someone talking on the other side of the room.
Other:
My only problem with this headset is that the cord could be a foot longer or so. Any corded headset obviously has a cord in the way. Occasionlly though, I will pull the cord out with some eratic movements (moving the controller left in a useless attempt to get my guy to move left more while playing a game), or getting up and walking around while still talking. ***Added 12-17-07. Another problem I am having is with the boom. It tends to get twisted somehow, and will not work in certain "configurations". I am not sure how the twisting is occuring, but its a frustration every time I go to put it on and the mic dosent work so i have to untwist it. I have since gone back to the OEM headset.***
I am very happy with this headset. I would like to see the volume and mute somehow put into the actual earpiece and a longer cord, a simple 1ft cord extender from RadioShack fixed that by the way. | video-games_xbox |
A Big Disappointment. As a long-time fan of the Forgotten Realms, I was eagerly awaiting this game. The visuals looked absolutely stunning, and the fact that R.A. Salvatore wrote the plot seemed to lend the game a good deal of credibility.
Unfortunately, Demon Stone is quite disappointing. The visuals ARE stunning, I've got to give Atari that, and the fight moves are wonderfully choreographed.
However, there are serious gameplay issues. For one, as the previous reviewer mentioned, the lack of a multiplayer option is bizarre considering that, with three characters, the game is practically begging for team play. This is even more of a shame since the AI for the two characters you are not currently playing isn't very impressive--there are many cases where the character you control is madly attacking and the other two kind of sit there until something wanders in range. Second, I found the forced perspective absolutely infuriating. Rather than going for the bird's eye view like previous such games (D&D Heroes, Dark Alliance, etc), Demon Stone has a shifting perspective depending on where your character stands. Sometimes the view is long, sometimes very short, and sometimes the "camera" actually sits in the middle of the available ground. This means that you are forced to fight enemies who are actually off-screen, or that your entire view can be blocked by your own charactert (or even, *groan*, by an AI-controlled character). A third-person camera would be wonderful, if only you were able to control it yourself instead of being pinned to a single, often very frustrating, perspective.
Gameplay aside, even the game design is a little lacking. Levels are relatively short, so the game is over more quickly than I would like. They are also extremely linear, mostly lacking hidden areas, sub-quests, or the ability to explore. The characters advance in terms of greater equipment and abilities, but for the most part these minimally change the game experience. For example, Illius gains new spells throughout the game, but you basically have three choices: attack, protect, incapacitate. Despite using spectacular D&D spell titles (power word kill, meteor swarm, cone of cold), his ranged attack is still basically a dart he shoots out of his staff, affecting only one enemy. Finally--and its possible this is just a personal thing--I found that many levels have a situation in which the heroes are trapped and must accomplish their mission under pressure. For example, in the Underdark level you must battle githyanki warriors at the same time as you fire at their wizards so that you can break down an ice wall. It sounds kind of exciting, and for a few minutes it is. But these kinds of "get past the obstacle through a never-ending stream of enemies" is really just tedious, especially when some of the enemies (wizards) continually work to repair the wall. Few games are made better by those kinds of battles, and Demon Stone seems to use them quite often.
As a last note, I wanted to comment on the game's faithfulness to the Forgotten Realms. Caveat: Honestly, this didn't impact my enjoyment of the game at all, and it probably wouldn't for the vast majority of gamers. Its really just the satisfaction of seeing whether the developers get it right. Sadly, Atari's score here is moderate at best. For example, they seem to place Nesme in the Galena Mountains rather than near the Spine of the World (a few thousand miles apart; see the manual p. 18). The geography is similarly confused for Zhai. Some of the visuals are a little off as well. Khelben Arunsun, Demon Stone's "narrator," looks more like a medieval dutch burgher than the many drawings that been done of him; and his tower is inexplicably located in the middle of the wilderness, rather than in the center of the Metropolis Waterdeep. Drizzt's inclusion in the game is a nice touch, but even there some of the details are innacurate: Drizzt's scimitar's (referenced by name in the game manual, so the guys have done some research) magically bristle with flame, and the battlerager Thibbledorf Pwent, rather than impaling and shaking his enemies to pieces, single-handedly fixes the gate winch?!
I really tried to like Demon Stone, and but for the gameplay issues I still would have enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the weirdly shifting perspective, the lack of other players to enjoy the game with (which has always been the strength of other D&D games), and the proliferation of certan tedious scenes killd my enthusiasm quite early. To anyone interested in Demon Stone, I would recommend instead that you go out and buy Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. | video-games_xbox |
OBLIVION: YOUR SECOND LIFE. Tired of the monotony of getting up at 7 to get to Starbucks by 8 so you can be at work by 9 and turn that TPS report in by 5?
Can't afford a nice vacation and the two weeks you do have off are spent with the in-laws?
Sounds like you need a second life!
Welcome to the world of Oblivion!
Imagine a fantasy world where you can do almost anything you want. Buy, sell, join Guilds, talk to people, be nice, be evil, save the world, live your vampire fantasies, fight in the arena . . . whatever.
Here's what I thought of this world . . .
SOUND: 4/5--The Oblivion "theme song" is catchy and the music that plays everywhere else is fitting without being overwhelming and intrusive.
Sound effects are good, but nothing honestly sticks out in my mind as being excellent or terrible.
STORY: 3/5--If you read fantasy novels then the story behind Oblivion is not terribly special. There are hundreds of characters in this game but none of them feel very well developed. At least not in the way that other RPG's have mastered character development, like FINAL FANTASY, LUNAR or LOST ODYSSEY (to name a few). I felt very little emotion toward any of the characters, major or not. I must have killed hundreds of NPC's (my bounty was well over 200,000) and shed not a tear for any of my victims.
GAMEPLAY: 4/5--I often think to myself, "If I was making this game, I would improve it this way . . ." However, this game did things the way I would have done it myself, were I making my own game.
A better inventory system is the only major suggestion that comes to mind. It gets too cluttered once you start collecting potions, keys and ingredients.
GRAPHICS: 5/5--Very good graphics all around. My only complaint is that the water is too dark. If it were more clear they could have put some underwater caves in or hid some treasure down there.
QUESTS: 4/5--The main quest is terribly short and somewhat repetitive. Thankfully, the game does not end when you finish the main quest as you can explore the rest of the world you haven't touched yet. I believe those that say they've logged 200+ hours on this game.
OVERALL: 4/5--About as good as Morrowind, the main difference being that I actually cared enough to finish the main quest instead of just roam around for hours on end. | video-games_xbox |
A womens point of view. I own a PS2 and an Xbox and I could careless about graphic, music or video up loads. To me both systems have great graphic depending on the game you play. And if you're not a big time gaming freak and are shopping for the 1st time for a gaming system I thought I'd list some facts about Xbox and PS2 that might help in your decision.
1. PS2 is thin you can fit it in your briefcase or beach bag when heading on vacation.
1. Xbox is rather large and heavy might not fit on some TV stands thin shelves
2. PS2 requires a memory card --sold separately--to save your games; big deal they cost $14 and I've had one for 3 years now and it's still not full because you can delete game off it to make run for new one.
2. Xbox has a built in memory -Nothing to purchase--to save your games; but it can only hold so much. Where you can buy as many memory cards for PS2 you want.
3. PS2 can play DVD, which is great when you're on vacation at a hotel the kid's get the game and you can watch movies at night
3. Xbox can not, although I think someone said you can buy an adapter for it but why do that if you already own a DVD player??
4. PS2 you can play online as long as you have a broadband connection for FREE
4. Xbox you can play online too with a broadband connection but you also you have to pay a monthly fee to play online
And most of all I am very disappointed in the games Xbox offers. I know all the guys who own Xbox are freaking saying "what are you talking about, you need to play Republic commando and Halo" Xbox only games. I have and all those killing games have wonderful graphics but I guess being a women I really do not care for those games.
I like games where I have to search for something, not just walk forward and kill anything in front of me. Although Battlefront is really fun which is available on PS2 and Xbox. But my favorite games are Sypro where you have to look for hidden treasure, and figure out mazes. Also I enjoy Kingdom Heart where you get to be Disney world characters (I know sounds girly) but you have to fight villains and it's very challenging you have to use your mind to figure out hidden section. But those games are ONLY available on Play station 2 you can not play them on Xbox. I have not been able to find any games that are exclusively for Xbox that I like, it seem the majority of Xbox only games are either sports or require you to kill someone great for guys.
If you're shopping for the 1st time for a gaming system I strongly suggest looking at the games 1st!!! If you find a few games that you really like that are only avaliable on Xbox then that is the system you should get, or maybe do like me and just get both PS2 and xbox. But if you can only get one; and if you can guess by my review, I think PS2 is much better. | video-games_xbox |
Fun, but dumbed down. I have been a fan of the splinter cell games for some time. The reason I like them? The sneaking, the waiting, the timing, the planning, the gadgets, the overall experience. While Conviction is fun and I do not regret buying it, they really dumbed down the experience and it lost something in the translation.
For example, previous games allowed you to kill a guard (though your stealth score was penalized for that) and then move the body someplace where it is less likely a guard will find it. That's gone in Conviction. Kill a guard, his body stays right there likely to be discovered. As a whole, the "remain stealthy" part of the splinter cell series was out and out ignored in Conviction (unless a mission specifically requires it, and that's not very many). Being stealthy is why I like this series!
In that regard, the whole stealth score is gone. Getting spotted doesn't do anything except make you have to either deal with the guards right there or find a hiding space (again for the missions that don't require stealth).
Granted, the simpler control mechanism is nice, but if the trade-off is losing a good portion of the previous style of gameplay, I'd rather have to deal with the more complex controls!
Also, they give you pointers and highlights in-game which help you maneuver in cover. The addition is nice, but I feel like they're babying me through the experience the whole way. I'd rather be able to disable this as an option, because as an experienced splinter cell player, I think I can determine without the help what I can and cannot use for cover. The only plus to this is the ease at which you can move from cover to cover just by hitting a single button/key press.
There are some other things about the game that are nice. The P.E.C system is cool and gives me as the player some things to try to accomplish while also playing the game. The 'execute' system is pretty cool, too... if you perform a hand-to-hand kill, you can then mark/tag enemies and perform a single button/key press execute on them (instant death/headshot, but how many and the range depends on what weapon you're using and how upgraded it is).
I don't like the way they force the interrogation stuff, which is much different from previous splinter cell titles. I always liked interrogating a guard while taking him to his grave. The interaction with the environment in Conviction is okay I suppose but it's more like watching a cut scene where you press a button/key once in a while.
Definitely lost something in the translation. | video-games_xbox |
This ain't no game - this is awesome. This ain't no game. This is a real guitar playing trainer. I've been playing guitar (on and off) for the past 25 years. The last couple of years, I've been going to open mikes. My day job is being a Software Engineer. I've only had the game less than a week. My brother got this game a couple months ago and he said it was really great. He never played guitar before. He went out and got himself a $800 American made Fender Stratocaster guitar to play it on (I think he was borrowing something). I use a semi homemade $90 Strat knockoff I put together from an internet kit. (But going down the road of "luthier" is truly not for the feint of heart.)
The game has a bunch of modes to it. In one mode you practice playing songs. And it feeds you relatively easy songs and only playing a small portion of the guitar work in it. If you can pick up the timing of when the notes are expected to be played (via the horizontal fretboard on the screen), it gives you more of the song to play. And when the song is done, it replays what you did. (I had a music teacher who used to do that to me - he recorded what I played and then had me listen to myself - it is brutal to listen to yourself screw up a new song while you are learning it.)
In another mode, it is teaching different concepts like string bends, note holding, harmonics, and a bunch of other stuff. And then it grades how you do on a bronze, silver, gold medal basis. Lots of fun and work for me.
If you want to get better at guitar, this is a great teaching tool. Lessons and a real teacher would be good too (especially if you've never had them before). Finding the songs you are playing on the game in sheet music or some free tab off the Internet would be good too. And I can imagine some smart guitarists in real working and touring bands playing this game on their tour bus. But the real secret to getting good at guitar is the same as getting good at any instrument (and I got this from my son's violin teacher), practice each day (at least) 15 minutes. It is easy to burn 30 minutes of time playing this game and practicing guitar at a single sitting. | video-games_xbox |
I'd say give it a 4 if you have a sense of humor. Ever watch a bad movie, yet have a great time doing it? Welcome to Two Worlds, a game which is really, really, really bad, but bad in an enjoyable sort of way, if you have a sense of humor and don't take it too seriously.
For starters, comparing this game to Oblivion is a joke. The framerate in Two Worlds is stuttery, the menu system is clunky, the collision detection (especially in combat) is inconsistent, the controls for horseriding is unresponsive (usually delayed by at least a second or two), and the difficulty is ridiculously inconsistent. Within only a few hours of play I could easily slay a whole village of Groms (goblins), but after I walked up the wrong mountain I found a fist full of Cyclops in my face and BAM-instant death.
Anyone who seriously considers this game to be even a contender to Oblivion I suggest should have his/her head examined.
However, despite it's many, many, many flaws, the game can be quite enjoyable. Even though the difficulty is unpredictable, the game is very forgiving since it allows you to "respawn" at the nearest healing statue without any penalty. And, after you find a two-handed weapon, the collision detection is much less an issue than it is with a one-handed weapon.
But, definitely the most amusing and satisfying aspect of this game is the horrible dialogue and God-awful voice acting that will never get old to me. The voice acting is an attempt at mimicing "Olde English," but it is a miserable (and hilarious) failure, since it sounds like nothing more than "American" English with words like "Perchance, Mayhap, Methinks, Tis" and so on injected into the dialogue.
It sounds annoying, and I'm sure it is for most people, but I can't help but belly laugh at the overacting and absurd dialogue. Take this quote for example, "You've had a touch of the sunstroke, methinks. Perhaps you should drink some water and lie down for a while."
Another charm (which could also be called an annoyance, depending on your sense of humor) is your character's tendency to talk to himself in the most stupid ways imaginable. After attempting to pick a lock and failing, my character showed his genius by saying out loud "Hmmm, it's locked." Gee, ya think? Another good one is when it starts to rain, several seconds later your character will wittingly say "It's starting to rain." Brilliance!
If you didn't think any of that was funny, then don't bother with this title. If you've never played Oblivion, now is a good time. If you have and want another title of the same caliber, don't even try this game out. Just play Oblivion again.
If you wish to try it anyway, I definitely suggest going in with a sense of humor and you may come out with some amusement. Or maybe I should say it like this: "When playing Two Worlds, perchance you will have some amusement methinks, if mayhap you have a sense of humor." | video-games_xbox |
Almost great, picky gamers beware. I wish I could give this game three and a half stars but I can't. I also wish that I could climb aboard the "this game is amazing" train but I can't do that either. To be clear: this is a fun game and if you enjoy copious loot and you're FPS/RPG hybrid genre fan I'd recommend this game, even at retail price. On the other hand if you find yourself leaning more one way or the other in terms of either a solid FPS or a real PRG then there are safer bets coming down the line for your $60. It's a good game but it just didn't live up to the hype more for decisions that the design team seemed to have made than for any failing in execution.
With that said everything that Gearbox set out to do it looks like they accomplished. The game looks great, the mechanics are solid, the audio is good and the art direction is absolutely fantastic. I'm also happy to say that with the exception of some very questionable decisions regarding pop up windows in split-screen play there are no bugs or obvious quality control oversights. This game is highly polished, a treasure to look at and smooth to play. Technically speaking this is quality software. From here on out if it seems I'm ragging on this game a little hard it's because there are already a ton of 5 star reviews on here so it's easy to find emphasis on the better aspects of the game if one desires.
The problem with Borderlands is that it doesn't really do any single thing really well. It's not a solid combat FPS and the RPG elements are so insignificant they're essentially just a mildly customizable scaling system. The vehicles also appear more an afterthought than anything. There aren't enough options to really customize your character and leveling decisions are more tactical considerations than broad gameplay choices. There's just no role play in the role play. There are also exactly zero interesting or functionally interactive NPCs, the towns are simply a series of empty buildings and vending machines where you conduct business transactions. The few NPCs that do exist are immobile "come here and get you next quest" cut-outs. Borderlands is a dead world alright, just not in a good way. This is very disappointing and retro in an age of complex NPC AI and living, breathing worlds. There appears to have been a design decision along that way that "more is better". I'd generally agree but here that ends up being a "tons of guns" gimmick that only leads to you simply hauling "tons of guns" back to vending machines to sell, only looking at their price tag. The other thing this leads to is a long series of uninspired missions that are largely "go here, collect item/kill boss, return". With little or no depth to the missions they quickly start to feel less like a series of epic quests and more like a list of errands.
