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Finally a TRUE Batman game that gets it right. I have waited for a long time for a GOOD batman game to come out for years. Most batman games were just made to be simple beat em ups in the past but they never truly captured the essence of what Batman is. This game nails it in many areas like gadgets, environments, enemies, and combat system. The combat system at first takes a little time to get used to because you are going to just want to mash your way through. It won't be long before you realize how it works and you will be pulling off some amazing combos. The environments in this game are something to just truly sit there and look at. Everything is gorgeous, dark, and mysterious. The environments in this game are very close to what you read in the comics or remember from the show Batman: The animated series. The voice acting in this video game is SUPERB!!!
Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill simply are amazing and make the experience that much better. The overall gameplay gives you many options on how to approach every scenario. You can sneak up on the enemies and take them down traditional batman style or you can go in with a direct approach. Granted that won't work every time but you can make it work but it all depends on you. There is nothing about this game for me that I can give a negative too. The only minor thing that I would make better in the sequel would be the camera. The camera at times can seem just a tad flimsy but overall you probably won't notice a thing. This is just a simple nitpick that you probably won't even notice.
The music and score used in this game are top notch. You feel like you are watching a batman and the game overall makes you feel like batman. That is the biggest plus of this game is that it immerses you into the game. Overall the game is outstanding and if you are any kind of batman fan, you should definitely get this game. Even if you are not a big batman fan you should still check it out. I hope you all enjoy this game as much as I am right now.
Thanks
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video-games_xbox
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Limited Edition. I've been waiting for this game since Assassin's Creed 2. I have never been able to purchase a special edition of any of the "Creeds" so when I saw this I knew I had to have it. So...let's get into this.
This is a very nice Assassin's Creed 3 limited edition (there are others available in different countries). One thing that surprised me was the size of the Connor statue! It's really big! The details are also very nice. It is definitely NOT flimzy in any way and you can tell that a lot of time and effort was put into making this. It's not just a little toy that comes with the game. Everything from the rock he's standing on to the top of his hood looks stunning.
The flag is absolutley amazing as well. It is made out of a very fine material (I have no idea what) that makes it feel like it's worth something. If you're an Assassin's Creed fan and a history buff than this flag is just that much more awesome!
Now, George Washington's notebook is an interesting little booklet with details of a fictional past but they made it very nice looking, the handwriting in the notebook and the way Washington speaks makes this believable. There are different sketches of characters from the game in it and it just gives you a look at some of the art concepts.
Finally we have the belt buckle...not really sure what to say about this one. It's really nice and well made but...it's a belt buckle. Let's just say if they didn't add it in the Limited Edition you probably wouldn't miss it too much (unless you happen to collect belt buckles). It doesn't really add too much for me but it certainly does not take away from this Edition.
As for the game itself I have only been able to play it for a few hours (Superstorm Sandy decided to knock my power out) but what I have played is just breath-taking. The graphics are incredible. The game-play is nice and smooth. I have heard that there are glitches but I haven't experience any yet (and what game doesn't have glitches?). So far this game has lived up to it's hype for me and I'm sure it has for many other gamers.
So to keep things short and to the point let's just say that I really look forward to jumping into the American Revolution this weekend!
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video-games_xbox
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Total Betrayal of the COD Franchise. My review is based on both the campaign and the multi player for COD AW. I don't know if I could possibly be more disappointed. The campaign was just ok. Like others, I felt like there was just too much hand holding throughout the story. Click this, press that. Press that again. Seemed pointless. There were definitely moments where I thought the story shined, but this game play lacked so much of what we expect from COD campaigns. I hated the fighter jet mission. COD always had a fun one off missions where the player pilots a helicopter or some crazy weapon. I felt this was downplayed in AW. Even the big mech was lousy and a rip off from Titan Fall.
As mediocre as I felt the campaign was, the multi player was a complete betrayal to long time COD fans. I knew about the exo suit before the release, and I had my doubts, but in reality it was far worse. I played games like Titan Fall, Destiny, and Halo, and they are fun for a very short time. The jumping around gets very old, very quickly. There is nothing innovative about the exo system. Titan Fall even had wall running. Destiny has super high jumps. How is this unique?
My biggest problem with the addition of the exo suit is that it has completely altered the pace and game style of something that has been relatively constant throughout the franchise. Sure there have been new additions and slight changes to the game play over the years, but nothing so drastic. Even the map layouts are completely different and geared towards jumping from point to point. I have no problem with adding vertical maps, but none of these maps resemble a traditional COD multi player map. The game play is now so frenetic, that it is almost impossible to hold a position for any given time. Choke points mean so little when you can come flying over a spot at will. Getting shot in the back several times a game is not fun either.
Another problem I have with this game is the fact that it has taken steps back in a few areas. Why did AW abandon the contextual lean that was established in Ghosts? I found that feature so useful when attacking from cover. I thought that Ghosts really addressed the quick scope sniping in their release, but in AW it is back in full force. That might have been the last straw for me. How could SH have allowed quick scope sniping?
In summary, if you are a Halo or Destiny fan, or God forbid, a Titan Fall fan, you might like this game. The cartoonish maps are very similar to those franchises, where as classic COD really had some gritty maps with real feeling and vibe. Favela from MW3 / Ghosts or Studio from BO 2 were standouts. I see no equivalent quality map in AW.
I have never gone back to an older version of COD when a new one comes out until now. I am now playing Ghosts and will be until the next COD is released. I really could not be more disappointed.
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video-games_xbox
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Not true to the series, but fantastically fun. I've been looking forward to RE5 since I found out it was coming out, which was over a year ago. I played through RE4 probably 7 or so times and loved the game, so needless to say I had somewhat high expectations for this installment.
First, let me say that the addition of a teammate is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that it adds a whole new dimension to the game, Sheva is pretty adept at killing bad guys and 99% of the time games are cooler in co-op. When the AI controls your teammate it's a bit clumsy. The accuracy is spot on but they can get in the way, block your view, etc. Having a friend as your partner is fantastic though.
The curse comes in the fact that games are simply NOT as scary when you have a partner, that's part of the fear effect of the RE series, you're by yourself. Even RE4, while you had Ashley, she couldn't fight and dies easily.
This is not a typical RE game, it isn't scary at all. There's a part or two that's disturbing, but nothing to make you jump out of your chair. Personally though I really like that, I'm not big into horror games/movies.
The graphics are fantastic, the music is pretty good, and the sound effects for the weapons and explosions are decent. The controls, what many call outdated and difficult in the demo, really weren't too bad, they fit the game well. Everyone wants to run and gun, but the enemies don't really attack you in a way that makes run and gun necessary. Later in the game there's a really basic cover system ala. Rainbow 6: Vegas and GoW, although it's pretty basic and you can beat the game without using it I'm sure.
Overall I really liked the game, although I must admit I like the first four chapters (really the first two) alot more than the last two. They built the game up so much about being in Africa and such but alot of the game might as well be anywhere as it all looks the same, Resident Evil 4 has the same problem. It started out as a little village setting and turned into a secret military facility type place. They should have worked with the African setting a little more in my opinion. The first 2 chapters are so great, running from street to street through a city, they should have used that setting more.
The weapons for the most part seem balanced (minus the machine guns), although I wish it was more difficult to acquire some of them, maybe make repeat playthroughs necessary. The machine guns are the one weapon I never seemed to use. The damage is really low and you blow through ammo like it's hotcakes. The need to beef the MG's up and give the player a reason to use them. Also, in several classes of weapons there seems to be one stand out contender that is easily "the best." For me it's the P226 pistol, the M3 shotgun, the AK-74 MG. All have much higher damage than the next closest, although they all lack the perks that some of the other guns have (critical hits, penetration, spread distance). I'd actually like to see even greater differing attributes for the guns, in the end it doesn't really matter what pistol/shotgun/MG/Sniper rifle you have for any situation because they'll all work, make it so that some are obviously better for certain times.
Also, there's an exploit that you can use that is intended I'm sure, but needs to be removed. You can load a game, quit, and save any items you pick up. What's wrong with that? There are several places in the game where I'd load, there would be TONS of ammo right in front of me, quit, save weapons, rinse, repeat. I did it because I kept running short on ammo...isn't that sort of the trademark RE style? You never have enough ammo? Well, now I have alot more than enough...
There's a decent spread of enemies in the game, although some are simply fodder and others are annoyingly tough. Like, out of nowhere in chapter 6 they intruduce a new type of enemy with no real story on what they are so you're not really prepared. Some of the bosses are overly easy, others are pretty annoying, to avoid any spoilers I'll leave it at that. The boss of the game wasn't hard, figuring out how to fight him was difficult for me though.
**Spoiler**
Wesker coming back was neat, but he's transformed from a miscontent normal Joe in the 1st game to a superhuman ninja from space. The same thing with Jill, in the original RE she's a "barely hanging in there" cop, now she's using karate and all sorts of stuff...and she's blonde? What the heck? Why not leave her as the short haired-beret wearing cop who's the "master of lockpicking?" Bring back a somewhat believeble enemy/scenario and a somewhat normal plot.
**End Spoiler**
I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of the bulletproof vest and melee armor are as I seemed to take the exact same amount of damage whether I was wearing it or not. Maybe it's just my imagination...
I played the game by myself the first time through, although I really wish I'd had a teammate, it would have been more fun. The one random person I play with online though was silent and he just ran from place to place...might as well have an AI teammate who actually helps. The benefit of playing by myself is that I got to go at my own pace, and I did so. I didn't rush at all, I went very slow, tried to collect alot of stuff (although I only found 6 BSAA badges!), tried to get as many treasures as I could. Then I played through it again with a friend and it was MUCH more enjoyable.
One gripe, once you upgrade your weapons you have the option to use unlimited ammo, it sucks ALL the fun out of the game. I've got a fully upgraded magnum and 95% of the enemies in the game are dead in 1/2 shots with a gun that fires 2 times a second and doesn't have to be reloaded (that will penetrate as well).
I played through Mercenaries. It's a nice twist, sort of a cross between The Club and Horde mode on GoW. It's a survival setup, but you want to kill alot along the way. Playing solo is downright hard, playing with a teammate (even an averge teammate) makes a HUGE difference. Guy who joined my game was pretty nice, he and I beat every level pretty quickly with an A ranking. We had to repeat a few of 'em, but for the most part it wasn't very difficult, I kinda wish they'd boost the difficulty. The only difference between A and S in Mercenaries is how you chain the kill streaks together, by the end of either of them you're pretty much out of guys to kill (once you break 100K or so that is). Same thing applies here, some characters are very good, some are a bit crappy.
Overall I enjoyed the game enough to call it a "good purchase" for sure, and with the coming competitive multiplayer it'll add some fun to the game later, although the fact that Capcom is charging for it is outrageous. I've played through the game about 3 times now, and I'll probably do so again on Professional mode.
I give it an 8.5/10
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video-games_xbox
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Gears of War 4 Campaign Review. Gears of War has never been the pinnacle of story telling, even for a video game. Regardless, the scene set ups, set pieces and voice acting has always made it stand on its own. The game series has always been about testosterone filled body builders, smashing monsters and saving the world. That's if you look at the surface, and ignore the building pieces Gears 2 and 3 set up. Of course, the books help build this world, expand and make it what it is.
When Gears of War 4 was announced, I was a bit disappointed. The game series ended, and of course, Microsoft was in need of a system seller. Gears of War 4 could be that (and it might be that). Things had to be different, and game developers The Coalition set out to do that. The game's primary protagonist is JD Fenix, son to Marcus Fenix. He is marred by arrogance, having served with the COG is now on the run with his friends. JD being an outsider isn't played too long before you find the real threat, a familiar foe that returns to battle Sera one more time.
Gears of War 4's story line is a rocking ship. Sure, the voice acting is incredible at times. The cut scenes, at times, are absolutely gorgeous. Some thrilling set pieces, and breaks in fire fights help move the story line. Unfortunately, the game's campaign (almost 8 hours in length) is bogged down by major pacing issues, lack of story telling and inferior story set up. For long periods of time, no story is being explained, built up or determined. It is simply back tracking from one piece to another. It isn't long before you realize that this game is just a small set up to another trilogy that The Coalition (and Microsoft) are setting up.
Part of this problem comes with JD Fenix. Sure, Marcus was never the most interesting character. John Dimaggio's fantastic portrayal of the character always helped step the brooding man up a bit, but his son, JD is almost completely unlikable. Mainly because he has no character traits, beyond being an arrogant kid who gets whiny. The best moments of the game follow Marcus and JD, but even then, are almost completely evaded in effort to throw more shooting gallery moments up.
Gears of War 4 inspires at times with some fantastic cooperative play, but beyond that, the story faults due to poor pacing, planning and execution.
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video-games_xbox
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bad loading, saving, & story. For this day and age a game should be much better. The load times are terrible. I shouldn't feel like I am looking at load screens more then I am playing the game.
Saving only in bathrooms is a pain and not easy to find. This is probably the main complaint from the first one, but of course still run to the bathroom before you quit. Why can't the game save at every load point. Lord knows you will have at least 15 load screens for every half hour of play. Now I don't have to waste time going to a bathroom. At least they could have had an arrow on every area letting you know where the nearest bathroom was.
Picking up things that are next to each other is a pain. I died trying to pick up some chips to save my life. It should have been real quick, but I got the bench next to it. I get mad then a zombie gets me and I die. And of course I didn't save because the bathrooms are a pain. So now over an hour worth of gameplay lost.
Random encounters come up and now I just stumbled into a boss battle with one bar of health and no food or weapons.
The time limits on everything are annoying and just plain not condusive to having fun.
The weapon creation system isn't an upgrade to the game. So now to have a good weapon I have to gather things and put them together first. Now I have less time to complete all the lame search and rescue missions.
Beside that, the story is terrible. The dialog is pretty much every overly attractive woman in the game eye screwing your character. And big suprise the military is coming so you need to do various things untill they arrive.
Overall I think this game would not have many good reviews if it weren't by Capcom. If some no name game company made the game it would have be nailed with terrible reviews. The game concept is great and could be really fun, but the fun is drained out of it by having to complete so many boring repetitive tasks with time limits. I wish I wasn't so negative on the game I'm trying to think of some good things, but I can't find any. Even the color palette of the game bothers me. Way too bright and cheery for a zombie outbreak. I played the first Dead Rising to completion and had many angry annoying moments. I can't excuse all the same mistakes in a sequal.
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video-games_xbox
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The Original Halo Trilogy Concludes. I didn't get introduced to the Halo franchise until much later than most people. HALO had been out for several years and HALO 2 had been released for over a year by the time I purchased an Xbox and sat down to play the campaign of HALO. After beating that, it was about six months later before I had an opportunity to sit down and play through the campaign of HALO 2. I understand that for most Xbox games nowadays, the big thing that many gamers look for is the multiplayer game play. I'm not like that. For me, first and foremost in a game is the campaign mode. I love stories and in writing and filmmaking, story really does triumph over everything else and my experiences with gaming is no different. If the story captures me, then I'm probably going to really enjoy the game even if the graphics aren't superior and the sound is low key and there aren't a lot of multiplayer options.
I was really looking forward to playing HALO 3. HALO 2 was an amazing second act to the franchise and it raised all sorts of interesting questions. The game play is also unique because for over half the game you play as the Arbiter, an individual who until then had been seen as an enemy to humanity. However, the campaign of that game ended on a cliffhanger with the Covenant invasion of Earth.
The campaign begins immediately where HALO 2 ended. Master Chief crashes to Earth and joins the forces there to end the Covenant invasion. They succeed, but by the end of the battle join forces with the Covenant to quarantine and eradicate Flood-infected areas of Earth. Later a small group of humans and Covenant, including Master Chief and the Arbiter, proceed through a slipstream portal in pursuit of the Prophet Truth who intends to activate all the remaining Halo rings. Along the way, Master Chief and the Arbiter join forces with the Flood Gravemind to prevent Truth's plan, but after stopping him Gravemind breaks his alliance and attempts to incorporate Master Chief and the Arbiter into itself. Then there's Cortana, the AI with a personality. She's captured by Gravemind and Master Chief has to rescue her. It all builds to a satisfying conclusion.
As for as actual game play is concerned, I was disappointed with HALO 3. The campaign provides a satisfying conclusion, but it's much too short. So much of the build-up to HALO 3 was around the Covenant invasion of Earth, but there's really only about 1/4th of the entire campaign that is actually spent there. Not only that, but the entire storyline really doesn't take very long to get through. In fact, the most difficult part of the game, in my opinion, was the last part of the game and Master Chief has to drive over and around parts of the new Halo as it collapses around itself while he makes his way back to the getaway ship. That part was like a giant puzzle and quite frankly I didn't like it very much. In shooters, people like to shoot and fight and there wasn't very much of that going on.
I was also disappointed that you are limited to playing with Master Chief. One of the most interesting parts of playing HALO 2 is that you got to also play as the Arbiter. That doesn't happen in HALO 3. In fact, other than his brief appearances at the beginning of some scenes, and a few cut scenes, the Arbiter appears nonexistent. Master Chief is humanity's hero, but every hero has some side kicks crucial to his success. You get to see a little of that in HALO 3, but you don't get to play it.
There are several new weapon upgrades in HALO 3 as well as a few new vehicles. There's also another group of objects known as Equipment that the player can use. The graphics are great and sound quality is exceptional.
I haven't played the multiplayer settings very often, but HALO 3 has some great ones. In fact, HALO 3 was probably the best multiplayer experience until MODERN WARFARE 2 came out. Personally, I just can't get very involved in multiplayer. I play a few times and it's exciting, but then the experience looses its luster for me.
In short, though there are some good improvements in the campaign mode from HALO 2, the game is too short and lacks some of the improvements from HALO 2, such as the time spent playing as the Arbiter. However, in terms of multiplayer experiences, HALO 3 is exceptional.
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video-games_xbox
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One Of The Best Zombie Games Out There. I was hesitant to get this game the release day, but eventually the reviews and the curiosity overwhelmed me. Let me just say, this is not a "perfect" game and it contains some bugs and inconsistencies, but those are overshadowed by the awesome graphics and gameplay.
Pros:
-great looking zombies. A lot of detail has been put in to the undead
-very specific and unique damage you can do to enemies (break limbs to disable arms, cut parts of the body off, burn, drown, electrocute)
-variety in enemies. Slow zombies, rushing zombies, huge hulk zombies, human enemies, different clothes and faces
-very smooth graphics. The beautiful island paradise looks similar to far cry games. Trees and leaves move, directional wind,weather changes. The city looks just as good later
-fun item searching (similar to Borderlands)
-fun item customization. Not realistic but fun ways to modify items like making electric knives, super hammers, explosives
-gazillion side quests which with main game will add up to 200 + hours.
-over 75 levels advancement let you customize your character in the way you want.
Cons:
-initial quests at the start take too lo g to get the game really going
-graphics bugs with collision of characters with environment
-many out of world holes
-poor facial animations and bad voice acting
-no character development. Cutscenes are same for all characters
-some areas look rushed and unpolished.
Overall I'd say that this will be the best game for you if you really disliked Dead Rising 2 but enjoyed Borderlands. The focus of course is on the zombie killing and collecting money to get better weapons. Attacking and fighting with the zombies feels really close and personal. It feels like the zombies actually have mass to them unlike in so e other games. The game contains plenty of interesting moments when you'll be suddenly surrounded by 4 or more growling blood spewing flesh eaters which doesn't happen too much in other games because you cannot always rely on guns and ammo. Ammo can be in short supply so you have to make sure you collect the best melee weapons possible for your limited space.
While some may say this game gets repetitive, I'd say it depends if you like this kind of the game. The weapons and locations are diverse, which makesup for it.
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video-games_xbox
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Very disappointed in Turtle Beach and this headset. Very disappointed in Turtle Beach and this headset. Even with the most up to date firmware they're not worth the money. Have had Turtle Beach headsets going back to the X3 on the Xbox 360 and have loved all of them except for this one. Used them for a couple days and decided they were very clearly not worth the money and returned them. Now back to using my old X42's.
Pros:
The DTS Headphone X: 7.1 audio sounds good. Bass is deep, game audio is loud and clear and overall sound quality is good.
Cons:
Terrible Mic Quality; If you play with friends at all they will most likely complain about the quality of the microphone. Even after adjusting the "presets" I was met with complaints from friends that I sounded like I was in a toilet bowl, or slightly robotic, or very far away.
Mic Monitoring; One of the nice things that many high end headsets have is the ability to slightly hear yourself so you don't end up screaming into the headset. The mic monitoring on this set is nearly non-existent. It can be adjusted but only slightly and ONLY if you have the Turtle Beach app on an ANDROID enabled device. The Turtle Beach IPHONE APP DOES NOT support this Elite 800x....their top of the line Xbox headset. This was an issue I was unaware of until I went to download the app and change settings. There is a PC app but it's much more limited than the Android app and does not let you adjust as many settings (i.e. mic monitoring).
Uncomfortable; This one is more subjective. These ear cups are over the ear and sit on top of your ear instead of surrounding it entirely. As a user with glasses this put a lot of pressure on the ear and they became uncomfortable quickly.
tl;dr - mic quality is extremely lacking, mic monitoring is terrible, some settings can only be changed via an Android device, uncomfortable. Save your money or get something else.
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video-games_xbox
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Great Game but very difficult. I wasn't going to write anything about this game because I figured there would be plenty of people talking about how good it was. I was actually surprised to find a lot of people bashing it. Lets clear some things up! This is NOT a devil may cry clone. You can make stupid comparisons like that with any game. I will admit that the camera can be trouble some. But there isn't any other way that they could have done it. If it would've locked behind him then it really would've been difficult to fight because you're constantly changing directions as you fight. Plus if you hold down the right trigger the camera will stay behind ryu. I'll admit I'm not awe inspired by the graphics but they are very good. Go back and play halo again I have and they're not awe inspiring anymore either. This game has better graphics than 95% of the games out there so quit crying. Now the next issue the difficulty. This game can be hard but thats because games have become too easy in recent years. One person said that they spent 3 hours on the first boss??? Ok I'll admit that it was a little hard but it only took me about half an hour. Just pay attention to how the bosses attack and then plan your strategy accordingly. The bosses are old school. You can't just keep running up to them and slicing away and expect that after three hours of doing this that you're going to beat them. They have clues as to what attack they're going to do and you need to block or dodge accordingly. It can be difficult but thats what a good game should be... CHALLENGING!! I know I'm not the only one that has played the same part of a game over and over and kept loosing. The cussed and swore that I would never play it again, only to find myself back at the controls an hour later. Then there's a sense of accomplishment and the boss never seems to be as difficult again because you now know how to fight it. Some bosses may take a little while to defeat because you have to limit your attacks and dodge alot. I'm on chapter 6 right now in this game. I've gotten stuck on two bosses. The third chapter boss took me an hour and a half to beat but once I realized that I couldn't just attack attack attack, I ended up beating him and every boss after that. This game is fun, very challenging, it has great graphics, a few camera issues, great FMV scenes, great story, multiple weapons and unlockable combos, 3 hidden NES games. I really don't see anything that really makes this game a bad game. Unless you would prefer playing a game that isn't challenging. This game isn't perfect but its one of those really good games this year. If you haven't noticed there's only about 5 or 6 games each year that are truly good games. This is one of them.
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video-games_xbox
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The Finest Tales Game. Pros:
+Engrossing storyline, thanks to some well developed characters
+Fun, Addictive Battle system
+Very well written dialog with a good sense of humor
+Good voice acting
+A Fairly good soundtrack
+Good looking game
Cons:
-A lot of story exposition, some of it not even necessary
-Battling can sometimes rely on button mashing over skill
The Tales series has never been too big in America, but many of the games within the series are a blessing. Tales of Vesperia is a great outing that many fans of the series may enjoy. If this is the first time you've ever played a Tales game, then Tales of Vesperia is a good game to start with.
Tales of Vesperia takes place in a world where blastia, magical properties, are used to protect the denizens from monsters. There are also knights who help out and protect the citizens of the world. You play as Yuri, a man who left the knights mainly because he didn't like how the government treated the people. Obviously, there's something else a foot. Something more that this powerful empire is hiding and as Yuri and company you're going to find out what it is.
Tales of Vesperia may not have an original storyline, but it's told very well. Much of the dialog is very well written and sprinkled with its own fluffy humor. What really helps the story standout as being something much more than it is, however, is the cast of characters. They're very well developed and as you play you'll become really attached to them. Each also has their own distinct personality to help them along and they have their own charms about them. To help character development you can also watch skits, which are basically conversations among the party and they're completely optional. They really add to the characters by giving you a glimpse into just what they're thinking. If there was anything about Tales of Vesperia's story that is a little troubling, it would be that perhaps there's too much story in some areas. You'll run from one town to another only to backtrack to a previous town only to realize it was all done for story exposition and that you didn't really engage in a lot of battles. Yet, while there's a lot of exposition, there's still plenty of battling to be done.
The Tales games have largely been known for their battle systems. Once a battle begins you control one of four characters. You can all run around freely and land blows akin to a hack and slash game. You can also perform special techniques called Artes which will cost you tech points. It's all very simple stuff and feels very similar to the Star Ocean games. It can feel like a button mashing affair at times, and certainly the beginning stages of the game can be that way, but as you get further into the game it becomes less about hack and slash and more about strategy. Bosses in particular can be a challenge, especially if you want to get all the achievements. Some bosses require you to do certain things in order to get the achievement for them.
While you control one character the game's AI makes it a point to control the other three. Surprisingly, the AI does a very good job of keeping your characters alive and using items on allies who need them as well as healing. You can also set certain strategies and customize it up to help out. Even better than that, the game has multiplayer. Up to four players can play, although only the first player gets to control what happens in the field. For all it's worth, though, the battle system is superb.
Finally, there are abilities. Characters can equip weapons that will teach them certain abilities. If they use the weapon long enough they'll learn the ability and be able to use it whenever they want, provided they have the skill points required to equip it. There's nothing difficult about learning Tales of Vesperia's battle system. It's all relatively simple and easy to pick up on. So even if you've never played a Tales game before, the battle system is easy enough to learn that it shouldn't give you any trouble.
Graphics wise, Tales of Vesperia is gorgeous and runs very smoothly. Most of the dungeons you'll travel to also look nice. The enemies and bosses are very detailed and the load times are incredibly fast. The character designs are perhaps the best part as every character stands out as their own. Music wise, the game has a lot of memorable tunes that stand out. There are a few forgettable tunes but much of it really fills the situation. Much of the dialog in the game is spoken and the voice acting is very good.
If you're a fan of the Tales series, this is a great game to add to that collection. If you've never played a Tales game before and you're curious about the series, this is a good game to start with. With its easy learning curve and character driven story, most RPGers will find Tales of Vesperia to be a real treat.
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video-games_xbox
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BEWARE no gaming sound with these. I guess maybe I am just not gamer savvy since I don't play the xbox myself but perhaps there are other parents out there trying to purchase a headset for their kids who are in the same position. I didn't realize that this headset does not receive the sounds of the game play. This information is not provided in the product description nor in any of the many reviews I read before purchasing them. Seems like important information that should be clearly stated so there is no confusion but apparently nobody has bothered to point this out so I am. We have owned several headsets, all much more expensive and when the last set died two days ago, I went to search for a replacement. I saw these, saw the rave reviews and the low price, read the product description and read about 10 reviews and then decided what a great option they are for so much less money. Well, you get what you pay for, essentially they are just a microphone to talk into. They arrived yesterday and my son put them on and complained that there is no sound at all. Finally after spending a lot of time messing with various wires trying to figure out what we could possibly be doing wrong, we decided to call the company and had a tech advisor talk to us for about an hour. In the end, we determined that they are not intended to receive any sounds from the gaming. Yes, the microphone works but you have to turn the sound on through the speakers or whatever set up you have for any other game play so this will not keep your house quiet while someone is playing and the player will not hear the "details" of the game like they would with a different headset. It would have been very helpful to have been given this information in the product description before purchasing them. I guess we are back to spending a lot more for the Turtle Beach headsets. Meantime, I took a chance and plugged this headset into my phone and it works fine, you can hear clearly and be heard so now at least I have a use for it and don't have to bother spending the money to return them since it would cost nearly as much as the product itself to do so.
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video-games_xbox
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Best video game I've played so far. I've been playing video and PC games off and on for 30 years. This is the best non-PC game so far, after playing on the ancient Atari's, Play Stations I and II, and finally, X-Box 360. The graphics are fine to me; I don't know what the others are talking about. In fact, I prefer them not to be too complex, because that's how some games crash on the X-Box (ex. Forza Motorsport 3).
The spells are pretty cool. The leveling up is interesting, although it's not very linear like other games such as Neverwinter Nights or The Elder Scrolls. I also like the ability to control any of four characters in sequence during a battle, and the ability to put the other three characters in auto-tactical mode.
There are only two things I don't like about the game. First, the NPC dialogue. In most RPG's, the dialogue is short and often just a bubble above their heads. This game's dialogue takes up hours and hours of playing time. There are times when you hack and slash for 30 minutes straight, but there are also times when you have to talk, walk around a town, talk again, etc., for 30 minutes straight, and that doesn't even include trading. In other words, there are many pars of the game where 1/2 the time you are having to sit through a long and forced conversation with an NPC. BORING! They need a "Speed it up" option. The NPC dialogue may bring some depth and richness to the game, but if I want to talk with someone, I'll call up a friend or get on Facebook, not sit and watch an NPC blabber endlessly on my TV screen...
The second thing is the saves (I think you get 32 total saves). They are not in chronological OR alphabetical order. This means if you don't remember exactly the title and save number you last saved, you have to skim through every save and search by time played to find and load your last save. Why would they design the saves like this? Those two problems, though annoying, are still nothing compared to how great and fun this game is to play.
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video-games_xbox
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Where's the rest of it. I am a Guitar Hero junkie, I admit it. I have played every title in the Guitar Hero franchise multiple times. When I heard that they were making a game based almost exclusively on Aerosmith, I was ecstatic...I have been a fan of Aerosmith since I was a wee child wearing out my father's copy of the "Rocks" album on the record player.
Needless to say, I was there at release to purchase my copy; I bought the bundle version as I needed to replace my wireless guitar controller which has started to wear out due to constant playing. Upon getting my copy, I rushed home to play.
I was a little underwhelmed, to say the least. The first thing I noticed was there was little more than HALF the content of the previous releases. There are a total of 31 songs in the career mode, with an additional 10 available through the in game store...a whopping total of 41 songs total to play through. Compared to the 73 songs available in Guitar Hero III, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith leaves something to be desired.
As for the track listing, there is a decent smattering of Aerosmith tracks, however, some tracks that you would expect to see here are missing, such as "Janie's Got a Gun (The band's first Grammy win), Angel, Dude Looks Like a Lady, Eat the Rich, Cryin', Amazing, and Crazy, to name a few. These are some of the highest charting and most popular songs of the band's career, and given the relative lack of content overall, their absence is inexcusable. As I progressed through the game, I became convinced that this game should have been released as downloadable content or a lower cost expansion to Guitar Hero III.