The FPS combat element is only adequate. Again, the feel is retro. The level deign is very dated with transition points between maps which are largely a series of canyons or other linear pathways interrupted by bizarrely unpleasant loading screens. Often at the end of the canyon is a load point which takes you into a building. Guess where that widget you have to find is? Yep, at the back the building in the big room with the boss. At least you won't get lost, there's generally only one way in or out. In the day of open, persistent outside worlds this is pretty unacceptable for a top shelf game(paging Bethesda). The enemies along the way have sufficient by undeniably rudimentary AI. The number of animations is limited and the group tactics non-existent so instead of fighting groups of enemies that work together and utilize cover and flank you instead you just fight multiple independent enemies simultaneously that strafe back and forth and advance or retreat depending on their health. It's rather uninspired and the game uses a leveling system for enemies that radically alters the game's formula for dealing and being dealt damage. This is used to prevent you from "playing ahead" by having enemies that are almost impossible to defeat without leveling. Having all your FPS skills be thrown out the window because you can only do 10 damage per shot instead of 50 and you take 50 instead of 10 because the game wants you to be a lvl 20 and you're "only" a 17 is frustrating. Die hard FPS traditionalists will also be very unhappy with the HALO like shields and the checkpoint save system. Oh, and your little robot helpers are a blatant rip off of Grrr from Invader Zim.
Still, with all my complaints this is a solid game. It's fun and can draw you in. On top of that there is more than enough unique gaming hours in it to justify a purchase instead of a rental. Bottom line: FPS fans would be better served waiting for Modern Warfare 2 and RPG and RPG hybrid fans should wait for Dragon Age but it's still a safe bet if you have time and money to burn.
Pros:
*Very polished, had no bugs. Quality coding.
*Beautiful art direction and smooth, engaging graphics.
*Simple, fun controls.
*Very large world, plenty of unique game play hours for your buck.
*Achieves "just one more quest" syndrome at times.
*Easy learning curve.
Subjective qualities and food for thought:
*Very light on RPG elements, this isn't Deus Ex or Fallout 3.
*Not a run and gun shoot 'em blood and guts ride.
*Not a lot of variety in the loot just guns/shields/mods.
*Tons of guns. More likely to be sold to a vending machine than shot at anyone though.
*Check point save system.
*Shields.
Cons:
*Irritating inventory.
*Simple AI.
*No interesting NPCs, no interactive world.
*Little true character customization.
*Vehicles end up as mere transportation.
*Dated level design.
*Unreasonable level scaling system that takes away from the FPS element.
*Boring story.
*Slow to start. | video-games_xbox |
just the best multiplayer experience! pure awesome. I won't go into the minutiae of the game. There are plenty of reviews for that. The bottom line is you like dancing at all and if you liked DDR, Dance Central 1, or the Just Dance series, you have to buy Dance Central 2! It improved on DC1 in so many ways (and Dance Central 1 is already an awesome game as it is). The only weakness now is that there is no online multiplayer but no other dance games provide that option except for Zumba Fitness so hopefully DC3 can address that.
I will detail what my friends and I have found that we love and probably isn't covered by most reviews. Had a DC2 party last night and everyone loved it so much more than DC1 (though they loved DC1 way back in the day).
The best new feature to them was the fact that you can sign into 4 profiles and you can rotate through profiles easily (had each of them go through KinectID so that there was facial recognition). Just step up and bam, the Kinect recognizes the person and provides scoring for that unique individual. In DC1, everyone pretty much played under 1 profile. You can also set up different difficulty levels for different people so the great dancer doesn't have to do easy steps or the average dancer doesn't have to feel under duress with difficult steps.
The soundtrack is just awesome this time. They all mentioned how they liked this soundtrack more and I agree. Did the song import as well so people like all your Dance Central songs in one place, using 1 disc.
The other great new feature they liked but caused us minor problems some time was the automatic drop-in/drop-out feature. If there are 2 people playing and one person sits down, he drops out and there's only single player dancing. If a second player stands in the frame, he joins in and the players are dancing side by side on the screen. But in the beginning (since this was a new game to us), when we had people switching, we weren't quick in switching people so it would drop to single player and then back to multiplayer. That was a little disorienting on the screen so this time we made sure people didn't drop out during a song or we made sure people switched fast (no indecisiveness!).
And the tutorials section is better as well. Now you can practice just the moves you are having problems with, without having to go through the entire tutorial.
For those interested in dancing as exercise, now you can set up playlists and have nonstop dancing. This was a weakness of DC1 because in DC1, you had to pick a song after each song was completed so there was a downtime of about a minute between songs (choosing the song, the difficulty, etc.).
You can also now record videos and upload pics/videos to the Net. In DC1, it took pictures of your dancing but it stayed on your Xbox.
There's just so much that makes DC2 truly superior to all dance games out there to cover. I get excited just thinking of the fun I've had in the brief time I've had the game. Now I can conquer the steps for all my DC songs and then can go back to DC1 to finish it and get all the achievements for that game (now that you can tailor your tutorials completely).
And just one more tidbit to finish this off:
The most crazy thing is one of my friends never plays video games. His aunt bought him a PS2 way back in the day when it was well over $200, and it sat under his bed until his friend found it. He then sold it to his friend for something like $100 (when it was still hot and going for over $200). He bought a Wii since everyone else got one but he never used it.
And now, he's going to pick up a 360 with Kinect after playing around with DC2, DC1, KS2, KS1, and Lips. He's big into rapping so he'll probably get Def Jam Rapstar as well. This might be the first system that he actually plays and enjoys. The cool thing is I made zero sales pitch because I knew he didn't play video games, but he got excited anyway and plans to pick up a system, just because of Dance Central 2 (well, also because of Lips and Kinect Sports 1 and 2). | video-games_xbox |
Fantastic. I only recently played Mass Effect and was looking forward to playing this game as well. I'm pretty new to the western RPG games, having played only Fallout 3 and Mass Effect 1 before this game. I enjoyed both ME1 and Fallout 3, so I had high expectations for this game.
The Mass Effect games are much more story driven than Fallout 3, which has a lot more exploration not relating to the main quest or side quests. Mass Effect 2 takes it to a much higher level than the original. From the get go you are submerged into the world of Mass Effect 2, but you are never given the same amount of liberty as in Fallout 3. You can't shoot NPCs like in Fallout 3, but your actions (paragon or renegade) influence the game much more than the karma system in Fallout 3. As you gain points in either or both, you are given more options as to how you can respond to certain situations, increasing your good/bad side's impact on the game. In Fallout 3, shooting people or doing evil things such as capturing slaves would give you bad karma, but then you could easily regain good karma simply by giving water to a lonely nomad. Not to say that Fallout's system was bad, but I enjoy Bioware's system more.
I don't want this to be Mass Effect vs Fallout, so I'll go on to the differences between Mass Effect 1 and 2. As I mentioned, I only recently passed Mass Effect - about 1 week before getting part 2. I just passed ME2, so I feel I'm well qualified to compare the games. I have to say that I greatly prefer Mass Effect 2. The story is much more compelling, but much shorter when it comes to the main missions. Recruiting characters is done very well and adds a lot to the game, but it is disappointing that the main story isn't as fully developed. The combined character missions will take up a vast majority of the game. This leads to stagnant conversations with your crew, only completing a mission in the main story will allow for new dialog. There are a few small exceptions when you recruit new characters or complete loyalty missions, but it is still very noticeable.
There are no vehicle missions (yet) on ME2. Though the Mako was a cool looking vehicle, I was not a big fan of driving around on barren worlds that were difficult to traverse and extremely similar. I am glad that Bioware decided to scrap those missions. You can still land on some planets to complete some assignments in the game, some of them are very short, but at least they are all unique. Scanning planets can be a real bore, but at least the resources are used in a good way. Hopefully in Mass Effect 3 they can limit scanning, make it faster, or just replace it with something more rewarding and enjoyable.
The inventory/item system is better for me in this game. The first game had an exaggerated amount of weapons and armor. You were limited to 150 items and it was impossible to compare items against currently equipped items on any team members, making purchases a guessing game. I would keep excess items so that I could compare them to my teams' items back on the ship causing my inventory to reach maximum capacity which forced me to discard items. Once I figured out how to manage items, I was able to max out my cash in the game making it easy to acquire any item I needed. Scrolling through items was also a nightmare, so I actually don't mind not having hundreds of items to compare.
I was skeptical about the battle system at first, being very comfortable with the flexibility of ME1 - with the right setup, you could greatly reduce or completely eliminate over heating your guns. The new ammo system has made me more cautious about firing my weapons. It's more difficult, but not impossible to manage. The game is definitely much more action oriented than part 1, but it's still much different than games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Gears of War. I quickly became very comfortable with this aspect of the game.
The game looks much better and runs very smooth compared to the first. Certainly the game is not perfect, there are some annoying glitches like getting stuck, but overall it is a great product from Bioware. Immediately after completing the game, I began a second play through on the Insanity setting. That in itself speaks volumes about the addictiveness of the game as a whole. Overall, this quickly became one of my favorite games. Although it is not necessary to play ME1 to enjoy ME2, I would highly recommend passing part 1 before playing this new installment. | video-games_xbox |
If Dark Souls and Fable Got Drunk and Made "Bad" Decisions. Update 11/2/14
For quite some time after my previous review I played this game thinking, "I'll keep this at a four star review but instead recommend the game as a rental." I'm not sure, in good faith, I can do that. The game is broken at a fundamental level - I've lost progress (and experience) no less than five times (freezing and instant death upon respawn) and in a game that rewards you for advancing both, that's inexcusable. Here are some other issues I have with this game:
1. Locking On/Targeting Enemies - If you found yourself yelling at the television in the Souls series on occasion, you might want to hide your controllers with this game. The targeting system seems to be a lottery, paying no attention to your left stick movements. There is a hint that lets you know that some enemies cannot be locked onto because they are not from your world. Pretty easy way of explaining away the lack of functionality. Oh and "if I'm here and you're here, doesn't that make it our time [Mr. Hand]?" (Speaking of which, where is this sneak option with the LS I see in the hints screens? But I digress...)
2. Setting - A.K.A The Map, Geography, or World if you prefer. It starts off beautiful and harshly inviting then it turns into a way too dark tunnel of mirrors. I spend most of my time in this game trying to find out where to go and I had to turn my gamma setting well beyond that recommended by the game because it became so dark that I was missing stairs/areas/levers and not even able to see my arse from my elbow. It all seems like some way of both making the world seem bigger than it is and trying (but failing MISERABLY) to give you the sense of brilliant world connectivity.
3. Gameplay - I like a good sword and board game, I also like me some spells. This game though, not only encourages you to cheese (attacking at range with spells or arrows rather than "going hard in the paint" for the uninitiated) it rewards you for it. I've gotten more used to the game but the slowness of the actions compared to the enemies is laughable at times - even when I expect to get hit, even when I know where they'll be, and EVEN when I get the jump on them. Best way to avoid frustration? Use magic...and then watch as both your enemies and your interest in playing die. Also, why do they insist on so many enemies having one last middle finger to show you when they die - many enemies have a huge fire/magic/poison area of effect explosion and it just seems ridiculous for so many characters to have that ability after you best them.
I hate to do this because I love this genre, but this game is going down to three stars. Play at your own risk.
------------------------------------------------------------
10/28/14
Review subject to change as I spend more time with the game:
Souls clone? Not quite, but yes please!
If you were to ask me what my favorite game of all time was, I'd probably say Resident Evil 4 but would be torn between any of the Souls games as well - I love each of them for different reasons. I've played through each of the Souls games multiple times with not less than a NG+++ playthrough. Still, i found myself getting irritated to see people comparing this game to the Souls series. "It's not the Souls series, [Radio Edit: dangit], it's a NEW game - stop comparing the two." Yet, here I am bringing up the Souls series in a review....a dirty hypocrite who throws stones at those reviews before me.
See...it's hard not to bring up the Souls series. This game steals (or borrows whatever helps you to sleep at night) A LOT from the Souls games. Combat, with the exception of the control tightness, is almost a carbon copy - they even have the kick to disarm people! But, that's really not a bad thing as the Souls series hits a lot of high notes. So, to borrow from success is not only a good idea, it's appreciated.
Three of the good, three of the bad, and a wrap up...
1. Graphics - this game is gorgeous. The lighting is what Dark Souls 2 was supposed to deliver but did not. It does have a bit of a cartoony flavor, but it's pretty nonetheless. I wouldn't kick this game out of bed for eating crackers.
2. The Music - yes music, it's great and subtle...like the music in an Irish/Scottish movie when someone is dying or going through a trial. I'm Irish so I may be a bit partial here - Slainte! The music actually lends to the immersion, which I quite like.
3. The Loot - the loot system is great, find a weapon or set of armor for your build that you like and my friends...it's motherhumperdinking party time. The game just. Got. Better, A LOT better. The equipment you find actually helps to negate the clumsiness of the controls. Oh, and farming is back. That can be very good or very bad. In a game like this one and the Souls series games (Dark Souls 2 is debatable with Red Phantom drops and ascetics), I think it's fantastic. In a game like Destiny...well, let's just say I'd rather change the diapers of children that aren't my own.
Now the bad:
1. Controls - the controls aren't tight like the Souls series. Everything seems clunky and slow. I'm getting used to it but it's just not the "snappy" that I'm looking for in a King's Field successor game. :)
2. Bugs - yeah, this part sucks. There's bugs. I just lost about 20-30 minutes of gameplay because a soundloop got stuck and I couldn't hear people talking. I restarted the game after using save-shard-thing but it didn't save my progress. Infuriating, yes. Forgivable, sure...but I fear if this is common, I'll end up resenting the game and I really truly don't want to do that. Some other odd bugs like enemies getting stuck in place and frame rate dips (although not a bug) occur as well.
3. Inventory - seems sorta cluttered, especially when you find new items. Maybe I'll find a way to discard equipment or sell it, but as of right now it's a bit cumbersome and tedious. (I debated between inventory and lack of character classes/customization but decided that I would be drawing too much from the Souls series and that wouldn't be fair to this game so I chose the former.)
In Summary:
This is a beautiful game that wants you to play it and you'll want to heed that call. It's not a perfect game but a wonderful addition to the library of medieval games to keep us occupied and entertained in a largely FPS market. A Souls fan will likely be slightly more disappointed than a newcomer, but this is a game that should be experienced by both. | video-games_xbox |
Does Justice to the Rock Band Name. This guitar is a worthy edition to the Rock Band series. The first thing I noticed when I picked it up was the weight. The guitar seems a lot lighter than previous versions. Mechanically the guitar is light, but can still put up with the abuse of constant playing. During my rock sessions I have a family member who plays very hard on the guitar. If the guitar can put up with his abuse then it can most certainly put up with regular playing.
Of course in this day of technology the Guitar is wireless, and it had no problems connecting to my Xbox. The Rock Band 4 game instantly recognized the guitar and I was off playing. I cannot comment on the exact workings of the automatic calibrating. However, I know that I have not had to calibrate either of my Rock Band 4 guitars, so it must be a functional system. I have put in over 15 hours playing this Guitar on Rock Band. Over those 15 hours I have zero complaints about the Rock Band 4 Wireless Fender Stratocaster Guitar.
The improvement on battery life is a welcome edition to Rock Band 4's instruments. I remember during Rock Band 3 I would be changing out the batteries after every few rock sessions. With the improved battery life of this guitar I have played through 7 rock sessions with no sign of the Guitar's batteries giving up.
The whammy bar is solid and will easily be able to put up with regular use and occasional abuse. It is easy to push out of the way if you are playing a song and you know you will not be using the whammy bar. The guitar neck has two different sections of color coded keys. The top section has wider keys, while the bottom section has skinnier keys. I believe they included two sections to assist with the guitar freestyle solo mode. However, the skinnier, lower buttons have an additional use. The buttons on the bottom of the neck of the Guitar are perfect for people with small hands. People who have small hands may experience trouble spreading their fingers as far apart as the wider keys require. These people in particular will benefit from these skinnier keys on the bottom of the neck of the Guitar.
The beauty of this guitar lies in it's simplicity. On the surface it really hasn't changed much from Rock Band 3. The saying is "if it isn't broke then don't fix it". Thankfully, Rock Band followed this motto. Rock Band 3's instruments functioned well, and they served their purpose admirably. This guitar does the same thing. It is a welcome edition to my family of Rock Band 4 instruments.
I saw that a previous reviewer had a problem with this Guitar disconnecting from his Xbox. I have played over 15 hours with two guitars going simultaneously and have had no issues. Perhaps that reviewer had a defective guitar. Alternately, Mad Catz could have fixed this issue with a software update prior to when I purchased by two Rock Band 4 Wireless Guitars. Nevertheless, don't let that issue discourage you from purchasing this item as the problem seems to be resolved. | video-games_xbox |
Taking another trip down nostalgia lane. I have been an avid Halo player since the last 10 years, and Halo Anniversary is a real treat. I haven't played Halo CE for the past couple years after losing my disk at a LAN party, and was contemplating purchasing a used copy, when this came along just in time.
The remastered campaign is easily the highlight of the game. The gunplay, dialog, and story have all being maintained in their original form. What's new is a fresh swath of visuals, remastered audio and music, the inclusion of skulls and terminals, and Kinect integration. The new visuals are a real treat. While they aren't as technically up to par as other modern games such as Battlefield 3 and even Halo Reach, the art style is absolutely amazing. I'm truly impressed with 343 Industries' ability to remain faithful to, and even enhance upon, the Halo tradition of dramatic vistas. As an added bonus, you can hit the Back button on your controller any time to switch back to the original Halo graphics. Even the original graphics look better too thanks to HD and new TV technologies. The audio is also much improved, with the guns sounding more powerful, and the orchestral work sounding even more engaging thanks to the talent of those at Skywalker Symphony. The skulls add some variety to the gameplay. Whereas in past Halos, skulls served as anti-cheats by making the game harder, this time around some of the skulls actually make the game easier. The terminals delve into some previously unexplored areas of Halo lore, and hint at things to come in Halo 4. Finally, Kinect integration adds a bit of fun, though it's not particularly useful. You can yell commands to make your character do things like throw grenades, but the most interesting addition is that you can say commands to scan items in the game, which adds them to an encyclopedia like the Codex in Mass Effect.
The multiplayer is a bit of a weak spot, but what's been done does make sense. It consists of a few remakes of Halo CE and Halo 2 maps using the Halo Reach engine. I'll break down what the multiplayer entails here:
- Halo Anniversary contains a few remakes of Halo CE and Halo 2 maps running on the Halo Reach engine.
- Halo Reach and Halo Anniversary run on the same servers; you keep your character and progression across both games.
- Halo Anniversary does not have any of the Halo Reach maps and vice versa, but...
- You can download the the Halo Anniversary multiplayer maps to Halo Reach using a code that you get with buying Anniversary, or you can pay 1200 MS points ($15) to just buy the map pack for Reach. This will allow you to play the Halo Anniversary multiplayer maps using your Halo Reach disk.
While I would've liked to see the Halo CE multiplayer maps redone in the same way that the campaign has, I think this is a good compromise for allowing Halo Reach players to keep their progression and not have to start over.
All in all, Halo Anniversary is a fine installment to the series. While it's a bit lacking in content on the multiplayer side, considering the price which is equivalent to most game expansion packs, I think this is a fair deal. It's great for long time players to experience the original Halo, and it is a great starting point for newcomers to the series. | video-games_xbox |
Finally a game that takes the walking dead seriously. I have been a long time living dead fan since as far as I can remember, starting when I first watched George A. Romeros "Dawn of the Dead" back in 1980s with my dad. The movie scared the hell out of me but that's what made it so good. Quickly I follow up with the prequel that I missed (Night of the Living Dead) and the third and in my opinion Romeros last great zombie flick 1985's "Day of the Dead". I have also seen everything else from the Return series to the modern 28 series and the remakes (all you zombie slayers know what I mean) and last the TV show "The Walking Dead".
Anyways, back to gaming. Lately I been playing the closest things to these movies which is Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead as well as the Resident Evil games, as much as I loved RE1 and RE2 the rest just turned into a silly comic book. Dead Rising was great but it made too much fun of itself and it was barely a real horror game. L4D is just too fast with limited guns and it's more like an arcade game that reminds me of "House of the Dead" from Sega and Call of Duty's Zombie Modes are fun too but it just doesn't go anywhere out of defending a small post.
In comes Dead Island, the scariest zombies I've seen in a video game since the original Resident Evil and RE2. The games screams Survival Horror, and playing solo can be a nervous breakdown. I won't waste time on the details of how it's played (There is numerous reviews that cover this) but all can say is that this game is huge. Many people think you just play on a resort at a tropical island but this is not the case. There is a huge city to explore that reminds me of the creepy city from the opening scene in "Day of the Dead", sewers, jungles, police stations (like RE2) this game is as big as Fallout 3 and it should have been called "Dead World" or something in those terms. There's a lot of surprises in this game that are clearly taken from the movies, and hundreds of weapons from a shovel to a chainsaw and a load of firearms and vehicles.
Dead Island is not perfect, the multiplayer brings the fear factor down due to other players animation and the sense of not being alone. The NPC facial expressions are not on par with something like Mass Effect, the graphics however is outstanding to the exception of some indoor areas that look at worst on par with Fear 2. The audio is fantastic and the music rocks, I use my Dawn and Day of the dead soundtracks every now and then to spice the experience. If your looking for a serious zombie game and loved the movies I stated and hate zombies that talk or do stupid things (RE5, Land of the Dead) you will feel right at home with this badass, worth every penny spent. | video-games_xbox |
Pluses and minuses...but overall mediocre (BC2 fan's opinion. I had some pretty serious concerns as this game was released...but overlooked them when my friends purchased the game. Playing online with my friends (who live all over the country...and XBL takes the place of phone-calls and airline tickets) is one reason why I love online FPS games.
This is an ambitious, but utterly flawed game. I still play it occasionally, but serious FPS (like Bad Company 2) and even controversial titles (Brink) have knocked this out of my playlist.
The good:
*Battle points - It's nice to be able to "purchase" what would normally be called "killstreaks" in certain "not-to-be-named" series. You can get these points just as easily from completing objectives as kills.
*Campers are outdated - As I mentioned, you can get just as many points from completing objectives as you can from camping and getting kills. One of my major issues with the Call of Duty franchise was the fact that many players ("campers") were incented to AVOID objectives, due to the over-reliance on killstreaks. Thus, players with great Kill-to-Death ratios, but horrible Win-to-Loss...
*Battle Commander is fun - the more deadly you are, the more advantage the opponent gets. This has the incredibly fun effect of keeping poor players in the game, while challenging the advanced players.
The bad:
*Graphically, this game is ridiculous (and I wish I meant that in a good way). It falls somewhere short of Cod4:MW1...and while that was an amazing game at the time, it's not exactly something to aspire to in 2011.
*Variety - While Battle commander is great, the thrill only lasts so long. More game modes would significantly increase the replayability of this game.
*Limited unlocks/customization - There are VERY few weapons/perks to unlock. While Bad Company 2 had the same issue to a certain degree, the ability to customize your weapons was incredibly varied. Which leads me to the next issue...
*Replayability - I just don't feel the urge to continually return to this game to unlock weapons/perks/power-ups.
In short, while this game isn't great, it isn't awful either. I could easily return to this game periodically, however I can't dedicate myself to this in the long-haul. | video-games_xbox |
A virtual tour of Hong Kong with lots of [tail] kicking. Shenmue 2 is the sequel to one of Sega's biggest accomplishments ever: Shenmue. A game unlike anything you've ever played. But be warned this doesn't necessarily mean it's the right game for you.
The Shenmue series, take you on an incredibly deep adventure and puts you in control of the main protagonist, Ryo, in order to discover the secret of two Phoenix mirrors, over which his father was murdered. Your journey begins in a quite 1980's town in Japan. When Ryo returns home one day he finds a black car in the driveway, and some men attacking his father. The leader, Lan Di, eventually kills Ryo's father after a great fight. Lan Di is easily the best villain I have ever seen in a videogame. He's design is truly perfect. He's looks are chilling to the bone.
As you progress through and eventually finish Shenmue, you eventually come to a point where you must travel to Hong Kong in order to find out more about a mysetrious letter sent to Ryo's father the day after he died. This is where Shenmue 2 begins.
And don't worry if you never played the original game on Sega's ill-fated Dreamcast. Shenmue 2 comes with a Shenmue: The movie DVD which explains to you all the events leading up to Shenmue 2 in much more detail than I have.
The way the game works is this. It takes a number of different genres and gameplay elements and blends them into one huge game which takes place in what is no less than a small, virtual reproduction, of Hong Kong in the 1980's. And when I say reproduction, I mean it. The game has complete day and night cycles, seasons, and weather patterns. You sleep at night, play the game during the day, and as you progress through your adventure you'll notice seasons pass by. You'll watch leaves fall of trees, rain muddy the streets, and snow cover everything in white, just like in real life. Of course, time moves much faster than in real life, thankfully, so a day in Shenmue is rougly half an hour long.
The main part of the game has you running around this virtual city and talking to any of over 1000 characters who each have a complete day and night AI routine. It's as real as they get. Each person actually has his or her own life in the game. In your quest for information, you will run into a lot of bad people, where the next genre comes in. Fighting. Shenmue 2 has a fighting system so advance, that it's almost on par with pure fighting games like Tekken or Virtua Fighter, and this is just a part of the game.
You'll aslo be able to take part in quick time events: which are basically cutscenes, but with a little bit of interaction from the viewer. Meaning if Ryo's chasing somebody and something falls in front of him, it's up to you to make sure he jumps over the obstacle and not trip over it. And this is done by pressing a button or a combination of buttons which are shown to you on the screen as the cutscene is rolling. You have to have incredibly fast reflexes to succesfully complete each QTE perfectly.
But even if you fail at one of these, it doesn't necessarily you have do it over. Shenmue 2 is such a vast game that your failure may just simply lead you on a whole different path that will still get you to the same point.
Finally there are some rpg elements in the game. Not only can you enter stores, and practically any building in the city, but you can buy things. For example, you can buy certain scrolls from shops that will teach you new figting moves, and by practicing these moves with a sparring partner, you will actually get better at doing them, increasing your chances of succeeding in fighting battles.
Shenmue 2 also makes a few great improvements over its prequel. The graphics are of course better. But more importantly, you have the option to fast forward time. So if you have to meet somebody the next day, and you don't feel like gambling or playing mini games at the local arcade all day, you will have the option to jump forward in time and meet that person. This greatly helps improves the speed of the game. Overall, Shenmue 2 is just a lot bigger, better and faster than Shenmue.
Of course, all this just barely scratches the surface. I'd have to write a book to be able to describe Shenmue for what is truly is. | video-games_xbox |
BUYER BE WARNED, ISSUES WITH THE PRODUCT AND LITTLE TO NO SUPPORT BY THE COMPANY THAT MADE THE GAME. The game it's self is a great and fun idea if it worked properly, therein lies the issue and the reason for the poor rating. I purchased this product, an additional Rock Band 4 Wireless Fender Stratocast, and the Rock Band 4 Pro-Cymbals Expansion Drum Kit. I had previously played Rock Band 1 and 2 on the Wii and really enjoyed them. However the fun was cut short on the previous games as the two guitars I had would constantly have sync problems, and the microphone had this awful lag that caused your voice to come out of the speakers a second after you sang them when made the singing sound awful and incomprehensible.
I did some research of Rock Band 4 before buying it on Xbox One because I wanted to be assured that they had fixed their issues. As you can read in their product details right here on the Amazon site they boast improved features including a new and improved microphone. Like a sucker I purchased their products expecting things to be better, I was sorely disappointed.
After receiving the system and setting it up I found that the guitars would constantly have syncing problems and freeze up mid game and during the menus. This issue was partially resolved when I plugged the guitars into my computer and did some firmware updates offered by the makers of Rock Band 4. Now the guitars do not freeze up during the menu but still occasionally freeze up mid game play during songs, believe this is really annoying. If this problem wasn't enough, my two little girls and I were painfully disappointed with what we discovered about the microphone.
The microphone still has a horrible lag that makes the singing sound awful and incomprehensible. My wife mostly likes to play drums so she won't let me return the product (and believe me, I tried) but she doesn't play often without me and my little girls. And me and my little girls do not have as much desire to play due to the microphone issues. I can kind of play guitar but not so well, but my girls are too young to do much of anything but sing and they were horribly disappointed to find that singing is not very fun due to the lag. I tried a few things myself to attempt to fix the issue; I tried using optical cord straight from the Xbox One to the home theater system audio, I tried using optical cord straight to the TV and no matter what I do the lag remains. In the end the only thing to do was to turn down microphone volume which makes it so you cannot hear your voice at all from the speakers during gameplay. Believe me when I say this takes most of the fun out of the microphone use for my little girls and for myself. I also tried Rock Band 4 and it's microphone on several different TV and home theater platforms and brands on several different settings and the lag still remains across all tested platforms, brands, and settings.
HERE IS THE WORST PART. IN REACHING OUT TO HARMONIX, AKA. THE MAKERS OF ROCK BAND 4 THEY OFFERED NO SUPPORT FOR MY ISSUE WITH MICROPHONE BUT, INSTEAD SOUGHT TO BLOW ME OFF AND EXCUSE THEIR PRODUCT BY POINTING ELSEWHERE FOR BLAME OF WHAT IS CAUSING THE ISSUE. PLEASE READ THEIR REPLY TO MY REQUEST FOR SUPPORT BELOW IN QUOTATIONS;
"Metaverse #1 (Harmonix Music Systems)
Jul 12, 16:05 COT
Hey there,
Thanks for contacting Harmonix! Unfortunately, this is a known issue that relates to specific TV models and sometimes their sound system. For the best possible experience in this situation you will have to hook your console directly to your TV, preferable with an optical cable. You'll then need to ensure the TV is in game mode and all options related to both audio and video normalizing are shut off.
Finally the TV's native speakers will create the least latency. This may not completely solve the problem as it is a processing issue with how the TV processes sound along with video. If the vocals are properly being scored then the game software and the microphone hardware are working as expected.
Keep on Rocking"
PLEASE READ MY RESPONSE TO THEM FOR A FURTHER EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THIS "SOLUTION" IS UNACCEPTABLE, MY RESPONSE IN QUOTATION;
"I'm sorry but this is not an acceptable solution. You claim "this is a known issue that relates to specific TV models and sometimes their sound system". I feel like you didn't fully read my issue description. I have tried Rock Band 4 and its mic on several TV models and several SEPARATE HOME THEATER SYSTEM MODELS across Rockband 1, 2 and now Rock Band 4 and this problem has been ever present. This is not an issue that "relates to specfic TV models" this is an issue that relates to many, if not all TV and home theater models, in other words an issue that relates to your product's microphone. You should at least be able to make your product work with mainstream TVs and home theaters such as Sony, LG, Samsung, etc which are 3 of the many TV and home theater brands I have tried your product with.
It doesn't matter how I configure; optical cord to TV or optical cord to Home Theater or whatever setting the TV or home theater has set or doesn't have set, the problem is present. I don't appreciate the notion of trying to suggest that, "If the vocals are properly being scored then the game software and the microphone hardware are working as expected" which is seeking to excuse the fact that one of your features is not working properly. There is a feature that allows for mic volume to be turned up and down, allowing to hear your voice through the speakers or not, you can't just turn around post production and tell customers that one of the programmed features is not part of the product just because it isn't working correctly.
Furthermore I shouldn't have to water down my sound system thereby decreasing the enjoyment of your product in order for it to work properly.
Also don't try to blame the problem on how the "TV processes sound". This is a problem that exists only in your game, all features of the TV and the home theater system are functioning fine with processing of sound and picture. Besides the fact that, as I mentioned before, the problem exists whether I plug the optical straight from Xbox into the TV or the home theater system.