On the plus side, the game mechanics are identical to Guitar Hero III, so anyone familiar with the workings of that title will be right at home here. The inclusion of short video clips featuring interviews with the band members between each tier of songs was a nice touch, as well. Being that it's basically the same game as Guitar Hero III, the fun-factor is unchanged.
Bottom line: If you are a die-hard Guitar Hero fan, and enjoy Aerosmith as I do, RENT this game for now, and wait to purchase until after the price inevitably drops. However, if you are neither, then go play your copy of Guitar Hero III...you're not missing much skipping this installment altogether.
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video-games_xbox
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EA Sports' NHL 07 a tricky, impressive goal. It's unfortunate that hockey doesn't have the American following that football and basketball do. EA Sports and 2K Sports publish some of the most fast-paced and entertaining sports games every year in their hockey franchises. EA Canada decided to implement the now-EA-standard right analog stick control into their NHL franchise, and in some ways, they've created one of the best and most fun hockey games ever made. Sadly, they've also slipped a bit in a few areas, keeping NHL 07 from a legendary performance.
NHL 07's Skill Stick will give you the ability to deke and shoot like no other. With the shot stick, you have more control over the hockey stick than ever. Pull the right stick downward and flick it back up, and you'll see your attacker send a slap shot flying towards the net. Combine the right analog stick with the left analog stick for aiming, and you can place shots very, very accurately. Not only that; you can throw goalies off quite easily with dekes and follow up with all sorts of shots-and you'll never press a button. In fact, you'll really only ever use one button-the R trigger-in this game, as other control features have been removed for simplicity. You won't have to hold a trigger down to sprint, and on defense, all body checks are done with the right stick as well. These control adjustments make NHL 07 a much less complicated affair.
Unfortunately, the easy controls make NHL 07 a one-sided affair. The defense isn't very good, and the goalie control could have been a lot better. The A.I. doesn't seem to be capable of breaking away towards either goal, so a lot of time is spent in the neutral zone intercepting passes. Passing isn't very effective, and you'll spend a lot of time hunting down stray pucks. This slows down the normally fast-paced hockey action quite a lot. The body checks aren't very powerful and don't feel very powerful, making the normally-brutal sport of hockey feel more like a game of touch football. Luckily enough, absolutely none of these mishaps make NHL 07 any less fun to play. It's still a blast, even when you're chasing down pucks and trying your hardest for that breakaway.
NHL 07 has phenomenal visuals. The animation is quite amazing, and during replays you'll see a ton of detail, like goalies slamming their pads into the ice to stop a slap shot from sliding between that tiny space. Checks, though slightly underwhelming in their feeling, don't look anything less than painful-you'll often check attackers right off of their skates, sending them flipping forward onto the ice. The sound effects aren't very powerful, but neither is the commentary. The soundtrack is much different than other games like Madden and NBA Live, as you'll encounter more indie music than radio rock or rap. Indie's not quite my thing, so I didn't hesitate to activate my Xbox 360 Custom Soundtrack.
At the very least, NHL 07 is chock-full of features. You can put the Skill Stick to the test in Shootout Mode or manage a team for 10 years in the game's Dynasty Mode. The only complaint I have with Dynasty Mode is that I found trading players to be extremely difficult-be prepared to give up all sorts of draft picks and skilled players for anyone with an overall rating of 85 or more. Speaking of the NHL Draft, why can't I simulate it? The Draft is made a lot easier if you hire a good scout, but not being able to skip through it is pretty annoying. I don't care to go through all those rounds, thank you very much.
Overall, NHL 07 should be credited for its innovative control scheme, beautiful graphics, and depth. It gets poked by less-than-stellar sound, passing, and defensive play-but it's still a great game, and quite possibly the best EA Sports team sports game released on the Xbox 360 so far. Hockey fans should definitely check this one out.
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video-games_xbox
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Makes you feel all green and stuff. The Play and Charge Kit is almost a necessity with the new Xbox One controllers. Having gone through hundreds of AA batteries and juggling rechargeables with the Xbox 360, I was done. I loaded up my son's favorite controller with this and the battery crisis is over. Microsoft made the battery cover on the new Xbox One controllers pretty cheap. It is hard to slide off unless you have some leftover maple syrup on your fingers. Using the rechargeable kit means you won't have to deal with the cover anymore. The charging cable has a little status light to let you know when it is fully charged. This is a nice feature since it saves having to check the on-screen indicator periodically. The initial charge took a few hours and it seems to last through several days of moderate gaming. Since the cable is 9-feet long, charging while playing is no big deal.
Overall I am very happy with the kit's performance. Minus one star because the price is a little high for a battery these days. Portable phone charger batteries can be found at a much lower price with a lot more capacity. That little light on the cable must be what is so expensive.
Update (1/29/2016): One of the two play and charge kits ordered did not work correctly after the first charge. I left the cord plugged in for several days and the light never changed from (charging) orange to (charged) white. Once the charging cord was removed, the battery died immediately. I put the battery in another controller and it refused to charge again. Amazon accepted a return for the defective kit and sent a new kit out immediately. The replacement battery appears to be working normally...so far. I know a few people with similar issues using the same kit. A low capacity battery with this high of a price should be 100% reliable. Not impressed. Dropping from 4-stars to 3-stars. I may go back to rechargeable AA's when these fancy kits die.
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video-games_xbox
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Has fun and action in its sights. Tellurye here with another review. This time 'Dead to Rights: Retribution'!
STORY: You step into the shoes and behind the badge as Jack Slate, a hard-boiled detective who's the most wanted man in Grant City. The story unfolds backwards, starting in the present, cutscenes bookend the chapters, and you play as Jack details the story to his friend. He and his dad get caught up in the middle of a conspiracy, city police and government corruption, and down right murderous deals. Nothing too epic, a good summer fun action flick. This is a remake from the first Dead to Rights, and in my opinion, the only one up until now, that is awesome!
GRAPHICS: The engine looks nice, though hard to show as the story takes place in one big rainy night. The environments are varied with great attention to detail, but lots of browns and grays. The lighting is cool, but again, the colors may make some feel they are playing the same level over and over.
AUDIO: The music is typical action style - no Metal Gear Solid orchestra for this one. But not cheesy acid rock either. Good pumping music that doesn't get in the way, nor is all that memorable. The voicework is good and the acting not bad, though sometimes the writing can be a little cheesy. The characters do make you care about them though, and they make you love the ones you are suppossed to, and despise the evil ones. The weapon and sound effects are decent, but run of the mill - not something that will engage your subwoofer all that much. But does offer nice 5.1
GAMEPLAY: Here's where its addicting, and a little frustrating. You have a plethora of weapons and grenades you can use, and on-the-fly-switching from gunplay to hand to hand combat is a breeze. Really shines there. The disarms are brutal and each gun has its own different tweak on them, but you can't do specific disarms like you could in the first entry into the series. The hand to hand combos can be a VERY long string of buttons. Not complicated, just long to remember. You might just make your own combos until a finish move button prompt comes up, of which plays out random killing animations. Not for the faint hearted.
What annoyed me was the developers were lazy in some aspects, such as lots of solid objects that you would take cover behind are not tagged as such, so you are taking bullets as you are wondering why the heck he's not ducking. Also, you almost RARELY see where an enemy's grenade landed, so you have to use sound cues to make sure you run in the opposite direction. In fact, I only heard the rapidly increasing beeping and didn't know if that was a grenade, or a bomb they had engaged the timer on. So, a couple of cheap instances, but not gamebreaking or unfair. Playable even on the hardest mode. I only died a few times. They put a decent amount of stealth into the mix as you get to contol his K-9 cop Shadow, which was neat how they implemented that.
OVERALL: This game is fun and brutal for winding down after a long day, or if you are just looking for some action. Maybe not worth $60, but definitely keep an eye out for it when it goes on sale. Not to mention, there are fun hidden things to find, interesting and challenging achievements / trophies, and unlockables such as concept art and cinematics. Whether you are a fan of the original or a newcomer to the series, this is definitely worth a grab as it has action 'Dead to Rights'.
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video-games_xbox
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Faulty product, do not buy. This product has an issue that is KNOWN to the manufacturer that they have lied about fixing. The problem is that this device becomes OVERLOADED when there's "too much" data passing through it and completely drops the network connection, forcing you to unplug it from the outlet to shut it off and then turn it back on. What is "too much data"? In my case, it's usually 1 or 2 hours of HD movie streaming through Netflix (have it connected to my Xbox 360). Halfway through a movie, I simply lose the connection even though all the lights on the device stay on, I have to get up and unplug the AC cord, plug it back in, restart the Netflix app, search for my movie, and wait for it to resume where I left off.
The manufacturer KNOWS that this problem exists. They have issued a firmware update on their website specifically to address it. Here are the release notes for the update showing what it will fix:
1. Enhanced wireless performance during heavy data traffic
2. Improved wireless connection stability
GREAT, I thought. This is exactly what I'm experiencing! So I downloaded and installed the firmware... and, guess what! The problem wasn't fixed at all! It still works as before! This update was released 3-Sep-2009. They have sinced released only one other firmware update, on 10-Aug-2010, whose only purpose is to, quote, "Fix web GUI login failure after a long period of time." Well, thanks, guys. How about you fix the fact that this device flat-out doesn't work? It's now 2012, and it's obvious they will not be releasing any more firmware updates, so STAY AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT.
I contacted TRENDnet about the issue, described it exactly as I described it here. Their solution? That I need to download and install the latest firmware update. Thanks, guys! I already did that! I already told you I did that! It didn't fix anything! Their response: silence.
Do not buy this garbage. It doesn't work as advertised. Trust in all the other 1-star reviews, it's all TRUE, this device (when working) will not work for more than a few hours at a time, and the connection is slower than it should be -- exactly as they all say.
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video-games_xbox
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I have seen death, and it is pink. Mushihimesama Futari is a port of the arcade shmup by developer CAVE, and the sequel to the original Mushihimesama. This release is region free and will work on North American consoles. Note that if you find a 360 game called "Mushihimesama" without the "Futari", that's the first game in the series and not the same game as this one.
The menu can be a bit confusing at first. Navigate around and you may find options you missed at first, such as how novice mode is hidden in the arrange mode area.
Gameplay is similar to other CAVE shmups. You fly around, destroying everything in your path while collecting gems, and dodge enemy bullets to stay alive. Mushihimesama Futari has an organic theme, which features giant insects, killer plants, and aquatic assailents. You can choose between two characters, riding either a giant beetle or a dragon.
The Mushihimesama series is most notable for the bullets. They are pink. There are lots of them. And they're lethal to touch. On higher difficulties the screen sometimes has more pink than background. Yes, this is the game with that infamous "hardest boss ever" video, however don't let that scare you away because it only looks like that when you play it on the hardest difficulty.
Once you start the game, you'll have three choices that decide the style of gameplay: Original, Manic, or Ultra (or God, of you're playing Black Label DLC). Original has faster bullets, with a scoring system based on using the correct shot-type based on your current gem count. Manic has slower bullets, but many more of them, and uses a cash-in system to convert the gem counter to point items. Ultra is the extreme mode, where enemies vomit bullets in gigantic quantities.
Arrange mode is a slightly different version of the game. You can switch characters in and out, and the inactive character defends the active one. This is a cool extra and worth checking out if you need a break from playing the regular game.
The first printing came with a DLC code that unlocks 1.01 mode (the platinum collection is not the first printing and will not come with a DLC code). This is an older build of the arcade game, with slightly different bullet patterns and enemy arrangements. It's a nice extra, but more of a curiosity than an awesome must-have. If you can't get an unused DLC code, honestly don't worry about.
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video-games_xbox
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Best game I've ever played. This is by far the best game I've ever played. I was never a gamer. I bought myself an XBOX to deal with the long winter months in New England rather than watch reruns. As someone who enjoys RPG games, a friend recommended this game.
Within the 1st hour, I was hooked. You are Commander Shepard, you assemble a team, gain their loyalty, and have a "suicide mission" at the end with numerous ending possibilities based on how you played the game through.
The dialog you have with team members and strangers is pretty cool. How you respond to dialog often has direct affect on game play and relationships with other characters in the game. This is by far what makes it so interesting. You basically write your own story, outcomes rely on your responses. It takes you in many possible directions all the way through. You can even romance characters. You can be male or female Shepard, so if you are a female and prefer to play a female role, you can. I played the male role every time. Romanced different characters each play though.
Yes, there is combat/shooting. Missions have combat, other smaller side tasks include finding things for characters or talking to other characters. That stuff can be boring, but there's plenty of missions and side missions if you like the shooting stuff. There are a few modes, casual for someone more interested in the storyline and not as difficult in combat, easy for more shooting difficulty, and insanity for the hardcore gamer. I used casual, I am no hardcore gamer. Controls are responsive and once you get the hang of it, there's a lot you can do to control your team and beat the enemy.
This was my first Mass Effect game. Since playing it, I got Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect 1. I was disappointed with 1 as controls were not as well done. I liked 3's changes in the combat, but the missions and tasks got too overwhelming and seemed pointless. I rate Mass Effect 2 an "11" on a scale of 1-10! The other two, not as much. If they come out with a Mass Effect 4 combining changes between 2 and 3, I will be a very happy camper.
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video-games_xbox
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As close to real hockey as you will ever get. I've been playing EA's NHL series since NHL 93. In those years I've been continously frustrated with EA's annual releases, which usually involved better graphics, more character animations and little else. The goalies were always easy to score on in certain ways, and getting past the defense was a breeze. In the end it became mindless banter with little feeling of reward when a goal is scored.
I was recently surprised to discover that another company is also making sports games and naturally having a love for hockey I ordered NHL 2K7. After playing around in the customisable Practice Modes for a few minutes, I immediately knew I would never be touching EA's NHL series again...
The pure accuracy, fun and feeling NHL2K7 gave me just from breaking out with a few passes and taking a shot or two on goals, to delivering a realistic bodycheck was wonderful and it felt real.
The sounds are awesome and give you that 'hockey game feeling'. When you hit the goalies pads with a slapshot, that umistakable thump drives you to have another try. The commentary is free flowing and seems very natural, what's also nice is the way the replays are commented on in detail.
The team strategy options are endless that even the most hardened Playstation coaches would scratch their heads over the tactical fine tuning. The 8 on-the-fly coaching calls add another dimension to your tactics. The 'screen the goalie' or 'release forward for breakaway' calls in play are two of my favourite.
Whats especially well done is the default 'Parametric' camera angle, which lets you stay very close down to the action, and know most of the time where your team mates are.
The game settings are endless, so if you feel something is not working the way it should, you can change its frequency or disable it. Settings from changing the frequency of an elbowing penalty, to the frequency of the glass breaking from a slapshot can be modified with a slider.
I consider myself to be a decent player at this game, but for those of you who want a serious challenge, play the Hall of Famer difficulty level. The AI is in your face, aggressive and frustrating, exactly how a hockey game at its best should be. I played this difficulty level and promptly after a few games went down a level.
On the downside I can't think of much. From far away the people sitting in the stands look a bit funny, but the graphics are right up there with EA's NHL and in my opinion look better during gameplay because of the closeness the Parametric camera angle can stay with the action without sacrificing strategy. The fighting is not that great either but I think you need to get used to it to enjoy it more.
If you like mindless childs play and like to score one way every time, buy EA Sports NHL. If you want a real hockey game that presents a real different challenge every time you lace up, I would only recommend this game.
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video-games_xbox
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I miss NBA Jam, Showtime and Hangtime. Rememember when arcade hoops games were so much fun, just pickup and play? I Remember playing NBA Hangtime in college with my friends, we did 2 on 2 action and it was the best of what Midway did, arcade sports! As of late, Midway has kind of turned me away from their titles. And with E.A.'s serious hooper called NBA Street, Ballers seems to fall short in the fun factor category. NBA Ballers on the XBOX was Midway's first return back to arcade hoops since NBA Showtime, and while I did like Ballers quite a bat, the Chosen one gets away from the fundamentals of the game, and it's just simply not that fun to play. The first issue is the graphics. This simply is not a next gen looking game. The courts look sweet enough, but the players look fake, and their faces and skin looks too fakey fakey to be taken literally. Motion caputred moves get the job done, but once again, things are way over done and nothing looks amazing to knock your socks off. NBA Street Vol 3 looks better and that game was out quite a some time ago. The main issue with the game is that you don't have to check the ball out after a rebound. So basically the game consists of you "if you wanted" standing under the basket for a rebound then instantly going up for the dunk with no reason to take the ball back or play defense. This problem takes away zero strategy on both offense and defense. Checking the ball is a standard for all street hoops game, especially for 2 on 2 or 1 on 1 battles at 1/2 court. The gameplay is fair, but pulling out special moves seems to complictated for it's own good and the 360 controller is not implimented as well as it could have been. But even when you leave out the special moves and stick with jumping, blocking, and dribbling, the game still feels lathargic and the lack of any real strategy thanks to not having to checking the ball out, ruins the game. I had the most fun going online and playing with people, you can 1 on 1 and 2 on 2 battles against people onilne ,but once again, the gameplay still is ruined. If you can request people to check the ball out after each rebound, makes the game to be more enticing.
I love arcade hoops titles, the classics like NBA Hangtime, Jam and Showtime will always be missed. It's too bad the step to next gen has been a step back for fun, at least with Midway's hoops titles. The Chosen one can't even get the basics down right and ruins the game. Might be worth a rent or two with some friends, but other than that, you might as well keep playing NBA Street Vol 3 or wait for Street 4...
Graphics: Players faces look like their real counterparts and the facial expressions are nice, but the bodies look fake and their bodies are way over done. What is that, paint gloss over their bodies?
Gameplay: Performing special moves are tricky, and just not fun to pull off or watch as you do them. With the new midway rule of not having to check the ball out, you can stand there and wait for a miss, then go up for the next shot. Um, no Midway, this ruins the game.
Sound: Good music, good sound effects, not much chattering.
Fun Factor: A few games online might be fun for a bit, but once again, the lack of having to check the ball out after a miss, takes any fun that there was available, out of the game completely.
Overall: Stick with NBA Street Vol 3, you can pick that game up for under 20 bucks now and it's still the better game of hoops. Better luck next time Midway. Bring back NBA Hangtime and I'll be happy.
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video-games_xbox
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Rock and roll. When the first game came out, I didn't really want Bash. A dragon made out of rock? How useful was he going to be? Upon seeing his series two video, I definitely decided he was worth a try!
Speed: Slow
As can be expected for a character made out of solid rock, Bash isn't exactly the quickest dragon on the block.
Primary Attack.
Bash's tail ends in a deadly ball of spikes, and he uses them in a 360 degree spin to wipe out his enemies, literally. With an upgrade, incoming projectiles can be knocked away. If you choose the Granite Dragon upgrade path, your tail swipe does increased damage, your stone projection (which will be talked about below) will deal more damage, and your tail swipe can be charged up for a devastating blow.
Secondary Attack:
Bash's second attack is not only a damage dealer, but also a nice way to get around! The rock dragon will curl up and bowl over his enemies. Since Bash is so slow, this is a nice way to move a little quicker. If you choose the Pulver Dragon upgrade path your roll attack does more damage, you can roll right through enemy attacks, and Bash will become giant while rolling which deals more damage and makes him roll faster.
Tertiary Attack:
Talk about being at one with your element. Bash can summon up large stone masses from the ground and, in combo with his tail swipe, can launch them at enemies. With an upgrade, of course, the damage is increased. I like using this one on the bigger enemies, to keep them at bay while you decrease their health.
Soul Gem:
Since Bash can't fly and already resembles a dinosaur so much, why not give him some cool armor to play it up? The Triceratops Honor Guard (which is represented on the series two figure) makes Bash much harder to hit. It grants him 40+ armor, which is more than most hats can do!
Wow Pow:
I don't have this in game yet (I haven't had him very long), but while rolling, pressing attack 2 will launch Bash in the air and slam him back down again to crush his enemies. How handy is that?
EDIT: I now have this upgrade, and wow! Your enemies are crushed beneath your earthen body, and since a stone uppercut appears whenever you use this attack, it also fires off and hits any enemies in your path.
I feel bad for writing off this handy little fellow the first time around, he's totally worth the purchase!
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video-games_xbox
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Chaotic Neutral Never Felt So Chaotic Awesome. Prototype allows you to grow organic body armor with blades sharp enough to cut 10 people in half, jump 50 yards, run up a skyscraper, karate kick a helicopter, grab onto it, force open the cockpit, throw the pilot to his death, fly the helicopter through the streets of New York unleashing guns and missiles on traffic, zombies, tanks, and soldiers, bail out of the helicopter - crashing it into a building, glide to the ground, grab an unsuspecting human, digest him, steal his appearance, and blame someone else for what you just did. If that sounds awesome to you, buy Prototype!
Concept: 10/10
Take Spiderman's Symbiotic Suit (aka Venom & Carnage) push it to the limit, give it to a maniac, have him kill an army of zombies and a misguided military in, around, and above the streets of New York. You get to be that maniac!
Story: 9/10
You are Alex Mercer, a very bad man who has inherited superhuman powers. You're on a quest to stop a viral outbreak that turns people into mutant zombies and to stop a rogue general with the military at his disposal. The story is told through cutscenes and missions. Additional story detail can be obtained through "Digesting" key NPC's and stealing their memories. It's exciting, compelling, and well acted.
Gameplay: 9/10
The abilities bestowed upon Alex Mercer are amazing! You get an arsenal of military weapons. You can hijack tanks on the ground and helicopters out of the air! You can run up skyscrapers. You can glide through New York. Your body can morph into different types of weapons. You can take the shape of any NPC, so stealth is also an option. When you destroy things or complete missions, you get points that you can use to upgrade Alex. Rampaging through New York is fun, but it does take time to learn how to use all of Alex's upgrades and there isn't much guidance on what you should upgrade. There is a lot of depth in the game, and you won't fully understand it until you are about 90% of the way through. Once you understand how to fully use all of the powers, the game becomes amazing!
Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are good, considering that the game has to draw all of New York from the ground and the air. The character models are also pretty good. You can expect to see 100 characters, tanks, cars, helicopters, zombies... on screen at once!
Level Design: 7/10
Some levels are better than others. There's a good variety, showcasing all of Alex's Powers. The difficulty differs between easy and you'll die before you can read the Mission Objective. There is no 'right' way to complete a mission. You can use speed, stealth, brute force, or hijack military vehicles. If you fail a mission, you can always upgrade and try new tactics.
Replay Value: 7/10
The game is open ended, there are a ton of optional missions, and different difficulty settings. Prototype's single player campaign is 11-20 hours long, depending on how many optional missions you do. I would strongly suggest taking your time and learning how to use Alex's powers before attempting the later missions. You'll have more fun that way.
Maturity:
The game is rated M for throwing people to their deaths, chopping them in half, blowing them up, crushing their skulls, impaling them, running them over, gunning them down, and splattering them against the ground... Oh, and there's some harsh language, too.
Overall: 9/10
Prototype is a very fun open world superhero game. Trashing New York with super powers and military vehicles is a great way to blow off some steam. Some of the gameplay could use a bit more polish, but the scope of this game is so huge any slight faults are forgiven.
Buy it if you want New York as your playground and you're feeling destructive, if you've ever wanted to play a Venom game without Venom, or you loved Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
Actually, this game could have been called "Skinny Guy: Ultimate Destruction."
Rent it if you like action games, have an extra 15 hours, and only play through games once.
Avoid it if you like linear missions, playing good guys, or you don't like violence.
If you like this game, I can recommend Red Faction Guerilla, Crackdown, or Infamous (if you own a PS3.)
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video-games_xbox
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Its better. Ok just like every other 2k fan I thought maybe the 2K people would dropped the ball on the basketball title since they dropped it on the hockey and baseball, but they didnt. They actually made this game better! The presentation is still good, even though not as good as the whole ESPN thing, but its good. The broadcast team and commentary is better now that they have Kevin Harlen and Kenny Smith. You also have Craig Sager givin u sideline reports. So what they basically did was take the TNT staff since they couldn't get ESPN's. GOOD MOVE! You get a even better half time show and the pregame's even better. It goes more into depth about the star players and so what....but if ur readin this ur a gamer and wanna hear about actually playin it so lets get to it!
The graphics are inmproved. There's more emotions but players in the cut seens depending on what actually happens in the game. You'll see players sprint around of there's a bad fould called, you see them wave the u "Cant guard me finger" if there goin back to back wit defenders on there offense and defensive ends, u even see them give ref's still faces on bad calls. Every player looks like theirselves...so much its kinda crazy! The graphics looks alot more crisp which is sayin alot being that they were great last year.
Game play: Is WAYYYYY better. its alot more fast pace now. You have alot more controll over everything. You can now use the Right anolog to shoot. Its called the shot stick. Now at first I thought this would be dumb, but it actuallt works. You decide how ur gonna get your shots off. The Left and for left handed move, the right for right, up is to go up strong and down kinda makes u pull up. THIS GREAT ONCE U GET IT DOWn. There was nuttin worst last year then goin to the hole and your player puts the ball up wit the wrong freakin hand. You don't have that problem no mo! The Iso motions is new to, but its alot hard because the NEW AGGRESSIon button( Turbo) and the left anol. controls it which is kinda hard because sometimes it takes u outta the flow of the game because the anl. also is your movement button. Thats the one thing that made need to be tweaked, but even though I don't fully get it its still better than last years. You do pull some good moves, u just don't know how u did it.
Defense: is a lot more controlled to. Just like live u have like a freestyle button wit stealin. U know press left for a left reach...and dadadada. Its good to! I'll miss u wit the other dumb stuff, but lets just say it works how it should. You decide how aggress. your reach is by timin and the use of the aggress. button.
Online: Pretty much the same but a couple small things makes it better. There's a feeback system now so when accepting a challenge u can see exactly if the person ur playin a good opp. or a cheater. I LOVE THAT!! I hate playin people who cheat all the time. The Dbl. team options is also turned off for rank games. GREAT!!! I hated people who double all game! That was so unrealistic. Everything is still the same though. There's leagues....o yea they also have this street ball option too. I aint played that yet so I won't comment.
24/7 and ASSoc: I haven't played either yet so I cant comment on that one yet, but I know they don't have that annoyin team chem. stuff from last year wit players complainin about PT and other dumb things. So in my opinion being thats gone, they have made that better already!
Overall a great and game and its better. Any body say other wise there just hating.
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video-games_xbox
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Simply Superb. One of the best racing games available on any console, Project Gotham (PGR) improves upon the wonderful Metropolis Street Racer (Dreamcast) in EVERY way. PGR is extremely challenging, visually striking, and full of replay value and many modes of play.
First, gameplay. PGR features a mix of realism and arcade-speed in its handling that is beyond compare. I gave my brother a shot at a very tight track in NYC with a Porsche Boxster. He was doing fairly well--as far as he knew--after only a lap or two. He is a casual gamer who only plays sports games, baseball and Madden. So if he can handle it so quickly and so well, then anyone can.
BUT, then there are Kudos points, which you must earn by driving aggressively and with style. This my brother would need much time to learn, how to string together a tail-out slide through cone markers while passing two cars and avoiding walls at the same time...plus coming in 1st! Manage all this and you'll earn Kudos to open up new cars and tracks, even extra play modes, helmets, etc. Real skill is needed in this game, on many dimensions.
Now gameplay modes: you may be tasked with passing a certain number of cars in a certain time limit; beating a fast car one-on-one; earning a set number of Kudos on a track in a given number of time and laps (very hard); beating a specified average time; beating a specified single time, and more! In fact, after 5 hours of playing, the game will open up an entire new game mode called Medal Pursuit (in which the focus shifts away from powerslides to absolutely clean driving to beat a best time)! So much game!
Oh, and then graphics. The game is inarguably more graphically accomplished than even GT3 on PS2. For instance, cars in GT3 generally only have "paintd-on" bodylines such as at doors, hoods, trunks. In PGR there are so many more polygons used that you can actually see the sun reflect WITHIN the modeled bodylines! Superb.
PGR is flatly the best racer on the market for those who truly desire challenge, great gameplay, awesome music (including the ability to import your own from the hard drive), incredible 60fps graphics, and longevity. You will not be getting that Ferrari F50 until you've shown some serious mettle. A must-have racer for a must-have system.
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video-games_xbox
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Loads of Fun; questionable quality of instruments. I originally I thought I would NEVER pay over $[...] for a video game. I even held off on getting GHIII because I didn't want to pay the then $[...] price tag for a video game. Luckily I never had to because I got it for Christmas. GHIII has obvious flaws (i.e. Boss Battles), but I still am having fun with it along with GHII. However after a while I started longing for more songs and more variety. Sure I can purchase new songs off of XBL for GHIII, but I decided that I would finally bite the bullet and see what all the hype about Rock Band was about.
The instruments themselves are the game's weak link. I have heard many stories of the pedal breaking and that was one reason I haven't go Rock Band sooner. So far however the pedal seems to be holding up for me, I just am sure to only use my bare foot when playing and make it a point to instruct my easily excitable son to do likewise. The drums themselves started giving me problems after having the game for about 10 weeks. For some reason the blue drum stopped registering some hits, unless I absolutely pounded it. Of course 10 weeks is about 10 days past the new 60 day Harmonix warranty, so they basically told me I was SOL. There was no way I was paying 80 bucks for a new drum set so I researched the internet for some fixes and found a kit that would replace the drum sensors. Before I spent money on the new sensors, I took apart the drum and jiggled the sensor. That seemed to fix it for the time being, if I continue to have problems, I will then get the sensor kit. It's sure a heck of a lot of better than buying another drum kit that will probably fail right after the warranty expires as well.
I also had to RMA the Stratocaster Guitar a few weeks before my drum set started messing up. The problems I started having was the effects switch would turn on even by just touching it, in addition I had issues with it is double strumming. This occurred during the warranty period and was also BEFORE Harmonix instituted the new 60 day warranty, so I got a new one with no problem at all, and haven't had any more problems since. Even still I think overall, the Strat is made MUCH better than that cheap piece of junk Les Paul Guitar from GHIII. First off the neck is permanently attached to the base so no unreliable "pogo-pins" to deal with as with the Les Paul. In addition the Stratocaster's buttons are also structured differently; the buttons don't stick or get stuck as they sometimes do with the Les Paul. The strum bar with the Stratocaster will take some getting used to. After playing GHIII for a while, I became used to the "click" feedback the Les Paul provided, with the Stratocaster however, there is no "click" or any feedback for that matter. If you are coming from GHIII, this will certainly throw you and your timing off. It was an annoyance at first, but now I am pretty used to it, and it's not much of a problem anymore. In addition the Stratocaster is wired, but the cord is very long so it's not much of an issue for me. Being wired is not necessarily a bad thing because there are no batteries you have to worry about.
The actual game is quite similar to the Guitar hero series except that instead of only being able to play the guitar, you can also play drums and sing. In addition while you can't play the Bass in single player career mode, you CAN play it Single player quick play mode. In GHIII you could only play bass during multiplayer or practice mode. Everything else about RB will be very familiar to you; instead of "Star Power" you have Overdrive which is basically the same thing. The only main difference between the two is during "Overdrive" you can continue to fill your overdrive meter after you have activated it. Overdrive will also bring your band member back from the "dead" if they fail during multiplayer. You will need to do this because once a band member is out, the entire band will suffer. No matter how good you are playing, you will continue to lose the crowd if other band member(s) are no longer playing.
Other than getting used to the zero feedback Stratocaster, playing the guitar in RB is similar to GH, there are still hammer-ons and pull-offs and they function exactly the same way. Some cool additions to the RB guitar is that the whammy bar can create different sound effects depending on what you set the knob to. The coolest thing about the RB guitar is the addition of solo fret buttons near the base of the guitar. You can use these buttons at any time during a song, but their purpose is to be played during a blue "solo section". The best part of these buttons is that during a solo section you don't even have to strum, just tap them as the notes appear on the screen. You can however strum if you want, and it is recommended if you encounter the same series of notes during a section. One thing that sets RB apart from GH is the Solo section; it adds an entirely new level of fun and excitement to the game.
The vocals portion is something I really don't mess around with, but surprisingly, the pitch recognition is actually good. I was able to complete songs using the vocals on medium. On hard I don't know if I would be able to do it. One thing to keep in mind about the vocals is that it doesn't care about getting the words right, it only cares about the pitch. So you really can just hmmm through a song, make up your own words and still pass.
The drums portion is quite interesting and surprisingly tricky unless the game has your 100% concentration. Not only do you have to worry about hitting the pads at the right time, you also have to hit the pedal when you see a long orange bar in the note track. I have never played drums in my life, but I got through Medium with no problem, right now I am squeaking my way through Hard with 10 songs to go. However, as tricky as the drums are they are still rather fun to play.
Some songs in rock band have freestyle sections that you can play anything you want to rack up more points (and activate overdrive for the drums); the only catch is that you have to nail the note(s) immediately following the section for it to count. Freestyle sections sometimes appear at the end of the song (known as a "Big Rock Ending") as well and the same rules apply. As far as the song selection in RB goes, the original set list is better than GHIII's set list, but that is just my own personal opinion.
Difficulty-wise, I find RB a little easier than GHIII. In fact after beating career mode on Hard and even 30/42 songs on expert career in GHIII, I was able to pick up RB and jump to Hard immediately and finish all the songs without much problem, and then I went back and beat it on Expert without much issue. On "Hard" difficulty Flirting with Disaster was the only song that I didn't beat on my first couple of tries, and is the hardest song on "Hard" to me; on `Expert" difficulty, the hardest song to me is Green Grass and High Tides. Even on Expert, none of the songs in Rock band are impossibly difficult to the point where I just give it up all together. One reason I think RB is easier than GH is that the songs aren't over charted, like they are in GH; harder difficulties on GH just mean more chords. Another great thing about RB career mode is that there are no stupid, corny, and cheap Boss Battles to deal with. Boss Battles really hurt GHIII, and thankfully RB doesn't have them, so to me RB is all the fun without the annoyances that GHIII has.
Online play is available but I really only play band matches instead of head to head because people will ALWAYS quit if they are losing. Like many others, Harmonix and/or EA are unwilling to do anything to discourage quitting online, so there is no point even wasting my time going head to head with anyone unless they are physically in my living room.
There are also tons of songs available for purchase from XBL, but they are quite expensive. One song costs 160 points which from what I have read is double than what they used to be. 160 point is about $[...]. If you buy a "pack" your cost per song will go down a little, but most songs do not come in packs. I usually don't buy stuff of XBL, but I have bought a few songs that I like. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if you actually got a MP3 version of the song as well, but $[...] to just play ONE song on a video game is kind of steep. So in essence you are paying twice as much for a song you can only play on Rock Band when an MP3 version of the song only costs $[...] to download from a music site. I think there are nearly 100 songs available for download now so if you were to get them all, you would have to spend close to 200.
Overall I find Rock Band loads of fun to play. I still play GHII, and GHIII as well, but RB adds a little more depth with the additional instruments and solo buttons on the guitar. My only complaints are the questionable quality and reliability of the instruments, and the amount of money people have to pay to get additional songs off of XBL; but then again people don't HAVE to purchase them. I just wish they were available at a cheaper price.
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video-games_xbox
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Not much in the way of sense or quality but fast shipping READ PLZ. The item was listed USED - VERY GOOD
The item is not average or even good its actually by Amazon or Ebay standards extremely poor. I will give him this much the shipping was semi fast seeming he lived 2 states over. The problem here is this:
The case is damaged really badly it looks as if a dog bit it or chewed on a side of it and it looks old and dingy.
The top of the disc and booklet look very good but the part that matters is the bottom of the disc where it reads.
Not only does the dish have scuffs on every single inch of the bottom of the disc there is also a huge scratch that goes from the inner ring all the way to the outter ring of the disc all the way across. I m wondering if this is what is to be expected for an item that is listed as VERY GOOD???? I would rate it VERY POOR not even poor.
I m trying to be fair and nice like I always tend to be but I wasted my time, money and this was a gift. I wish that the person would have been forth right with what the item looked like cause I don't see how anyone could make the honest mistake saying this item is in anyways in VERY GOOD condition. Its VERY POOR. So Poor in fact I wouldnt even resell this item to another person!
Maybe for 2.99 not 15.00 dollars. Other sellers had this item for a few dollars more from trust AMAZON sellers in VERY GOOD condition and I feel this is one of those situations where you get what you pay for and its upsetting cause I wanted to go with the new seller to help out his business and go with the underdog but now Im feeling underwhelmed and a bit disappointed.
I will go ahead and leave 2 stars because of the fast shipping but otherwise I would have left one star so I m being as far as possible. I really am disappointed but its only a game and life will go on.
From my experience I would not suggest buying from this individual unless he really starts to be honest or at least know what people expect when you give the item one of Amazons best ratings other than BRAND NEW this is right underbrand new and at the least they could have put good or poor and not very good. I find this to dishonest.
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video-games_xbox
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A must-play for fans of sandbox-style games, or any gaming fan, for that matter. Although I am terrible at writing reviews, I still feel compelled to write one for Sleeping Dogs, because of how awesome it is. The fact that I am putting myself through this whole review writing ordeal ought to tell you just how impressive this game is, since I don't bother unless the product in question is exceptional. In case that isn't proof enough, allow me to elaborate.
Sleeping Dogs is great. Although it is supposedly "just another GTA clone" there are a few things that set it apart from and above its peers. The hand-to-hand combat was very addictive, deep, and not difficult at all to master. Taking out huge groups of armed thugs with nothing more than your hands and feet was very satisfying. It was just like those Bruce Lee movies where he's surrounded by enemies and he takes them all out. Another feature I really enjoyed from this game was the "action hijack" ability, where you jump from one speeding vehicle to another. It was so fun, I wouldn't think twice about leaving behind a fancy vehicle and dropping whatever it was I was doing to jack an armored truck.
One thing I'd also like to mention is none of the distractions and side quests felt pointless. Even the dating missions yielded something useful, as they resulted in collectibles becoming visible on the mini-map. The collectibles themselves were also useful and they allow you bonuses, and in the case of one variety of collectible, they allow you to learn new fighting moves. So, I never felt the least bit of tedium while hunting for collectibles. It also helps that the city is gorgeous and detailed and just a treat to "sight see" while you are searching for that elusive health shrine or jade statue.
About the only thing missing from this game is flying vehicles. But that is a minor complaint. The gun combat, the races, the main story missions, and everything else was flawlessly executed. I really can't recommend this game enough, especially for fans of sandbox-style games. Just the fight club side mission alone was more satisfying, to me, than the entirety of some games I've played. So, if you get a chance, check it out. You will not be disappoint.
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video-games_xbox
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Sucks even better than the first. I liked the original "Blood Rayne" OK. I thought the graphics were actually sub-par for PS2 - slightly better on Xbox of course - and it was fairly short and easy. But how could you not have a fun time with a character who can suck blood for health, use the victim as a human shield, and fire over his shoulders all at the same time?
Then I heard "Blood Rayne 2" was coming out, and I figured I'd check it out and see if the developers had actually managed to improve on their concept. I was in for a nice surprise. This game ROCKS. Rayne has been completely retooled, with much better controls (I always found L1 for the blades pretty awkward) and a camera system that lets you 360 around her with ease. The slightly washed-out graphics of the original can't even compare with "2" - Rayne looks HOT, the levels are beautifully rendered, the enemies are well-designed if a bit repetitive, and the fatalities are SICK "Kill Bill" style extreme blood and gore, guaranteed to freak out your parents. It's easy to get the hang of the moves, and you can potentially get all the practice you'd ever want - the enemies just keep coming and coming. True, you can't jump quite as high as you could in the first, nor do you have your little spin at the end, it's just a conventional but sturdy double jump. Blood Rage is also far less dramatic, but still pretty lethal. Once you get the blood guns, the strategy of the game basically involves making the most of the way you slay your enemies, rationing their life force between yourself and your weapons and feeding your Blood Lust by executing fatalities. You can also get creative with the harpoon and rack up "Carnage" points by whipping enemies into spiky objects - these "environmental" kills eventually earn Rayne Health and Rage upgrades.
Another feature that I personally love is Rayne's ability to smash practically everything around her into smithereens, with accompanying loud sound effects. If you're like me, nothing's more fun than destroying the virtual china cabinets in the mansion levels - except possibly slicing the heads off the debutantes. And you HAVE to check out the various themed outfits - my favorite is probably "Schoolgirl Rayne," especially hilarious when she's sliding down the poles.
Overall this game is really so different from the original that it's barely even a sequel. Some of my friends didn't like the first but they love "2," and maybe vice-versa for some people. Seriously, since they'll probably never make an actual "Kill Bill" video game, this is about as close as you could get without legal action occurring. Whether you liked "Blood Rayne" or not, I highly recommend you check out "2" - I doubt you'll be disappointed.
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video-games_xbox
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A better second outing. There are two basic aspects of "The Fractured Butwhole" (and believe me, you're supposed to pronounce the last two words as one word). The South Park-ness of it, and the game. The RPG aspect serviceable but not great. The South Park aspect seems pretty spot on, if you're in to South Park and all that means.
It's a fairly basic superhero RPG, where despite the presence of 10 different classes, they mostly tend to feel the same. In fact, you can mix and match, picking abilities from any of the classes you've unlocked so far. You're limited to 4 abilities at a time, but you can swap out one of your strong single-target melee attacks from your Brutalist for a long-range mental attack from the Psychic class, for example. There are some restrictions, since until very late in the game you can have only 1 class from each broad set, but it's still rather amorphous. Despite the flavor animations, the various attacks tend to feel the same if they have the same shape / range restrictions.
Combat takes place on a square grid, and often you have very artificial, abstract restrictions on your attacks. Most characters can only attack east or west. Even if it seems perfectly reasonable that you should be able to attack an adjacent enemy that's directly north or south of your character, you usually can't. The handful of attacks that are more reasonable, only restricted by range rather than rigidly aligned east/west, tend to be more valuable just because they're so much more flexible.
There are a lot of Quick Time type events in the game, where you have to press a button or move a joystick in a pattern, but thankfully they're generally unimportant or very forgiving. This is a big improvement over _The Stick of Truth_, which also had them, but where they were often important or difficult. It still begs the question of why they're in the game at all, but at least they don't get in the way.
Character progression is mostly about unlocking Artifact Slots. As your character gains levels, you unlocks those, and each artifact you equip adds bonuses to your stats and bonuses to specific effects like knockback damage and health of secondary characters. Much of the game is about finding or crafting better artifacts to replace your existing ones.
Unfortunately, game progression is awfully spotty. Is quite, quite common to get rewards from missions that are obsolete before you get them. But not in an obvious "vendor trash" sort of way, since most of the time it's a series of linear upgrades. It's just that every once in a while you'll find something that's just a little bit behind what you've already found.
Combat is usually not challenging, though their are occasional boss fights that are tougher. If you win, all wounds and deaths are undone, so losing half your team isn't important so long as you are victorious.
There are ton of costume pieces in the game, and you can mix and match head, body, and hand pieces, and customize the colors of all of them. If you want to make something funky that doesn't match any particular set, you can. It's not City of Heroes, of course, but it can still be mildly entertaining if you're into messing with character appearance.
The South Park-ness feels pretty dead on. You're playing with Cartman, Kyle, Stan, Craig, Tweek, Butters, and other characters. Oh, and Kenny, though Kenny is completely unrecognizable as Mysterion, since he speaks clearly. I'm not sure how comprehensible some aspects are to people haven't seen the relevant episodes. If you don't know what "cheesing" is, does it make much sense that Gerald show up in a B17 bomber with the "Heavy Metal" soundtrack playing if you use a Cheese Vial?
While it's a superhero game, the bunch of you aren't actual superheroes, you're 4th graders _playing_ superheroes, so most of your equipment is cardboard, and red Legos are considered "lava." Characters occasionally drop out of character, yelling at Cartman rather than "The Coon."
Except that sometimes it's clear that stuff _is_ happening that's not part of the "let's pretend" superheroes game. Fart-powered time travel, for example, is definitely a real thing in this, and not just pretend. Sometimes the lines get extremely blurry as to what's the game and what's real, and honestly, that's fine. South Park has always been a pretty bizarre place.
Like South Park, the humor's kind of hit and miss. The game pokes fun at a lot of different subjects, and it's often clever and always highly profane, but it also seems to think poop and farts are intrinsically funny because they're poop and farts... which is also pretty South Park. It has a surprisingly nuanced gender system, where you can be trans, hetero, gay, asexual, or what have you. And no matter what you pick, the rednecks "don't take kindly to your type," even if it's utterly straight.
Worth noting, in passing, is Cartman's Journal. Which nasty, and doesn't really fit everything else. Yeah, these 9 year olds swear profusely, and Cartman has always been the biggest jerk of the show, but the Journal depicts drawings of Cartman raping other characters. South Park doesn't _do_ that, and it's pretty clear that the boys have a very limited understanding of sex, despite their vocabulary. Even in this game, part of the plot hinges on Cartman repeatedly dropping the F-word in a context that makes clear he has no idea what he's talking about. Fortunately, once you're past that, it's not something that repeats.
The gameplay isn't great, but it's not terrible either, and the writing has the usual South Park highs and lows, so I'd say it's "cautiously recommended."
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video-games_xbox
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I wasted countless hours on the original two games. I wasted countless hours on the original two games. This is nothing like those games.
Pros:
It's pretty, graphics are epic. Large battles, all the stuff they're using to sell it is spot on. the heroes are a lot of fun. Tying up an AT-AT has been done in nearly every star wars game made since 1990. It's always been the hardest thing ever to do, but this game takes out the spinning in a controlled circle and replaces it with a balancing mini-game. keep the picture of a speeder vertically center in an increasingly small window using the right joystick. Good for me as i was horrible at the classic take down. It's really cool to play the same level with people attacking from the air in x-wings/ties while others are infantry. I will say it's hard to hit people in an aircraft so it's not unbalanced.
Cons:
not for solo players. If you want to improve your character's deck (player ability and gear) you have to earn credits. You can acquire an insignificant amount once doing training, but the game is built for multiplayer. There is no single player campaign (this was true with originals too). I lost interest in this game after playing for about half an hour. Each match, without exaggeration, takes over 5 minutes to load, i'm not sure if its the levels themselves being so large, maybe syncing all 40 players, I can only guess but you spend way too much time waiting on this game to load.
NEW: local splitscreen:
finally, a little bit of what I missed from the original games. It was an add-on feature so it has some issues. Text is impossible to read on my 42inch HDTV, so stats, skill abilities, etc are not legible with two people. Second player has to rejoin after every match, this is annoying. Downside is this doesn't help your character at all either so you're not building up your deck and gear. Again, that is only done with multiplayer.
4 expansions planned. Interesting to see similar levels from the original games and lots of new ones.
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video-games_xbox
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Great Buy. Basically, this has been the greatest accessory I have purchased for my Xbox 360! There are a few things I use (from years of frustration with PS2 and N64 controllers) to judge a controller.
Looks: This thing looks amazing. The greyscale buttons are such a huge plus for me. I will adress the lack of coloration later, but for now I am considering just how nice and beautiful (a term I never use for electronics) this controller is. The color and decision to use greyscale buttons creates a controller that makes my friends jealous and even my friend who doesn't play video games to go "wow!"
Would have liked something other than black at bottom and for play-n-charge but that's just personal finickiness. 9/10
Playability: There are a couple major differences between this and a regular controller that even made me think before I bought it. One, the different sticks. These have little dimples in the middle and rims rather than the traditional smooth cup with the nubs. I love the nubs but they wear off fast and this new design feels even better on my thumbs and allows for precision that won't wear away. Don't let this scare you! Next, the body of the controller has an almost rough-ish texture that allows for much better grip than a regular controller. Even, when your hands are sweaty this controller allows for maximum grip. Finally, yes the buttons are all greyscale instead of colored. Some people have raised issue with this saying that they all look alike....SO WHAT!?! I have been playing Xbox for years and the only time I have ever needed to look and check colors was the lute mini-game in fable..enough said. If you really don't know the buttons without their colors..then definitely go with a regular controller but players with even moderate experience should have no trouble.
Playability: 8.5/10 (sticks have some resistance to get used to and greyscale buttons are tough for newbies)
Durability: I have yet to have any issues with this controller. The grippy surface on the body has yet to wear down AT ALL, which has been a huge surprise to me. I have heard some complaints about the sticks starting to have some "clicky"issues and I think that is part of breaking in the controller. My left stick had that for like 2 days and then went away after heavy usage. Another complaint is that I have heard isolated cases of the rotating d-pad having durability issues. I would say that if you mess around and try to break any part of any controller enough it will do so. The rotating pad is not flimsy as much as it is a moving piece (it rotates to change style) and therefore is subject to break if mistreated. I only switch it occasionally but am very careful when I do so and have had no issues.
Durability: 6/10-9/10 (incomplete..if stick issues arise again this would be a decent hit on the durability rating)
Value: Runs only a bit more than a regular controller (despite being a better product) AND comes with a play-n-charge kit. A great item of 20 dollar value that eliminates need for batteries. 10/10
Overall: 9/10 This is a great controller that I would recommend for any experienced player who wants to have a product that they feel proud about and makes gaming just a bit easier. A chance to have something different that your friends will be jealous of.
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video-games_xbox
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Timeless. Delayed again and again, it seemed as though the first Star Wars role playing game, Knights of the Old Republic, wasn't going to deliver on it's promise; a full fledged, high budget, engrossing Star Wars game that would deliver novel gameplay as well as a gripping, intense story that would raise the conscience of gamer's expectations everywhere.
But when the game was finally released in late 2003, it was apparent after the first hour of play that Canadian super developer Bioware had produced the goods...
Knights of the Old Republic, or KotOR for short, is set more than four thousand years before Anakin Skywalker descended into darkness and became the black cyborg Sith, Darth Vader. As such, Bioware was allowed large amounts of creativity in the story and storytelling of KotOR, though that only becomes apparent as the game progresses. The premise is very simple, and sounds like countless bland and unoriginal Star Wars comics, books, and other games; the galaxy is being ushered into a new age of darkness by Darth Malak, the Dark Lord of the Sith, who has begun crippling the battered and seemingly impotent Old Republic, a precursor to the Republic of the original Star Wars movies that has already been weakened by a previous war with the Mandolorians, a race of super-mercenaries who are nearly as destructive as Malak and his massive Sith armada.
This beginning will cause many new players to think of the game as yet another piece of the largely unoriginal and somewhat mundane Star Wars universe. But the game proves itself to be much more, even in the first hour of gameplay.
After finishing the somewhat in-depth character creation process, you are immediately placed in the middle of the conflict of the main story. The ship that you are on, the Endar Spire, has been boarded by the Sith, who hope to destroy or capture Bastilla Shan, a female Jedi who is gifted with the rare art of Battle Meditation. Bastilla is capable of using the Force to guide and coordinate the actions of allies, and cause enemies to lose the will and ability to fight, making her important to the Republic's war against Malak.
It is apparent in the first skirmish that the gameplay of KotOR is different from most games of it's ilk. Both sticks on the Xbox controller work to move the player around and control the camera, making navigation feel less clumsy and more like an action game. Combat takes place in a quasi-turn based system that emulates the best aspects of real time combat. Foes can be engaged or disengaged at any time, and if the pace becomes too frantic, the combat can be paused and actions 'stacked' to better plan the flow of battle.
Also apparent from the beginning of the game is the non-linearity which gives players the freedom of selecting dialogue choices or actions which will change their path in the story, reflecting their alignment to the dark or light side of the force. This implementation of the biggest aspect of the Star Wars universe changes not only the story, but also gameplay and even the player's appearance, bringing the non-linearity of PC role playing to the console world with style and effect. In retrospect it has been one of the greatest contributors to modern western console role playing game design.
No grand story or unique and fun gameplay can add quite a sense of immersion like a memorable score, and here Bioware's game excels as well. Composed by the award winning Jeremy Soule, KotOR's soundtrack reeks of excellence, from the tranquil meadows of Dantooine to the sinister and excellently brooding theme of the Sith. Bastilla's theme, aside from being one of the more memorable themes in a game in some time, also gives a feeling of great age and romanticism.
The feeling of antiquity is complemented again by the production and art style of KotOR. The game truly feels old, far older than any of the air brushed set designs of of the Star Wars movie prequels, and helps solidify a feeling of authenticity and romantic flair, as well as suspending the player's sense of disbelief. The world and character designs are done well with variety.
And what great characters populate this game: from an old, curmudgeon Jedi to a early version of R2D2, KotOR's characters are unique to themselves, and in the case of one particularly infamous assassin droid, they are some of the best done in any game. Bastilla, one of the main characters in the game, will likely endear herself to male players especially, with her somewhat snobby (but never annoying) banter. Everyone in this game has compelling and different personalities, and will react differently to the player's actions. The cast does their job admirably well in telling the entertaining and twisting story of KotOR, which turns on themes of betrayal, friendship, and eventually, redemption.
All characters - even non player characters - are fully voice acted. Aided by a solid and satisfying script, they carry what is one of the best voice acted games. Humor is witty and genuinely funny, and serious moments are handled with somberness that conveys the necessity of carrying the importance of key moments. From lively banter to simple rudimentary exchanges, hearing as well as reading dialogue in Knights is a joy.
Special consideration must be made to Darth Malak, the main villian of the game. Voiced by Rafael Ferrer, Malak exudes a cool, detached inhumanity and brutality that is not reflected in any Star Wars movie. Lacking the cool disposition and blackness of Darth Vader, and the scheming of the Emperor, Malak exudes a barbarian recklessness that showcases his vile and vicious nature that was needed to solidify his claim as the Master of the Sith at a time when the Sith were many, but only one could rule them. Instead of merely acting and sounding evil, Malak changes the course of the game's story in several important ways, and the biggest surprise of all is his to tell. With a red cape and white skin, he is striking and well designed. While some of his lines and voice can come off sounding cliche', he manages to be a more worthy adversary than any of the prequel movie bad guys, and doesn't sound like he was named from a Saturday morning cartoon villain.
Aside from the memorable characters and main story themes, Knights also captures a grand feeilng of adventure, as the great globe trotting from the previous Star Wars movies has been recreated on a grand scale.
When gamers are not being swept away by the story and the innovative gameplay, they will be enjoying the lore of the Star Wars universe. KotOR not only fills in details of the Sith and Jedi, but also their codas and ancient past. Players who do not know about the Star Wars universe will have an especially great treat while playing - the lore can easily be as fascinating as the main story at times, especially in the instance of a particular planet with a dark history.
Unfortunately, despite all of these accolades, there are some problems. Knights can end up crashing right in the middle of loading levels, causing much frustration and backtracking. Other bugs are numerous, and can distract from the overall game experience. Also, as great as the script of the game is, some dialogue pays unfortunate homage to the corny side of Star Wars, and some voice work - namely a scene or two with Malak - makes too much use of some bad guy cliche's. Finally, the graphics of the game do not take full advantage of the Xbox, and some environments can look bland and unimpressive. These problems are not enough to greatly distract from the game experience, but it does stop Knights from being a perfect game.
With a well told story that touches on the very nature of the beginnings of the Star Wars universe with one of the biggest twists in any game, an innovative gameplay system that is a hybrid of both action and role playing games, and a memorable soundtrack and characters, Knights of the Old Republic is one of the best games made this generation, and finally fulfills the great promise of the Star Wars universe, recreating it's magic and passion in a way that has not been done since The Return of the Jedi. Timeless.
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video-games_xbox
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Don't ever listen to the other reviewers. ==ABOUT THE TRANSITION TO PC==
When this game was released on PC earlier, it had some bugs, but then there were patches people could use to fix them. So WHY DO WE STILL HAVE THESE 1-STAR REVIEWS UP? They are terribly misleading! Besides, if you haven't bought the game yet, you wouldn't have to worry about a thing when you do. While the game does run slow at its default configuration setting (At least, on my computer), just simply lower the resolution to make it run better. You could also set the "Shadow Quality" to low. Then, the game would run nicely, if not with a little bit of lag. See? Why listen to the other reviewers that complain about this amazing port? Plus, the game is cheaper than its other versions. Just be sure to have Steam installed to play it. Yes, there may be some lag, but if you're like me, you could look past it easily.
==THE GAME ITSELF==
It seems like that due to Sonic Colors, Sega's finally taken 3D Sonic games to the right direction. It's further proven with the release of Sonic Generations, a game that takes nearly all of Sonic's history and compacts it into one game, with new levels in those familiar environments! Naturally, we Sonic fans were all hyped. And what's even better is that the final product was no letdown.
Sonic Generations starts you off in the classic Green Hill Zone, re-imagined with entirely new level design, semi-remixed versions of the catchy level music, and brilliant graphical details! Once you start playing, it feels just like the Genesis Sonic games all over again, with the addition of X letting you automatically Spin-Dash (Although the original "Down+A" combination is still there), and...B to crouch ("Down" still present too).
In case you didn't get enough of the game's from-the-start brilliance, there's also the Dreamcast-era Modern Sonic, who, like in Sonic Colors, is complete with Boosting, Homing Attack, etc. He gets his own versions of the background music as well. Since Sega's finally doing it right for 3D Sonic games, playing as Modern Sonic is just fun as it is playing as his old pot-bellied counterpart.
Remember when there were scenes like that giant truck chasing Sonic down a road in Sonic Adventure 2? Sonic racing Metal Sonic? Shadow? How about that time when he ventured through the Sky Sanctuary, and nearly drowned in the pink water from Chemical Plant Zone? You get to relive all of that in this game, and these events fit perfectly with the game's new level layouts (The giant truck can destroy some construction sites, changing those bits of level design for Classic Sonic!).
Of all that Sonic had gone through, though, there are only 9 Zones in Generations, representing games like Sonics 1, 2, 3, Adventure, Adventure 2, Next-Gen (The 2006 game, but thankfully, its Zone, Crisis City is actually a lot of fun here), Unleashed, and, of course, the recent Sonic Colors. You would probably think that the game is as short/long as the Genesis games, and while you could say that, there are lots and lots of challenges and achievements you can do and get, making the replay value grow largely.
Even if you did beat the game by completing its minimal requirements, you can't hide the fact that you have enjoyed the thrill ride throughout, from beginning to end. Happy Birthday, Sonic....
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video-games_xbox
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A huge disappointment. I have been a huge fan of the Halo series ever since the first one came out in 2001. It's had it's ups and downs: I have to admit I wasn't hugely satisfied with Halo 2(the switch to relying on dual-wielding, the lowering of the effectiveness of melee hits and frags, etc. all detracted from the Halo experience, in my opinion, not to mention the cliff-hanger ending), but after purchasing and playing Halo: ODST, even Halo 2 seems like a masterpiece. I just can't believe how much more bang for your buck you got from the other Halo games, and so many of the other fantastic titles on the market right now(MW2, Left 4 Dead 2, Borderlands, etc.) than you get from this one. The only people who will get enough fun out of this game to warrant paying full price are people who never bought Halo 3, because the whole multi-player component here is just Halo 3's multi-player repackaged with the downloadable content and 3 additional maps. It's really two additional new maps, the third is just Midship from Halo 2 retooled. So, Bungie is just adding in things that their fans have already paid for here in order to justify charging full price. The rest of the content here is okay, but pretty thin. A ridiculously short campaign(around 4-6 hours long) is bolstered by a new multi-player mode called Firefight. If you've played the zombies on World at War, or the horde mode on Gears of War 2, then you know what to expect from Firefight: you see how long you and teammates can hold up against wave after wave of enemies. Firefight is fun for a bit, but you can't match-make with it online, so you're limited to playing with friends so it can be hard to get a full foursome together at once, and it really, honestly, gets old pretty quick after initially seeming awesome. So, that's really all there is. If you're one of the two or three action game fans who never purchased Halo 3, this might be a good purchase, though I'd still probably recommend Halo 3 instead because it has a better campaign. Otherwise, you're mainly paying for something you already paid for once here. Compared to the other games that came out during the last 6 months(Batman: Arkham Asylum, Guitar Hero 5, Modern Warfare 2, Borderlands, Left 4 Dead 2, etc.) there are just a whole lot of better ways to spend your money.
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video-games_xbox
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A Step Backward. A note to any official Amazon guys - you might want to merge this review set with the bundle on 360.
Okay. Now, I'm a fan of the franchise. I own a lot of it. All of it, actually, and twice on 360 and PS2 for the immediate predecessor of this installment. So, hopefully you will trust me when I say that I am a fan of the gameplay and the franchise in general in this preface.
It's kind of baffling what's happened with this game. Neversoft has certainly recognized some of the shortcomings of its predecessor, but have somehow managed to not solve even one of those issues, and have, in fact, introduced new problems to be addressed. I'll do this as a sort of point-by-point thing, to keep it organized:
1. Medium-to-Hard. In Guitar Hero 2, the jump from Medium to Hard was only slightly more enjoyable than stepping in front of a speeding bus. The main reason this was such a problem was that the game was very, very poorly designed for getting players over that average-to-hard hump. For one thing, the initial two difficulty settings compel you to adapt your grip on the fretboard to leave your index finger on the green button, pinky on the blue button, and keep each assigned to its place. With the introduction of the orange button, that's no longer really a viable strategy if you want to avoid crippling the weaker side of your hand. Additionally, in 2, upon reaching hard difficulty, the speed of the notes down the fretboard doubled, the fifth button was introduced, and chords and note orders increased in complexity. Those three things were enough to make hard a no-go for a lot of people in principle where a gentler slope would have taken care of that.
In response, Neversoft has tried to reduce the impact of the change in difficulty by making the Medium notes move just about as fast as the Hard difficulty ones. Unfortunately, instead of making the Medium to Hard transition easier (still very difficult because of the whole hand-training thing), it just makes the Easy to Medium transition much more jarring. Hard is still so hard that I barely want to try it at all.
2. Uncomfortable Play - I swear, the designers have put some of these songs together specifically to be painful for me. Seriously - playing Knights of Cydonia I thought I was going to cripple myself. On Medium. These guys really need to get some bad players into the office to see if they're not making something dangerous. I should not find out that I'm bad at a game by giving myself a repetitive motion injury.