If you are unable to fix this problem then please escalate my issue to someone who can offer some sort of acceptable solution. I paid a bundle for your product and I expect to get what I paid for.
Thank you."
Overall due to the issues of the guitars freezing up occasionally during game play and the microphone lag problem I would not recommend you purchase this product. If you mostly just want to beat away at a drum set, than you will enjoy it because I have not had any problems with the drum set. But be aware that Rock Band 4 on Xbox One still has quite a few large issue and little to no acceptable support for those issues from the company that made the game. | video-games_xbox |
Overrated Hyperbole. I have a love/hate relationship w/ Arkham games. On one hand, they are very well done Batman games, and all-in-all, they are fun and I can't help but play through and try to complete 100% of everything. But on the other hand...
Like its predecessors, Arkham Knight is a sandbox game, but not a true open-world game. Nothing in the game is ever truly at your disposal, everything in the game is designed to be contextual.
Then theres the setting. Get this: A part of Gotham is devoid of citizens, instead overrun by thugs and a private militia. Sound familiar? Theres even a thug in the game who randomly jokes Heh its like Arkham City all over again (<- This is not a sarcastic joke, that line is really stated within the game. I'm sure someone at Rocksteady thought it was funny, but its actually pretty revealing and in insult to gamers) . The only thing really different about the setting is a larger map. Arkham Knight does NOT feel like a new game, it feels like an expansion to Arkham City.
The big addition to gameplay, of course, is the Batmobile. As others have pointed out, it feels a bit clunky though it is nice to be able to get from point A to point B a bit faster if you need to. The car-battle missions where you fight drones & tanks are repetitive and feels like filler. You cant wait until its over with so you can finally get back to the real fun of the game. Also, driving around Gotham is no fun when the only other (non-combat) vehicles wheeling around are a sparse few thugs in cars.
There are minor gameplay mechanics that are nice some tweaks to combat, such as the tag-team mode with a computer-controlled character (but again, in usual Rocksteady fashion, you are ONLY contextually allowed to do tag-team mode for the parts of the game they designated). Having little mini-games within the main story that let you play as other characters is kind of nice too (such as the Azrael missions), but overall not anything significantly different.
Other than the bigger map and prettier visuals, one really has to question why this game couldn't be on Xbox 360 or PS3?
Also have to point out the annoying and unforgivable bugs. Like game freezes requiring a reset. Graphical/collision glitches aren't so annoying, but still makes you laugh when you realize this is a 'next gen game'. There's even a bad glitch with the Penguin Gunrunner missions where it seems like you can't progress (the menu shows the next mission as unavailable and the marker disappears from the map). I had that glitch and was about to lose my s*** since I had 100% on everything else. I decided to just make my way to where the last mission is supposed to be... I could still enter the room and complete the mission even though my map/menu said it was unavailable. Such a sad glitch.
The bread and butter though, remains fun, and fundamentally unchanged, and that is the rhythm-based combat mechanic. The real fun about any Arkham game is doing your best to keep the combo going and see how well you can do. Stealth (predator) missions are still there, but aren't so much a challenge but really just a test of patience.
So, take Arkham City. Make the map bigger. Drop in the Batmobile. And thats about it. Thats Arkham Knight.
I loved Arkham Asylum, I played though Arkham City TWICE, and despite my criticisms I do enjoy Arkham Knight, but only enough to finish it 100% once and not bother with any DLC. I'm thankful that this is Rocksteady's last Arkham game, its time to move on.
For those who love the Arkham games and can find to no fault in them and just want more more more of the same, should definitely pick up Arkham Knight.
Anyone who has NEVER played an Arkham game and wants to for the first time, could not go wrong with Arkham Knight either.
If you played Arkham City and the idea of just playing more of the same thing doesnt seem that appealing to you, then I would recommend holding off and buying Arkham Knight on discount, or even just renting it.
UPDATE: After 100% completion, I'd have to say anyone who thinks the story/plot of this game is good must be drunk. This is one of the worst Batman universes ever created in any medium. Spoiler Alert: They named a game after a villain who doesn't even end up being a main villain, is not a villain you square off against one-on-one, and has a lame ending reminiscent of Steve Buscemi's role at the end of Billy Madison. I had some nitpicks about this game, but actually completing it made me much angrier. I was so happy to get rid of it and trade it in. | video-games_xbox |
Great game, but awful price gouging. I've played all of the Gears of Wars games and as far as gameplay goes, this is the best by far. In fact, it's the first Gears of War game that I've actually bothered to play more than just the campaign (as GoW 1&2 had failed to impress me). The campaign mode in this game feels a bit lacking at times, but with 4-person coop you're likely to find some fun out of those repetitive lambent attacks.
As for the full multiplayer component, versus mode has everything you'd expect from team deathmatch to objective games such as King of the Hill. By far the most interesting versus game is Capture the Leader, where instead of a "flag", one player from each team becomes a leader and is tasked with trying to avoid the enemy team while aiding their own team in capturing the other leader.
Horde 2.0 is a huge improvement and couldn't be any more fun.
Finally, Beast has a lot of potential but gets very repetitive after a few games.
Pros:
+ Gameplay is balanced and simple (no weapon attachments or "perks" to deal with)
+ Endless hours of fun on Versus, Horde, & Beast.
+ 4 player co-op for campaign
Cons:
- Horribly priced DLC
- Matchmaking system is sometimes slow and ineffective
Explanation:
The DLC packages, which right now are additional weapon skins, don't add much function other than giving your weapons a different look. However, the pricing is extremely absurd ranging from $1 for a single weapon skin, $15 for a launch skin collection for that single weapon, or $45 for the whole launch collection. This however, I don't have much of a problem with, as it doesn't give players who buy the DLC any advantage in the game; just the price is awful.
As for the matchmaking system, it works most of the time when you're playing alone, but in the often likely occurance that you have friends with you, it becomes a mess. As I understand it from the status messages, the system checks 20 games at a time to see the connection strength, and then tries to connect to each one in a sequence till it finally gets a hit. If not, it starts the process over again. Now here's the problem: Out of those 20 it checks, the first 15 are typically good and the last 5 are slow to respond -- so obviously those first 15 games should be perfect for the match, but it wastes so much time checking the bad games that the good ones are quickly filled up by the time you finally reach the connection step. This usually results in a good 5-10 minute wait until you can finally get all of your friends into a game, which is when the matchmaking system gives up and creates the game from your current party. | video-games_xbox |
When a Game becomes Art. I am not a big fan of Prince of Persia. I liked Sands of Time but thought all the GOTY nominations were taking it too far. I saw it as a solid and highly enjoyable experience but not this AAA title others touted it as.
I was skeptical of IGNs review of this new PoP where the reviewer had a love affair with the game on the pages of IGN. He just seemed like he was too much in love with the series in general to give a truly unbiased review. I have also recently been reading many revisionist takes on this game saying it is too short, too easy, too shallow, bad combat, overrated, etc... the usual things the second guessers say about a well received game.
I picked up a copy of the game for myself and have now beaten it and unlocked 94% of the achievements, the most I have ever done in a game before. My in depth experience has given me an informed impression of the game. There is much this game does right where it will just grab you, then hold you in the palm of its hand. At other times you may find yourself annoyed, frustrated or even bored. All in all, this is an excellent game that you should experience, but UBI Soft had a particular type of gamer in mind when they designed this new Prince of Persia.
Let me start with why you should get this game:
For one the game is absolutely gorgeous. A work of Art. I love the look of this game and it is nice to see a Western developer create a style so detailed and beautiful. I can't stand the big eyed weird looking Japanese style of artistic games and I hope other Western devs follow Ubi Softs lead. It is part cel shaded, part conventional graphics. reminds me of a movie which uses Rotoscope animation. The game world is like a painting in a museum and the main characters have so much detail and care put into their design and every movement you can't help but take notice, even when in an intense situation. This is the type of game you stop playing for a bit and just look at. Having the Prince stand on a balcony of a massive tower overlooking a massive landscape is a sight to behold. My dream game would be a Conan game which uses Ubi Softs engine and Frank Frazettas art style.
The difficulty in this game is about the same as Sands of Time and may even be a tick more challenging. No, you can't "die" in the game, the A.I. character will always save you. It is a bit lame, but it is not much different than using the time control in Sands of Time to rewind time to save yourself. It is essentially the same concept. I don't see why some are so hard on this game but give Sands of Time a pass. Also, there are a ton of games which allow you to save anywhere at anytime, creating your own checkpoints. How is that any less "cheap" than not dying in this game? There is also an achievement you can get where the A.I. can not save you more than 100 times. there's a little incentive for you to be more careful. And there is another component to this game which involves collecting "light cystals" after you beat certain areas. It can be pretty damn tough to get all of them and offers a different kind of challenge.
Alot of games these days are short. Too short. Prince of Persia is not one of those games though. Yes, once you do beat it you may be done with it, but it is like that with most single player games. It took me well over 12 hours to beat this game. Now alot of my time had been spent gawking at the scenery, but this isn't a game meant to be rushed through. You really have to stop once in a while and soak it all in.
The gameplay is very good and the controls are top notch. This is an action platformer and a joy to play. There are plenty of intense and epic moments to be had in this game, you constantly be wondering what else they have in store for you. The gameplay is like Sands of Time but with a slightly faster pace and more intuitive controls.
The combat is pretty good. This is not Warrior Within, so there aren't that many enemies to do battle with. The focus is platforming and exploration here. What combat there is though is pretty fun. A more polished version of Sands of Time where you can do some really cool stuff. The gripe I have about the combat are the Flash Prompts, which I will discuss later.
The sound in this game is incredible. From the effects to the music. It doesn't just sound good but it knows the right time to kick in as well. You'll hear an earth shattering roar just when things started to get nice and quiet or you'll hear some epic movie like music just as you walk out onto that balcony to check out the scenery. Like Luke Skywalker watching the Tatooine Suns set with a John Williams score in the background.
Yes there are some flaws, and I'll mention them real quick:
The Prince himself can be annoying. UBI Soft has such an incredible art style and gorgeous game world, they should have taken the character more seriously. They went in a tongue in cheek direction, but only with the Prince character. They tried to make him sarcastic and witty but he comes across as a bad Disney version of Han Solo or a poor mans Ash (Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead Movies). It does take away from the game quite a bit at first, but eventually he will either grow on you or you'll learn to tolerate him.
The story is generic. Would have been nice to have a story that matched the scale of the game world. But it is nothing too bad, especially by Video Game standards. The ending I must say redeems the story completely and leaves you gaping at your screen. Exceptional.
Collecting the light seeds will seem tedious at first, it did to me. But then I realized the real challenge in getting to some of these things and how it adds a new dimension to the gameplay. I soon looked forward to collecting them. But they will be tedious to others.
The game has incredible platform elements. I'm talking some pretty intense stuff here but the platform puzzle aspect (other than getting to some of the light seeds) is lacking. One main reason for this is you can have your A.I. companion cast a spell which lights up the path you need to take. A glowing orb will "show you the direction" if you press the Y button. Still, getting through that path safely can be quite a challenge and when it comes to finding a way to get to light seeds, you're on your own. Some Tomb Raider like puzzles would have been great and would have added much to the gameplay.
The game world feels a little lonely, not that many characters. You are basically trying to save an abandoned part of the world so it's mostly just you and the A.I. Companion along with the occasional enemy to battle. Would have been awesome if this game had a Zelda like spin to it. A minor gripe.
The bosses are pretty impressive in the game, but you don't have any real fear of dying from them. You'll be amazed what you live through. The fights themselves can be quite the spectacle, a spectacle you are fully involved in. But the battles also use what I will call flash prompts, where the bad guy gets close and enters an animation and you can't control your because you're supposed to wait for the appropriate button to fash on the screen and if you hit it in time, the Prince will react and counter but if you miss it, you get to watch him get beat on. These flash prompts were a pain to me, I felt detached from the experience. They aren't a huge portion of the battle experience though.
Final Thoughts:
Prince of Persia was designed with a more casual gamer in mind. Someone who is not particularly seasoned in gaming but is interested in getting lost in a beautiful new world. Somneone who enjoys games, but does not have the time to sink endless hours into one and accomplish nothing. The objectives of the game are the same throughout, beat a world (which takes around 20 mins or so) and then collect the needed light seeds. It is the type of game best enjoyed when played in spurts as opposed to setting aside your whole weekend afternoon. The longer you play it, the more tedious the limited battles and light seed collecting becomes. When you play it in spurts, such as an hour or maybe two at a time, then you will be presented with a gorgeous and fully detailed world lifted right out of the dreams of your childhood and the pages of a Fairy Tale. The platforming and acrobatic moves are a joy and collecting all the light seeds in an area is a challenge, but one that won't keep you up all night. The gameplay is incredibly streamlined and there is a deliberate effort to avoid frustration as much as possible. This is good for those who play it in spurts, but possibly problematic for those who grind right through every game they get. With the beautiful animations, Ubi Soft is also flirting with some dangerous territory here where you feel you are "watching" the game more than "playing" the game. Still quite challenging, but at times the platforming seems a little too automated as well.
It is a beautiful, elegant game which controls perfectly and oozes high production value with its top notch presentation. The game is in many ways a work of art. A visual and audio work of art. Story, except for the end, is rather bland and the gameplay highly streamlined. The game does hold your hand more than many would like, but the critics of Prince of Persia are exaggerating quite a bit when it comes to this game. It is a well made product, a work of art and can be tons of fun, just play it in spurts and not with a "must beat it" mindset. Sit back and soak it all in, you'll be glad you did.
My Letter Grade for Prince of Persia would be a B+ | video-games_xbox |
Splat Goes the Weasel. First of the all I bought this game during the holiday sales for $25.99. The game is worth $25.99. I wouldn't pay more than $29.99 for this game because of it's length (around 10-15 hours) and bugs. If you are looking to squeeze all the achievements out of it, then you're looking at somewhere around 18-20 hours.
The game is a love/hate relationship. It has quite a few bugs in it and it can get frustrating, but it can be fun. The "Splatterkills" are fun to see at first but get really repetitive near the end of the game. One of the most fearsome enemies in the game is not an actual enemy, but the camera that follows Rick. There is no targeting in the game and the camera can get really crazy sometimes, even to the point of looking inside an enemy, or even a black wall or ceiling. When you get to the Arenas where you have to battle wave after wave of creatures, you will see the camera do some wild things. At some points of the game you are literally fighting the camera to look one way while it pulls to another.
A few other bugs I've run into are the "Splatterkills". When an enemy is low enough in health you are to press the designated button to enter the "Splatterkill" mini button game. Enemies that are low enough on health are outlined in red. Well there have been a few times that the game messes up and the enemies are outlined in red, but you can't enter the "Splatterkill" mini game once you press the designated buttons.
Another thing that's not really a bug but a frustration is getting out of enemy combos. Some enemies will go into a combo and you basically take every hit. It's especially frustrating when you have the ability to roll/dodge and the enemy has a virtual auto-target on you. One time I executed a "Splatterkill" and after finishing the enemy off, when I retured to the action, my character (Rick) was in an animation button lock with another enemy. Basically the button lock is relative to the God of War types of grapple moves where you press the designated button to get out of a situation, but in my case it happened so fast, a button didn't appear on the screen and I had no idea what button to press to get out of the lock, so I instantly died. It wouldn't be so bad during the story line game, but if you're doing the arenas, which can take up to 25 minutes and you're on the next to last wave, it can be very frustrating.
The game is fun though. The upgrade system allows you to get some really powerful moves, which in turn makes it a lot easier to defeat some of the tougher enemies. All upgraded moves can carry over to new games as well. Once I go through it on the "Brutal" difficulty and get all the achievements I can honestly say I won't play it again. I do recommend the game to anyone that likes a load of violence, cursing and soft-core nudity. The heavy metal soundtrack is rockin' as well. The game is definitely a button masher and is definitely worth a play through at least once. | video-games_xbox |
DETAILED COMPARISON: Tritton AXPRO, Sony MDR-DS7000 + Audio Technica ATH-A900 w/ Astro Mixamp. After finding a disheartening lack of comparative reviews online I decided that I would write about my own experiences with the above headphones. This review is targeted only at headphones for gaming based on sound from a PS3 slim connected via Monster Ultra Fiber Optic and set to Dolby Digital. I understand there are significantly more options than those I have tested. However, my wish is to give a first-person detailed and reliable account regarding the phones I currently or have previously owned. For a summary of what I found just scroll to the bottom of the review.