3. Guitar Battles - This is a new problem for the single player. Guitar battles in multiplayer might be a good idea. I don't honestly know. Seems more interesting than a score-off to me. Unfortunately, in single player, because of the way the attacks are set up, they're really just an exercise in coin flipping. Some of the attacks are utterly crippling to the computer player while others, in addition to having a large delay before they become effective, essentially have no impact whatsoever. If you get the good attacks while you're trying to play, you'll win. If you don't, you lose. Whether you're any good or not is really not of much relevance. That's bad. Guitar battles in single player, for me, tended toward exercises in frustration at the computer not giving me the tools I needed to succeed and not having any other recourse to win. They need retooling.
4. Cooperative Campaign - This is a wonderful idea. It really is. But what half-brain decided that there should be exclusive tracks squirreled away in it that I cannot get to? That's right - I am totally unable to unlock those tracks, because I cannot play the cooperative campaign online. I'll confess - I'm old. My friends are married and have families. The only time I'm going to have somebody with another guitar at my house is if I throw a party, and I'm not really a party kind of guy. That's not a good reason to keep me from playing frigging Sabotage if I want to. I will grant that they have made the songs themselves available in online coop play, but nothing I do online seems to unlock anything for me to practice (and I SERIOUSLY need to practice Helicopter before I try THAT again). Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I'm going to assume I know what I'm doing.
5. Song List - Guitar Hero 2 was pretty good in this regard. It had a good sampling from a broad spectrum of rock (maybe a little light on new stuff). Guitar Hero 3 seems to be making a point of digging in the dustbins of rock history. It's not that the songs are bad, but many of them are outside of my experience, and that puts me off. I'm a child of the 90s. This game seems to be a schizophrenic effort to appeal to younger people than me and to older people than me. Some of the songs also puzzle me. Kool Thing? Really, guys? I can't even tell what I'm supposed to be doing there. It's barely a song. There's better Sonic Youth. There's a distressing number of songs where the lead guitar is nearly invisible, and that makes it kind of hard to play. The number of master tracks is also disappointingly small, compared to its soon-to-be-released competitor, Rock Band.
Don't get me wrong - the game is fun for what it is, but there's just so much here that could have been done better. Should have, really. I hope Neversoft takes some time on the next installment, puts in a fifth difficulty level (between Normal and Hard), and works out the kinks in their new stuff.
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video-games_xbox
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Ranks Up There with KOTOR. Well I beat this tonight after non-stop gameplay these last several days (I'd say about 20-30 hours of gameplay with side-quest completion). I must say I quite enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who liked KOTOR. They are similar in a lot of aspects, but at the same time gives you a fresh new RPG with many new things to discover.
The side-quests are quite enjoyable and proved to be much more creative and thought out than the "help with this person's problem and then give them money to get back on their feet." The story was also very good and their is a twist similar to the one in KOTOR, but completely caught me off-guard. It really did pull the story together though.
I will give this a little review in the aspects of the game for those interested--
--GAMEPLAY--
Decent gameplay. I'd say the actual progression of character is very cool. As you play and become stronger you get more power to your weapons and styles of fighting. The voice acting is superb and throws you right back into the classic witty KOTOR dialogue we love so much. There is humor, action, and story. The only downfall is there really is no love story. The combat is a little repetetive after awhile but as your weapons are upgraded, the more your enemies are decapitated and spirt blood from their necks, giving the game a kind of Kill Bill aspect. Very cool for those who love the splatter of blood. The characters are also memorable and stick with you throughout the game, each with their own story and purpose in the game. The only hinderence in gameplay is that it sometimes would glitch on itself when you talked to someone and the words didn't come out and then it would freeze up. This probably happened 4 or 5 times throughout my gameplay. Although this could just be an effect of my Xbox getting older.
GAMAEPLAY: 9.0
--GRAPHICS--
Bioware really maxes out on the graphics this time around. I noticed a bunch of improvement in character movement especially, leaving behind the looped and annoying gestures of KOTOR characters. The characters can point you in directions, kneel down, stretch their necks, motion embarassment, hassle you by pointing... the list goes on and on. And the setting is absolutely spectacular. Each place has a completely different feel to it, from the Ancien Dirge Chinese temples to the grassy and welcoming environment of the Two Rivers Martial Arts School.
GRAPHICS: 9.5
--SOUND--
The sound is simply EXCELLENT! The colorful music score done by Jack Wall (JackWall.net) is awesome, always having that rich flavor of the eastern culture. A CD is in the possible works and I will be getting one if it is released. And the sound effects themselves were very well done. Bioware commented that there were over 2000 different sounds created in a recording studio to get all of the sounds perfect. They really outdid themselves on this. Next to KOTOR, this is the best video game score I have ever heard.
SOUND: 10
Overall I would strongly recommend this game to anyone who is thinking about getting it. It's definately worth the money.
Also there are 3 different endings to the game instead of the standard two. One ends on a light note, one ends on a dark note, and one ends on a more compromising but ultimately dark note (perhaps could be called a failing note). I could watch all 3 in one game too, because if you change your pivitol decisions near the end of the game, your alignment can do a 180 on the outcome (including the last few lines of dialgue with the enemy which gives you the third ending).
Anyway really loved the game and would give it a 9.5 overall.
_Max
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video-games_xbox
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Obsedian is out of there mind. I have played the first Knights of the Old Republic and the Sith Lords. I have to say that even though there are more force powers, light sabers and better graphics-that the first game is better than this. The Sith Lords is a great game with one major downfall. Obsidian Entertainment developed this game and they thought it would be "neat" to have absolutely no choice as whether or not the player has to use certain charecters. You are forced to use droids on a number of occasions (including the stupid little probe droid), Mira(3 times), Atton(2 times), and go on 2 missions without the main charecter(which isn't bad at all considering you can still use Vissas and the Handmaiden). Kreia is a completely worthless charcter. She never helps fight opponents and just loves to give force speed all the time which becomes very irritating. Also all the advertising for this game greatly builds up a showdown with Darth Nissis(not sure if I spelled that right-the guy with the clown mask). He is a main figure in all the screen-savers and commercials and on the box. The game makes him seem immensly powerful as he supposedly travels around the galaxy "destroying" entire worlds! But, you do not have to face him alone, which it wouldn't matter if you did because he is as easy to beat as the simplist droid worth 100 XP points. It took me all of a minute and one try to completely anihilate him. Not to mention I did the same to Darth Sion the first time I met him but the game forced me to run away-why?-cause I was about to kill him? This game is lots of fun as long as you get to use a Jedi/Sith-but it does have lots of sketchyness to it as far as story and defeatability. Great game, but whoever makes the third one should re-consider the use of pointless, annoying, and weak charecters. I mean instead of fighting with Mira-I'd just assume let her die, and let the game continue. I wouldn't pay anymore than $35 for it, so let the price drop or buy the first game.
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video-games_xbox
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I'm impressed. Up until now I have never used headphones of any sort with my video game system. I have always used my A/V receiver which was more than sufficient in getting the surround sound that I needed. Even if I had headphones the cord was never long enough to for me to play comfortably.
I finally got the opportunity to try these Sennheiser X320 headsets, and I must say I am very impressed with the sound quality, which has exceeded my expectations.
Set up can tend to be a little tedious and time consuming. You have the headphones with a USB connector to plug into the XBOX, you have another cord that plugs into the USB part of the headphones which either goes out to your TV audio out, or an XBOX audio adapter. In addition there is another wire that plugs into your XBOX controller and then in the volume control section of the headphones. If this sounds confusing, it is the first time you get everything hooked up, but the package thankfully comes with clear illustrated instructions of where to hook everything up. One suggestion is that if you have an XBOX audio adapter (it game with my Elite), it is much easier to hook it up that way then to have to go behind the TV and find the plug. Here is a link to the XBOX audio adapter and it can be used in conjunction with the HDMI cable....<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/HDMI-Audio-Dongle-Adapter-Cable-for-Microsoft-Xbox-360/dp/B003ZDMI7W/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">HDMI + Audio Dongle Adapter & Cable for Microsoft Xbox 360</a> This is the way I hooked mine up and instead of having to disconnect my receiver, I just turn the receiver down when I went to play the game through my headphones. If you play the sound through the headphones and your A/V receiver simultaneously however, you will hear that the sound coming through the headphones is a split second quicker than the HDMI sound. This doesn't affect game play much if you keep one muted while using the other.
With all that aside, lets talk about the sound quality of these headphones. As I stated earlier, the sound quality of these headphones are amazing. While my surround sound system also sounds great, the headphones seem to amplify sounds I could barely here through my home theater due to outside noises, like the dogs barking, dishwasher running, etc. These headphones immerse you into the game like never before and the headphones themselves are so comfortable, you may forget you even have them on. I don't know how they did it but directional sound is also surprisingly good, while I can hear people moving around me with my home theater system with sounds coming from the rear, front or side speakers based on where the sound is coming from in the game, these headphones accomplish exactly the same thing using only two speakers. When someone is behind you, you hear them in the headphones as they are behind you, instead of just hearing sound and not having any idea of where its coming from.
You can also control the game volume directly using the convenient volume control that is location less than an arm's length from you at all times. There is also a bass boost switch on this volume control as well as another volume control for player chat. Instead of having a Mute switch as the standard XBOX 360 headset has, you mute and unmute yourself during game play buy simply moving the microphone up or down to your mouth when you want to talk to other players in the game. This feature always ensures that people will not hear you unless you want them to.
Keep in mind these headphones are not wireless but the cords are long enough for me to use them comfortably in my normal seating position with my TV and XBOX being about 10 - 12 feet away. The cords can become a tripping hazard so bystanders should be mindful of the cords before they walk in front of the TV. The use of wires does eliminate the need for expensive batteries and you will always be ready to use these headphones without having to worry about replacing or recharging batteries.
I absolutely love these headphones and my wife loves them too as she can sleep during my late night gaming sessions and I can still enjoy my games as they were meant to be enjoyed. In fact even during the day, I find myself opting to use the headphones instead of my home theater system.
These are highly recommended for people looking for a headphone solution for their XBOX 360.
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video-games_xbox
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Sadly it lacks in so many areas. I love playing basketball games and have played some of the earlier NBA 2K game, but this one promised to be something special because for the first time I could actually scan myself in and be even more immersed into the game, but 2K really ruined this for me.
The scanning: It is laborious, but if you stick with it eventually you can get a good scan. The game does not take into account head shape or ears so after you get a scan you like you will need to do some fine tuning. Once I got a good scan it was off to work myself up and become a true virtual NBA legend. Or not.
The voice: This is where I stop playing. Shame I've wasted about $30 once I trade this in tonight, but it is what it is. When you enter the game you have only 2 voice options - ghetto and even more ghetto. That's it. Every cut scene you get to see a resemblance of your face talking like you live in and grew up in the ghetto and if the voice wasn't enough to turn you off in just about every cut scene where you interact with your coach you have some snotty ungrateful snide remark to make. Nope! Not for me at all!
I think really it is a preference and for some people the voice overs won't be that big of a deal and I think if 2K actually made it where the voice dialogue was other than rude comments especially when the franchise is giving you a 10 day proving time I might be able to overlook it, but that is not how the game is. Personally I don't like it and I can't get into it.
Gameplay: The gameplay is lack luster, too in my opinion. The menus are difficult to traverse and just know where to go to get started is a fumble. Defense is difficult because your character doesn't move as fluidly or responsive as the player you are guarding. If you are moving left and need to switch to the right there is enough of a delay to allow the person you are guarding to get by you and score.
Offence is not much better. Shooting is hit or miss. I like how they added the shot meter so I know the "sweet spot" when to release the ball on a shot, but there is still a large margin controlled by the computer and it's just random from there. Free throws are anyones guess. No meters no indication of when to release. Repetition will be the only to get good at these.
Now, having said all this about the game play I will concede that I've only trained my player skills a couple of ticks here and there as they cost game money to increase and get expensive fast. The above stated might change once you start getting some skills trained.
Overall it is not a good fit for me as I like to immerse myself into a game and between the voice of my character, rude and obnoxious behavior coupled with clunky and cluttered menus and difficult to master gameplay I cannot recommend this game.
Side note: Once I decided I was over it I gave the game the game to my 13 year old - what 13 year old who loves basketball would NOT get into this. Well it appears my kid. After an hour or so of scanning his face and playing the game he gave it back and said no thanks. When I asked him why all he could say was there are other games I'd rather be playing. I can't say that I blame him.
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video-games_xbox
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A good overall experience, with some frustrating flaws. I am not going to rip the game for a lack of franchise mode like many folks have (it has connected careers, kind of a pseudo franchise mode with limitations). I'd give the game about a 72 out of 100, but rounding up to 4 stars here even though it really deserves 3.5 stars. I personally only play an offline connected career, and that mode has been just fine for my liking. I didn't use the fantasy draft or NCAA import features of previous years; I suppose if I did I would deduct another star.
A few positives about the game: The AI is fairly good, NFL type atmosphere is engrossing enough, I like the new game engine. Player ratings are up to par. Stat tracking in connected careers is solid. Overall a fun experience and I actually feel like this is the real NFL with me at the helm of my team. I even lost a game on a missed FG (by me) at the end, and didn't feel cheated. Kinect support is a nice bonus and allows ease of calling audibles on offense and defense.
As for the negatives: Requires using an online pass (1 yr code comes with game) in order to "unlock" features such as roster updates. Can't edit your own teams and players with enough freedom. Connected careers as a player is lame, as there is no control whatsoever over the team/players in this mode. Roster updates are infrequent and took weeks after game release before the first big update went out. You may be sensing a theme here, the overall negative is that EA is taking more control out of the players hands and forcing people online if they want to get the most out of the game.
Hoping EA will bring back more features and freedom for the customers next year, rather than trying to make an extra buck with the online stuff. Which is a strong possibility given all the negative reviews. All that being said, the game is still fun for me and I would recommend a purchase for die-hard football fans like myself (also keeping in mind, there is no other option!).
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video-games_xbox
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In the heat of the moment. So I play an unhealthy amount of videogames. I tend to go to the gamestore at least once a week. I go through a lot of games in a year and I've been playing since Attari. To be honest I don't finish many games because over the years I have developed very specific tastes that are rarely satisfied. I keep getting new games and I tend to give most everything an even shot.
All that being said, I think I'm going to finish this one. (-)I have to say I think the visuals are pretty basic - the level designs don't seem particularly interesting and I really don't care much for "powers" in this or most any other games. (+) What is great about this game though is the fluidity of the combat. You feel powerful, but not invincible. All of the guns have a solid/real feel to them. The sound quality is good too. When you fire off a round, you're going to feel it.
This game also seems to reward both reckless and calculated approaches to situations. You can pick up an explosive barrel, run into an area and toss it right into the middle of a group of enemies - its really satisfying. You can also pick up melee weapons - thus far all I've found is a hammer and a pick axe and they work great (you can also toss 'em). The melee is great too. In most 1st person shooters (all of the populars) the melee really doesn't feel powerful - but here its just fun to charge a guy and bludgeon him repeatedly. I think there are also baonette upgrades- but that might just be for the rifle. In terms of calculated, there are parts where you can sneak up behind some enemies and take them out quietly, you can also upgrade your rife - with a scope and be all sniper style.
(+) This game also has a central hub where you can pick up and participate in various missions of your choosing, upgrade both your powers (slow down time, block bullets, see interdimensionally, magic bullets)and your guns and look for gold/intelligence reports. What I like most about the game so far is that you can just keep following the star compas and fun stuff happens.(Aside from the short loading screens) The game is really fluid you can run into a house and come out the other side pick up a mission, head through another house find gold, upgrade your stuff, kill nazis,go to a new location, kill nazis, find intelligence,pick up a new gun complete a mission. It never seems to slow down much and you feel empowered the whole way through. Thus far I have not died (normal difficulty) from any of my fire fights.
So there you have it. I've played all the shooters out there for 360 and aside from call of duty 2 - this one is doing it for me more then the rest.
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video-games_xbox
|
Nice looking figure.... Poor build quality. I'm not here to review the game, check Metacritic for that, I'm here to review the special additions that come with this, most notably the 18 inch figure.
Lets get the book out of the way, its good. It show the artwork behind the game. Admittedly, I don't find this game to be that aesthetically pleasing nor are the designs incredible, but it's still interesting none the less. Cool to look at if you are really interested in this game.
The Figure, it looks pretty good. The details are nice and the stance and action look good as well. The lights? Meh, they are ok. Honestly, It looks pretty darn cool.... for a couple days, then the soldiers start to lean more and more until finally super glue is needed to keep them in place. This is my main gripe with the figure. This started only 5 DAYS AFTER I GOT IT! not to mention that the soldiers gun was leaning against the titans leg and the gun ended up getting bent. That's unacceptable in my opinion and just one of the things that shows how poorly put together this is. I have a pretty large collection of figures and dolls, but aside from a bootleg I knowingly bought, this is the worst. Scratch that, the bootleg, for its relatively bad paint job (in comparison to my other figure) it has stayed in the same position without sagging for a while now, and its in a more precarious position. The titan figure didn't last a week. That's.... just lousy. The figure's details, upon closer inspection, are not that great. I know I said they looked nice earlier, but that's when you don't look too closely. Ultimately, it looks plasticky and unconvincing up close up, the details are kinda rough, and its completely hollow. Hollow to the point where is wobbles when moved and feels pretty brittle. The base, which is supposed to look like a road, looks glossy and completely plasticky. A matte finish would have done this figure wonders as it looks too glossy. If you are an avid collector of figures, I would skip this, Its quality is sorely lacking. If you are a fan that wants everything from Titanfall, then you'll probably like it, I mean, it still looks pretty cool.
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video-games_xbox
|
How long til the sequel. I gotta say that this is one of the few games I purchased with the Xbox 360. I didn't read any reviews or check out any trailers or demos. I went into the game expecting a Doom or Halo rip off. The game established itself as a fast paced, duck and cover, third-person shooter.
The graphics in this game are phenomenal. I appreciate all the work that went into the environments, Cog characters, Locusts, vehicles, weapons and the cutscenes. The duck and cover scheme works well and the ability to "roadie run" and dive are also cool features. It would have been nice if you had an actual jump button, particularly during online battles with your friends. I also wish that changing weapons was a little easier and faster. The timed active reload feature is an original idea that I'm glad they kept in multi-player. Aiming your weapons is reminiscent of Ghost Recon. You can't move very fast when you are aiming and firing while not aiming is somewhat inaccurate. You will learn quickly, that you need to use your cover and plan your attacks carefully when completing the campaign. In multiplayer, you will need to learn that run and gun tactics aren't the best strategy unless you've been playing for 12 hours straight. Plenty of the achievements are for the multiplayer and there are a good amount of maps to dominate. The multiplayer adds to the replay value but I wish they HAD copied Halo in some regards. It would have been nice to give you a couple of respawns. The developers wanted to keep the games fast paced. They recently added a king of the hill mode where you do respawn and its pretty cool. It also would have been cool if they had a Capture the Flag game similar to Halo or GRAW. Still, the mutliplayer is great when playing with friends or other hard core gamers.
I don't like to spend much time describing the plot, but I will say that it is good enough to make you want to finish the game and the ending completely sets up a sequel.
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video-games_xbox
|
Multiplayer issues. Pros:
Best graphics of any first person shooter on the 360
Excellent feeling of atmosphere.
Great use of sound positioning (You'll here the footsteps of enemies which is of great use online, rain sound diminishes when going in doors, outdoor and indoor footsteps.)
Sharp texture quality
Immersive single player mission (jaw dropping mission in the midst of a rain storm)
Large multiplayer maps where 70 - 80 % of buildings can be entered.
Detailed multiplayer maps. Multiplayer maps provide plenty of objects for cover.
Buildings of large size. Some are two stories with about 6 rooms.
Multiplayer map design and fighting system force you to find cover and discourages the run and gun style.
Far draw distances.
Cons:
Multiplayer system is full of errors and bugs.
Some lobbies can take 10 to 15 minutes to load.
Once you get into a game the frame rate can drop to 10 to 20 fps.
Cannot choose your own map.
It is taking to long to release the multiplayer patch!
Single player missions can be lost from time to time.
For every 5 games played 3 have significant lag and loading problems.
Too much emphasis on sniper weapon in the multiplayer games.
No sub-options for the multiplayer games. You can only choose what type of the multiplayer you want such as Capture the Flag, Headquarters, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and from there no other options can be set.
Some issues with jumping into windows.
When the multiplayer runs well there is no lag and the frame rate can hit 40 to 60 fps.
True Ranking system seems to be a hidden mystery.
Final words:
I would recommend not buying this game until you here of a solid update that fixes the multiplayer issues. At the same time the multiplayer (when it works well) is more immersive than any other fps that I've played. The mechanics have a feel of Medal of Honor on the Xbox but improved to a degree. The fact that this game only uses 1 of 3 cores and still looks great is a hint of things to come.
Tips:
If you want to win in multiplayer you have to use the Sniper rifle.
Bend down when you enter a building because the enemy will hear your footsteps.
Never stay in one place for too long.
Don't focus too much on what's near you, focus in the distance and in windows of buildings.
Always look behind you frequently.
My Rating:
7.2 out of 10
If multiplayer was improved w/ more options:
8.8 out of 10
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video-games_xbox
|
Attitude Era is worth the . I've bought every game in the Smackdown series, but I wasn't a fan of WWE '12. If you want to know why, then read the rest of this paragraph. If not, skip to the next one. I thought that the different grapple positions and limb target system were EXCELLENT, but the response time of the controls was too slow and robotic (like the old N64 games, which I think are over-rated). Even worse, most of the signature-style animations were gone, replaced with generic versions of clotheslines, spinebusters and other moves. Videogames have gotten to a point where we expect to see characters do things the way that the real-life stars do them, and WWE '12 didn't have that. Overall, the game felt generic and slow.
I was around during the Attitude Era, and I played all of the games from that time while they were new. Playing WWE '13 takes me back. I get to see characters and match-ups from those old games that I used to play, and the developers did a great job of recreating the arenas.
The GOOD:
Attitude Era elements are GREAT (especially HBK's old attire)
Grapple system seems like it's improved a bit since WWE '12. It adds a lot of strategy and control to the game
Opponents are more challenging
The BAD:
The signature-style animations are still nowhere to be found. The developers added A LOT of them to Shut Your Mouth. It seemed like every character had his own way of performing clotheslines, punches, spinebusters etc. I don't know why they took those things out of the game. Almost everyone does the same clothesline and punch. The spinebusters look pathetic. The Undertaker's dive over the top rope is more like a swanton bomb than his actual dive! Performing this dive is actually a requirement during the Attitude Era mode, so I'm not sure how they missed that. (On another note, The Undertaker's victory sequence is still screwed up. THQ must not like 'taker). Almost everyone in the game has The Undertaker's running DDT. Characters don't feel as unique as they used to.
Some character models still suck. Mark Henry is STILL puny. A lot of the characters look blocky (Stone Cold), like WM 2000 and No Mercy character models.
Overall, the graphics have gone downhill. The faces look pretty good, but the skin tones look too much like cartoons. They used to look more realistic. Also, everyone is much more bulky than they are in real life. There's no such thing as "slim" in this game. A few years ago, that wasn't a problem, but it is now.
CONCLUSION:
It's much more fun than WWE '12. I've already finished Attitude Era mode, and I'm sure that I'll continue to play for a while. In my opinion, the biggest issues with the game have to do with the graphics and generic animations. The actual gameplay is pretty solid...possibly the best controls in wrestling game history.
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video-games_xbox
|
Great for the price, but some areas need improving. I pre-ordered these based upon a few online reviews. The headphones actually came in about a week and a half earlier than expected. Thanks, Amazon!
On to the review: The headphones seem very sturdy. Setup was a breeze. Since receiving them, I've had the opportunity to do a few gaming sessions that range from 2-6 hours. They're comfortable around the ears initially, but overtime start to irritate slightly. It may be that either I'm not used to them or the headphones have a "breaking in" period. Either way, it's not all that bad. One bad point is that the headphones don't collapse when worn around the neck. It feels like a neck brace if worn this way.
The sound of these are exceptional. You can easily go from gaming to music listening without a hitch. They aren't surround sound, but given the price point, they're fantastic. Switching audio modes is as simple as hitting a single button. All the volume controls are easily accessible. One thing I wish was that the volume and game/chat wheels were a bit textured instead of smooth.
The reason I knocked off a star (all the other cons would warrant maybe a half star deduction) is that the microphone on these headphones definitely needs work. I need to put the microphone nearly into my mouth and talk a little louder for people to hear me in party chat. If I were to try to use it normally then it sounds like I'm "trying to talk from across the room." I've tried going onto the pdp website to check for a firmware update, but these headphones aren't even listed yet.
Overall, I'd give these headphones 3.5 stars. I rounded up due not having to deal with wires while gaming.
UPDATE: I ended up returning these due to the microphone. Contacted PDP support and they were actually the ones who suggested that I return the headset. I also purchased some another wireless headset from a competitor that costs $50 more. That pair is lighter and pretty much fixes all the points that my above review criticized.
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video-games_xbox
|
Great headset but rather expensive for what it is. This is a great headset for Xbox One. It is lightweight and comfortable to wear. The plastic construction is light but sturdy while top inside part of the headband is adequately cushioned. The ear cups have synthetic leather cusions that is perforated and breathable. The clamping force is rather low as well. I was able to wear the headset comfortably for a 3-hour gaming session without excessive perspiration around my ears.
The headset is wireless in the sense that it is connected by wire to your Xbox One game controller, which is wireless to the console. The headset has a fixed audio cable with a 3.5 mm 4-conductor mini-plug, which goes into the headset audio controller provided. The audio controller is similar to the Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter, which plugged right into the Xbox One game controller. The audio controller has the controls for mute, master volume, game and chat volume. The game and chat volumes can be individually adjusted. Game and chat volumes can be separately adjusted. In addition, the mic boom is detachable. Voice chat is crisp and clear according to my friends who heard me using it during gaming.
Sound quality wise, it is great for gaming. Minute sound and foot steps come through clearly and explosions are impactful. However, the headset is not great for music. Too much booming. I guess it is specifically tuned for gaming.
The COD: Advanced Warfare branding is just branding. Nothing more. The default plates on the ear cups are customizable and can be replaced with new plates with another branding or graphics (sold separately).
Is this a great headset for gaming? Yes. Is it worth the $100 retail price? No. I think it's overpriced. There is no surround sound, no internal amp, no detachable cable. It's just a wired stereo headset with a compatible Xbox One Audio Adapter. You can get the original Xbox One headset cheaper than this. If this headset is sold at a lower price point, I would have given it all the stars. But at $100, there are better-value alternatives out there.
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video-games_xbox
|
Never had a game like this. This is really a game of it's own kind. I have never had a game like this before, and it is so fun. I have the XBox 360 version, and it works just fine. I have never had any problems getting it to run, work, or doing anything with it. The game itself is perfect, haven't even ran into any glitches.
Someone said they didn't like this game because all you do is mate your pets and build houses, and plant. There is so much more to this game than that! Why not tell people what it takes to get pinatas to mate? Before a pinata can mate, first they have to become a resident. You have to meet all the requirements before a pinata will become a resident. After they are a resident, before you can mate them of course you need 2 pinatas of the same kind. Then you have to meet the requirements for mating. Some pinatas might need to eat a certain fruit before they can mate and have a certain thing. Other pinatas might need to eat OTHER PINATAS before they can mate. The mating process is not as easy as what some of these people say it is. You have a process you have to go by, a certain way to do it, and sometimes you might have to do that every single time before they will mate. Some pinatas need to eat a certain fruit before EVERY mate.
It is not just about mating and building houses, even though decorating your garden is really fun! You don't just plant seeds, you plant what you need. You have to meet the reqirements of your pinatas. So if your pinata needs a blueberry then your not going to plant a pumpkin. So it is not just about planting, it is about doing it in the right way to move up in the game. If you plant stuff you don't need at the time, you can just sell it for more money.
It upsets me that someone would call this easy and not entertaining. You don't just mate your pinatas and build houses, then everything is done and that is it. What about the sour pinatas? They come into your garden and ruin things you have done, they make pinatas sick. Then when a pinata is sick a annoying little man will come and break them. Then your pinata is gone forever. The whole process of making more starts all over again.
If you don't do your garden right, or if too many pinatas get broken then your garden will become empty. Animals will leave, and you have to try and attract more. You also have to try and keep them there.
Some pinatas require certain things before they will visit. I made a river in my garden and finally the frogs came to stay, and the ducks. You need a certain amount of water before they can stay. So I made a large amount of water and finally got the water pinatas.
There are a few things you have to do before mating and making residents. You just have to look at a pinatas information and see what you need. It doesn't always work or it takes a long time before they will become a resident.
The garden starts off with a small piece of land. At level 11 it will get bigger. The more you level up it will get bigger. There are a lot of levels to this game. I heard someone say they are up to level 108. Not even sure if that is the last level. It is a forever going game. You progress more and more as you go. You get bigger more better looking pinatas as you level up.
If your not enjoying this game it is because you haven't gotten far enough in the game & you probably haven't figured out exactly how to do it.
When I first played this, I had no idea what to do. Finally, I figured it out. There is a lot you can miss. If you don't do it right then you can not progress and not really enjoy yourself with it. So make sure you KNOW your doing it right and you haven't missed anything before you judge that it is nothing.
It is a very good game, and unlike any I have ever played. Waiting for the DS version to come out Sept. 8th AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!
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video-games_xbox
|
MayFlash F500 built for moding. I like the feel on the joystick Tension Spring feels close to my Sanwa 2014 Silent Joystick - 2 Generation (JLF-TPRG-8AYT-SK) Tension Spring. You can even just buy the Sanwa 2 piece Octagon Restrictor Gate and swap out the MayFlash Restrictor Gate. I got mine for $3.95 from ArcadeShock. The MayFlash Joystick looks good and can change the art work to customize the look. The joystick and buttons are not cheap at all. I really like the buttons and everyone that used the stock button don't even notice. Good size nice amount of palm/risk space for the left hand. There a compartment that hides the USB cord. I mod mine out for a detachable 3ft USB cable. The MAIN THING that I didn't like was the square gate. But this was so easy to change to an Octagon gate. But this is my preference I'm sure there are gamers that use square gate.
The buttons are okay they are not bad at all for stock. I swap them out within days so I don't know how long they will last before they wear out.
Swap them out for Sanwa 30mm and installed 30MM Foam Silencers for Sanwa
The Best thing that I like about the MayFlash F500 is that you can mod out the joystick and buttons with Sanwa part.
The first thing I swap out was the joystick for a Sanwa Silent Joystick 2nd Gen (JLF-TPRG-8AYT-SK) The Sanwa comes with a one piece restrictor gate with a square gate.
I mod out the square gate with a Sanwa Octagonal restrictor gate. I got bought at arcadeshock.com.