As a sidenote I have watched just about every youtube video, read every gaming website review, and scanned through every forum in my search for audio bliss. This is the cumulation of my knowledge and experiences.
Originally I had wanted an all in one processor for DTS and Dolby Digital with a simulated surround sound. I watch most movies and play most games at night, and was trying to "kill a few birds with one stone" on this one. After round 1 of extensive research I settled on the Sennheiser RS130s. I bought two sets. The sound was pretty good. I could not detect ANY simulated surround, but for watching movies the dialogue was VERY bright and enjoyable. In addition there was no interference with my Wii or PS3 due to the RF and the charging system was a good setup. Unfortunately, the wireless was also the problem. I tried switching through every single channel and resetting the base unit. I consistently got a weird "modem" buzzing and clicking sound in the background. Some people might be able to overlook it, but I definitely could not. Back they went and back I went to burning my eyes reading everything online.
Round 2 I decided to bite the bullet, and ordered the Sony MDR-DS7000 headphones from Japan, complete with a second set of phones. They cost me a pretty penny. Once they arrived I tested the voltage coming through the adapter from Japan and found it was much higher than the 9V required for the processor and phones when plugged into a US 120V outlet. After shelling out another $120 for 3 adapters from the Sony MDR-DS6000 series available in the US (courtesy of Sony Style) I was finally able to make sure I hadn't been ripped off from overseas. (The headphones each use 1 adapter to charge the lithium ion batteries. The 3rd is for the Processor.) I was quite satisfied to learn that my bluray, ps3 and wii could all be connected to the same unit. Also, the sound was absolutely crystal clear without a single beep or incoming fax noise. Lord of the Rings sounded great and the VPT surround sound cinema mode made the movie sound like it was being played in a large theatre room. Pretty cool, but not really the "surround sound" I had hoped for. Still....it was an improvement from the Sennheisers. And so I proceeded for a few months before deciding that I'd like to get a system more suitable for the PS3. The large hall effect didn't really seem like it was cutting it anymore. So I considered: Should I try ordering the newly improved MDR-DS7100? Hmm...probably not since they just increased the battery life by 3 hours, and increased the drivers from 40mm to 50mm. The surround effect would be the same. I also considered the Pioneer SE-Dir800c once again, but decided against it based on a few factors. The headphones break in nearly 60% of consumer reviews at a swivel point, the batteries (AA) must be charged separately from the unit, the system only has 1 fiber optic input, and additional headphones are only sold in Japan (unless you want to buy a 2nd transmitter as well). It seemed like a lot of trouble, even though I've read almost 2 million times by now that Dolby Headphone technology is vastly superior to Sony's Virtual Phone Technology. And so we come to Round 3: The Tritton Ax Pros.
A long time ago, before my head was filled with all sorts of useless information on headphones, I owned the Tritton AxPros. This was back when people cared less about how they sounded and more about getting sent the wrong set from Amazon or having to look for places to plug in 2 adapters. OMG! 2 adapters! Yeah...I have a surge protector...not a big deal. Back in those times I was very impressed with the quality of the Trittons for 3d mapping in games. Resistance: Fall of Man and other games from way back in the long long ago sounded significantly better when played through the headphones. The only problem was that finding the proper EQ was a pain and my neck felt like I was wearing Rampage Jackson's chains around my neck after playing. After contacting customer service and adjusting the delay to +10, and decreasing the rear speaker and sub (which felt like it would blow out my eardrum on normal) I was satisfied. Looking back I can safely say that my complete satisfaction was, in part, due to my lack of anything to compare sound quality towards. Fast forward to now. After not quite getting the full experience from the Sony headphones, I decided to repurchase the "newly improved" Tritton Axpros I had been so fond of. When I got my new set I looked over it for a long time. The AC adapter is definitely "cheaper" than both of the older ones (lighter less durable plastic), even though there is now only 1. The break-away cable is a good feature, although you still have to roll it up the same as if you just disconnected it from the decoder box. The microphone has gotten a MUCH needed improvement and is now rubberized/bendable and works a lot better. The headphones still shine a halloween orange glow through the Tritton logo. They also still induce serious headaches from squishing your head like a vice. Funny enough, they actually do not weigh much more than my Sonys. The difference is that Sony has a second band to turn the headphones on that takes most of the pressure off from the top and sides of your head. Tritton has no such feature, but feels much sturdier (like it was carved from a plastic tree). The Tritton also has the individual speaker adjustment, as before, with different colors for different sound levels. This works fine, but a digital +1, +2, +8 numerical readout would be much better. Each color level has 3 or 4 levels before bumping to the next color. Between white and red (medium and max) is "cyan" which is the high volume level. This would be fine if you could ACTUALLY TELL a difference from the white. I believe the Cyan simply leaves the white light on while simultaneously turning on the blue. The problem is that the white light completely overpowers everything else. It looks like the volume goes straight from white to red after about 8 clicks. Pretty dumb. Use purple or yellow or a black light. Don't try to combine colors to cut costs Tritton! The newer model also has the feature of being able to turn off the inline controller by holding the "mute and front speaker" buttons for a few seconds. Here's the problem with that: 1.)when turning the system back on you're usually holding the mute button so it mutes everything. The way the mute/volume is set up you usually end up also raising the volume as you unmute it. You probably shouldnt have the headphone on when turning the inline controller on anyway since it makes a HUGEEE POP noise when powering on that almost makes your ears bleed. This doesn't even power the unit itself on though. It just powers up the phones. The Dolby decoder box has a completely separate power on button. So.....they took away one AC adapter, but actually made it just as much of a pain in the A*$ to turn on and off. Here's the rub though - when you turn off the main decoder box, it resets your settings. That's right. All of the DRC, Sound Delay (Center and Surround) and master volume settings you pulled out the decoder box to program have all been reset. At first I kept thinking to myself, dang...the game sounds different everytime I turn it back on again...I must have not put the time delay on the right setting. After testing it though...I found the cause. Maybe mine's defective because I don't remember my old unit ever doing this. Must be an "improvement" eh? Now for the sound quality.
Discrete sounds and directions. This is where the Tritton Axpros start to do something right. I switched the fiber optic input from my Sony MDR-DS7000 into the Pros back and forth about 50 times. I tried it with Uncharted 1 + 2, God of War 3, God of War Trilogy, Infamous, Killzone 2, Modern Warfare 1 and 2, Battlefield: BC2 and Bioshock 2. Results were surprising. The AxPros actually blew the Sony's out of the water. In Battlefield, when I swung the knife I could hear it echo in the winter mountains and the fires flickered on different sides as I walked. Riding the vehicles sounded like I was right there. Modern Warfare 1 and Uncharted 1 were actually the most remarkable. In Modern Warfare 1 I could hear the helicopters flying overhead and DIRECTLY pinpoint where they were. I tried about 10 times to close my eyes and see if I could locate a circling helicopter. I was right 9/10 times. The Sony headphones (playing on the dedicated PS3 "game" mode) were extremely muffled. Gunshots sounded tiny and shallow. The Trittons just made it seem like I was right there in the environment. In Uncharted I kept restarting the 2nd scene in the jungle and testing the sounds while running through the creeks, in and out of the waterfall, and through the group of birds. With the Trittons it sounded like I was right there. With the Sony's it sounded like I was listening through a set of headphones. Then---slowly---as I listened to Sully talk about finding his "bride in a brothel" for the 20th time, I realized I was missing a vital part of the puzzle. Dialogue. Take this into perspective. The Sony's have 2 dedicated 40mm drivers. The Trittons have 8- 30mm drivers. Usually dialogue is only going through 1 set of speakers (center or front) on the Trittons, depending on the game. The driver quality is also considerably lower than the neodymium found in the Sony's. I went back and listened to Modern Warfare 1 and Bioshock 2. Then I listened to dialogue on Infamous and on God of War 3. Holy Jeez! The Trittons were cutting out some of the dialogue or seriously distorting it. This wasn't during key story moments when everything was evenly balanced. Rather, it is when multiple things are going on at once. Funny enough, this is one of the MAJOR things that all the Astro supporters were talking about when discussing potential missteps with multiple drivers. In a helicopter scene on Modern Warfare I could barely make out what people were saying over the radio. On Bioshock 2 the radio feeds were slightly distorted. On Infamous all of the "S" sounds in dead drops or phone calls came across like static on a radio. On God of War 3 on the ending fight (as Zeus is floating down towards Gaia's heart) he shouts "Hmmm....Kratosss..." in this weird almost comical way. When playing through on the Sonys I could hear it clearly and it always made me laugh after I died for the 50th time. When using the Trittons...I couldn't even hear him say it. I could faintly hear "Hm....SSS." I tried adjusting all of the sound levels individually and could not bring out that line of dialogue. So, after all of my research I started asking myself, would I be missing more dialogue on other games if I stuck with the Trittons? I can't look past the fact that while multiple drivers does = better immersion, it also means less clarity. I also agree with the claim someone else on some distant site said: Sound has a few dead zones on the Trittons. When turning you will clearly notice a sound jump from one speaker to the next. It's not a terrible thing. Some might even like it due to its similarity to real 5.1 setups. But in a video game, if you have that right spot the sound starts to vanish unless you keep turning. I was told that decreasing the surround effect negates this effect, but that comes at the cost of reducing the 3d effect. This is what got me thinking about the Dolby Headphone systems.
I read all about using the Astro Mixamp with other headphones: Beyerdynamic 880s, Sennheiser 555s, 595s, Audio Technica Ath AD700s, AD900s. I wasn't so into researching the Turtle Beach wireless because it uses infrared and has a mic that will not connect to a PS3. If I wanted a standalone infrared processor...I'd just go with the Pioneer SE-DIR800c which are also great for movies even though they'll be duct-taped in about a week due to their fragility. I looked at the JVC dolby processor, but read in a few places it has a small lag between what you see and hear. The Astro Mixamp seems quite good, and a LOT more accessible/user friendly than the AXPROs. Most reviews have stated that the Astro headset is fairly comparable to the Tritton Axpros, so I cannot justify spending an extra $100 for such a slight upgrade. The exposed wire on the Astro set also seems like a bad design flaw. Most websites give the Astros a 9.0 and the AxPros an 8.8. If I truly wanted an upgrade in soudstage and quality, I'd have to purchase an audiophile set of headphones such as those listed above. So that's exactly what I did.
I ordered the Audio Technica ATH-A900 headphones in addition to the Astro dolby mixamp. After connecting them together I ran extensive tests using all of the same games as before: God of War 3, Uncharted 1 +2, Infamous, Call of Duty MW 1 +2, Killzone 2, and Battlefield BC 2.
First and foremost, the setup was MUCH simpler than the Trittons. The mixamp is powered by AND provides voice chat through the single USB cable. The ATH-A900s are also lightyears ahead of the AXpros in terms of comfort (using a wing stabilizer to decrease weight). They are VERY large, but since they are closed they keep sound in/out very well. I would say about the same as the Sony MDR-DS7000 headphones, and considerably better than the Trittons. If this isn't an issue for your household I would recommend the AD series since an open sound is slightly better for soundstage. The mixamp uses a Dolby headphone type 2 configuration preset which is not user adjustable. You get one surround/delay effect. Depending on your view this can be a pro or a con. On the one side, you simply plug in your headphones and start up your game. On the flip side, those who enjoy tweaking surround levels and speaker volumes will be discouraged. Personally I enjoy having everything tweaked to standardized optimal settings. For all of the long hours I spent adjusting the Trittons I still never locked onto what I found to be a "perfect" setting. Voice chat is also MUCH easier to control with the single balance knob of the Astro Mixamp. The only problem is that without an inline volume control you will have to find your optimal volume level before sitting down to enjoy whatever game you are playing. The mixamp is "smarter" than the Tritton Dolby box in that it turns itself off whenever the headphones are unplugged. In addition if you have it powered via USB it will turn off whenever the USB power is turned off (in my case the PS3), even though you will have to manually turn it back on. The portability of the mixamp may also factor into your decision since it can be powered via batteries, although this did not affect my review. The first thing I noticed when playing Call of Duty was that dialogue was very bright and crisp. It was SUBSTANTIALLY better than the AXPROs, and marginally better than the Sonys. I would actually say it was most comparable to the dialogue from the Sennheisers I first owned, although lacking the annoying extraneous noises. Without the Dolby Headphone mode it sounds exactly like what you would expect: sound through a pair of quality 2 speaker headphones. However, with DH turned on the game gives you a very enjoyable out-of-head surround that easily surpasses the VPT of the Sony Headphones. I will not lie though. The 3d effect is definitely subpar compared to the effect of the Trittons. In Call of Duty I could no longer pinpoint circling helicopters. In Uncharted I could no longer hear strangle ambient jungle sounds as if they were all around me. HOWEVER, (and this is the most important part of this review) sounds were distinctly more REALISTIC. It seems like a strange trade-off. In Battlefield BC 2 crackling fires and vehicles no longer sounded like they were in-my-face with the Audio Technicas. Instead they sounded like a normal fire crackling on the ground. In short, it no longer seemed like sounds were being "forced" into specific positions coming into my ears. This is no easy task to convey. The Sony headphones failed to convey the spatial quality of games in an accurate setting. The Trittons created a very pleasing 3d effect but with diminishing realism for voice and sounds. The Astro mixamp/audio technica setup slightly decreases the 3d effect but sounds EXACTLY like what I believe the sound engineers recorded. Ultimately the preference is yours. For games like Infamous the Astro/Technica setup blows everything else out of the water. Not only was dialogue extremely clear, but the entire soundstage sounded realistically recreated for the city environment. With the Trittons certain aspects were enjoyable (fountains, passing cars), while others were abysmal (scuttling trash monsters, yelling fans, distant gunshots). Using the Audio Technica headphones I can hear every single detail I was missing with the Sony headphones, but also enjoy ultra realistic sound for everything else in-game. Rear noise is easier to pinpoint with the Trittons, but I still get the same feeling of "being there" with the Audio Technicas. From a trade-off perspective I would say that the Astro/Audio Technica setup definitely takes the crown. I can put fifteen mini-speakers around my head and pinpoint EXACTLY where a crackling fire or babbling brook is located. Yet if the speakers aren't great, will the sound QUALITY make it sound exactly like what a brook or fire should sound like? Instead it sounds like a precisely located yet slightly unrealistic sound reproduction. This is my best analysis of the Trittons vs ATH A900s. The A900s sound like "real water, or real fire." The trade-off is yours to decide between.
Either way, The Trittons or Astro/Audio-Technica setup is still better than the Sony MDR-DS7000s for gaming. Your preference will determine what is the best fit for your style of gaming. Based on my experieces I would say that since the new Tritton AX700 utilizes the same technology as the Astro set, it would be moot to compare similar technologies. If you enjoy the Dolby Headphone processing of the mixamp, then it would be wise to get the astros based on the extent of other relevant gaming features. If you desire an alternative surround experience, then go with a multi-speaker headphone setup.
IN SUMMATION:
Sony MDR-DS7000:
(+) Crystal Clear Static Free Wireless, Decodes Dolby and DTS, Multiple Fiber Optic Inputs, Long Battery Life, Very good for movies, Clear Dialogue, Can be used with a combination of analog and digital inputs
(- ) No microphone input for voice chat, Poor spatial mapping for gaming, VPT is a poor surround sound simulator, VERY costly to import from Japan, Needs alternative power supply or universal adapter
Dialogue: 8/10
Effects: 6/10
Ambient: 5/10
3d Mapping:4/10
Tritton AXPRO:
(+) BEST 3d mapping, Good integration of voice and in game volume, In-line volume adjustment, Very User Adjustable Sound Levels across all fields (speaker volume, delay setting, DRC), Good Immersion and Ambient Sounds, BEST VALUE for surround experience
(-) Most UNCOMFORTABLE of headphones tested, Tendency to distort or unrealistically convey dialogue and certain sounds, Most complicated to setup and fine tune to enjoyable settings, Poor on/off integration based on power being separated into decoder box and inline controller, Closed headphone design with open headphone sound leakage
Dialogue:6/10
Effects:7/10
Ambient:10/10
3d Mapping:9/10
Astro Mixamp w/ Audio Technica ATH-A900
(+) MOST REALISTIC sounds of all headphones, EXTREMELY Precise dialogue and sound effects, Very good out-of head 3d simulation based on Dolby Headphone technology, Integration of voice-chat and power source through single USB cable, Extremely simple interface, Highest level of connectivity and portability for competitive gamers or LAN parties, Most comfortable of headphones tested
(-) Not quite as good Rear Surround as Trittons, Less Ambient effect heard in background
Dialogue:10/10
Effects:9/10
Ambient:8/10
3d Mapping:7/10
Personally, I prefer the Astro/Audio Technica combination above the others. It is probably the most enjoyable surround experience I have had when playing a videogame through headphones. As such, if you do a LOT of voice chat and online play then I would probably suggest purchasing the complete Astro setup for the use of their headset microphone (which from what I have read is stellar). If you care less for voice chat than detailed immersion (but cost is a factor) then go with the ATH-A700s and Astro Mixamp. If you prefer extreme 3d mapping and may or may not be on a budget, go with the Trittons. If you hate wires, then go wireless with Turtle beach or the Sonys from above. If you are like me and play most games without voice chat and demand high quality crisp dialogue and effect then go with the Astro/ATH900 setup.
Hope all of the time I spent writing this helps you decide what is most important to you. | video-games_xbox |
Solid game play with bad writing. This is a fairly standard JRPG with a turn-based battle system and job/class system. As a game, it's great. The game play is fun, engaging, and solid. The story itself is pretty interesting, but it gets ruined in the delivery.
The dialog in this game is absolutely and irredeemably horrendous. Characters use 3 or more sentences to "cleverly" announce things that should take the player less than the first sentence to figure out, and that's only if you haven't already gotten the idea before the speech even begins. This makes cut scenes drag out far too long just in the speech alone. But then there's the "cinematography." There are 5 main characters in the game, and each of their individual-yet-identical reactions needs to be shown separately rather than just doing a nice group shot and move on. It makes the painfully long interactions take painfully longer. To make matters worse, you can't easily skip through them. Each cut scene one is divided into several short, 5-10 seconds sub-scenes that you have skip individually, but you can't skip the scene for the first second or so. This is really only a problem if they immediately precede an event with a one-chance achievement. If you miss the achievement, you have to reload your save and then button-mash the start button for 20 seconds to skip the painfully long BS you've already sat through once.
Also, whoever edited the translation apparently never learned how to use pronouns. Characters over-use each others' names instead of referring to "her" or "him". This would be fine in Japanese, were using pronouns is not considered "polite", but in English it makes for second grade level conversation. This seems petty, but I'm an aspiring writer and misuse of language irritates the crap out of me. For example, take the sentence: "I think Kluke is great, and I really like Kluke, but Kluke never seems to notice me." These characters are supposed to be 17-18? This sounds like it came from a 3 year old.
But that aside, the game is fun and expansive. The map may be small-ish, but the layout is pretty genius with twists, turns, and barriers (which you can remove later in the game) that force you to take a healthy amount of time exploring. There's a ton of items (380 core items, plus a bunch more from DLC), so collecting never really gets old. There's also a ton of monsters (290), so combat never really gets stale, either. Finally, there are 9 classes, and each character has access to all of them, so you can mix-and-match as your party learns new skills without ever being left with an unbalanced party. The "generalist" class lets you learn "Skills+X" (up to 8) and "Accessory+X" (up to 3) where 'X' is the number of additional slots you get. You can put these skills in the first two slots for each of the other 8 classes and have a permanent expansion, allowing you combine up 10 skills from multiple categories, as well as add 3 extra accessories, to form super-characters. By the end of the game, you really should be mowing down rows of enemies with a single hit while simultaneously looting multiple items and absorbing tons of HP and MP.
I recommend this game as a very fun time-killer. But I warn you: don't expect to be thrilled by the dialog. | video-games_xbox |
Story is all the things Indiana Jones didn't do, gameplay is Alan Wake/CoD hybrid with less capability. I didn't know much about the game before I bought it, it looked really good and the gameplay looked somewhat original. To me, it felt like Nordic Games just took a bunch of concepts and gameplay features from decent FPS and threw them together. Before I criticize them too much, the story is decent and like I said it is pretty much everything Indiana Jones didn't do (as far as myths and legends)
Story:
- Can't tell if it's the same Quartermain from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or somewhere random (seems rather cliched for an adventurer's last name). Basically you and some branch of the government of USA are searching for the Heart of Atlantis. The heart is scattered in pieces and you have to get them before the Germans do. (Takes place around WW1/WW2)
Pros:
- The story is somewhat original and a fresh take on an old legend.
- The atmosphere and level design is very realistic and well done. (The game uses Unreal Graphics engine)
- Enhanced the flashlight part of gameplay from Alan Wake (still feel as though they ripped it off, but it's a little bit better to control)
- The actual length of the game is rather the perfect amount, not too short and not neverending.
- When you first start out the controls suck, but you then realize that you actually gradually get better based off of treasure you find in the levels. (A more realistic approach to a first-person shooter, as no one is ever good at anything in the beginning)
- The collectibles actually pertain to the game (helps you enhance your character)
Cons:
- While the story is decent, the dialogue is the most cliched dialogue for any adventure story ever.
- I feel they ripped off a lot of controls and concepts from more successful games.
- For a game that has a puzzle difficulty option, the difficulty doesn't effect the puzzles (which aren't that hard on the hardest difficulty), but rather the clues the game gives you.
- For a game the is linear progression there is a lot of empty space.
- Things that you can use in the environment aren't obvious.
- Not much of a tutorial.
- The multiplayer is pretty much Call of Duty: Black Ops, except no one is online either (which like half the achievements revolve around online play). Or it is like Call of Duty Zombies mode.
Other:
- I got 550G on one playthrough on the hardest difficulty (wasn't hard at all).
- Like I said no one is ever playing online so it's sort of pointless.
It's up to you to decide whether you want it or not. I can't really recommend it, while at the same time I can't really tell people not to buy it. It's just in the middle. | video-games_xbox |
Issues with some 4k Blu Rays. I updated my review name, as it seems unfair to state it has issues with "most" 4k Blu Rays when in fact it's only maybe 20-30% that have trouble playing.
**Update**
8/29/2016
I tried the movie "Creed" in 4k UHD, and it plays as well, so it definitely appears to be only certain movies that don't work (again, from Universal Studios, and some from Paramount).
I also tested 2 games. First I tested Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, which is a remake for the XBOX One of the original game. It's remastered in 1080p, and the XBOX One S upconverts it to 4k. Using the HDR color profile on my TV, the game actually looks quite good. Again, I'm used to natively gaming in 4k on my PC, so the somewhat low resolution textures are evident, but still the game looks pretty great for $20. It ran fine and I didn't notice any issues with frame rates or other performance hitches.
The 2nd game I played was "Arslan: The warriors of Legend". Again, it upconverts to 4k and the vividness of the colors is impressive. This game's graphics in general are kind of garbage though, but overall it again ran well.
Ultimately I've decided to keep the console and wait for Microsoft to update their Blu Ray app and/or drive firmware to allow for playback of the few movies that don't work yet. There really isn't that many 4k titles out right now (like 40 movies give or take), so hopefully by the time there's more of a selection, the issues will be ironed out.
**Edit**
8/25/2016
I purchased a copy of "Ghostbusters" (the original film) on a 4k HDR disc, and it plays. The problem appears to be that "some" movies don't play. From what I can find, it appears any disc produced by Universal Studios does not play in the XBOX One S at this time. I'm fairly certain this is a DRM issue/HDCP issue, and probably has something to do with the lack of overall standardization of HDR content at this time. Universal may be using a slightly different encryption on their discs than other studios, and the XBOX Blu Ray app, or their drives may need a firmware update in order to be able to read the disc in general.
I have upgraded my rating from 3 to 4 stars. Some of the functionality of the system is really quite nice. The HDMI "in" allows you to run your HD DVR/TV (or any device really that uses HDMI) through your XBOX, and then out to your TV. The XBOX does some processing magic, and your image comes out upconverted and quite frankly looking incredible. My basic HD TV broadcasts look amazing upscaled to 4k. I hooked up my PC to it, and played DOOM. Oddly, the PC is only allowed to select 1080p as a resolution when run through the XBOX even though my PC is more than capable of 4k gaming (dual GTX1080's in SLI), and the TV is obviously 4k. The color and sharpness of the image seems to get a massive boost though when run through the XBOX. On the downside, there's way too much input lag when you do this, so it's not really feasible for gaming. Videos run through it however look great (YouTube, anything on your PC's hard drive like mp4, etc).
I plan on purchasing another 1 or 2 4k HDR discs to verify which ones do/don't work on the system. Microsoft has acknowledged on their XBOX forums that they are aware of these issues with certain discs not playing, and are supposedly working on it (though that was back on the 18th they made that post and haven't said anything since). I also plan on grabbing a cheap game from Gamestop to test on it and see how the upscaled content looks in that regard.
I will continue to update this review as I test more functionality.
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As of writing this review, the XBOX One S cannot play 4k Blu Rays. It can't even read the discs.
I purchased my 500GB console from Best Buy yesterday, along with a copy of Star Trek: Into Darkess UHD. The disc will not load in the XBOX One S. The Blu Ray app splash screen loads, and the loading indicator (the spinning circle) at the bottom of the screen appears, but immediately freezes, OR it spins but just spins indefinitely and the movie never loads.
My TV is a Sony XBR55X900C, which according to the XBOX's 4k diagnostic tool is fully HDR compliant and capable of playing 4k UHD HDR movies & games. All settings are correct for enabling HDR on both the TV, and the XBOX. I have tested 3 separate HDMI cables, all of which the diagnostic tool reports are properly capable of handling HDR 4k content.
Initially had connected the XBOX through my receiver, but despite the fact that my Pioneer Elite is fully HDCP 2.2 compliant across all of its HDMI ports, the XBOX diagnostic was reporting that I was non-compliant with several 4k HDR requirements. I then bypassed the receiver and plugged directly into my TV (I tried several ports, all of which HDR is fully enabled on) and the XBOX then claimed I was 100% compliant. The disc still will not load however. I attached a picture of what the XBOX shows when you run the 4k diagnostic (note this is a picture I pulled from the internet, but it's identical to the screen my XBOX shows me).
I tested some standard Blu Ray 1080p titles, and they worked fine. If you go to the XBOX support page right now, you'll see plenty of threads about similar issues to mine. Apparently "some" movies "may" play for some people, but movies from Universal Studios apparently don't play at all. The movie "Lucy", and "Oblivion" apparently don't work in any XBOX One S consoles at this time, and neither does the movie I purchased (StarTrek: Into Darkness).
The XBOX Blu Ray app has a 2/5 rating. That should tell you something. Evidently the day-one launch of these consoles required a ~4GB patch because there was zero 4k functionality at all without it. That means, you guessed it: a rush to production/launch of these consoles. They are advertising features that don't exist yet, or are at best, extremely buggy. This seems largely representative of the current business model of the gaming industry: Promise features.. fail to deliver those features... maybe add them later in a patch.. maybe.
I am going to return the movie I purchased and try another film. If that doesn't work, I will be returning the console to Best Buy and replacing it with a standalone Samsung UHD HDR player. I'm well within my grace period to return it. I only bought it to use as a media center/UHD disc player, because I don't typically play console games. If it can't handle that fairly basic functionality, I'll wash my hands of it. | video-games_xbox |
And this is whyI am extremely happy to have purchased from amazon. After the warranty is up! I have not had a problem with the system itself! When I first got it, the disk drive would make some clicking sounds running the disk. I didn't think anything of it even though my roommate's didn't make the noise. After a while it went away and I Have not heard the noise for a while now and play disk based games a lot.
One problem I had was with the controller. The left bumper had this idea to move all on its own. It wasn't the slow moving that you saw with the Xbox 360 controllers where as they wore down they just slowly moved or panned in one direction. This was a random spasm in any direction. I had googled the problem and people here and there had the problem and some had resolved it by updating the controller. Sadly this did not help with mine. I was able to do a warranty exchange through Xbox to get a new one! And this is were I am extremely happy to have purchased from amazon. Who keeps receipts of stuff. Amazon does! At first Xbox said it was out of warranty but I was able to email the receipt courtesy of amazon and get that change the when I actually bought it and not when it was Manufactured!
The Xbox Kinect is pretty useless. The only thing I use it for is to redeem codes, it is pretty nice not have to type in a 18 digit code. I can just say Xbox use a code (something like that, it always takes a bit for to figure out what I need to say) and allows me to capture the QR code. Other than using it for codes, the Kinect is very frustrating. I will be talking to my roommate about something and how there was a box at home that I had or something, and the Xbox goes home. Because it heard "box" and thought I said Xbox, and since I said something about home, it decided to go Home. Then just to mess with me my roommate sometimes just comes into my room as I am playing a game, he will watch for a couple of minuets and then as he is leaving he will say "Xbox turn off, yes" and there it goes, shutting down :/ (But this has nothing to do with the Xbox, just that my roommate is sometimes frustrating like that!) | video-games_xbox |
Awesome batteries. I have been using Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) for quite some time now. I have used different brands in the past. I have been happy with some and unhappy with others. My current ones have been Panasonic.
I received recently the Odec AAA rechargeable batteries for evaluation. I have been using them happily and they seem to perform as well as my Panasonic ones for now. This is my first experience with Odec batteries and so far so good.
If you are contemplating, whether or not to buy rechargeable batteries, I would highly recommend so, and the Odec batteries seem appropriate and worth a try.
This order contains 16 pack batteries. This is awesome. This is the opportune time for a transition in my opinion from the disposable batteries. There are so many benefits that come with using Ni-MH batteries.
There is the convenience of recharging them with a simple battery charger. This order did not come with a charger. This was not an issue for me because I have multiple chargers. However, if this were my first time buying NI-MH batteries, it would have been an issue for me. So, keep this in mind to buy a charger if you want to buy these batteries.
Then, the Odec batteries come with a storage case which allows me to safely store them when not in use. I would warn that the box is a little hard to open. This is good as you know for sure the batteries are safe. Otherwise, I would have to throw them in my junk draw with the other batteries. Then, there is the Odec brand which differentiates these batteries from my other ones. I love it.
Further, there is the performance. The Odec AA rechargeable batteries use 1.2 volts of energy the entire time they are in use. Disposable batteries start at 1.5 volts and progressively get lower until they are dead. The Odec batteries have super Capacity up to 1000mAh, Long-lasting power & leakage protection for your devices. This is very important if you plan on using them in household devices like digital cameras, toys, remote controls, hand held games, flashlights, alarm-clocks, LCD-TVs, Toothbrushes, Shavers and portable audio players.
Being in the NW part of the country, the environment is very important. NiMH rechargeable batteries are better for the environment than nickel cadmium. Ni-MH eco-friendly cell, doesn't contain Hg/Cd/Pb, makes no pollution to the environment.
Then, they saved time. Instead of running to the store to get new ones, I can recharge them over night. These batteries can be recharged when fully, or partially discharged. They can be recharged 1200 times. I have had to recharge other Ni-MH batteries for 500 times. I have not recharged these for that many times yet; thus, cannot confirm that. I am looking forward to that.
Lastly and my favorite, you save money. This is an easy math. If you can recharge these batteries for more than 500 times, you do the math.
I love these batteries and would recommend them to anyone. | video-games_xbox |
The franchise is slipping. I played the first Call of Duty on a friend's PC way back and had fond memories of my short experience with it. Next, was COD2 for the 360 and I loved it. The game was challenging when played on Veteran, but always seemed reasonable. It had a good story, and just felt tight. I didn't really get into multiplayer at this point.
Next, Call of Duty 3 was a let-down. It was buggy and just felt like it was missing something. After a little research, I discovered that it was developed by a back-up studio and I really started to appreciate how good the original developer, Infinity Ward, was at their craft.