Then my next big mod was mod out the Actuator with Kowal 1mm oversize Actuator for Sanwa JLF Series that I got at focusattack.com
I also replaced the tension for Sanwa JLF with a 2lb but I put back the one that came with the Sanwa joystick. For me the 2lb was just to stiff. I just kept on noticing how for me it took more effort and after playing for a while I notice it more and more.
Moding the F500 with Sanwa parts was easy and fun you can also change the graphic cut out for that look that your looking for.
The main thing that was not for me was the square gate but replacing that was easy and cheap.
Below is the link when removed the F500 plate to see what is inside and comparing it to the MayFlash V2
If you like to see me Compare Flash V2 Venom you can see it here [...]
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video-games_xbox
|
Couldn't ask for more. I bought GTA 5 for my PS3 and I'm loving it but the control layout was killing my right hand. My hands are kind of large, and having to reach forward for the R2 & L2 triggers put the PS3 controller so far back in my hand that I couldn't reach back to the "X" button without discomfort in my thumb joint.
So I ordered the Cronus and the Microsoft XBox 360 Wireless Receiver from Gimika yesterday afternoon after researching how to use an XBox 360 controller on a PS3. My order shipped within a few hours and I received it this afternoon.
1st let me say my experience was 99% plug-n-play. Connected the Cronus to the PS3 with a USB extension, connected the receiver to the Cronus, powered on the PS3 with the console button, powered on the XBox controller, then paired it with the receiver. The controller was immediately recognized and I was able to navigate the PS3 menus and launch GTA 5.
After GTA 5 loaded, I had the one and ONLY problem I've experienced - GTA reported that no wireless controller was detected :( I checked and the XBox controller had paired as controller #2, so I quit GTA, powered off the controller, then powered it back on. This time (and every time since) it connected as Controller #1 and GTA sees it with no probs.
As others report, I have experienced NO lag at all. It's no different than using the PS3 controller, except that it's a LOT more comfortable since the XBox controller is sized for adult hands whereas PS3 controller is sized for 6-year old hands ;)
All buttons work exactly as they should right out of the box, the device knows it's connected to a PS3 and an XBox controller and automatically applied the correct mapping. I haven't tried using the mapping software yet but I'm looking forward to that - there are a number of games I've played where I would have given anything to be able to remap controls to my liking the way you can do in any PC game. With the ability to remap every button and store up to 9 profiles onboard, it should be no problem to map the controls however you like for any game.
I was concerned about some of the negative reviews I've seen here, but my experience is 100% positive. Wouldn't hesitate to purchase again!
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video-games_xbox
|
Next generation is not here yet. I returned my Xbox One for the following reasons:
1. Kinect does not work well. When people say it recognizes what you say 75% of the time that is generous, far more like 50% and I am a native English speaker. You basically end up shouting "xbox" over and over in your room which may be the ultimate form of overt advertising to date. It is sluggish in displaying your hand gestures on the screen, and you will use your remote control because its more efficient and accurate. The only discernible thing the Kinect does well now is to power on using a voice command, and recognizing your face. I believe in about a year or so when game developers figure out how to incorporate it well into game play, it will be more useful.
2. Watching TV on your xbox one does not work well. It is much slower than regular cable, not laid out efficiently to browse shows, and like most people, I watch almost all DVR rather than live TV (who watches live TV anymore?) and this system has a hard time getting to your DVR's. I ended up disconnecting this from my cable box pretty quick.
3. Applications do not work well. Is it cool that you can "snap" into internet explorer while playing a game? Yes. Is it cool to have to manually enter your search because Kinect voice is broken? You guessed it, no, it is most definitely not cool. Browsing netflix has also taken a seriously big dive from the xbox 360 or ps3 version; its gone from elegant and sleek to ugly and inefficient. Thats the other big thing I do with my xbox so this was pretty disappointing.
4. Games are not there- look, you are about to drop 700 dollars at least between your controller's, your insurance, etc in order to play games with graphics that are better but frankly not that much better. The only real benefit for games out now is that in BF4 and COD Ghosts you can play with more players. Its just too bad that both of those games are either themselves rush jobs and broken and just plain bad (and believe me I really loved the series).
I am writing this review not because I am trying to hate on the Xbox One- I will certainly get it at some point, its just that I feel the advertising hype is out of control, and there are few places that are telling people that there is just no rush. I currently have a ps3 and a xbox 360. I think they will be relevant for the next year or so for serious gamers. When Titan Fall and Destiny come out, assuming that they are not terrible, there may be incentive to buy these next-gen systems but as it stands, there is just not currently a compelling reason to invest the money. I hope the user interface will improve in the mean time, and that Kinect will be improved upon with some patches. Even if you do not have a game system at all right now, I would say that its still a great time to get an Xbox 360 for like $100 and a bunch of great games for $15 each and have a blast. I hope this helps.
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video-games_xbox
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Beautiful, fast, and easy to pick up. If you are looking for a racing game that is easy to pick up have some quick fun with friends and not worry about in depth tuning than I think this game may be for you. I overall think the game looks amazing. My biggest downfall comes from my preference to sim racers which this game is definitely not. Think of this game as a high budget Hollywood flick. It has all of the styling's of things you want to see but leave you thinking, "that would never happen in real life". Even though I prefer Sim racers over arcade style racers there are plenty of good things Need for Speed Rivals does right.
The game opens with tutorials of both sides of the law (I prefer Cops). These tutorials have you up and driving in minutes with as much info as you need to play the game well. Once you get into the game there are a plethora of activities to take part in and friends to compete against. You might even bump into a friend driving around because the AllDrive system blends Single Player and Multi-Player together. AllDrive, to me, was the best aspect of Need for Speed Rivals. Living worlds seem to be becoming the new hit in terms of playing with people online and this game does it very well. I never felt like the game was over populated while also never feeling like I was ever alone.
I personally would have liked to see more real life simulation in terms of police chases and techniques. There is a lack of real car damage and the small damage you can see seems to be gauged by a meter instead of car performance which is a disappointment but as I stated this is about a quick visual experience with friends. More car tuning and parts options would also have been welcomed.
So if you enjoy a game that is fun and instantly gratifying with lots of big crashes and a forgivable driving style this is definitely a game you want to give a try but if you prefer sim games with a lot of depth you may want to look elsewhere.
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video-games_xbox
|
Better kits elsewhere I'm sure. First off, my 360 is an Elite version and I purchased the EZ model kit (no drilling). The error code I got was an E74 video error. I probably didn't have to bother with the entire RRoD kit but I figured that if the system is open, why not go all out and ensure that the console wouldn't get a RRoD again for other reasons.
If this kit didn't fix my unit I would have given it a 0 stars but even then, Amazon doesn't allow a score of less than 1. I give this kit 2 stars only because it actually did fix my E74 Error and I'm giving the kit a huge benefit of the doubt. I very well may have followed something wrong. Even though I managed to fix my console (with substantial coaxing) I wouldn't recommend this product to my friends.
First problem I had was actually finding the instructions on how to handle this kit. There was a small piece of paper mailed with the kit that had a web address to XBRDepot.com. Once there, there was no link to actually find the instructions I was looking for. I had to do a google search to locate the proper instructions. (It apparently has been updated. Guessing that they fixed it because of excessive complaints of no instructions). The instructions would have actually been pretty decent had I received a kit that made sense with it (also they should have separate instructions for the standard and EZ kit versions instead of combining them into one). In following the instructions exactly with the kit I had, I could not completely fix my RRoD. The washers would rattle because there was so much clearance from the screw heads to the motherboard. This was due to the excessive padding on the "EZ Clamp". Mine had 3 per side unlike in the pictures in the guide which looks to have 1 per side. I decided to remove one from each side and noticed that there were previous motherboard indentations on both of the visible remaining pads which leads me to believe that this clamp had been used before. The added pads were put in place to hide the fact. So I'm using a used clamp... nice.
After adjusting, testing, readjusting, loosening screws, testing... I finally managed to get my system to boot up. Sweet! I reassembled it and set it back into its rightful place on the shelf. Plugged it all back in and RRoD again. Breaking it all down, by the time I managed to have it running inside the case without the RRoD all over again, I had disassembled and reassembled my 360 a half a dozen times or so.
Now my system no longer had the RRoD. Unfortunately a different problem popped up. Fan constantly ran full throttle. It was so loud that I had to crank up the surround to be able to hear. Even then I could still hear the fan kicking. It was to the point where I didn't want to have the system on. What a great fix right? I fixed it just to not want to use it. Anyway after much trial and error, I discovered that in reassembling the case, the screws that held the uniclamp into place were pushing up against the case itself. In screwing the case together and tightening it all up, it probably was warping the motherboard or shifting the heat sinks which would either cause another RRoD or make the fan spin at maximum.
Ok so here is what I did to actually make the kit work as advertised. First (as mentioned before) I removed a pad from each side of the uniclamp. This allowed me to tighten up the screws to the heat sinks a little more to stop the washers from rattling and to have the screws closer to the motherboard and further away from the case. Second, I Drilled extra large holes (larger than the screw heads) in the case to provide recesses for the screw heads (so much for the non-drilling kit). After these 2 modifications and some fine tuning of the uniclamp screws, I managed to rid myself of the RRod and the super fan.
The one positive thing about this kit is that it actually did fix my E74 Error (with excessive modifications). That's all I'll give it. Only time will tell how long this "fix" will last.
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video-games_xbox
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I love this game. I bought the collector's edition when it came out on 2011 and I've been getting the DLCs separately ,but from the moment I started playing it I absolutely loved it, I fell in love with everything in the game, the world is beautiful and well crafted and it feels alive and responsive. The scenery it's breathtaking ,I've never really been in awe with an environment in a game before ,til I played this game. There's literally hundreds of quests to complete ,some of them more interesting or enjoyable than others ,but there's a LOT of them. I'm a fan of the previous Elder Scrolls ,but this I think it's completely improved in every way ,from the gameplay to the level system. However the story isn't as appealing as in the previous games ,but it still decent.
Overall the game accomplishes what it promises ,an epic fantasy experience. I have around 500 hours played ,I played first one way ,then loaded a save and played the other way, I completed about 95% of the game's quests ,all that remains are the generic tasks (from the mages ,companions ,dark brotherhood ,thieves gild ,etc) So basically I completed the whole game including DLCs ,I got all the achievements and reached level 79 (without cheats) so I finally gave it a rest. ,since I've done it all. I got to say all those hours ,are well worth it, this is one of those games that will be remembered for years to come and will set the example for future games. Sure ,I think the only flaw in the game are the bugs ,but given the size of the game it's understandable and it's nothing that can ruin the awesome experience that it offers. Having played it for many hours ,I seriously recommend it ,not only for it's value and quality but for the overall experience. I payed about $200 total with the Collector's edition and the DLCs (And very well worth it) So now that can be bought complete for just $40 bucks it's a steal! so don't think about it and just buy the game today ,you won't regret it. Enjoy.
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video-games_xbox
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Good game ... But . This installment of POP has many things going for it, and then it has a few that aren't as good.
Like most others, I could also go on and on about the scenic vistas and the top notch graphics. The game's a great platformer but combat is ... well different.
Many people go on about how its impossible to die because Elika, the protagonist's magic-enabled companion pulls him back (literally) from the threshold of death every time he's on the verge of dying. But when this happens, the enemy's life replenishes a bit as well. In most other games, players keep on dying and reloading the fight till they execute a near flawless sequence in which the enemy's life bar wears out before the players. In this too, one would have to do that to defeat the bosses in boss battles - execute a near flawless sequence in which you deplete the enemy's life faster than they can regenerate it. In theory, the same thing but cuts out the frustration of reloading the combat sequence from the beginning and repeated cinematic cutbacks - Just continuous fighting till you're done. The bosses also change states quite often in which only certain types of attacks work and bring them back to normal. When fighting the corrupted soldiers, one trick that usually works is to push them against a wall or to the edge - they get killed regardless of how much life they have left ... and the game goes on. The combat sequences depend a lot on timely deflections which allow the players to strike back without getting knocked down ... unless of course, the player's return assault is also deflected.
The game seems to be inclined more towards its platforming than combat. I missed the variety of traps/mazes/puzzles from Sands of Time. The story is good .... not the best yet though. And at one point, gameplay does feel a little repetitive. One fairly irritating element is the conversation between the sometimes overly cocky 'Prince' and Elika. The icon keeps on appearing and you have to keep clicking the LT for short snippets of conversation.
The whole game has one very nice and slightly haunting musical refrain with pipes joining in at the crescendo which goes very well with the game. Seems a little short though ...
Overall, a good game, but would rather see the next installment move towards a Sands of Time type game while retaining features like continuous combat, superb graphics and the gorgeous, expansive landscapes.
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video-games_xbox
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The most rigged engine I've ever played on. I got this game thinking, "Awesome, I loved Monopoly as a kid, and now I can play with my friends online or alone without having to bother anyone to play with me." My first game I played with one other person and two computers - one on easy, one on medium. We got to about turn 30 by the time it was apparent that the game was rigged. My player 2 had two sets of monopolies with houses right next to each other, and the coms always sped right through them or snuck through them by landing on chance or community chest (which, by the way, they almost always got money from. Meanwhile, three times in a row, I got an educational tax.) This happened three or four times in a row. The coms never seemed to have a problem landing on their own spaces, or on the spaces of other coms, but landing on a human player's space happened next to never. They also rolled doubles very, very often, but never three times in a row, which would land them in jail. But if the humans rolled doubles once, they rolled them three times almost without fail.
Other things other than the coms that were troubling are the community chest and chance, as mentioned above. (The players very rarely got money from it, got the same cards several times in a row, etc.) There's also the usual EA "buy our DLC" pitch to buy boards other than the Classic and Streets board. If I'm going to pay roughly $40 bucks for a game like this, and then be told I can only use 2 boards and I have to buy more? It feels like I'm playing a "lite" version of a free app on my phone.
And of course, there are no "house rules," such as "you don't have to buy or auction off a square when you land on it." I grew up not auctioning off squares. If you didn't want to buy it, you didn't buy it. In this game, you buy it, or it's put up for auction. Of course, this may have just been a product of my parents introducing the game to me at an early age and not wanting to make things more complicated than they were, but the fact that the rules are always very set and there's no "house rules" (or custom games, if you will) is a feature that really should have been implemented. Who knows, maybe EA will make it more DLC.
Overall, I think this is a game designed to make people angry. More angry than actual Monopoly due to the engine. I don't understand why a game not made for a casino would be built with an engine that would try it's hardest to make the player lose rather than relying on an engine that was based around real chance the way many other games do. You'd be better off buying a real Monopoly board and bugging your friends to play it with you when they visit.
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video-games_xbox
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Color accuracy issues. Long story short: the red is really an orange. Blue is not as bright as it looks in pics, in person, and in the ordering process, although I selected a bevy of colors, the preview image for the order was black for all controllers, which is always disconcerting as a consumer, because of concerns that the wrong color has been ordered.
The controller skins also fit inconsistently. Namely, one controller skin fits snugly, whereas one is somewhat snug, one is loose, and I haven't tested the last one. This defeats the purpose of buying identical skins so that people won't fight over the "good controllers".
Long story long:
I bought a Steam link, four Steam controllers, and four Foamy Lizard controller skins. I specifically ordered a single brand of skins to ensure that nobody fights over getting a "good" controller like it's the 90s all over again.
I ordered this specific skin in blue, red, green, and pink. As many gamers know, red, blue, and green are, for various historic reasons, the stereotypical controller/player colors in games. In a standard local co-op/vs/split screen/shared screen/whatever game, the assigned player colors will include red, blue, and green, with another color (sometimes yellow, white, black, etc.) as the last color.
Because the red controller skin isn't actually red, that messes things up for my group for local co-op play.
The reason this affects my rating is because I specifically chose the colors I picked so that I could easily refer to characters by the controller color of the person controlling a given character. Most of my friends don't game, so I got a Steam link and four controllers with four different colors. This way, if we play, say, Party Panic, I can assign the person with the green controller a green character, person with the blue controllers a blue character, etc., and they can more easily see which character they are on screen.
In reality, here is what the colors look like:
Red: this looks like a neon orange in the package, and for many people, it'll be hard to tell the difference between this and the pink. On the controller, it looks darker and a bit redder, but it's still more of an orange to me.
Blue: disappointingly, this is non-neon. This is a deep royal blue verging on navy.
Green: nearly neon-ish lime green. I wish this was a brighter color.
Pink: neon hot pink with no blue or orange undertones. The picture shows this color as having blue undertones, close to a lavender, but this is NOT blue or purple toned in any way. It's your standard bright hot pink, highlighter pink.
My issues with the colors:
The red is an orange. It is shown in official materials as ranging from orangey red to a deep neutral red, but this controller skin is firmly orange.
Colors look neon in the stock photos but only the pink is neon. Because silicone can be somewhat translucent, the colors of the controllers with skins on will be different than the colors of the skins before they're put on the controllers. Color of controller skins doesn't match the color the skins in their packaging, but I'm probably being picky about this, so that doesn't affect my rating.
Finally, to top it all off, the controller skins do not fit the controllers consistently. I'm not sure if it's color related, but...
The pink skin is best, lying perfectly against the controller, with no issues with the front center silicone piece coming up, with the skin lying flat around the battery hatch latch area.
Green is second best, fitting like pink but coming up around the battery hatch latch area.
Red/orange is third best, with the middle flap lying down halfway flat, battery latch area lying pretty flat but not entirely flat.
Worst fit is the blue skin, which doesn't lay flat on the hatch area or on the middle section.
This has now caused another problem, because the point of getting four controllers + four identical skins that only differ in terms of color is to have a set of controllers with no obvious" best" controller, but now, for once, I guess people will be fighting over the pink controller, because it's got the best fit of all the controllers.
I've never had this issue with game controller skins before. I haven't reviewed any on this account, but, with my PS2, Gamecube, Wii, etc. controllers, I've always found that controller skins, stickers, decals, etc. from a single manufacturer's single line...
- have a consistent "fit"
- have a consistent aesthetic (e.g. all neon, all jewel tone, all matte, all glossy, whatever)
- look pretty close to how they look in the stock photo listing
And that just isn't true for this item.
Please note that there are visible seams on the controller skins. It doesn't bother me, but if you are not okay with that kinda thing, this may not be the controller set up for you.
When I have all four of my controllers, I'll upload a pic of what the controllers as a set look like in their skins.
I'm not returning this set because at minimum, they cover the controllers, give them a grippier feel, and give them a color. They just could do it better.
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video-games_xbox
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BatMan. The last few years have actually seen comic books stretch into the video game world as more then just movie tie ins for the first time in a long time. Ultimate Allaince, Spider-Man Web of Shadows, and now Arkham Asylum. Even though I am personally biased towards the spider,I have to admit this game has beaten his best.
While some games have tried to go linear and others sandbox, this game mixes the two fairly well with a large world to explore and almost no load times. Yep, you may slow down for a second or two when opening a door to a new area, but thats it. No bars. Some of the cutscenes are used to hide the fact that they are loading, but even those can be skipped after the initial few seconds. Areas will be seperated into west east and north, and within those areas are several buildings each, giving you plenty to look at.
Now that you have this big open place to wonder through, who are you going to see?Everyone of the classic villians are either seen heard or mentioned. THAT is one of the problems with most major character games. Not that you don't often get a decent or amazing roster, but that the roster makes no sense. They seem thrown at you randomly, cutting into your main story and then disappearing. With Asylum, you are treated to a wide assortment of classic villians with reason-do I have to spell it out, ASYLUM. If setting isn't enough, the plot behind the game is well scripted and manages to bring out all of the villians in an order that flows with the plot, not cutting into it for a brief moment. The only problem is that quite a few of the boss fights seem cut and pasted from previous boss battles, and you don't actually fight a particular one, you more accurately get interrupted by him for a good ten minutes. And all of the interruptions are the same, until the last few moments of that encounter. The good fights are some of the more original encounters in any game of this type. Take the good with the bad I guess.
Besides boss fights you are going to run into a lot of the Joker's henchmen, and combat is pretty simple-Punch dodge stun batarang. As you play you should be able to pick the generasl idea up fast, but getting your combo to go above twenty takes a bit of practice, and once you nail it down you may be simply dodging punching and stunning peple over and over, but you'll enjoy it. Now that you've got the basics, buy some upgrades and break some arms and ankles(if your wondering, yes, it is violent, but nobody screams in agony and I never really hear a snap).Or throw them into each other like a pro wrestler-I was expecting a judo toss, but hey, it does work, and work well.
Another form of combat is the stealth tactics that you will have to employ, but if you aren't a big stealth fan, you can still blow things up or hit people with batarangs. It isn't all peaking around corners or dropping down from the sky. Take someone out, Joker will inform the rest of his men, and they will search the room for the fallen comrade, so you are forced to work fast and clean, making you think about how to go about it. If you mess up, you die by a million bullets. But don't worry, you get a nice cutscene of a villian mocking your dead body and then get to try again. Its a nice touch.
One of the best things that this game has is its graphics. Flowing capes, moody areas, trees that look like trees. But besides the major elements, the developers included a lot of tiny details. Pictures of Killer croc in research labs, the heavy breathing of knocked out opponents, BatMan slowly growing stubble. If you look closely at a lot of areas you will see things start to change slowly throughout the entire game, and you will see a lot of movement. Water, generators, dead leaves falling to the ground. Minor gripes is how stiff BatMan is(he walks like his spine is a metal pole) and, well thats actually all I have to gripe about, at least graphics wise.
If your going to get this, do realize it is not an amazingly long game-I beat it in about a week, others have beat it in three days. But you can still roam around collecting all the things you need to collect, play the chalenge mode which offers plenty of scenarios, or just play it again. I'm about to go through it again, and I'm sure I'll pop it in now and then simply because it was a lot of fun. It could have been a long drawn out repetitive game, but its short and sweet, and I think that whats there is well worth the price. Oh, and its got the same voice actors from the great animated series for Bats, Joker, and Harley-can you say score? I thought so.
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video-games_xbox
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as close to perfect as they come. have you played diablo? did you like it? have you ever played a first person shooter? did you like it? if you answered yes to any of these questions you'll love borderlands. for all intents and purposes borderlands is an rpg like diablo or morrowind only with a fps interface and gun setup. there are 4 different character classes to choose from. the hunter for snipers and critical hit lovers. the berserker for people who want to tank out with lots of life and rocket launchers. the siren, chic who's highly proficient with elemental weapons and the ability to turn invisible for a while causing massive splash damage upon return. the soldier for assault rifles and mostly support and healing. and despite there being only 4 characters it's really easy to find one you like. i myself never took a shine to the hunter or berserker but the soldier and the siren are tons of fun for me.as you level up you gain skillpoints to better your character, and with the level cap currently at 50 it means you have to pick and choose your skills. which is great it means no two soldiers will play exactly the same.
it's cell shaded which normally i don't like but the western feel of the game and the style of humor makes it work. it's right for it to be cell shaded. the game has a great sense of humor and while the story is pretty slim it gets the job done of dropping you on a not so alien world. what makes the story work is that your characters goals are the same as yours as a player. to gather as much loot and money as possible while increasing their own power in the process. a game where the stated objective is to level up and pillage does not need to make excuses for why your doing it.
if i had to make some complaints about it i'd say the weapon system is a little odd. because more or less all the weapons in the game are randomly generated on the spot your chances of finding a super weapon for your specific class are just as random. and the special brand of alien weapons are really infrequent finds so raising your proficiency with them to make them usable is very difficult.
up to 4 player co-op drop in drop out style is how the game is meant to be played, it can get a little bit boring by yourself so make sure you get your friends to buy a copy too. but i couldn't recomend a game more highly, everyone who plays video games should own this game.
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video-games_xbox
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Fantastic Port. Shipping from Amazon.
I had issues receiving my first copy - Informed Amazon and they Next Day shipped my replacement copy. Thank you Amazon. Absolutely perfect service.
Xbox Port -
I am amazed at the 60 frames the xbox can pull off at almost all times while playing this as this is a relatively pretty game *though, cartoonish for a reason to not put a strain on the Xbox*
The controls feel natural and its definitely easy to get used to.
The inventory is a little IFFY and a bit annoying to use, but it is a decent way of executing it. It is better in single player mode as it pauses the background, not leaving you defenseless, unlike multiplayer - As it takes up your entire screen. If you play 4 player co-op on same console, be prepared for alot of frustration as everyone takes up entire screen - ONE at a time while checking inventory. *And you check your inventory ALOT*
4 Players on screen/same system co-op multiplayer? Come on, no games even do this anymore to the exception of borderlands and a couple others as of recently. This is an incredible feature that I feel isn't emphasized enough, especially if you have skeptical friends and they want to try it out with you.
Additional DIFFICULTY settings ONTOP of Normal, Nightmare, Hell, Inferno *there is a Easy, Medium, Hard and Master settings as well*
Gameplay Mechanics -
The dodge roll mechanic is a WELCOMED changed as I felt on the PC that the melee characters were often dying a signficantly larger amount of times than ranged, to the point where it just felt not fair. This rolling mechanic in my eyes, brings it to about an even level now as Its very easy to avoid the wind-up attacks from the enemies.
The item loot change is also a VERY welcomed change as it feels that the loot that drops is almost always relevant to the class I am currently playing. I have had 4 legendaries drop in my first 30 levels and EACH was for my class, which was an absolutely amazing feeling in my gut. You know the feeling.
Sound/Audio -
The sounds and music is just as you expect from the Diablo series, very passive and eerie.
Recommendation -
Get it. Its worth every penny. ALSO! No auction house. This adds alot to what the PC took away, including that "OMG I GOT A NEW AWESOME ITEM" feeling that I missed so much because the auction house took alot of that feeling away because id look at my awesome new item, look at the auction house and see SO MANY better items I could have gotten... I know its probably something I did to myself, but the fact that it happened cannot be denied.
You will easily spend 60 - 200+ hours on this game, especially if you are a completionist or an ALTist and like to have multiple characters.
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video-games_xbox
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Eh. When I first received this product, everything worked fine! However over the course of about 10 months of gaming, problems started to occur. I don't know if it was my lack of care for the product, but after 11 months or so, the product just completely stopped working.
While the batteries themselves never had real problems (besides how long they'd last, but I didn't consider this a problem until later), the station did. Here are some of the problems I ran into over the course of owning this rechargeable station:
- The cable provided (the one that plugs into the wall, providing power) had a copper lining in the part that needed to be inserted into the station, and it fell out its place! Could have been fixed, of course, but I took the easy route and used the part of my PSP charger that plugs into the wall as my replacement cable. It worked fine after that!
- One side of the charging station half way through my use just completely broke. The little copper (or whatever it is) part that is used for securing the batteries' charge just came loose (I honestly don't remember what happened).
- This wasn't a big problem in the beginning, but eventually the overall battery life given from a FULL 3 DAYS charge would only last a full 2 hours of gaming. Became beyond annoying. This whole problem might have happened in the beginning, but since I had two fully operational sides before this time, I had plenty of charging going on - simply didn't notice it, I guess. Also, the fact I started using a PSP charger part instead of the provided cable could have contributed to this problem.
- Finally, one day the entire station wouldn't charge anything. Lights didn't turn on at all, nothing. Towards this product's last month of existence, it was a gaming hell (had to go back to normal batteries)!
While the product worked fine for a while, its life span wasn't what I expected. It might've just been my particular model, PLUS the lack of care for it (I may have been rough putting the batteries in place and plugging in the main cable, but I doubt that was the root of my issues provided above), either way, this product WAS great.
So, just know that this charging station is a little less than adequate when it comes to performance over time. I recommend it, but barely. Who knows, you could easily have a better experience with it than I did. xD
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video-games_xbox
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This might not be a 5 star game but its definitely not a 1. I do not typically write reviews but it seems that this game is getting bashed hard. I have had a chance to play it for about 15+ hrs and I have to say that Im enjoying the experience. I wanted to list some of the beefs that I see. (Multiplayer only, I do not care about the campaign)
1. Kicks you off of servers: I agree that it does randomly kick you off of servers at the START of a quick match but in the 30+ matches I have been in it has only done it 3 times, and was able to get me on a new server in 35 seconds. Hell, I have waited longer to get a full party on BO2 so it does not bother me. I have never had it freeze or kick me during a game. (4 star)
2. Graphics: There seems to be some texture glitches here and there but it has not distracted me from the game play. As others have posted it doesnt set any visual records but I can clearly see who Im shooting at. I have laughed a few times at watching someone die then get blown off the screen violently landing 40ft away. (3.5 star)
3. Teaming up with friends: I agree 100% that sucks. My hope is that this will be patched to make it more convenient in the future. Very few of my friends have the game so far so I haven't had the chance anyway. Most of the teams I have been spawned on have done well and worked together, but I also agree with other comments that it seems like people do not talk as much so it makes it difficult to work together. That might be more of a community problem than the game itself. (1.5 star)
4. Game play: I think all FPS suffer from some level of inconsistencies in the gunplay. Yes there is lag from time to time, and moments that you should have won that gun battle, but it has never been enough that I turned the counsel off. I have definitely had these moments with BO2 and Halo 4 but seems to occur less with Battlefield. Could it be better, sure, but until everyone has enough hard drive space and perfect internet service there is always going to be issues with multiplayer. (4 star)
5. Destruction: I wish everything could be blown up and come down, but alas there are still some things that will stand forever. The level of destruction is good and I assume that we don't have the ability to make a perfect physics engine for a $60 game with complete variability. With levelution the building in Shanghai always falls the same way and the debris is identical. In the storm the ship always hits the same building. It would be nice if that could have some randomness to it but again I don't think this make the game a 1 star. If they could have it change consistently it would be a 5 star game. (3.5 star)
6. Maps: No beef here. Multiple entry points, large scale, good variety. Whats to complain about? (5 star)
So in conclusion is this the most polished game that could have come out no, but is it a good time, hell yes.
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video-games_xbox
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A glorified GTA ripoff. Just Cause is a strange game. It's rated "M": not intended for anyone under 17. But the only people who will really enjoy this game have to have the IQ of a 5th grader.
The physics in this game are just plain silly. You can jump your character from a 100 mph truck to a vehicle passing the opposite direction no problem. You can jump out of an airplane, land on another airplane and hold on. You can grapple onto a helicopter, grab its tailfin, and jump into the cockpit.
The story and dialogue were also written for the lowest common denominator (or perhaps by the lowest common denominator). The goal of the game is to overthrow a dictator by (basically) creating chaos: including destroying power stations, police stations, and by assisinations. In these post 9-11 days, it seems like you're doing little more than terrorizing a small island nation; culminating in (a ridiculous airborne) assasination of its leader.
The game's side missions are tedious and after playing for a while, you basically see the same mission over and over again. After overthrowing a government settlement so many times - it just gets old.
It's not all bad. The vast geography is really amazing. If you parachute out of a plane, you can get a good view and watch as it seamlessly gets closer and closer until you open your chute. For the most part, the weather remains sunny; but rain is interspersed (poorly) throughout the game. The playable map is very very large. You could probably play on it for months without seeing everything there is to see.