So, I was super-excited about Call of Duty 4, and it didn't disappoint. The graphics were excellent, the story was epic, and I even got into the excellent, revolutionary, multiplayer. Infinity Ward did it again! It was, for me, my top action shooter ever.
Now that I knew what to expect from Treyarch, the second developer, I didn't really have high hopes for World at War and wasn't surprised to find that, at least the single player, was pretty dull... Dull enough that I have yet to finish it. I was bored enought with WW2 shooters at that point to not even really delve into multiplayer. Thinking back, it may have also been a result of Treyarch locking players out who hadn't purchased extra content. I may be wrong, but I remember not being able to easily get into a game at a certain point. So, more hate on Treyarch from me.
I was, again, ready for the next Infinity Ward iteration, Modern Warfare 2. I got it, and it felt a little less magical. The campaign story was bombastic and incoherent and, at the end, I didn't really feel satisfied. The multiplayer, while fun, and addictive, felt like I was at a disadvantage... Dieing when I was safely under cover, only to see a completely different version on the opponent's kill-cam... me, out in the open, peppered with bullets. It could have been lag, but I was on a good connection, so maybe it was the way they changed how the games were hosted? I got a bit frustrated with it, but played a lot, enjoyed the maps, and mostly had fun.
Treyarch! Again I took a gamble and got Treyarch's next version, Black Ops. Surprisingly enough, although the campaign was so-so, the multiplayer was a lot of fun. The dieing under cover issue seemed to be less prevalent, the maps were well designed, and I spent a good deal of time enjoying multiplayer.
Dun-dun-dun... Modern Warfare 3! Over the prior year plus, the original Infinity Ward team had been dramatically destroyed from within, by Activision's management team. Many of the Infinty Ward team jumped ship to follow some of the top guys to a new independent studio. It was a cause for concern, but I thought, maybe, enough of the old team were left to carry on the quality expectations that Infinity Ward had engendered, for the most part, excepting the hiccups in Modern Warfare 2. So, it was with slight trepidation, I opened my copy of Modern Warfare 3, popped it in, and jumped into multiplayer.
Within a very short amount of time, well almost immediately, I gathered that the maps lacked any sort of character that many of the old maps had. Not only did they all feel very similar, but they had been designed full of openings so that you, at an incredibly annoying rate, get shot in the back. The old maps tended to be designed so you could run around, watch your corners, and be wary of the several flanking spots. Now, nearly every 10 feet, there's a spot where someone can pop out of a hole from nearly 6 places at once, meaning, if you choose to run around, you will get shot in the back. And, Call of Duty is nothing, if not a run and gun game. So what happens when a run and gun game has maps that make it hard to run and gun?
I read that these maps were designed to discourage camping, but you almost have to stay in one place to have a chance of not dieing in constant cross-fires. And, I would assume that these small maps, full of holes, would not be very ideal for snipers, which is fine with me, because I never snipe. But, good god, if these maps are not chock full of snipers running around, laying waste at close range, by simply tapping on the aim button and instantly pulling the trigger. But, sniping involves careful positioning, long range, and time, right? Apparently, not in Modern Warfare 3. The designers consciously allow players to have the game aim for them (auto aiming, aka quick-scoping), which sort of feels like cheating, and certainly removes any of the skill of actually aiming, and pulling the trigger, on the mark. When you run into a room, sporting an assault rifle, put 3+ bullets in an opponent's chest, and he still is able to pull the aim trigger, fire, and one shot kill you, without actually aiming, just doesn't make a lot of sense, and is slightly more frustrating than what you might call fun. Add to the fact that you can also shoot someone several times while they bull-rush through the hail of direct, knock even a fantasy video game guy off his feet, hits, and stab you to death in 1 slash... yeah, not fun either. Still dieing, with magical fly around corner bullets, when at least a second under cover, too? Yup. Still on a connection where that probably shouldn't be an issue? Yup.
So, terrible maps full of constantly getting shot in the back goodness, mechanics that reward non-skill, and legacy connection/lag issues that I'm sure could be fixed with dedicated servers, makes for... lots of Un-fun. COD4, Modern Warfare 2, and Black Ops had great maps that were lots of fun. Why such a huge step back? At this stage, this game is not even worthy of an $8 map pack add-on to one of the old games. It has some new modes, perks, and killstreak rewards, but it's not worth it without the well designed maps, and a slew of regressive mechanics.
Lest I forget the single player campain, and spec ops; The campaign, to about the half-way point, feels just as dumb and incoherent as Modern Warfare 2. It's chock-full of giant explosions, and no longer shocking deaths of your playable characters. Half the time, it feels like you're just watching. I'll finish it at some point, but I always used to play the story first. As the games have gone on, and the stories have gotten more re-hashy, poorly written, and cliche, I've cared less about enjoying that singular experience. But as both sides, single and multiplayer, devolve into a mess, what's left? Spec Ops, and the attached Survival Mode, are a nice distration, but these are bonus features. They can't even begin to carry the game.
When compared to the vast selection of games that are available, Modern Warfare 3 is not a bad game. It's polished, it's loud, and it has a lot of content. Tons of people will buy it, and continue to buy it for iterations to come, but as of this version, at least from the smoking shell that was Infinity Ward's greatness, I'm probably done. It's just not fun anymore and has lost its inspiration. Respawn, the new version of Infinity Ward, is working on a new title with, apparent, creative freedom. I'll look forward to that. I'll continue to have Dice's style of multiplayer ( Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 ) grow on me, which Modern Warfare 3 has heartily encouraged. And, I'll lament the now lost risk taking that Infinity Ward pushed through with Call of Duty 4, but I fear Activision's corporate interests have sunk that boat. And, to top it all off, what's with all of the glowing critical reviews of a game professional critics should recognize for its iterative failings? I think that's a rhetorical question referencing the prior sentence.
I don't always think a 5 star scale is quite specific enough, so I'll go to 10 and give Modern Warfare a 6 out of 10. For reference...
COD4 = 10
MW2 = 8.5
MW3 = 6 | video-games_xbox |
Enjoyable to Play, but pretty bland with so-so graphics on the 360. Ongoing Server Issues. This game got a lot of hype and for me so far it has a long way to go in order the measure up.
Maybe I just expected too much, but I was expecting a more non-linear experience and to quote: "Epic Campaign - Destiny features a rich, cinematic story, centered on your quest to discover and explore the remains of humanity's Golden Age." I have yet to see a rich, cinematic story in this game. What I do see are a few maps with about 5-6 linear missions for each map which is basically shoot bad guys, get XP or the equivalent, get better stuff, go out and shoot more bad guys. The background music, alien vocalizations, and weapon sounds...many sound identical to Halo. It's fun to play especially as part of a fireteam, but beyond that I must agree with others posting here that overall gameplay is "bland".
My second beef is the graphics. Disappointing to say the least like out of focus disappointing. Just to compare I played Call of Duty: Ghosts on the same machine the same day and in my opinion the graphics on Ghosts were way better.
Third and this is major are server issues. My first day playing the game I got kicked out of a game like 5 or 6 times with some error that instructed me to use the search term: caterpillar or cattle on the Bungie site. Both terms led me to a message that said something about them working on their servers. This progressed to the point where I couldn't even access a map so I just gave up for the day. However, the same problem with the same error message and the same search term result keeps happening intermittently and it's pretty annoying when you're in the middle of a game. I was also instructed to check MY network settings. Once again, five other games with on-line play on the same console played on the same day worked flawlessly. Sorry Bungie. This is a problem with your game and your servers...not my console.
So "yes', fun to play, but overall disappointing on a few levels especially those related to server issues.
Last time I posted something (On CNET) criticizing a Bungie game (Halo 3) I got such "hate mail" you'd think I'd been trying to sell bacon to ISIS. So let me remind those who read this that this a game and one persons opinion. I'm sure despite my somewhat negative review Bungie will continue to make millions on this game. I'll keep playing and hope it will get better. | video-games_xbox |
The nail in the coffin for 3D shoot em' ups. Everything that could have been done wrong with a new FPS that would have the outstanding potential of an XBOX 360 at it's arsenal was done wrong.
Originally I had a feeling that this game would ressurect the tired old FPS industry for console gamers. The developers had more than enough time to come up with a gripping plot line, and at the same time exploit innovative in game dynamics that keep you wondering what waits for you around the corner.
This game had me wondering "Why in the hell am I shooting at a bunch of stupid robot spiders?" at the very beginning, but I decided to have faith in the game and what would come if I dealt with this obscenely tedious first level.
In this game if you shoot someone square in the forehead, they buckle in place for a split second and then resume their tactics as if a bullet had not just ripped through their skull. Shoot them in the neck, you see a spray of blood and they die, so at least the developers know something about the human anatomy. Whether a bullet bounces off of body armor or tears through flesh, your enemies will still react with the same booty dance of pain.
The game shows how little the developers cared that they were making a game for the XBOX 360, as it looks like it could easily have been on the N64. The game graphically is a short step above turok 3. The enemies will run to a position where they can cover and shoot you with the same basic run motion, it looks as if they're running with moon boots.
The game throws you stupid little missions, where you're held in a pretty tiny area. Not for lack of modern day video game technology, but for lack of the creativity needed to design a level in a first person shooter that rivals a level from wolfenstein 3D.
What is supposed to set this game apart from games like shadow warrior, or doom 3 is the fact that all around you is an ongoing in depth plot. The plot for this game is that you're chasing a "bad guy", and that's about it.
The big bad guy from this game is difficult to spot, mainly because he isn't given any kind of real introduction and he looks like a moron.
All in all this game punished me for ever investing money in rare, and I am eternally sorry for thinking that microsoft gave a damn about a gamers right to have fun.
Do not invest money into rare, microsoft deserves a second chance I guess. When the playstation 3 comes out, my 360 is going right in the trash. | video-games_xbox |
Step back from 12. To start off the only mode i play is online vs matches so i have less of an idea how the computer AI works as well as Be a Pro mode or any of that other stuff.
I have been playing this series since nhl 01 and so far this may be the most frustrating one to date.
Good:
Graphics are similar to 12 (which is pretty good)
New skating takes a little to get used to but overall i feel like this could help the series
There are times when this game is actually fun producing great passing plays, great goals, and epic hits
Bad:
Poke check: To start off the poke check is now your best use on defense. more than that it is your only defense. stick lift results in an automatic penalty and even if performed right the other player usually just grabs the puck before you do. you can poke check passes as well as shots. Ive seen players one timers simply poked out of the air sending the puck way off target.
Hitting can also be useful although a lot of the time a player will simply bounce off a mean hit and continue skating. With poke checking so effective there is really little need for other strategies often resulting in the puke being poked around the ice from one team to the other. I understand EA wanted to make it harder for players to simply dance around the ice like we could in 12 but i feel they took it way too far making even the simplest dekes almost impossible.
Scoring/Goalies: The goalies in this game have become unstoppable in the net and border line retarted in other aspects. Many a games have been lost by a goalie coming out to get the puck only to somehow miss it allowing an easy goal. A slapshot that misses the net will scare the s#%t out goalies causing them to dive towards the puck usually missing it and creating another horrible goal. Once in front of the net though these goalies become superhuman, with the average game score (for me at least and i have played over 100 games) is usually along the lines of 1-0, 1-2, with some games breaking the 3 goal barrier.
I feel EA has a problem with cool looking goals. You can Perform an amazing deke leading to a breakaway only to have the goalie crush your dreams while making it look easy, yet a backhander from the blue line will most likely lead to a rebound and a goal. Pretty much the only way to score in this game are finicky goals that seem to be based on luck. Granted skilled players will have more of these opportunities but a lot of it still comes down to how well the rebound will be. It is far more common in this game for a player to have more time of possession, more shots, and still lose.
Gone are the days of scoring one timers. any attempted one timer pass made in the opponent zone will most likely be poked away leading to players taking crappier shots and hoping that the puck will bounce toward their players. Of all the games ive played i would estimate that 20 percent end up in overtime and shootout (WAY more than 12) further solidifying the poor scoring mechanics.
Overall i want to love this game. I feel it has the mechanics to be a great game in a great series although so far i just don't see it. This could be another case of a company trying to make their game too "real" while taking a lot of the fun out of it. Bottom line: if i had the choice i would stick with nhl 12 and hope they can make this game less of a headache next year. | video-games_xbox |
So this game is about some poor slob named Max Payne. And it's pretty awesome.
I'm a pretty big Max Payne fan; so needless to say, I snatched a copy of #3 as soon as I could. I loved the first one, but found the second one a tad bit disappointing (and depressing... well, more depressing than what I was expecting) story wise, and but it never swayed my interest for a third game.
Fast forward 9 years and they finally released Max Payne 3 on the day Diablo 3 comes out. I laughed at all the poor suckers that are required to be logged on to slow, broken servers in order to play the single player as I used my Xbox, which is currently not connected to the internet right now, to play Max Payne 3 without any problems at all. I hadn't even played the game yet, and already Max Payne 3 was looking like a much better game than Diablo 3.
Anyways to the actual review... first will come with my impressions of the game in which I've had the chance to play a few times over, then I'll include pros, cons, and IGN style scoring of graphics, gameplay, etc.
Please note, I have not played the Multiplayer at all, but I've heard/read good things about the mode... which is something I don't think Bioshock 2 and Dead Space 2 (both fantastic games) can claim.
First impression of the game was "Well, there sure are a lot of cutscenes," then came "Holy crap, that was awesome,", followed by, "These controls and this weapon wheel thing are pissing me off." By the end of my first playthrough, it was, "Best game I've played since last year's Portal 2." The game is really fantastic. I'll explain, as my hands freeze to the keyboard in this overly air-conditioned room.
Story/Dialog/Characters:
There is a lot of dialog in this game, and lots of storytelling. This is a linear game and therefore you get the story instead of spending too much time screwing around in the streets of Liberty City like in GTA4. Throughout the game, Payne is telling a story of events that occurred leading up the opening part which has a bearded Max with a shaved head pondering the reasoning for him about to kill some guy laying on the ground in dire pain just outside of an airport hangar. The telling of tale starts with a clean-shaved Max with his classic doo in So Paulo, Brazil on protection detail for a family of rich pricks. The game introduces the people important to the tale (though you'll meet a couple more really important players later on). Unlike previous Max Payne games, it's not just Max narrating the events in that monotone voice we all know (though he does that the entire game), you actually see Max have a more extended part in conversing with other characters with actual emotion. Gone is the film noir style from the previous games, MP 3 actually plays out the events in full motion with the occasional cut to storyboard for special effect. All events were motion captured, which adds a sense of realism to the table.
Cutscenes are mostly unskippable but only because they're needed to load the game's next level without forcing players to stare at a loading screen. I've seen a number of people complaining about the unskippable cutscenes, and I have generally assumed they either missed the little message that pops up that says "Loading Level", or they would prefer to stare at a loading screen. Please note that all cutscenes can be skipped once the level is loaded, sometimes it takes longer than other times.
The story itself is pretty good, and comes with a few twists. Max is now personal security for a rich family but is thrust into action again thanks to a gang who decides to kidnap the wife of his boss. For the majority of the game, Max is trying to say the girl, but like previous games, nothing is what is seems. I won't say anymore in fear of spoiling the game.
The game is really more about character of Max Payne than the story. You'll feel bad for Max just like you felt bad about Max before as he is either getting screwed over or constantly one set behind the bad guys no thanks to waves of enemies that get in the way. There is a lot more character development for Max this time around as Max seems to go from drunk and depressed to a man with a purpose (other than just killing punks). If you don't find yourself clapping at the end, you probably shouldn't have even bothered playing the game in the first place.
Gameplay:
A good story, dialog, and characters are nothing without good gameplay, (see The Getaway, Kane and Lynch), and Max Payne 3 delivers. The game is not short on the "OMG, THAT WAZ SO FREAKING AWESOME" moments. Some moments are scripted, some you make on your own simply by playing. I found that the controls took a bit more getting used to this time around since I had to adjust to the fact that they aren't customizable like the first two games. The weapon wheel feature also threw me off. It didn't seem to me (at first) that it was an efficient and quick way to switch weapons. After playing some more, I don't think the controls could have been done any better and the weapon wheel is genius. Weapon swapping is easily done on the fly, which fits the fast paced gameplay.