Finally, the actual gameplay is pretty bland. If you've ever played GTA, you know how to play this game - point in the direction of the badguys and your character automatically aims. Vehicle operation is almost idential to GTA as well (though flying planes has been made much easier). The game tries to innovate by including a grappling hook that allows you to latch onto vehicles. This can be a useful tool at times; but it really doesn't add much to the overall gameplay; especially when you can call in a vehicle airdrop just about any time.
If you're a die-hard fan of the GTA series, this title will tide you over until the release of GTA 4. Otherwise, this game is a renter at best.
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video-games_xbox
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Hulk Smashes Like Never Before. This is one impressive action game. Believe the hype, Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction lives up to it.
I purchased the X-Box version because I assumed it would have the best graphics out of the three systems. I don't know if it really does, but I'm quite satisfied with them. To put it simply, things blow up real good. And they sound good blowing up, too.
This game reminds me of War of the Monsters for the PS2. Players of both games will notice great similarities in the action. Both games allow you to destroy nearly everything around you. Unlike War of the Monsters, the areas in Hulk UD are vast, even if there are only two (not counting the church and the military base interior).
The number of moves and abilities the Hulk has at his disposal are staggering. Many of them must be purchased with aptly-named Smash Points in order to be used. Part of the fun is destroying objects and defeating enemy units to rack up enough Smash Points to buy the next ability, which makes Hulk even more effective in action.
As the story progresses the enemies become more dangerous. Tanks get tougher, aircraft get faster, and robots get bigger. But the player has the option to "free roam" instead of advancing the plot. This allows the collection of more Smash Points to better prepare for the next mission. There's lots of freedom in the game, which I love. Did I mention the VAST areas?
Smash Points aren't the only things to collect. There are 60 hidden comic book icons to find which will unlock different items in the main menu. These items consist of video clips about the making of the game, art sketches, Hulk comic book covers, gameplay alterations, and different costumes for Hulk (one lets you play as Mr. Fixit); all nice bonuses.
As if all this weren't enough, the game delivers a solid story, too. For those who don't notice, the voice of Emil Blonsky is the same guy who does the voice of Slade in the cartoon Teen Titans.
It would have been nice to face down more of Hulk's super-powered enemies besides Abomination and Mercy. I would have loved to fight the Leader, or the U-Foes. I guess that's what sequels are for.
I couldn't stop playing Hulk UD until I reached the end. Even then I had more unlockable items to acquire. This is the perfect game for Hulk fans, and a good one for everyone else.
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video-games_xbox
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Fun game, but Computer has unfair advantages. This game is standard Madden. It has the monopoly on the Football franchise in video games. I've been playing the Madden games through the years and each game continues to have the same problems. For instance, holding calls against your team that you have no control over are irritating. Also, Computer AI on your side is garbage. If I'm running the ball and I have a lead blocker, that lead blocker will run in front of me for a sec and then avoid blocking the defensive player 9 times out of 10.
Passing plays are the same, butter finger receivers even if they are Megatron or Fitzgerald. Almost every pass that is not directly on the mark is intercepted by the defense. The defense intercepts balls so easily that it's a wonder how such good hands wouldn't be on the offensive side of the ball. Interceptions are so frequent that I decided to run the ball only and only throw screen passes. Of course doing this makes it difficult to win, but at least it's not impossible. I could be playing Tom Brady from the Patriots vs the Oakland Raiders defense and they will have 5 interceptions! It's like the receivers are not interested in catching the ball and the defenders can catch a ball ten feet in the air even if they are linebacker.
Madden has always had problems with the levels of difficulty. Usually, the games are way too hard or way too easy, but at least they were still fun. The computer has such unfair advantages that it makes the game not even remotely enjoyable. With so many previous versions to use as a point of reference it's hard to believe that any game developer could mess it up. It seems like the developers took what worked on previous additions and removed them, and then doubled down on the irritating things that everyone hates. Why on earth would you rename Franchise Mode "Connected Careers?" Is it to automatically confuse everyone? I bet the vast majority of first time Madden 13 players spent at least an hour trying to find Franchise Mode.
It's hard to believe that with all the technilogical advances and all the previous games to references these developers managed to create the worst Madden of all time. I would rather play Madden 95 on Sega Genesis.
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video-games_xbox
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Not the Silent Hill I remember. Homecoming is a good horror game, just not a good Silent Hill game. This little jewel does not stand out from the plethora of other horror titles like Resident Evil or The Suffering. In fact, in many places I felt like I was playing The Suffering instead of Silent Hill. It pains me to say, but there will never be another Silent Hill 1 or 2 again. I think the old school Silent Hill fans like me will just have to wait until some genius dreams up another physiological horror title that will be more powerful than the fear the original Silent Hills instilled in us.
Rest assured, though, that this is in no way a bad game. With an American team building upon a Japanese horror concept, this game plays like a toned down version of The Suffering. You have extremely violent creatures coming after you in this game, and Alex Shepard, the man you control, to dispose of them acts just as violently. A simple combo system of three fast attacks and one slow strong attack is what you will be doing throughout the whole game. In addition to this easy system, you must dodge the attacks of your enemies, especially if they are bigger than you, until you are able to attack them from the side or from behind. I always thought that if the other Silent Hills were lacking something in their combat, it was this. I'm actually glad of it.
Other than that, there is really nothing new about this game. Shepard's Glen, a town neighboring Silent Hill, is being swallowed up by fog and the streets are infested with creatures as the evil of Silent Hill spreads. An idea borrowed from Silent Hill 3 and The Room. Alex Shepard returns home to visit his family in Shepard's Glen to find only his mother in a catatonic state and his father and brother missing. The story that unravels as he searches for them in both Shepard's Glen and Silent Hill is rather disturbing. The other characters you meet, especially the four founders of Shepard's Glen, are completely insane, having all broken a sacred vow with certain demonic deities. Their actions and behavior remain completely inexplicable to the player probably up until you play through the game a second time and have a better idea of what's going on. This is good, since I don't like answers being spelled out for you. It's a good story, but it is not as emotional as in other Silent Hill games. You want to know what's going on, but you are not as intimately involved with the character as players were with James Sunderland or Harry.
Atmosphere is important in a Silent Hill game and the lack of creativity as you explore this world is disappointing. Much like Origins, the world of Silent Hill just seems so bland. What I mean is that whenever you walked into a building in the first games, you saw many personal belongings of the people who once inhabited the town. Each apartment left behind the personality of the person who had lived there, the bar you had to walk through still had an unfinished game of cards on the table or empty beer bottles lying around. In this game, it's like the people just packed their things and left instead of mysteriously vanishing and what we explore is empty rooms. Boring, right? Even the prison cells of Silent Hill 2 had articles of its previous inhabitants lying around. Learning a little something about the lives of all these missing people in a town now overrun by monstrosities did not just have a haunting effect, but it brought the town to life and gave it a personality.
I don't remember so many big open areas to explore in Silent Hill. Call me claustrophobic, but narrow alleyways and hallways creates a real sense of helplessness, having little space to run or move when you know something will be coming out of the darkness soon.
And the flashlight in this game is so weak it's almost not worth having. I like to turn down the brightness of a horror game. So it's nice to have a flashlight that illuminates things nicely, whether it be a bed, a wall, the floor in front of you or that creature standing in the corner. That was a huge highlight in the first few games.
Still, Homecoming delivers a worthy experience for anybody who is into the horror genre, especially at the beginning of the game that somebody at Team Silent did a good job with.
I loved the music.
And the alternate realities that Alex transverses through can be mind bending.
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video-games_xbox
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This should have been RE6. If you were disappointed by Resident Evil 6, Revelations almost makes up for that abomination. This game practically does an about face from RE6's heavily action oriented quasi-CoD style favoring a more familiar and slower paced Resident Evil feel. There are even moments early on where it flirts with its 'survival horror' roots offering the player little to no ammo for fire arms.
Eventually the game opens up and swings back towards the newer RE's as it hands you OP weapons and power ups. Its still fun, but some people obviously have a problem with the more recent action run and gun REs. Honestly, it does take away from the game a little, but not enough to be a major turn off like RE6 turned out to be (for me anyway).
The campaign story is roughly 1/2 the game. The other 1/2 is an RE Mercenaries style arcade mode that cuts up the venues of the campaign into bite size levels to complete. It is all about running through levels mowing down monsters and collecting power-ups to assist the player with the more challenging stages and harder difficulties. These can be played co-op on-line. Its actually a lot of fun! And there's a lot of content. 20 levels, 3 difficulties (that change the enemy population significantly), and 1 marathon all-access stage. I easily sunk more time into this mode than the campaign I finished twice.
My favorite aspect about this game is the absurd story. The 'revelations' part of the title is in respect to a conspiracy the plot revolves around. In a western sense, conspiracy as a plot device is all about mystery and suspicion. Often times these conspiracies are wacky. But Resident Evil Revelations attains a level of wackiness that only the Japanese can reach. The twists and turns in this game are goofy and way over the top. There are several characters in this game that go from friend, to foe, to friend again, then to ???? for seemingly almost no reason.
I absolutely recommend Revelations
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video-games_xbox
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Not Worth the Money. DRM is not a reason to not buy this game. secrom can be disabled in the services management tool in control panel. The reason not to buy this game buggy as hell, bad multiplayer and horrible AI.
First up bugs: Units such as hammer tanks nano-cores have many issues from not attacking to being unable to deploy or use special ability. The game slows down at least once in each campaign in the case of the soviet campaign this makes the soviet side very difficult to finish to the end. In the case of allied and Empire campaigns you have to skip a couple of briefings and debriefings if you do not want the game to slow to a crawl. Bad video from unwatchable to blurry and i have a 7800gt 512mb.
second Multiplayer: Gamespy enough said!!
Third AI: Unless you set the AI option very low the game will play it's self on normal and easy settings. Very little strategy involved in this game muchless tactics. This game was designed little kids to play it at best If you put the game on hard it is like playing Red alert 2 on easy. Build up about 20 tanks and rush the enemy base with your 20 tanks and you win yay!! Or in the case of this game build up 20 amphibious units and rush the enemy base. This game offer little on defense and even less on offense when it comes to strategy. Here is a great way to beat every mission have your co-commander defend one of the two entry ways to your base then build up 20 tanks then have your co-commander attack the enemy base after your co-commander s units have engaged the enemy base defenses send in your 20 tanks to clean up the enemy base and you have won the mission and you are praised as the next savior of the Empire, free world or soviet republic yay for you!!
This game is not even worth the $30.00 worth of gift certificates i had won and used to buy the game from amazon.com it is not even worth $10.00 save your money and wait til the game drops to under $10.00 you will only have to wait a month or two from the date of this review. Soon it will be like Bio-Shock where you can buy it for under $10.00 here on amazon.com. I doubt there will be a expansion for this crap game but if there is it will have to be 10 times better than Kane's Wrath because this game is 20 times worse than Kane's wrath.
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video-games_xbox
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It's evolutionary, not revolutionary. A quality sequel with more of the same. I loved the first Left 4 Dead (L4D) game. I discovered it about 6 months later than the rest of the world, but I was hooked. The fast-paced co-op gameplay has provided me some of my favorite and most memorable multi-player moments. Left 4 Dead 2 is basically more of the same with incremental improvements, a few new features, and a generally improved experience. Since I never liked the competitive modes on the first L4D game and doubt that I'll play the competitive modes on L4D2, I'll keep my review focused on the single-player and co-op campaign modes.
PROS:
+++ Fast-paced gameplay
+++ Intense and frantic battles that can feel overwhelming
+++ Huge emphasis on co-op
+++ Five campaigns
+++ Dynamic enemy placement switches the action up so you get a slightly different experience each time you play the different campaigns.
CONS:
--- Computer controlled AI teammates are about as sharp as a bag of wet hammers.
--- The XBox 360 offers only 4 types of control scheme, but none of them seem to offer me the flexibility I desire.
NOTABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN L4D and L4D2:
+++ Added new melee weapons
+++ Added a new variety of weapons, including fun toys like grenade launchers.
+++ Added several new special infected such as the Charger, Spitter, and Jockey
+++ Common infected are much more colorful and diverse in design
+++ Dismemberment and more detailed death animations result in more gore and chunks than the original game.
+++ Improved sense of character development and story
+++ Mission objectives have been more fleshed out, going beyond the first game's "Get to the extraction point and wait" concept.
+++ Daytime levels
--- Fewer lull moments. There is almost ALWAYS an attack imminent, which kind of kills the suspense.
GAMEPLAY: The basic premise is that you play one of four different survivors attempting to fight their way to safety during the zombie apocalypse. Essentially you blast thousands of zombies into ever-loving bits as you fight and run for your life. The new game brings some new mission objectives, which adds a subtle but noticeable bit of depth to the game. Instead of waiting for a helicopter or boat to come pick you up after 5 or 6 intense minutes of fighting for your life, you might be expected to find a bunch of gas cans to fill up a car. No matter what you do, success will require teamwork.
The new special infected are a nice addition to the mix. Jockeys that jump on you and ride you around, Chargers that pin you against walls or the ground and beat you to a bloody pulp, and Spitters that spray acid and explode into nasty bubbling pools of acid force you to adapt your strategies more quickly. Tanks and Witches are still tough, and the Smokers, Boomers, and Hunters are still around to make life hell as well. The common infected are more diverse and interesting. My favorite are the hazmat suit infected, which make a cool little depressurizing noise when killed which makes me smile every time.
GRAPHICS: For the most part, the graphics are very similar but improved in many subtle ways. Shadows seem to be smoother and more accurate, levels have more color, and there is generally more detail to seen. Enemy death animations have been noticeably improved with more dismemberment and more detailed models. For example, shoot a zombie in the chest with a high powered rifle or magnum handgun and the creature will have a neat little hole you can look through. Subtle, but still noteworthy.
PRESENTATION: With only a few (very minor) exceptions, I would argue the presentation for L4D2 is much improved over the original. The environments feel more diverse, taking you from bright and colorful New Orleans outdoor scenes to dank and ominous indoor settings. Many of the dark indoor settings are much more open, which is much spookier since your flashlight isn't as effective in large, open areas. The characters are far more interesting and have some interesting and humorous pre-scripted conversations. The redneck character, Ellis, is definitely my favorite since he says some really funny stuff followed closely by Coach. All in all, a step forward.
SINGLE-PLAYER: Single-player mode is ok, but you'll be dealing with the game's biggest flaw: frustratingly stupid AI teammates. Do you feel like sniping zombies from a distance? Have fun with that because at least one of your teammates will invariably park themselves right in front of you so they can absorb your bullets. They heal you when you don't want healed and constantly give you pills, which suddenly means your gun isn't in your hands. They fall off ledges and have trouble keeping up in general, especially if you go up some stairs. Apparently they forgot that Rule #1 is Cardio. If I were stuck in a real zombie apocalypse and these were the only living people I ran across, I'd leave them for dead.
CO-OP MULTI-PLAYER: As far as I'm concerned, cooperative multi-player is where it is at. I love it. Three or four players working together with good strategy can be a devastating zombie grinding machine. This is where the game truly shines and where I spend almost all of my time with the game.
COMPETITIVE MULTI-PLAYER: I never really liked the competitive modes in the original and I really don't expect to spend any time playing them in L4D2. It isn't a judgment against the game itself, but more representative of the fact that I prefer co-op games so much more.
Whether or not you should buy the game depends on several factors:
- If you never played the first game but enjoy co-op FPS games, I highly recommend the game.
- If you enjoyed the first game and couldn't get enough of it and crave some more, this is a must buy.
- If you played the first game to death and are bored of it now, you might consider renting L4D2 first because it is essentially more of the same with a fresh coat of paint and a few new features.
Overall, this is an enjoyable game that improves on the original in many ways as long as you have other people to play it with. As far as sequels go, the changes are evolutionary instead of revolutionary. None of the changes are all that major, but they are noticeable. In fact, I look back on the original and now realize how much was missing in the original design.
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video-games_xbox
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A Fun Game, Although Graphical Performance Could Have Been Better. I played this first on a PS4, and then once again on another PS4 after about half a year to a year, and I was hooked instantly - gritty, Orc killing as well as a dark setting? I'm in. After my last experience with it last weekend, I was hooked once again and ordered it. Delivery was right on time with 2 day shipping from Prime, which was great.
The game itself is fun, but it has some... problems.
I'll go over Audio first, Gameplay second, and Video last.
Audio - 8/10. It's been delightful - the voices are great (although I heard that on the 360 version the enemy has fewer taunts), and the soundtrack is spot on. The reason it loses a few points is simple - the lip sync is... terrible - sometimes the mouth on the orc/uruk doesn't even move when they speak, and every now and then while draining an enemy unit, their scream gets about twice as loud, which causes a strange experience - swords and other death screams are a good volume, but when you drain a unit, be ready for it to get loud pretty quickly.
Gameplay - 10/10. The gameplay is basically the same with the fun hack and slash and block and execution (although it's slightly irking that you have to complete the entire ground execution sequence without interruption in order to actually kill the enemy). Basically no change from my experience with the game on the PS4, which is great.
Video - 5-6/10. I was fully prepared for the textures to take a hit, however I was a tad disappointed that the video quality took a larger hit than I initially expected. Characters are not rendered at as high of a resolution as the next-gen systems (expected), and textures of objects sometimes take a bit to load (anywhere between 2-10 seconds, but I had read about this so I was prepared, so it didn't take away from the overall enjoyment of the game). What REALLY dropped the video score down for me is the fact that the FPS is not constant - on the PS4 it stays at a smooth 30 fps, which creates a fun and fluid experience. However, on the 360, even after updating, the FPS constantly changes - in the middle of fights or in open spaces when you can really see the surrounding area, it drops quite heavily, most likely by my estimation to 17 or 18 at the lowest. The average fps I would want to say is somewhere between 20 and 25, which takes away from the overall fluidity of movement and gameplay. This was by far the biggest disappointment for me - I can take low resolution textures as well as late texture loading (screen tearing was not really observed, so no mention here), but when a game isn't smooth it really takes away from the fun of it.
If I didn't know that the 360 was capable of better graphics and performance, then I would have accepted it, but as it is, with my gameplay of Destiny as well as GTA 5, I know that the 360 port could have looked and performed better.
TL;DR Audio was great 8/10, gameplay is great 10/10, Video could have been smoother and better looking, 5-6/10.
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video-games_xbox
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Great single player but multiplayer has problems. I spent many a night playing the first dead space and even played the ones on Wii so I was looking forward to this release for a long time. I started off playing the single player so that I could get a feel for the game and so far (I'm only at chapter 4) the single player game is really good. Great graphics, scary "feel" to the game and the controls are nearly the same as the first dead space. I'm fairly impressed by the single player so far. However, having said the good, now here comes the bad. I was very excited that the game would have a multiplayer portion to it but it fails horribly. I thought Left 4 Dead 2 had issues online but this is ridiculous. I have tried upwards of 20 times to connect and have yet to even join a lobby. All I keep getting is "failed to join." The game started off with so much promise in single player but I wouldn't even classify the multiplayer as even beta ready. Horrible HORRIBLE connection issues. So overall, if you buy the game with the sole intention of playing offline, then yes its AWESOME, but otherwise, be prepared for frustration.
Update:
I finally finished the game earlier today. The single player campaign is well written all the way through and is a lot of fun right up until the end. I won't include any spoilers other than when the game prompts you to insert disc two, don't assume your halfway done like I did because your not. However, my main reason for writing this review is about the multiplayer. I was able to finally play online after about an hours worth of failed attempts. I was excited to be able to play the "infected" thinking it would be like Left 4 Dead 2 but I was disappointed. Playing the "infected is a lot of fun however, the multiplayer is so fast passed, you don't really have time to coordinate with other players and plan a strategy. Playing as the survivors is fun though as you try to to fight your opponents. Each match is two turns long with both teams switch "infected" to "survivors" and vice versa. You level up in the game much like Modern Warfare and you can change your load out after a few levels to different weapons and armor so that was cool. HOWEVER...you'll spend about as much time in the lobby as you will playing and due to the fast pace of the matches and horrible connection status of the online portion, I'm forced to still give the online portion 3 out of 5 stars but single player gets 4.8 out of 5. I hope this review helps. Have fun all.
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video-games_xbox
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Mixed reviews. I wanted to like them, really . First off let me just say, some of the issues I had are my own fault in terms of lack of research. The other issues are of the actual headphones.
PROS
- sound quality is decent. Not incredible but above average compared to similar models from other manufactures.
- comfort
- ease of use. The ability to plug them in and have them fire up automatically is fantastic.
- The mic is flawless. Great sound quality and friends were able to hear me perfectly. My old pair of Tritton AX Pros had me yelling into the mic all the time.
- the M80 amp is not bad (see the cons). The ability to adjust all the settings without even looking down at the controller was great.
CONS
- The M80 amp. The amount of crackle and pop that it produced was inexcusable. I tried it on 3 controllers and still got the same results. The pop was so bad it would hit my ears like a jack hammer, causing you to rip off the headset and wait for it to stop.
- Lack of 7.1 surround. This is my fault. I should have done the research and not assumed Astros staple product line, the A40 would have at least had 5.1 or 7.1 surround. If you want to convert them to 7.1 be ready to spend $130 on the mix amp. You'll be north of $330 when you're said and done. Also throw in another $25 for the Xbox adapter since the M80 is worthless.
- The 3 preset audio modes. I couldn't find a happy medium between "Pro" and "Astro". One was more sharp but not a lot of bass. The other was dull and moderate bass. For them not being a "powered" speaker I guess that is to be expected.
Case In point. I returned them after a solid week of use. They aren't bad if you don't care about the immersion 7.1 surround brings and the crackle and pop. I bought the A50s instead. The sound quality (different drivers than the A40), the 7.1 surround, the mic (while not detachable, who cares) quality is great, is a much better deal.
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video-games_xbox
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Yet another promising product ruined by a dishonest business. Let me first explain the 1 star. I meant to review this product as a set of 30 classic games - many with updated graphics and control schemes. Instead Microsoft decided to use this as another leg in their anti-consumer campaign to prematurely force everyone to "go digital" by making the game mostly non-functional without Internet access. This set is supposed to include 30 classic games, and while it technically might, the best ones are inaccessible from the disc.
Yeah, yeah, I know "we all have to get used to it because that's the way things are going". If that was all this was I'd be less inclined to complain, but this is not things naturally taking their course. This is a calculated move to force people into this scheme before it makes sense, and amounts to false advertising on Microsoft's part.
Why do I say this? I don't connect my XBOX One to the Internet because Microsoft has granted themselves an unreasonable amount of control over my device when it's connected to XBOX Live and given me no other choice to opt out. This is the first game I've purchased that requires you to go online to use most of it.
The game comes as a series of separate installs (very similar to the way Killer Instinct: Combo Breaker Pack does). The base "Rare Replay" software contains about the first 15 titles built-in. These are pretty much just the 8-bit and N64 games that weren't ported to XBLA. Most of these can be played without going online. The bulk of the games I really wanted this collection for - Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, and Perfect Dark, are all straight-up XBLA games. The games install just fine without being connected to the Internet, and apparently run as well. The intro and attract mode will play, but as soon as you hit "Start" you're stuck because the game is looking for an XBOX 360 profile - which you won't have unless you go online. Unlike a real XBOX 360, you can't create a profile offline, and there is no default profile and no option to run without saving. It forces you to go online to download an XBOX 360 profile - there are no other options.
The other games I was looking forward to - Blast Corps. and Conker's Bad Fur Day, the non-XBLA games, are similarly locked behind a message that says Rare Replay must be updated to access them. Though functionally it makes no difference, I assume this means the games aren't actually on the Disc.
There's no reason other than criminal disrespect for customers that they would have failed to make this a self-contained collection. As it is, it's not collectible because eventually XBOX Live for XBOX One will be old and get shut down and these discs will no longer provide access to half of the titles they claim to.
Shame on you Rare. Shame on you Microsoft.
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video-games_xbox
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Comfortable, loud, and the mic works great. I originally purchased the Polk 4 Shot, but their mic does not work very well and no patch is in sight. So I swapped mine for a pair of these Turtle Beach XO Seven's and they work fantastic! In fact, they are a little bit louder and more comfortable that the 4 Shot. I also like the braided cable that runs between the headphones and the controller more than the flimsy plastic cord on the Polk.
It's not even close, if you are still on the fence go with the XO Seven. If you bought the 4 Shot, return them ASAP before your return policy runs out and pick up these bad boys. You can't go wrong with this headset!
=== Update 3/25/14 ===
After pre-ordering the 4 Shot, returning them because of the mic issue, trading for the XO7, returning them because Polk said they would ship a boom mic as temporary fix, and then buying the 4 Shot for a second time... I returned the 4 Shot yet again. Why? Because I was simply disappointed with the glorified stereo and no real surround sound. When I pre-ordered the 4 Shot last year I never imagined that they would not have 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. Combine that with the overall low volume and I knew I just couldn't keep either the Polk's or the TB's.
The fact that Xbone has gone backwards in so many regards is extremely frustrating and deserves it's own thread, but taking such a huge step backwards in audio quality was the last straw for me. So I kicked in the extra $100 and pulled the trigger on the Astro A40. I have been wanting these since I first tried them out at the COD XP event down in LA back in 2011. So I have been eyeballing these bad boys for some time now.
So how are they?
They fricken rock! Easily the most comfortable headset I have ever owned and the sound is amazing! There was a noticeable difference compared to both the 4Shot and the XO7 as soon as I started navigating the dashboard. As for playing Titanfall, it was like a whole new game as I could hear things coming from their proper directions as well as awesome sound overall. And the volume levels.... BAM! Both the 4Shot and XO7 have such weak volume compared to these cans! That's expected of course since they are only receiving their power/volume from the controller but the power of the mixamp is even louder than my old Tritton Black Ops headset.
I also think there is measurable benefit to the true surround sound as my overall K/D made a significant turn upward over the course of the night. I don't recall any specific instance where I heard a directional sound that helped me get a kill, but it must be working as my numbers were positive all night. They weren't out of this world stats, but at least they didn't suck either.
So are the Astro A40's worth the extra $100 over the 4Shot and XO7? Without a doubt, yes by a mile! The reality is that both the 4Shot and XO7 should be priced in the $80 dollar range as the $159 is a rip off IMHO. The only downside to the A40's are the cables I have to lay across the floor, but that's a small price to pay for such awesome sound. On the positive side, they plug into the Xbone via USB for power instead of having to plug an adapter into an outlet like I did with my Trittons.
So it took me the three different returns to GameStop, but the fourth time was a charm. The Astro A40's are the bomb and I'm keeping them. Good luck to the rest of you on your audio quest and I hope you find the headset you like best.
Final score - I have downgraded the XO7 to 3 stars as the A40s deserve a 5.
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video-games_xbox
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Love the Console, Titanfall was a Let-Down. I was very excited for Titanfall, especially given all of the hype; I mean it does have mechs and freerunning. I was was even willing to overlook the fact that the game is online only. However the game is far less satisfying than the internet would suggest.
If you want to get an Xbox One, this is the best deal I foresee until September (there will definitely be a Destiny-Bundle). I am still very satisfied with the Xbox (Smartglass App on my iPod is a huge plus). The apps and speed of the Xbox One are great, I love finally owning a Blu-Ray as well as an internet-enabled device in my living room (about time!). I am also really excited for all of the great games coming out this year: Elder Scrolls Online, Destiny, Watch_Dogs, and Batman: Arkham Knight.
However, Titanfall will not be on my list. I love Halo and even liked Call of Duty for a while, but Titanfall will not match the legacies of either of those franchises. Titanfall II, whenever that comes out, WILL BE FANTASTIC. I say this because Microsoft and EA will put way more effort into a sequel. This game however is just so bland. The first four matches were a ton of fun... and then I realized that there was no depth or strategy to the game. No customization is alright with me, but without an emblem or custom colors, or really even unique loadouts, you really don't feel like your "Pilot" contributes anything special. Combat is really repetitive. Basically you run and gun and earn a Titan and then run and gun and then eject and then repeat. The concept is really cool, it just feels incomplete.
What really compelled me to write this review was all of the people actually complaining about the game via the in-game chat. I have had multiple conversations during the game with complete strangers about our disappointment, which is widespread and underrepresented online, which I confounded by. I don't understand the people who have played more than a few days of this game, unfortunately, I really want to like it and continue to play, but only because I want to get a certain scope on my rifle.
Also, I was initially okay with the in-game bots, but then I realized; of my 40 kills in a match, only 5 were actual players. There are *so* many bots that I lose track of actual players and my "victory" is basically null. The game is definitely user-friendly and not nearly as unforgiving as Call of Duty. Perhaps I miss the complications of C4 and Claymores, Killstreaks, etc. Maybe I miss the frantic chaos of Banshees, Warthogs, and Scorpions.
I think that is what Titanfall amounts to for me: a Halo without a compelling universe or striking visuals. A Halo without the charm of needless accessories, without the joy of a Warthog. A COD without the satisfaction of good sniping or tactical Killstreak usage. The loadouts add no variety, the Titans (while cool) really are just giant Pilots that cant jump. Not enough variety.
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video-games_xbox
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Good Game (when approached with an open mind. There are better RPGs on the market out there but so few are released each year that I tend to pick up some games that I have never heard of before - like Two Worlds. Usually I grab them for way under the list price from online sources so I don't care if they're bad since I can re-sell them later.
Anyway, after about 20 hours of play all I can really complain about in a meaningful way is that the text in your journal bleeds off the screen and that the text in your 'backpack' is too small to read. I can't decide if the dialogue was meant to be so odd or if this is some translator's joke on all of us who play. . . Prithee.
The learning curve is fairly steep and there doesn't seem to be a great deal of material out there to help you. This can be, at times, maddening. I have to say though that the completely open character design and the ability to regress and alter skills settings are pretty cool. There's no character class to select and no specific skill set that you loop yourself into. You're just the main character and can pick up skills at random to suit your playing style. Want to be a great fighter with weak magic skills - OK. Want to be a top flight wizard who can wield a sword - OK. Decided that you don't like the direction your character is headed? Just drop by a city for a regression, part with some hard earned gold and presto chango.
A few things that I really like:
- Unlimited skill combinations
- The ability to take like weapons/armor and combine them
- The open alchemy skill and the fact that ingredients are everywhere
- The set levels of NPCs and monsters, i.e. a wolf is a wolf is a wolf
- Big open map
- Spell effects impact the drawn environment
- Non-linear gameplay
A few things that have bugged me so far:
- The dialogue, I mean who speaketh thusly?
- Horse riding-improving your skill doesn't seem to change anything
- Mounted combat-there's no point because you can't strike low enough
- Hard to read journal/log
- Controls take a while to adjust to
Everything is on par with many other titles. No, not the big giant franchise titles with thousands of hours of programming and cult followings, but the other titles that hit the 360 as new. Most of all, the game is fun and that's all I am looking for. The controls could be easier, the dialogue better, and the main story somewhat richer but that would just make it more intriguing and not necessarily any more fun.
I hear that they're making another game and I will probably pick that one up too. It can't be any worse than Two Worlds and, if they've made any money at all, probably better. If you don't expect this to be Morrowind or Oblivion and stop comparing games from upstart companies to long-established franchise games you might actually have some fun.
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video-games_xbox
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Making the Movie Obsolete. I had been following the development of LA Noire for almost two years before it's release. The revolutionary facial imagery sounded cool, and the realistic recreation of a late 40's LA sounded cool. The only thing was I wasn't sure I would like how it played. Two years later and almost 20 hours in, all my fears have been set aside. This is an incredible game.
The story in LA Noire puts most movies to shame. The dialogue is so sharp that I had to check and make sure that I wasn't watching a movie. There are only a literal handful of character that I have ever cared about in any game that I have ever played. One was Jonh Marston, and another is the main character in LA Noire, Cole Phelps. I won't spoil it, but much later in the game, Cole changes squads for certain reasons. I knew it was coming, but after it happened, as I was playing I felt the appropriate emotion an hour later. YOu'll know what I mean when you get there, I promise; powerful stuff.
I don't need to say too much about the graphics; they're a game changer. From now on, this is the standard that all facial animations will be measured against. The voice acting is flawless; half the time I feel like I'm watching the never made sequel to LA Confidential it is so good. The music in this game is amazing, so much so that this will be the first modern game soundtrack that I purchase. To put it in perspective, after having played a game for a while and getting a feel for the music, I will play one of the many albums I have ripped to my 360;The with LA Noire I will actually stop playing the game for a second just so I can furhter enjoy the music. It is that good.
The game also controls very well. Unlike Red Dead Redemption, which I love, I didn't find myself running into doorways every five minutes. The on foot chase scenes are exhilerating, and I never had to worry about getting caught on a door jam. It would have been nice if everyone that you chased wasn't trackstar fast, but then I relized that you need to be creative with how you chase them. Cut the perp off, and you've got them. The driving sections are probably my least favorite sections in the game, but only becasue I suck at driving. Thankfull, no matter how badly you drive, as long as you stay with them, eventually the criminals will be stopped, and you can take them in penalty free. The gun play is fun and easy. Some people might complain that maybe it is too easy, but why does everything have to be hard? If you really want a challenge, than the next section is for you.
The investigation portion of LA Noire is my favorite part of the game. At the start of every case, you have to scour the crime scene for clues that will help lead you to suspect, and eventually the culprit. Once you find the suspect, you have to question them, and the amount of evidence, and how you use it will dictate how successfull you will be while questioning them. Thankfully, the game helps you out here as well. While investigating, music will play in the background. When you pass over a clue, you will hear a deep chime, and your controller will shake. Once you have found that clue, when you pass over it you will hear a softer chime letting you know. You will never need to be afraid that you didn't look in the right place for clues because if you go too far, the music stops, letting you know that there is nothing of interest in that direction.
Once you gather the evidence, and get a suspect, it is time to question them. You will ask them a question and have to decide whether or not they are telling the truth. You will have to watch the suspects carefully: are they looking from side to side, are they blinking more than they had been, or are they looking you dead in your eyes without wavering? You will be given three options: Truth if you believe them, Doubt if you don't but can't prove that they are lying, or Lie if you know they are lying and have the evidence to prove it. If you just can't figure someone out, then use your intuition points to help eliminate the wrong options. There is no better feeling than catching a scumbag in a lie, and having the evidence to nail him to the wall.
You will work cases in 4 different divisions: Traffic, Homicide, Vice, and Arson, all of them with different partners, and characters. The cases never get stale, and the suspense never lets up. There are mini games, but the game never forces them on you. There are 40 street crimes that you can undetake whenever asked, each one of them unique. You are not penalized in any way for ignoring them, but if you do complete them, you get experience points that count toward getting you more intuition points. You can also search the city for awesome hidden vehicles which are much better than your default car, or city landmarks which give you points for finding them.
If you heard that this was a rockstar game and were expecting Grand Theft Auto 1940's, then you will be disappointed. You can't go on killing sprees because you are a police detective. This is not a call of duty game, meaning that it is not wall to wall action. The pace is slower, more methodical and deliberate. If you allow it, you will get lost in the world of LA Noire and love every minute. A masterpiece and an absolute buy.
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video-games_xbox
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An old school rpg with enough "new" in it to make it worthwhile. In an era where big dawg developer companies give us shorter games, limited offer dlc, and 2 page black and white instruction manuals Divinity 2 DKS comes along on a silver chariot pulled by the two mighty steeds Larian and Atlus to prove "chivalry" is not dead in the industry. Even before you get into the game itself you're treated to a soundtrack cd and a fully colored bi-lingual instruction manual. Indeed after head honcho Swen Vincke sincerely thanks you for your purchase and showers praise upon his team in a heart felt introduction letter you may feel as if you are having a delirious hallucination. Then when you are promised 100 hours of rpg goodness for 39.99 your head will reel with the possibility that you have fallen into an alternate dimension through a worm hole. Well, rest assured Divinity 2 Dragon Knight Saga is as "real" as it gets!
I've heard some gamers describe this as being "good filler" to occupy time until Skyrim releases but to me that seems to discredit just how worthy Divinity 2 DKS truly is. While it is true some things in DKS remind me of Oblivion, Fable, and Dragon age it's chalked full of many nuances that make it completely unique as well. Sure, you can kick chickens, learn to mix herbs, roam around in an open world, and enchant your gear with special charms but these familiar things are a very miniscule portion of the greater experience.
The first aspect that surprised me in a positive way was how streamline the controls were. Spells, items, and attacks can be assigned to the Y, X, A, and B in any combination you want. You can also allocate additional things to your directional pad. Pressing LB will allow you to open doors, snag goodies, climb ladders, and talk to npcs whereas the RT makes you jump and can also set up a graceful dodge roll if you press a direction on the right analogue stick at the same time. In addition you can go into an inventory screen where everything is easy to find. If you get lost it's easy to mark something on your map which gives you a blue arrow to follow while indicating your own location with a red arrow.
Unlike other rpgs which restrict your hero Divinity 2 is very liberal. Though you may choose your gender and class from the beginning nothing actually bars you from the ranger, slayer, wizard, warrior, and priest skill trees. You can mix and match to your heart's content!
Yet Divinity 2 is no cakewalk. You have no magic sparkling pixie trails or brightly glowing items to tip you off. The game will be cruel if you do not take the time to look around. Likewise if you fail to save often enemies will kill you once they get into better organized bands with "healers" and "shamans" to buff their archers and fighters. Losing 3 hours of progress due to careless negligence can be a cumbersome drag!
At first Divinity 2 may come off as a bland action rpg . Yes, you can eventually turn into a dragon to partake in epic aerial dog fights with floating sky citadels. Yes, you do get an awesome "battle tower" that makes Bruce Wayne's "Bat cave" seem as if it is a dingy cheap hotel room by comparison. Yes, later on you can collect body parts from your enemies to make a patchwork monstrosity which will fight loyally by your side. Problem is this isn't until about 15 or so hours into the game.
Yet the exploration between the points of being a nave adventurer and becoming an epic protagonist are so well crafted with so many diverse side quests and lively encounters you are not going to care if certain things about DKS smack as being "rudimentary". This is "good fantasy" at its' finest. The loot hunting, absurd or foreboding conversations, and visceral combat act as a euphoric drug that incites that "Just one more hour!" response.
Perhaps the most interesting mechanic towards the beginning of the game is the ability to "mind read". By spending a small boon of experience points you can decipher people's thoughts during chat sessions. This can range from being mildly amusing to very helpful. Certain whispery contemplations will reveal the locations of important items, teach you a new alphabet, boost certain attributes, or even cue you in on secret pass words that are essential to your quest.
When you finally "do" take to the skies being a dragon will be awkward initially. Each battle citadel has towers that either fire out powerful blasts or spawn more flying enemies. Strategically it helped me to take out the ballista towers first before going after the nesting towers. Also be sure to keep on the move. Staying idle in one place too long will spell out your doom! Luckily a dragon's "fire balls" are somewhat akin to homing missiles so taking down the winged abominations that come after you is not a chore in tedium. As the difficulty of these battles scale up you'll also be able to upgrade your dragon form's inherent supernatural abilities.
Wrapped around all this is an intriguing story. As a dragon slayer recruit you are tasked with hunting down the last of the dragons. It is known far and wide that a corrupt dragon knight struck down the divine champion of the realm thus his kindred have become scapegoats to blame for everything that is evil, wicked, and wrong. Yet in an ironic twist of fate a dying female dragon knight gives you her powers and reveals to you an even greater threat in the land. The events that follow sort of mess up your life. In one instance you have to cut down your old friends that are trying to kill you. In addition the villain Damian is not rampaging without having a valid reason. Though certain characters may seem like ridiculous clichs at first they eventually prove to have a lot of emotional and historical depth to them. There are moments you may feel sorry for the bad guys and equally loathe the good guys. DKS insists you "think". It's not going to make things easy by setting up a bunch of cookie cutter archetypes meant to incite total fondness or total avarice. Many big movers and shakers in Rivellion have done both virtuous and atrocious deeds in equal measure. Take that as you will.
Before I close up shop I should state that DKS may lack a few things you expect from the genre. Though you have free reign with your multiple responses there is no morality meter. In addition though the game has "romantic themes" your main hero cannot develop and enrich a relationship with a special partner. Frankly I did not mind this nor did I perceive it as a qualm but for those who prefer the "Bio-ware" or "Witcher" approach to socializing DKS may leave them wanting.
For me Divinity 2 DKS has been a delightful escape. It's obvious a lot of love and hard work went into this "special edition" and the bugs I've encountered have been few and far between. If you enjoy Western rpgs but are looking for something that's delightfully different you should totally pick up this unappreciated master piece!
Pros
+Easy to learn controls
+ fluid combat
+ Freedom to develop your character anyway you want to
+Deep multi layered story
+ A sweeping and breathtaking sound track
+Unique aesthetic design applied to enemies & armor.
+ Side quest are actually "fun".
+ Turning into a dragon, mind reading, and creating your own patchwork minion separates this game from the pack while establishing it as a special experience you shouldn`t pass up!
+Very massive and interesting world.
+Magic teleport way points make travel easy once you find them all.
+Free soundtrack and bi-lingual full color instruction manual. (The other featured language is French)
Cons
-Little to offer those who prefer morality meters and relationship development
-Game can be unapologetically vague and very difficult
-Aerial fights in dragon form maybe frustrating until gamers grasp the basics for successful strategy.
-Fans that supported Larian by getting the original "Ego Draconis" will feel a tad cheated. All I can say in DKS's defense is that it comes with a 30 hour expansion AND many steps were taken to improve the core game. (Aka better engine and nicer visuals)
For you if
Do you feel as if the journey matters more than the destination? Do you like seeing your armor and weapons visually change as you equip new gear? Love dragons and wizards? Do you applaud open worlds that offer up humor, tragedy, and a rich history in equal dosages? Do you prefer to be in the thick of the action instead of issuing commands via turn based monotony? If so Divinity 2 DKS was lovingly smelted and re-forged just for you!
Not for you if
Divinity 2 sits on the uncomfortable ant hill of being more stream lined than Oblivion yet is not quite as straight forward and user friendly as Fable. If you prefer an rpg that is one of those two extremes DKS could rain on your parade with its` "middle of the road" approach. In addition there are no "deep relationships" for the hero or heroine to pursue so if you are aching for a dime novel fantasy romance this is not the place to find it.
Personal Bias Opinion
I haven't played a Western rpg that has hooked me this much since Dragon age. DKS has fun game play, many expansive locales, and a really good story line. It's also not afraid to do its' own thing which is admirable. For these reasons I give it 5 out of 5!
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video-games_xbox
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A RPG home run. Pretty good game overall.
Graphics are outstanding. Really, truly, they're crazy cool. Interface is good. The rapid travel system in the game is a big improvement over previous Elder Scroll games. Character customization options are outstanding.
There's an immense amount of freedom in the game. You are basically free to follow any number of quest lines at your leisure. At times you definitely get the feeling that you're doing quests for the same of doing quests though. Example: Go to XYZ deep dungeon in a far off land and stealth past the blind order of monks guarding the sacred treasure. Bring it back to me., etc. That's cool once or twice, but I personally feel it's over-used in this particular game.
Challenge rating is decent. The game's certainly not a pushover, but it's not impossible either. There's a good play balance there. Voice acting is well above what you would expect.
If you're already a fan of the Elder Scroll series definitely pick it up. If you have a healthy interested in self-guided rpg's that favor live-style combat then you'll probably dig it too. I'd say you could easily get 60-80 hours out of the game before you exhaust all the major quest lines.
My only major complaint is the combat system. It's very basic. You hit the button to whack something and hit it again to whack it again. There's some element to blocking and dodging but you can tell those are afterthoughts. I'd like to see a more robust combat system in future installments. But, what they have works decently.
Another small issue: When you drop an item in the game it just sort of drops willy-nilly. You can't place items in specific spots very easily. When I finally bought a decent house and wanted to display some of the cooler items I found in the game it was very difficult to do that. I literally spent an hour trying to put stuff in a display case. Like I said, small but frustrating.
This really sets the bar pretty high for other RPGs on the 360.
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video-games_xbox
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The Most Fun and Intriguing Game You Will Ever Play. Let me start off by saying that all of the official reviews you have read for this game have been completely wrong. I have yet to see any positive feedback from professional reviewers about Advent Rising, which is proof that every one of them needs to be fired from their jobs.
Now, with that aside, let me talk about the miraculous thing that is Advent Rising. I have never found myself so immersed in an experience as I have with this game. The gameplay is addictive, the story is compelling, and the music is to die for.
Bugs:
There isn't a game out there as unique as Advent Rising. Look past the glitches and slowdowns and you are clearly playing one of the most fun and incredible games ever released. Everyone has badmouthed the Flick Targeting, but all I have to say is that I play with an inverted camera, and I still found the targeting tolerable. Can you imagine targeting to the right and the camera moves left? It wasn't easy, but still, I gave the game a 5, so you know it can't be that bad.
-The framerate, in my opinion, isn't an issue, cause it only slows down about 4 times through the entire game, and not even enough to get you killed.
-Lockups are the same, rare.
-Music fades in and out, and will sometimes overpower the dialogue. (But music can be turned off)
-In fact, the only glitches worth mentioning are:
1. Every so often the camera will continue to lock on a target after they have been killed, meaning that you can't look ahead. It is quickly fixed though as another object is targeted.
2. While using Aeon Pulse alternate fire the character will get stuck in the air.
3. The health of the 2nd boss is inconsistent, one time it is easy to kill, other times it will take hours.
Gameplay:
Advent Rising delivers more surprises than any game out their. I've lost count of how many times I've just had to pause the game and think of how awesome what I've just pulled off was. You can do SO many things at one time that it is incredible, and I am STILL finding new things like...MINOR SPOILERS...the fact that you charge up the surge power and deliver a deadly blow that looks awesome. Also, that you can freeze the Seekers and then completely shatter them. Sure I'd heard people talking about it, but pulling it off is amazing. In what other game can I slow down time, kick a guy through the air, run across the room and then kick him again before he hits the ground? I can literally pick up 5 bad guys, throw them into Lava, and fire a rocket launcher at a mech-baddie while flying through the air in slow-motion, all at the same time. And then finish that one off by landing and spinning my launcher like some cowboy, it's incredible! End Spoilers.
-The coolest things however, are the RPG elements. Choices you make effect the storyline, and the powers/weapons you can level-up on create a unique character every time you play.
Story and Characters:
I won't spoil it, but it is the best storyline I've ever played in a game. This game made me cry, enough said.
-The characters are actually interesting! I want to learn about them, want to know where they came from. And Ethan is the man! One of the best characters out there. Gideon is cool too, but Ethan really made the game for me.
-(Minor Spoiler is you're sensitive like that) Just a hint that won't spoil it for people who haven't played it yet. If you want the story to reach its highest potential I'll just say this...pick the dude. The game makes more sense that way.
Problems:
-Other than the formentioned glitches, the character models other than Gideon and Ethan, and the Aliens, are rather dull. I would loved to have seen the females look better because during the city scenes there was only one skin for them, while the men had at least 4. Made it unbelievable.
-No subtitles. Without them it is hard to know what the characters are saying because the music, or mumble of their voice.
You have to play this game with an open mind, and whatever you do, don't play the entire game the same way. There are so many ways to kill things, that experimenting is so much fun. The landscapes are breathtaking and the weaponry is killer. And I don't care what anyone says, this game did not copy Halo with the Seekers. They look nothing like the Covenant, and the gamplay is actually much more fun than Halo.
Don't be deceived by the beginning of the game, I was, and I regretted getting the game, but by the end, I was completely immersed in the world and didn't want it to end. Let's hope the sequels fix the minor problems and expand on the already incredible gameplay.
I've already said this, but the game made me cry, and that's tough for me. It is truly one of the best games I've ever played, and IS the most fun.
Just remember, have an open mind, you'll love it! And as long as you aren't a picky and spoiled moron, the glitches won't bother you enough to keep you from this incredible experience.
We need more games like this!
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video-games_xbox
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grand experience, repetitive details. i'm a mature gamer who bought a dozen videogames and an xbox to see how the technology has evolved. this game is clearly a cut above the others in terms of a majestic and compelling visual environment, absolutely remarkable in its action elements, but weirdly and annoyingly repetitive or incongruous in many mission tasks. among my special peeves are the challenges where you must run madly over rooftops to gather a certain number of flags within two or three minutes (which takes you completely out of the otherwise seamless historical illusion); the lunatics who shove and punch only your avatar, no one else; the beggars who wheedle and whine, the demagogues who harangue, the thugs who taunt or torment, and the victims who thank you for your intervention in exactly the same voice and words in every quarter of three different cities ("please sir, just a few coins!" "coorse them! coorse the infidels!" "thief! this will cost you your life!" "i will find a way to repay you, i swear it!", etc.); and the sometimes erratic control of viewpoint and target selection in the most hectic action sequences. the great beauty of the game is its recreation of the tempo and flux of ancient life, and the remarkable ability of the ai to manage separately a dozen or more individual characters in crowd, melee and panic sequences. the colors and aerial perspective are gorgeous; the recreation of the different cities, while not historically authentic, is visually and aurally compelling; and the fight sequences are really fun to play -- i found myself going on attack sprees just to see how many antagonists i could take on at once. the various weapons and control combinations necessary to fight effectively were difficult for me (a novice player) to master, but you are introduced to the finer points gradually through a simple plot device (you're stripped of weapons at the start, and must win them back one by one) and by training sequences added to each mission. there are also several different ways to complete each of the nine (actually 11) assassinations: you're offered more preparatory tasks to complete than necessary, so that you can pick and choose if you don't want to complete them all; and there's always at least three or four ways to complete each of the nine assassinations that are preliminary to the final round. the plot struck me as overly intricate -- the gist is that your character is moving through a historical memory sequence that is being retrieved in bits and pieces through the technology of a malign, modern day corporation -- and then there are wheels within wheels in the historical plot. and while you gather "clues" or information during your preparatory tasks, there's really no puzzle to solve: all the information is irrelevant as the necessary and obvious cues are inserted into the cutscenes or mission settings. but all that pales to the experience of roaming an ancient city, assassinating random knights templar, climbing high watchtowers to add tasks and clues to your map as you take in the extraordinarily poetic views, and then making a soaring "leap of faith" into a hay wagon far below. as long as you can ignore the beggars, and don't mind the similarity in tasks across different missions, it's quite an absorbing experience.
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video-games_xbox
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Grossly Overpriced And Lacks Content. DICE & EA ,
The two stars only comes form the great visuals that were put into the maps...
I understand you wanted to focus on planetary maps and game modes but we really want to be heard for the grossly overpriced DLC Season Pass and the severe LACK OF CONTENT in this current version of the game.
Here is the consensus of what we wish you to bring back from the old classic Battlefront I and Battlefront II games that we loved and praised for years to come.
1) WE WANT SPACE BATTLES FFS!!!!! (at least one or two maps of this game mode that can bring back that fuzzy warm feeling of sabotaging the enemy fleet from the movies)
***This starts off like a planetary battle, everyone chooses a bonus. When the battle starts, most units find themselves in the hangar, or sometimes in the innerts of the ship. Make your way to a straighter (adding a few more specialization fighters and transport ships) and fly off to the dogfight or try and fight your way onto the opposing ship. You may bomb the ship from the outside and attack various turrets etc, or one may bring a transport or fighter aboard the opposing ship to sabotage the systems or destroy the core ***
2) A GALACTIC CONQUEST MODE WOULD BE GREAT
*** In this mode, the player commands a fleet throughout the galaxy conquering and protecting planets, much like a game of Risk. When two opposing forces reach the same planet, the game switches to the traditional perspective and planetary/space battle, and the player must eliminate the enemy faction to gain control of that planet. This could be an addition to the Mission playlist to enjoy solo or cooperative. It will also add much more deployability for the lackluster gameplay we currently have.***
3) ADD BACK THE BELOVED HUNT GAME MODE FROM THE OLD GAMES
***In Hunt mode, players take on the role of the species indigenous to the chosen planet, or of a faction opposed to that species. The object when playing as the indigenous species is to repel the opposition, or to eliminate the indigenous species if playing as the opposing faction. This can turn into a semi- Capture The Flag type game. This would also allow for indigenous species per planet to be added into the game for the players to get their roleplaying fantasies satisfied for true fans of the series. Wookies vs. Droids, Ewoks vs. Troopers, Quarren vs. Clones. The ideas for DLC added races would be endless and allow for a better business model and "cash crop" to tap into.***
4) FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BRING US OUR CLONES!
*** We want to have our old school Clone vs. Droid saga to be played. This will allow for the addition of some great heros and skins along with much needed weapons and ships. Being able to fly a trooper transport ship, play as a droid soldier, play as a gungan and ride a gungan mount, hero it up as anakin, Darth Maul, or Jar Jar etc. would be amazing and bring back memories/tie in more story before the addition of the new Disney versions of the movies. Bring us back to our real George Lucas styled star wars.***
We both do not want to see this Battlefront turn into the Advanced Warfare of the Call of Duty franchise that is both garbage and had the developer lose all of their trust from the players. That game ruined the series and if it weren't for this new Black Ops 3 the series would have pitted off into the past and not been as hyped and widely played ever again. Please listen to us and take these concerns into consideration. We want this stalled content and we have faith that you, with all of the funding from EA, can bring us the content we wish for. Do not kill the Battlefront Franchise.
Sincerely,
Your Constituents & Gamers
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video-games_xbox
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You gotta be kidding me. I didn't know much about this game but I did know that everyone seemed to love it, drool over it, and worship it. So I tried it. I like rpgs, I like anything medieval, i like being able to customize your character, etc. But even with all that, this game still annoyed me. After the tutorial you get out of prison and start on your way. Every monster and animal that sees you (except deer) will attack. Rats attack, crabs attack, even those vicious fish (Don't worry about the fish, you can shoot or punch them (while underwater) until they die. Well, ok worry, they can kill you). I did fine against them and goblins but discovered that every untrained farmer can kick my @## (even if they are unarmed and im armored and with a weapon). You start with no money but can take whatever you want. So i tried to take a couple coins from some guy who was asleep and failed every time (even when i was invisible and standing still) until i stood in front of him and tried.? In any case, as soon as i did it, a guard instantly appeared in the room. Your choices are then jail or run. I ran and they chased me... all the way to the next city! A wolf also spotted me along the way and joined the chase (apparently the wolf recognised law enforcement and left them alone). ANYWAY, to avoid 8 pages of whining, I'll skip ahead to where i got to the oblivion gate and had to rescue people hidden inside a tower. There were guards outside but they had no intention of helping me. Yes it was up to a thief (or agent actually) to rescue all these people who wouldnt even help themselves). A bunch of goblin-like creatures were outside who endlessly pelted me with fireballs and unerringly hit me even in midjump. I couldn't seem to defeat any of them with multiple sword strikes even though they were half my size. I hopped up on a wall, hoping to jump behind cover on the other side but it wouldnt allow me to. Next time, I got stuck by some rubble and couldn't get out, and waited for the goblin guys to kill me again. I decided to give up on the mission for now and wander the country side, found one place where it said i couldn't go then hopped halfway down a mountain (sideways) without injury. Finally I gave up in disgust. Is the great flawless oblivion that you people are playing the same as mine? Game of the year... yep i guess so.
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video-games_xbox
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Call of Duty 4 Is Destined To Be A Classic. Call of Duty 4 is by far one of the best games to come out this year for any console or PC platform. The game is even better than any action movie that has come out to local movie theaters this year. The game is just slightly better than Halo 3 which up to this time was one of my favorite games to come out this year. Now my review is based on the single player portion of the game only.
There is no comparison between Call of Duty 4 and Medal of Honor: Airborne as far as which is a better game to play. Medal of Honor: Airborne has just six missions to play through and that's it. I am not making that up. Medal of Honor: Airborne takes place during World War II with American Airborne soldiers fighting the Axis throughout Europe during the war. The first four missions in Medal of Honor: Airborne are very realistic. The last two missions are like made up fantasy missions where you are fighting Super Nazi Soldiers that take forever to kill. Call of Duty 4 is a ten times better game to play than Medal of Honor: Airborne.
I could tell from the very first minute that I started to play Call of Duty 4 just how great a game it was going to be. The graphics in the game are just simply amazing. They are by far the best graphics I have ever seen in any game except for Crysis. Crysis is the game to beat as far as graphics go.
The very first mission in the game takes place on a Russian freighter out in the middle of the ocean where you play the role of a British soldier fighting Russian terrorists aboard ship at night in stormy weather. Just to look at the water come up against the ship is amazing. I just had to stop to look at the huge ocean waves hitting the sides of the ship. I couldn't believe how real the ocean waves look hitting the sides of the ship.
In another mission, I play the role of an American Marine fighting terrorists in the middle of a Middle Eastern city. My character, along with some fellow American Marine soldiers, are supporting an American tank going through the middle of this city. Well an enemy tank approachs us and the American tank you are supporting fires a round from the tank's main gun at the enemy tank. The enemy tank gets hit and explodes and the turret on the enemy tank flies off into the air. It was one best looking explosions I have ever seen in a game.
In another mission in Russia you are again playing the role of the British soldier. An enemy helicopter follows you around at night with a big searchlight trying to find you and some fellow British soldiers. Why you are trying to avoid being detected by the enemy helicopter, you get attacked by some enemy German Shepherd dogs that are the most realistic dogs I have ever seen in a game. The dogs look very real.
Call of Duty 4 reminds me a lot of what is going on today with the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan today. The game makes me proud of our American soldiers who are serving over in Iraq and Afghanistan today. You learn to appreciate more our men and women in uniform and all the sacifices they are making today for our freedoms. This game should definitely be added to your collection.
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video-games_xbox
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Better than you think. I played the first army of two when it came out and it wasn't too memorable... a little too generic next to GoW or some other 3rd shooter. This one however, is awesome.
Pros:
1. The AI in this game are incredibly well made. They know how to use cover and don't just rush you down in endless waves. They know how to flank and surround you. On the hard difficulty they are very good at waiting for you to switch cover and then barrage you with bullets, instead of just pointlessly shooting in your direction. A very enjoyable and challenging enemy.
2. The level design is well varied which keeps the gameplay interesting. My favorite levels were the "forced" sniper mission and the dark tunnels where only one character has a flashlight.
3. The customizable weapons is unlike any other game. On top of that they are all very much fun to use I probably spend just as much time trying out different weapons as I do playing the actual game. Having custom masks is also a nice touch.
4. All the cutscenes are in-game (and still look amazing) which means they use your weapon, outfit, and mask on your character in all of the cutscenes. It isn't much, but it is nice to play the whole game with "your" character.
5. Your partner AI (if playing solo) is actually a big help and will fight and heal just as much as a human. The partner AI commands usually work and help to take the attention off of you at times.
6. The aggro system is unique to this series and while it is not as obvious here it still functions and is fun if you know how to use it.
7. The visuals, audio, voice-acting, and explosions (a lot of those) are all amazing.
8. I love coop games and this is one of the few games that is built around coop and allows splitscreen for great local play.
9. The cover system is not quite as smooth as GoW3, but is still easy to use.
Cons:
1. There are some glitches here and there. One time I had to restart because (during splitscreen play) my partner got stuck on cover and could not move on.
2. The story is dumb, but what do you expect from a game like this?? It kind of needs that dumb hollywood action movie story to match with the highly explosive over the top gameplay.
3. Objectives are sometimes unclear, or an enemy will get stuck somewhere preventing you from moving on. Either way, it is difficult sometimes to know where to go or what to do.
4. A little short... finished in about 8 hours, and there is no extra content (multiplayer, endless mode, side missions, etc.).
Overall, I would definitely recommend to coop and 3rd shooter fans.
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video-games_xbox
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A Disappointing Successor to GTA: San Andreas. First of all, understand that novels could be written about almost any Grand Theft Auto game.
Also, understand that this particular author has been playing Grand Theft Auto since it was a top-down, 2-dimensional game on Pentium 100mhz systems. The Playstation 1 was still the hottest gaming system in existence, and GTA was well beyond its capabilities.
GTA:San Andreas was simply a revolutionary game. It provided a massive playing field with no load times - two firsts for the GTA series. It also incorporated a wonderful handful of "extracurricular activities" that provided nothing whatsoever to the requirements of the game, but still gave players the opportunity for hours of additional entertainment. I'm referring to such things as flying aircraft (even the hidden jumbo-sized jet,) customizing cars, managing large-volume garages, collecting money from acquired businesses, etc. I played San Andreas for hours after beating it.
Most - if not all - of this content has been abandoned in this much-hyped Grand Theft Auto IV. Note that I have not yet completed the game, but in just my first two hours of game play realized that GTA had in many ways gone back to the basics. Yes, the visuals are amazing. I am constantly impressed by the bullet holes that not only show up, but remain on the vehicles. Just recently I noticed that each vehicle has an internal dome light. Aerial views of the city (only available via helicopter as all jets and planes have been reverted back to the "look but don't touch" forms of pre-San Andreas games) are simply astounding.
But I think many gamers will agree that looks aren't everything. Cars are incredibly difficult to drive - yes they handle much like the big, heavy cars we drive today. They tend to understeer when braking, and oversteer when attempting high-speed, emergency-brake maneuvers. Driving at high speeds has become a rather nerve-wracking ordeal, especially when being chased. The most annoying inclusion is that of the cell phone - cleverly used to enhance core missions within the game, but otherwise a constant annoyance as other, non-player characters are constantly asking your character out on play dates. Sorry - that's why I quit playing "The Sims."
The missions - in my opinion - are rather simplistic. More annoyingly, they act as a seemingly unending tutorial as every mission teaches you a new skill (usually just a new button sequence) that then you seem to never use again.
GTA IV has returned to the days of nearly-linear, one-after-another, non creative missions with a few added "modernizations" like the afore-mentioned cell phones, internet cafes and toll booths (yes, I know - I'm not sure what they were thinking with that one, either.) Gone is the stuff that made Gran Theft Auto fun, unique, and inventive. My only hope is that they were simply testing the graphical limits of the newest generation in gaming consoles, and have much more up their sleeves for another version.