The shootdodge is much better than previous games, now you have more time to aim for fools heads and it doesn't waste your Bullet Time meter. I did have problems with the direction as Max would often leap in a direction I was not intending to do leading to many-a-death or painkiller used. Max also likes to collide into stuff a lot, and shootdodging over small tables/counters proves to be a pain as he can't completely clear them and ends up landing on top.
I found Bullet Time to only be useful during sniping (which sucks bad BTW), and vehicle sections (which are freaking awesome). The biggest downfall to Bullet Time is that you run out really quick and you don't regenerate it over time, nor does it recharge when killing people. I often found myself out of bullettime when I desperately needed it. It seemed to me that Max had to be taking damage or be close to enemy fire to recharge his meter. It's really disappointing.
Gunplay itself is fun, and shootdodging makes it better. You pretty much have to aim for the head at all times or you'll find yourself running out of ammo and pain killers. Shotguns are garbage. Soft Lock Targeting makes it easy to aim at people without making it cheap (free aim is available if you plan on unlocking achievements for certain achievements). Gone is the fast aim crap (though there is a 180 turn button, and replacing it is a slightly zoomed in, more accurate aim that makes it easier to kill fools (L trigger, if you have the Soft or Hard Lock, it'll lock you on to an enemy), there is no autoaim like in previous games where you aim is where your bullets will go (unless you're near an object that blocks Max's ability to aim the gun down range, or sometimes in second chance Bullettime).
Speaking of the second chance feature, it's a pain in the neck. Sure it looks cool for the first couple of times and it can save your butt, but it leaves you laying on the ground for too long afterward and sometimes you'll die because you needed to reload, had a grenade launcher in hand, or the enemy disappeared out of sight.
Reloading is only quick during bullettime and shootdodge, you have a chance to hold a magnum which Max reloads one bullet at a time, unless you reload in Bulletime/shootdodge which he somehow has a speed reloader for those instances.
The cover mechanics work fine, though Max doesn't move away from cover as quickly as he hops behind it and it really works better when using the target locks. I'm a big shootdodge player and I often like to dodge from cover spot to cover spot and Max snaps behind cover quickly after a dodge as long as you push the button.
Enemies are both smart and annoying. Some will charge you if you sit behind cover too long, others will just sit there and hide behind cover the whole time unless you charge them. Not having grenades to throw makes many enemies really annoying but at least you don't catch them just sitting out there waiting for you to shoot them. Some fights are really exciting, some are frustrating (especially in free aim... darn Molotov cocktail *shakes fist*).
You can only hold on to 3 guns at a time, two handguns/machine pistols/sawed off shotugns, and a larger gun (SMG, assault rifles, sniper, LMGs, shotguns, explosive weapons). If you plan on dualwielding, not only will you run out of ammo quick, but you'll also drop your two handed weapon as Max does not hold those in a sling. Max also drops weapons on occasion during cutscenes. It's all a pain at first, but you get used to it quick.
Personal experience: Pistols are easily the best weapons for head shots and shotguns will get you killed. Also, turn off Laser sights if a weapon has them, it's hard to aim with.
Graphics/Animations
On a most part, the game looks pretty good. Some explosions look cheap, some look pretty fantastic, it's a tad bit inconsistent. There are lots of cool effects that are used during the game to give it a feel of its own. Certainly not the best looking game ever, but it looks pretty solid all around. Every movement in the game is motion captured which is really cool, and it makes animations look realistic.
Sound/Music:
James McCaffrey again voices Max Payne. The dialog is usually well acted, aside from a couple annoying character who like to whine/complain a lot. It can be a bit annoying as characters constantly urge you to move faster. The sound effects work well enough, nothing felt out of place. The music... well outside of the actual Max Payne theme, it's all mostly forgettable. One could easily turn off the music and it wouldn't affect the game in the least. No Poets of the Fall this time though... :(
Replayability:
Aside from the actually campaign mode and the multiplayer mode (again, haven't played it), you have a couple extra modes: Score attack and New York Minute. Score Attack is easy, you try to get the highest possible score throughout the levels, if you use a painkiller or die, you lose points. Try to get gold on all to unlock a "cheat" and an achievement. New York Minute is a time attack mode. You start with a certain amount of time at the beginning. The goal is to complete the level in the allotted time. You get extra time for each kill you score, head shots, bullettime, and shootdodge kills all get you extra time. It's actually both challenging and fun.
You'll also get other difficulty levels to unlock. Beating the game on hard unlocks Hardcore. Beating the game on Hardcore unlocks Old School... I have no idea how Old School plays.
Finally, you have stuff you get to pick up. Clues give you more of an idea as to what is going on (think Prototype's memories but just with Max looking at the item narrating about it). There are also gold guns you need to collect. Each weapon has 3 parts in specific levels that you can collect. Collect all 3 and each time you have the weapon, it'll be gold... additionally, the magazine/clip size is larger which means less reloading. Don't forget to watch TV's (there aren't as many this time around), and also, look out for pianos throughout the game. Max does something special with those (people who played Max Payne 2 will know what's in store).
Summary:
Max Payne 3 is a fantastic thrillride with some great dialog and character development for our hero. There are plenty of OMG moments and lots of shoosting. The Bullettime could have been done better, and the music could have been more memorable, but nothing in the game takes away from the great time you'll have. There's plenty of reason to replay the game, plus a well received multiplayer. If you're a Max Payne fan, I highly recommend it. If you're not familiar with Max Payne, get familiar with Max Payne and then get Max Payne 3.
The Good:
-Shootdodging. OMGWTFBBQ moments. Vehicle sessions.
The Bad:
-Shotguns. Very limited Bullettime. Sniping. Glitches.
The Ugly:
-Shootdodging into a wall.
Presentation- 5/5
-It's all about Max here. Everyone else can suck it. Rockstar went all out on the presentation aspect and it shows.
Graphics- 4/5
-Motion capturing everything is great. Cheap looking explosions is not.
Sound- 4/5
-Forgettable soundtrack, but everything else sounds great. The Max Payne theme is still great.
Gameplay- 5/5
-Aside from a couple hickups and a limited bullettime, everything is pretty effing awesome and really fun.
Replayability- 5/5
-New York Minute, Score attack, Multiplayer. Stuff to collect, plenty of stuff to do, and it's never boring.
Overall- 5/5
A good game is a game worth playing through at least once. A great game is a game that is worth playing over and over and Max Payne 3 delivers. Kudos to Rockstar on yet another grand slam. Here's to GTA V. | video-games_xbox |
Blown away. This is one of the most impressive pieces of equipment I have ever seen. It's up there in wow factor with the iPhone. I can't believe how many things this box does well. It plays CDs and DVDs. DVDs look great on my HDTV. Can't see any difference between my XBOX and my Oppo on the movies I have. So out goes my DVD player.
It connects seamlessly to my PC and plays photos, MP3 and my video files. I can either play these directly or go through the "Media Center" user interface. Very slick. You can browse your albums by their album art. So out goes my media player, CD player and digital photo frame.
It can also play the TV shows your Vista PC has recorded. I haven't set this up yet, but if it works as well as everything else, out goes my Tivo.
The games look awesome and I cannot believe the quality of the games in terms of game play. Halo 3, Mass Effect, BioShock, Call of Duty 4, Gears of War, Half Life, Portal, Assasin's Creed, Forza2... These are all amazing games and they are all available on the Xbox 360. I think we are in the "Golden Age" of video games this year. I'm pleasently stunned.
And finally, the most impressive thing about Xbox 360 is its online capabilities. You can download TV shows, game demos, HD movies, music video and all sorts of themes and other toys. The "arcade" game library is huge with classics like PacMan and Frogger, and some modern games like Geometry wars. All have a trial version of the game you can try of free. Then there is the online multiplayer gaming with skill match-making. You can also communicate and with your enemies with the included headset. Instant message, video chat, updates and news. Unbelievable how much stuff is on there.
Congratulations to Microsoft for doing an amazing job on this. This is one of the most amazing consumer electronics experiences I have ever had. Comparable to cracking open my first iPod, watching my first DVD with surround sound or seeing the internet for the first time. This is the box of dreams. The impression it has left me with while I discovered all it could do is something that will last a lifetime. I look forward to many years of happiness. Cheers! | video-games_xbox |
awful get alan wake or red dead redemption instead. Played the first one and enjoyed it even though I hated the slow animations and unfair knockdown kills. So I was hoping in the sequel things might change. Well as the Stones said " you cant always get what you want" which is so true when talking about LP2.
The good things: Graphics are crisp and look great. Sound is good. and thats about it
THE Bad Things: Animation speed is awful, I don't have A.D.D but come on! why does eveything you do in this game have to take a lifetime? from re-loading to picking up guns, taking over posts, jumping, running, getting up after being knocked down. Plus almost all of these slow elements leave you vulnerable to attack while waiting. The grapple hook is a joke, it only extends like 4' and you cant do mid-air grapples. For truly fun grapple hook play just cause 2. the ripped off gears of war running animation is awful. You basically can only run in a straight line with no vision of where you are really going. You can very slightly alter your course but not much.
The single player levels are short and at the end of every one is a loading screen, plus at the beggining cut sceens that are boring to say the least and offer no real story element. Gone are the collectable "element" coins from the first game so there is no exploration required in this game which is good I guess if all you wnt to do is fight with bad controls and kill everything that moves.
There is a "Practice Mode" which wouldnt be so bad if it actually let you practice something. It should be called "time trial mode" since thats what it is, figure out how to get from point A to point B in minimal time. It would be fun if not for the clunky controls and absurd difficulty because of clunky controls. Plus if you manage to get bronze on all the levels it unlocks multiplayer that you can do with bots which is kinda cool if you can keep it together long enough to suffer through all the 50 levels of tedious frustration.
Cant comment on multiplayer other than co-op which out of my 3 other friends all 4 of us returned game for Alna Wake, so I guess that says it all.
Bottom line, if your really desperate to play a game that requires a lot of patience and forgiving than by all means spend your cash and get this. Me I would rather play games that are fun and don't feel like work.
PASS!!!!! | video-games_xbox |
Just does not work right. Party chat is good....everything else fails. I bought this adapter because the thought of spending $170 on a new headset did not make me happy. My old Turtle Beach headset is still in great condition. I finally get the package (delivered on time and the regular price of like $25 or whatever....purchased through Amazon itself and not a market place price gouger). I set up the adpater as the instructions state, which included a controller update.
I put in Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare. I get great game sounds (which I got without the adpater and the headset just plugged into the TV), but I can not hear chat nor can my chat be heard by other players.
I put in Battlefield 4....same issues.
I look online and find a "sort of" answer to fix the issue here at Amazon in a customer review. So I pop in my shiny new copy of Titanfall and following the instructions I read here, I was able to hear some team chat....except it was kind of on the low volume end and I could not get it any higher. But I could hear it. The match ends and my headsets reverts back to not being able to hear chat again. UGH!
Finally one of my friends gets his Titanfall already to play and we party up to jump into some matches....and my goodness, all of a sudden my headset works perfectly. I have also read elsewhere (Gamefaqs) that other players are having the same exact issues.
Now the only time I really like to wear my headset is when I am partied up, so this adapter will actually end up working for me as well as I need it to I guess (which is why I am giving it 2 stars instead of 1). But it does not work well as it should. If I had wanted to be able to hear my whole team's chat, I would not be able to on a consistent basis. Maybe there will be further updates that will fix this, maybe not.
And there is the chance that when Elder Scrolls Online is released at the end of June, that I may actually have a reason to want to use the chat function outside of a party and not be able to.
Shame on Microsoft for making the headset issue so needlessly complicated. The mic packed in with the concole should not have been such utter garbage and we should not have to jump through hoops set afire just to communicate on a game system built around the multiplayer experience. | video-games_xbox |
Overall Good Engine Quality: But lame controlls and more. Well, I recently purchased Jedi Knight II Outcast, STAR WARS for the XBOX version. Back in March 2002 I purchased the Jedi Knight II Outcast STAR WARS version for PC. When comparing the XBOX version to the PC version, I'd have to say the PC version has the advantage. The XBOX version of Jedi Knight II, offers good graphics quality, audio quality, and game play. Unfornatley,(well not so unfornate)I own a 27-inch panasonic flat TV monitor screen, which means it offers very low resolution picture quality. Plugging in the super-vhs support helped and made the resolution twice as clear, but when playing Jedi Knight II, the resolution of graphics was very low. It looked much higher on my compute monitor. Anyway, the texture quality of Jedi Outcast for the XBOX is very good. The Sound effects are equal to the PC version's. And so are the music sound track songs. I think gameplay are equal, but in different ways. The thing that bothers me about Jedi Outcast for the XBOX is the lame controller scheme, which is very difficult to use. And the low resolution TV for me also makes me mad. Though, lucasarts, raven, and activision along with the XBOX team did a good job importing Jedi Outcast from PC to XBOX. The Multiplayer is a little lame, only 2-players are supported. And there is no XBOX live support! Yet, let me talk about the highs of jedi outcast for the XBOX. I was hoping that Jedi Knight II would take advantage of the XBOX's hardware, and it did. It offers a very smooth frame rate per second, while displaying nice dynamic lightning effects. The main menu and other menu design of Jedi Outcast for the XBOX is more advanced than for PC. Also, another thing that bothers me is that you have to complete missions and on higher difficulties to access certain characters and maps in multiplayer, bonus missions in single player, and movies, and the gallery in the extras menu. I'm sure they will come out with cheats later. The XBOX displayed an extremely fast frame per second in areas that my PC lagged pretty bad in. And some areas it did that where my PC lagged a little bit in, and a whole lot in. Well, it is the XBOX, what do you expect?The game play of Jedi Knight II for the XBOX is just like the game play for the PC version. But the Loading Scheme of Jedi Knight II for the XBOX is quite different than for the PC, instead of only loading after you beat an entire level, between areas of the single level jedi knight II is broken up and loads that way. Overall; Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is very good quality and I'd recommend it for most gamers. :) | video-games_xbox |
Wow. Wow.
Really that is all the review these cans need. But for the price, you probably want to hear a bit more. Sound quality is phenomenal. Comfort is unbelievable. On ear controls are one of those things that I am shocked to realize no one has tried before (as far as I know). Game volume up and down by the metal disk of the left side, chat volume up and down on the right. Push one side to mute audio, push another side to mute your mics.
I have a bit of a problem. Despite having a ridiculously busy job and a family, I cannot overcome a longstanding addiction to xbox. To play, I need to be quiet. For years this problem was solved with various varieties of headphones. First wired, then a couple iterations of turtle beach wireless phones. Prior to getting these, I was using turtle beach's latest wireless phones for PS4 (which worked just fine with my xbox one and saved me a ton of money). The turtle beach's are now gonna get pretty dusty as these blow the turtle beach's out of the water.
Set up is simple. Plug in the dongle to USB, plug in the optical cable, turn them on. That is it. When I first plugged in, all I heard was a hissing and crackling noise. It took me a minute to figure out that I was sending bitstream audio through the optical port for the turtle beaches and that these need regular stereo audio. After changing that setting, they came in loud and clear.
Boom mike is detachable, which is nice. Audio monitoring is amazing. The turtle beach's had audio monitoring, but it only picked up my voice. These guys pick up everything, which is awesome for maintaining awareness of what is going on in the room. I need to be able to hear if the baby is crying while I am playing, and the monitoring on these picked up the first wake up of the night without a problem. While this is ideal for my situation, I could see it be problematic if you are using headphones to escape noise, and while you can mute the external mikes, that is not too helpful when you need to talk in the game.
These cans are also dripping with quality. I have never put something on my ears this well-finished. While this is a plus, they are too nice for me to take outside of my house. I know I can use them with my iPhone to listen to music (just connect a cable, they sadly will not connect wirelessly), but I don't want to carry these onto a plane and stuff them in a bag. They are a premium product that needs to stay home in my opinion.
These are also insanely comfortable and despite having a quality heft to them, they are not in any way uncomfortable.
My only gripe, and really this is actually a feature request, is that LucidSound add a bluetooth radio so that I can use these wirelessly to listen to music around the house. No problem that these do not do that, but it would make them even more useful. | video-games_xbox |
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