In a quick sidebar, the multiplayer aspects of GTA IV are much better than I expected. I have already logged many hours simply romping around the city with friends and even family. I won't hesitate to say that I am simply impressed with what they have managed to do with the [real] internet - this is what we've been missing for a very, very long time. Does it save GTA IV? Quite possibly. Does it give you enough incentive to finish the game? Not sure yet.
To put things to a close, Grand Theft Auto IV is a beautiful game with still a lot to do. But GTA has been better, and in the end I can't help but feel dissapointed.
I also wish to offer my dissatisfaction to the online game-reviewing sites who have obviously offered stellar, "perfect" scores to an obviously undeserving game in the interest of extra income through promotions, advertisement and industrial "butt kissing." Shame on you all.
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video-games_xbox
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New York C-C-C-C-C-C-beeeeeeeeeep-CRASH. I'll start by saying that True Crime NYC is the first console game that I can remember since the Sega Master System days that actually crashed my console. New game disc, 2005 model Xbox with no read errors or other problems; this is simply a horribly broken piece of software.
What is so sad about TCNYC is the clear attempt to make a great game. The programmers were trying to do something big here, what with the interesting storyline, the depth of the fighting engine, detailed building interiors, on and on. But they failed spectacularly at almost every attempt.
To the first major failure: an apparent lack of understanding of how to program software within the limitations of the hardware. The game simply tries to render far too much during driving for even the reasonably powerful Xbox. Framerates sieze up every block or two, and this led to my first complete system crash within ten minutes of play. Disturbing. I can only imagine how unplayable this is on the less powerful PS2. The driving control scheme relies on "special move" buttons to perform stunts; a pretty good indicator that the programmers had no idea how to build a working car physics engine. The awful control scheme doesnt even include analogue gas/brake functions, which would have been perfectly fine on the trigger buttons (GTA 2 did this with the DREAMCAST controller almost ten years ago). Rolling through NYC in a jet-black unmarked 4.6 Crown Vic Interceptor should feel cool, but it just feels crummy.
The on foot engine is acutally an improvement over GTA's, at least until running or fighting. While the fight sequences could have been a saving grace, the ridiculously complicated Street Fighter-style button combos make it miserable. Each special move button results in a pre-rendered animation sequence that feels clumsy and is just as likely to leave your face in the fist of your enemy as have the desired consequence. A simplified scheme with fewer "special" moves and improved response time could have made this the nicest fighting engine in any open-world game to date. But it isn't.
The city itelf, while detailed and often well-lit at night, just doesn't have the character of Liberty City. Perhaps due to the lack of any verticality in the landscape (no bridges, hills, or even peaks and valleys in roadways), the city feels dull and lifeless after a few hours of driving. And strange glitches in environment lighting (car lights flicker on and off) and collision detection evaporate any sense of realism. Not to mention awful behavior programming for pedestrians which turns every NYC resident into a Tourette's victim.
The story is initially interesting, although the foul language used as "dialogue" crosses the line from shocking to just plain bad writing. Unfortunately a horrific glitch in the volume balance means you won't hear 90% of the game's cutscenes. There must have been some evil, angry, vindictive person in charge of testing this game. You just can't screw up this bad accidentally.
The one element that really stood out as a positive was the use of NYC's precincts as controllable strategic elements of the overall map. By apprehending criminals (who commit a wide variety of rather creative crimes) in a precinct, you can gradually clean it up and gain respect and rank within your squad. While it's not much more than a nonessential side mission, I found it gave me a sense of control and accomplishment that the paint-by-numbers story mode lacked.
Unfortunately, a few unique concepts aren't enough to save TCNYC from its abominable technical problems. Because the developers tried to do so much and occasionally succeeded, I can't say it's a completely bad game...but due to all the glitches it's certainly a failure.
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video-games_xbox
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Even after the hype has died down, its still a Fantastic game. Okay, so its been about a year and a half since red dead redemption has been released and I must say its one of the best video games that I ever played. I've beaten the single player twice and the seconed time around was even better then the first. Just like with GTA 4 it shares some similarities but in no way is this GTA set in the wild west. First off they introduce an honor and fame system in the game. You don't have to be bad guy nor a good guy. The game lets you decide that. Based on the decisions you make, they'll affect how the people in the red dead redemption world wil interact with you. If you kill and rob peopple a bounty will be placed on your head and bounty hunters will come after you. Not only that but the locals will want nothing to do with you and they'll be scared of you. If you decide to be a good guy you'll get discounts from general stores, gun shops, tailor and the doctor. Through out the game you'll find yourself preoccupied with a ton of stuff to do such as playing poker, liars dice, black jack, horse shoes, being the night watch, breaking horses, completing a wide variety of challenges including gathering plants, hunting animals and treasure, sharp shooter challenges. You can also tackle on more action oriented option such as bounty hunting and clearing out gang hide outs. The graphics in this game are still beautiful, character designs and animation are top notch. You'll have a wide variety of weapons including molotov cocktails, throwing knive, dynamite sticks, pistols, shotguns and rifles. The cover system and shooting mechanics flow very nicely especially dead eye which is very useful when your going up against 10 or more enemies. The world of red dead redemption is a unpredictable one,you'll find many stranger who will challenge you to a duel, ask you to save there wives, try to steal your horse and even attemp to kill you. There will be also stranger side missins that have nothing to do with the main story. As with other rockstar games the writing and voice acting is terrific especially the dialogue and characters. The story revolves around a former outlaw named John marston who's forced by the government to hunt down his former gang leaders. During his journey you'll be introduced to a wide variety of memorable and interesting characters. Rock star did a great job of making john marston's character a likaeble and realistic one. My only tiny complaint is that the story was a little bit too familiar to GTA 4's. Other then that, this game blew me away. All in all this is a game you shouldn't hesitate to buy, I highly recommend it.
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video-games_xbox
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A step forward for the studio that brought us Halo. Let me start by saying I'm a Bungie player of nearly a decade. Halo 2 was my introduction to Bungies game making style, and I enjoyed each thru Halo: Reach. It is impossible to review this game without seeing it as a continued evolution of gamestyle that got it here. Many of the playstyles that were part of Reach are here, built in jetpacks, defensive and speedbased classes ect. But there is also much that is different.
Destiny learned a little from Borderlands, and moves more into sci-five territory and away from the military theme of its predesessor. It has changed since it's debut the way that characters quest and level, streamlining the process a bit, and balancing the economies used within. It can be played casual and be enjoyed, but if you want to collect all those legendary and exotic guns you will find yourself memorizing those strikes and putting in some time. There is alot to find, and different armors can perk your class powers to great effect both in pvp and pve.
The game, simply put, plays beautiful. The controls are familiar but buttery smooth. The wide range of guns each have a unique feel, particularly the rarer guns. Having played on the 360 my first year, I was impressed how good it looks on the one, and any progress you have on the last gen system allows u to start there when you go next gen. The raids are clever, and demand that you build a team of friends that can coordinate well enough to progress. Learning each raid was a challenge and a joy to complete, and worth doing multiple times for the gear.
Bottom line, if you love sci if shooters, spent time w Halo or Borderlands, this game will be familiar and new. To me, this is Halo evolved. It takes a base game I loved and creates a real reason to hunt new armor, and allows a much greater personalization of play style. Ignore the 1 star rants and go try it.
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video-games_xbox
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Great For the Family, Hit or Miss with Quality. My entire family is really enjoying the Xbox One. I was even surprised to find how much my wife enjoys Just Dance 2014, Zumba World Party and Xbox Fitness (she's never been into any sort of gaming at all) thanks to the new Kinect. The kids love Skylanders and I'm really enjoying Assassin's Creed, Dead Rising 3 and the T.V. voice functionality. I feel like I made the right decision in terms of getting a system we can all enjoy some aspect of. The bad part is that my system had to go back. Luckily, Microsoft's support is great and it's easy to get an advanced return if you don't mind a $500 hold on your credit card (I don't consider that horrible anyway). My controllers are constantly disconnecting from the unit. This affects both the bundled controller and an extra controller I bought. After going through Microsoft's support forums, I found a huge 24+ (and growing) page thread of people having the same problem, many of which resolved it with a new console. Apparently, it's the central unit that is the source of the problem, in case any of you are dealing with the cycle of getting new controllers with no luck (and assuming you also already figured out you need to stuff some paper in the battery compartment to keep the batteries from sliding around when the controller vibrates and haven't solved the issue that way). I'm hoping I won't be one of the unlucky few that did an exchange and got back a unit with other problems. It does seem like Microsoft's QA needs some work but I can't deny that the experience shows promise.
Update: I realize this will drag the review score down by those who rate reviews based on their own product loyalties but it has to be said... I got an advanced exchange and it took care of the controllers constantly dropping their connection. It hasn't happened once since. Microsoft did send me an email that my credit card was going to be charged for never returning the original unit (over a week after I sent it back with their shipping label) but the charge never happened and I eventually got another email with a notice that it was received. Now, however, my XBox is making a grinding sound when I put in a disc and it won't read anything after the sound. I looked it up and it's an infamouse "disc grinding" issue. I went to get another advanced exchange and this time I'm ineligible, I presume because I've had an advanced exchange already. I suppose I'm up a creek at this point but I'll plead with their support to help me out here. I have to say, the experience has been just too full of issues to properly recommend this system. Lowered review to 2 stars.
Update 2: I ended up going through a grueling customer support session of all kinds of stupid shut-down, reset to factory settings, etc. procedures for my non-working disc drive. In the end, I ended up having to send the unit in for repairs. The order was created on 4/22 and I just checked the service status. It says they expect to complete repairs by 5/22 so it's going to be a while. Unfortunately, I already spent too much money on games, Xbox Live Gold (practically required), etc. If I hadn't, I'd have jumped ship by now and gone with a PS4. Lowered review to 1 star.
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video-games_xbox
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Brass tacks. Reading the reviews here on amazon I had to write a review to get down to brass tacks as they say...
This years game is the best madden they've released in around 8 years, since xbox and playstation 2. We hall hate the the last 8 games or so for good reason, tons of good reasons in fact... They were terrible, too much focus on graffics and not enough on actual gameplay. Each year was more frustrating than the year prior since the exclusive NFL rights when to EA blocking all competition and lets face it, any reason for EA to worry about producing the best game they could. When madden was truly at it's best it was up against NFL Gameday, NFL2K, heck even Joe Montana Football and Techmo Super Bowl back in the early and mid 90's. Each of those other games had good features that kept their fans coming back to their game franchise and EA was forced to improve Madden every year to keep up, or catch up, or keep in front of the other game franchises, this was good for the consumers because it kept all of the games playable and ultimately produced some of the best video games of all time! But with the loss of competition the madden franchise immediately went to crap. The first madden on the playstation 3 was so bad I thought it must have been the system so I sold it and bought a 360 only to realize the game really was that bad... That was the one with Brett Favre on the cover I think.
There hasn't been a playable madden since then... Until now. This madden looks to the past to fix some of it's drastic problems it's developed over the last 8 or so years. The player progression is drastically improved. I remember playing the madden with McNabb on the cover, I think that was the last good madden, that game, if you had a couple high rated defenders and offensive players they would drastically increase the progression of the young players around them until after about 6 seasons you could have your entire team in the 90's, not counting rookies of course. Winning and putting up huge stats did the same thing, have a 200 yard rushing day in the playoffs for example and win that same game and you'd see that running back absolutely JUMP attributes and could go from an average player to a probowler in simulated seasons just like that!!! It was exciting but more importantly fun! That's the point of games right, fun? But then for years they basically completely took out player progression, it was in the game it just didn't work, at all!!! This game has made big strides in fixing that, now if you have a young enough player who is putting up big stats and winning games his experience points go up and you can "buy" attribute upgrades for him and over the course of a season or two you can take an average player and make him a probowler pretty easily! Just like a good coaching staff can in real life.
One thing they are still missing the boat on is user created plays and play books, I know they have something like that for online game play but what about those of us that simply like to play franchise season against the CPU?
Which brings me to my next point, What happened to franchise mode? I mean, it's more or less there but you have to deal with all this other crap now because you have to manage your coach and stuff too, you can't just play the games and progress your players and draft and repeat, you have to also worry about managing your coach, which is dumber than hell lets just call it what it is... stupid waste of time is what it is...
Next, the menu's, at least on 360, are PAINFULLY SLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW, lets face it, managing your players progression, your team, and your coaching staff, practicing, and actually playing the games is really time consuming, then add on top of it how slow the menu is and sometimes it's just too frustrating to deal with if you're short on time that day. I know it's just a few seconds each time but it has the effect mentally of reminding you how much time you're wasting gaming.
I love they way they built in practice modes that actually progress the entire team, every player!!! It was very fun when it was possible to play with one player at a time in drills to make them better but it was sad that it was limited to just one player from each position type, but NOT ANYMORE!!! The new setup makes it so you play situations, and the whole team benefits, win or lose! Which is nice and far more realistic! Basically if you put the time into coaching your players each week you'll see HUGE gains in your entire team not just 4 or 5 key players, it makes you feel like coaches matter, which they do, but all previous games made the statement that good coaching and practice had nothing to do with player improvement.
There are a few glitches to get used to, for example, after downloading the updated rosters from NFL.com I noticed a few errors and tweaked a few players to my liking and then saved and started my "franchise" or whatever they are calling it now, career or whatever, and noticed my changes where there but the player attributes and changed for ALL of the players, if a player was say and 86 he was now like an 82, or an 89, basically he was slightly different, this was true of ALLLLLLL PLAYERS not just some or the ones I changed, but ALL of the players. Not a huge problem but it makes it a little harder to set up your team pre franchise of course.
Brass tacks, it's a playable game, FINALLY, but still has several odd qweerks that wouldn't be there you'd think if EA had test players actually playing it before releasing it.
Over all I like it and I'm happy to finally have a playable madden for the first time in about a decade!!! All complaints aside it's nice to have my old friend back, FOOTBALL!!! Lol
GO VIKES!!!
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video-games_xbox
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HONEST REVIEW. I just got this headset to replace my px21's (px21's gave out after 3 month's). Out of the box they felt sturdy had a nice feel to them. Once on i could honestly say that they are extremely comfortable, more so then the px21's and you will not get any ear cartilage cramps cause your whole ear fits inside the ear cup (unless you have freakishly big ears).
Setup: As easy as can be. Had it ready in 3 min. tops.
Sound Quality: At first i was extremely turned off by the bass heavy sound, contemplating on returning them for another set of px21's. The highs and mids sounded muddy and i couldn't really pick up on important sound cues when helicopters or explosions were occurring. This being said i decided to wear the speakers in before jumping back into MW2. So i watched a couple of movies on netflix and let them rest for the night. The following day was a pleasant surprise, the sound quality was vastly improved and i was able to pick up on the sound cues i couldn't hear the first time around. So I highly recommend breaking in the speakers at a moderate volume in order to get the best performance from them in the future. The sound quality is good overall, but do lack the crispness in the highs and mids of the px21's. But because of my personal experience i can honestly say that when you start gaming with one headset you get used to the sound of the game through that headset and when you throw a different headset on you'll probably dislike what you hear due to the fact that your hearing got accustomed to what you have been using . All in all the sound is good, explosions are powerful, and yes you do hear pants shuffling, footsteps, claymore activation click, and other important sound cues. (Just not in black ops cause the sound in black ops is horrible).
MIC: The mic is excellent, all my clan members say that it sounds alot better then the mic on the px21.
Value: For a high end STEREO HEADSET it's at a reasonable price at 65 dollars. It's universal so thats a major upside to the value and it does what it's supposed to do.
I am very satisfied with my purchase (after the initial speaker break in). If you want a edge in Competitive Multiplayer Online then don't think twice, pick these up. I recommend these over the turtle beaches because when i stopped by at gamestop to pick these up, i was initially going to get another Turtle beach px21 headset but the store manager said that they don't carry them anymore because the product was poorly made and they had gotten more then half of the headsets back from costumers due to defectiveness. Mainly the right speaker going out which is what happened to mine. They also added that they never had any complaints on the tritton's so that's how i ended up with this headset. Hopefully this headset lasts me more then my px21's. I'll keep you updated.
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video-games_xbox
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Well thought out Game System. Well rounded. I had an original XBox, and have access to a PS2 and Gamecube. My old XBox would sit on the shelf gathering dust, and never really got into the PS2. Gamecube on the other hand had some neat and fun games on it, and I loved when my friend would come over with his and we'd get into some Super Monkey Ball or Zelda fun.
Well, I got my hands on last year's big game console this year (which I advise people to do with the PS3 and to a lesser extent the Wii). I am a bit disappointed at the lack of games that interest me. Oh well, I really wanted the XBox360 to take over as my media center in the living room. We had an aging Progressive Scan DVD player that just never fit right in our cabinet, and the HD-DVD player release for the XBox coupled with our 42" 1080i screen (back projection LCD) was quite compelling. Plus, I had heard great things about XBox Live.
I spent a few hours gathering all of the stuff that I wanted: The HD version of the XBox, the WiFi adapter, an extra controller, the HD-DVD add-on, and the Table Tennis game from Rockstar, with Apollo 13 (HD-DVD movie) to boot. It's been a busy day setting up the XBox. I first plugged it in, and downloaded the many system updates and rearranged our cabinet. The bulky DVD changer was gone, with the XBox 360 sitting upright to take its place. My wife liked that part!
I tried King Kong in the DVD player at first after setting up my system (or so I thought) for 1080i. Hmm, the DVD doesn't look so hot -- at least no different from the 480p version that I bought earlier this year. Not good I think.
We watch Apollo 13 and again are pretty disappointed with the picture quality. My wife goes to bed, and I fiddle with it. Well, stupid me -- I didn't toggle the video cable to HD mode! (D'oh!). I plug back in the movie and calibrate my monitor as well, and the picture quality is outstanding! Woohoo!
I then setup an XBox Live account, and download the Simpons movie trailer (hmm, perhaps that explains the previous commentary), and am currently in the middle of downloading the Superman Returns demo and the Prey demo. I can now switch back and try to get the Table Tennis Game working.
The wireless controllers are great! No more cable entanglement. Evidently they work via WiFi or BlueTooth or something, but unfortunately the DVD player's remote works via Infrared. That means that I can close the cabinet (a no-no as I'd find out) and still operate the XBox via the game controllers, but not via the remote control. Kind of a bummer. Oh well.
I open the cabinet and it is HOT in there. I have ventilation in the back of the cabinet, but it is not enough. I am going to remove the entire backing of the bottom cabinet to get some more airflow, this machine is just too hot, but with two little children (toddler and infant) I don't want them climbing into the XBox's cabinet when it is open.
Big problems? None so far -- other than the fact that the machine is fairly loud (another reason to keep the cabinet closed) and is probably the weak point thus far in the design. Other problems? The game library (not as big an issue for me currently) is fairly weak. This is something that plagued the original XBox at launch as well. Not that I see many games I want to play on the PS3 either (the Wii has the intriguing ones, and I'll pick up one next year probably) so that is probably more of a deficiency of the gaming industry rather than the XBox itself.
Live Arcade seems like there may be some gems on there however. I also love the fact that you can download game demos. Oft-times I will play a demo, and go: "Well, I guess that's enough for me" and not require the entire game. The 360's ability to do this is a godsend.
Oh, I also hooked up my Windows Media Center laptop (via wireless) to the 360 so that it can also play my entire media library while my laptop is tucked away in the office. Pretty cool feature.
Overall, happy with it so far. We'll see what happens with it in the next few months!
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video-games_xbox
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One of, if not THE best game I've ever played. To preface, this game is not for everyone. I put in 37 hours (though I could have done more side quests) and there is a steep learning curve - the instruction manual took me twenty-five minutes to read before playing, haha - but the depth of the world you are placed in is astounding.
BioWare holds nothing back with its products, and this can be vividly seen in Dragon Age. Every environment, every item you find, every conversation with a non-playable character is rich in detail. There were several times where I would stop what I was doing to just look at the beauty of my surroundings, from the high ceilings and statues in palaces to the rocky remains of an underground road. Many items in the game merely provide backstory, adding information to your codex. Someone had to write the paragraphs upon paragraphs in "The History of Ferelden," parts 1 through 10, or the backgrounds of most characters you speak to, and it's there to let you immerse yourself as fully as you want into the Dragon Age universe.
The storyline follows the general high-brow fantasy formula but with many twists along the way. You and three party members (chosen from a group of characters you accumulate on your journey) go on various quests in an attempt to unite the different races of Ferelden against an oncoming attack by the Darkspawn. Along the way, you discover that you have a surprising amount of choice in how you gather your troops, or even which groups end up joining your cause. Do you allow a legendary anvil to persist, knowing that it can create "super soldiers" of men trapped in stone, even though those men are now enslaved? Do you take the easy way out and kill a child to save a village? I was amazed at the number of choices I had throughout Dragon Age: Origins and how each of them had implications later in the game.
Combat consists of regular attacks in addition to special abilities that drain stamina or mana. These special abilities depend on which of the three classes you are - warrior, rogue, or mage. Within these classes are specializations that allow you to get even more abilities. Coupled with the three different races (human, dwarf, and elf) and the six different "origins" (the history you give your character, such as a human noble vs. a city elf), Dragon Age has much, much replay value. This is an RPG, so expect plenty of comparisons between different types of armor, staves, boots, swords, etc. etc. etc. Compared to Mass Effect, though, the inventory was very well-organized.
Really, though, the thing that got me about Dragon Age was the surprisingly emotional relationships you form with your party members over the course of your adventure. I found romance between characters to be one of the most interesting parts of gameplay, to the point where I viewed talking with my love interest in camp about her past as satisfying as unleashing lighting on enemies during combat. The voice acting is unparalleled and coupled with the excellent writing, I genuinely felt like these were real people in this epic fantasy world BioWare created. This, in addition to the freedom I had to choose how the adventure unfolded, made me feel like I was somehow in a novel, writing in the details between pages as I gradually progressed towards the ending. I'm really living up Dragon Age but this game was everything I had hoped for and more. The ending (the one I got, at least) left me thinking for hours after I had put down my controller. My only complaint is that I want more, haha.
DON'T play this game if you want a casual gaming experience, a simple dungeon crawler, or lots of nonstop action. This game is long and you really need to dedicate some time to enjoy it. There are some frustrating difficulty spikes, too, which means some parts will take a few tries to get through. Also, it's a bummer but the console versions don't have as good graphics as the computer one. For someone who doesn't have a top-tier gaming computer, though, I found the Xbox 360 experience very satisfactory.
Bottom line: this game has very deep story, satisfying interactions with dozens of characters with their individual histories, fun combat, and it's a fantasy world with monsters and dragons. Also, it's by BioWare, which should be enough to convince you. If you liked Mass Effect, you'll most likely love this game. Coming from someone who was blown away by ME and even more so by DA:O, get this game.
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video-games_xbox
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An okay game. What if everything you ever wanted...
WAS TO KICK EVERYTHING IN THE FACE!? FOREVER!
THEN YOU NEED PEREGRINE GREAVES!!!
PUT THESE SWEET LEGS ON YOUR TITAN AND YOU WILL DECIMATE THINGS WITH YOUR POWERFUL KNEES. THEY ARE GEMS. YOU WILL LOOK GLAMOROUS LIKE A STYLISH LADY WHILE YOU KNEE SOMEONE IN THE THROAT SO HARD THEIR TEETH GO THROUGH THEIR SKULL! YOUR LEGS ARE BEDAZZLED! BEDAZZLED WITH THE STRENGTH OF 1,000 KODIAK BEARS IF KODIAK BEARS CARED ABOUT GRAVITY AND EVOLVED TO DO SWEET JUMPKICKS!
YOU WILL SET YOUR CHILD ON YOUR KNEE TO GIVE HIM SOUND FATHERLY ADVICE ANDTHAT CHILD WILL EXPLODE BECAUSE YOUR KNEES ARE INSTANT DEATH! YOUR SON WILL DIE! YOUR WIFE WILL DIVORCE YOU! YOU WILL DIE ALONE ATOP THE MOUNTAIN OF CORPSES YOU'VE LEFT IN YOUR WAKE AS YOUR LIFE DISSOLVES INTO A NIGHTMARISH HELLSCAPE OF VIOLENCE AND DEPRAVITY!
YOU WILL TAKE PEREGRINE GREAVES INTO THE CRUCIBLE AND YOU WILL MASSACRE PEOPLE! YOU WILL KILL THEM ALL!
YOU WILL KNEE BLADEDANCERS! DENIED! GET THAT BUTTERKNIFE THE HECK OUT OF HERE!
YOU WILL KNEE RADIANT WARLOCKS AND CAUSE THEM TO WEEP RADIANT TEARS!
YOU WILL KNEE GOLDEN GUNSLINGERS...CAREFULLY....
YOU WILL KNEE OTHER TITANS IN THEIR BUBBLES, DIVING INTO THEIR NEON DISCO DANCE PARTIES BLIND AND MURDER THEM WITH YOUR ENERGY LEGS! IT IS YOUR BUBBLE NOW SO THAT GU---wait, THE BUBBLE IS GONE BECAUSE OF YOU!? WHY THE HECK DID YOU DO THAT!?
YOU WILL RUIN YOUR K/D LIKE I HAVE BECAUSE YOU ARE ADDICTED TO THE SWEET, SWEET SOUND OF INSTANT AIRBORNE DEATH! YOU WILL CATCH SO MANY SHOTGUN BLASTS TO THE FACE AND IT WILL BE WORTH IT WHEN YOU KNOCK A BLADEDANCER OUT BEFORE HE CAN CHOP UP YOUR TEAM! EVERY PAINFUL DEATH WILL BE VALIDATED AS YOUR LEG COLLIDES WITH A FIERY WARLOCK'S GOAT HAT SO HARD THAT HE'S RENDERED BRAIN-DAMAGED AND HIS FAMILY FIGHTS WITH THE STATE OF TEXAS TO TAKE HIM OFF OF LIFE-SUPPORT! HE WILL LIVE OFF OF TUBES! BECAUSE OF TEXAAAAAAS!
PEREGRINE GREEAAAAAAAAAAVES!!!
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video-games_xbox
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Beautiful But Repetitive. Here's how I got this score:
The Cities: A+ This game is just all-around awesome when you look at how well done the cities are. A game like GTA was only at the street level, and this takes you into a third dimension. I applaud the team that worked on that.
The Gameplay: C- Climbing and jumping are fun, but the missions are a snoozefest. You're an assassin, yet you rarely get to do a true stealth kill on a boss. Most of the time you run right up to the guy, stab him or throw knives at him, and run away from the guards.
I imagined following the guy on the outside of a wall, waiting for him to go into a locked room, and sneaking in the window for a stealth kill, and sneaking back out.
It's kind of silly the way the guards run after you, and once you're in a hay bale, they jump off the sides of the building.
The main character isn't the easiest to maneuver. Given time to change you camera angle, jumping around is fun. When guards are chasing after you, he often can't get on a ladder, keeps running up a wall, sticks on the edge of something, and doesnt' want to get into the little tent.
Also, there are times when you want to do a stealth kill, but he won't drop down nicely. He just keeps grabbing on inch by inch as he drops, which only leaves you the option of jumping, which takes you too far away from where you want to drop.
The horse seems an okay part of developing a sense of the setting, but isn't really a fun part of the game or anything.
I also wished that there was a little bit more challenge in finding a way to get up the different towers, instead of just climbing onto a building and killing a guard. The one cathedral was the most challenging one.
If he's an assassin, why is he helping thieves in the street being harassed by guards?
The Story: C For some people, the story is very important to a game, while others just want to know that there are bad guys, blah blah blah and that you need to kill them. I like the time period they picked, and the sci-fi twist in the frame story is interesting, but the acting and dialogue are so bad.
The guy wakes up. "Where am I? "You've been captured....DNA...ancestor's memories..." and he's like, "Oh, okay. So my room's over here. Could you call my boss and tell him I won't be in this week. I'll just lay back on the table when you tell me to."
The story from the 1100's really never develops much, and I didn't care that much about it.
Waht I would change in this game - Make the game more about finding clues to get to your next destination. Make the game about stealth kills instead of fighting in the street against 10 guards. I ordered AC2, so hopefully they fixed some of these things...
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video-games_xbox
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Great game at heart, needs to be fixed. I've been playing this game for a couple day now, and have taken a close look at all the aspects of the game. This is a game that is very fun at it's core, however it was plagued by problems due to an obviously too-early release. Problems that made it nearly impossible or unbearable to play. I played it at a friend's when it got released, and was rather disappointed by what I saw. Since it's release, however, DICE has released 4 updates. I can say that compared to when it was first released and now after the updates, I think it is a lot better. It still has a ways to go, but it is improved for me. Let's break this up into categories now.
CAMPAIGN
As with all modern FPS games lately, the story is definitely not the strong point. The story is easily forgettable, and is predictable, with all the expected missions that are in all campaigns. To me, the campaign is just a way to get familiar with the game, which should not be the case. The story should be played for the story, however I did not believe that was not the case for this game. But when gamers buy these types of games, a good majority of them do so for the multiplayer, which is definitely where this game has potential to shine.
MULTIPLAYER
This is what Battlefield is known for. I first started playing BF with Bad Company 2. Obviously others have played since way before that, but that is when I first became really aware of the series. I loved it. I instantly fell in love with the way the game played. BF3 came out and, after adjusting slightly, also loved it. So when I first heard about BF4, I became very excited. I have been waiting for this game for a long time. When I popped it in, downloaded the updates, and began playing, I was pleasantly surprised. It played like Battlefield should. A few games later I did run into some hiccups, some making me want to quit. However compared to when I first played on my friend's console, it was better by a mile. The familiar customization is still here, with a plethora of options that everyone will loved, as well as new customization features. I am not turning my head from the problems though. There are some major issues here. Ones that could have easily been fixed if it was released later. At it's core however, it is the same Battlefield that everyone who is a fan loves. It is just overshadowed at times by severing problems.
CONCLUSION
So, why on earth did I give this game 4 stars if it still suffering from problems? Why if it has an extremely drab campaign?
Why? Because this game CAN be fixed. DICE has the ability to do so, and has done so with 4 updates already. I know they care about their community, rather than EA. DICE loves creating this game, and is very passionate about doing so. I believe they listen to the community, and will fix the plaguing problems in the multiplayer. All the problems can be patched, to put it short. I don't think DICE wanted to release it this early, but was forced to by EA. When this game plays well, it shines, and displays a greatly improved version of the Battlefield that we all love. Sure, DICE should have pushed for a later release, but it's too late to complain about it now. We must be patient, and soon we will see a great game with a great multiplayer experience.
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video-games_xbox
|
A GREAT REDO . Got this for christmas...and i have to say that im really impressed with new redo of the xbox360 its great!
i was without a 360 for a while my other older model final broke down(2 of them over 3 years with the protection plan) .and i had to wait a bit so my playstation 3 took up the slack for my next gen gaming needs ..im glad i waited because the new 360 "slim" is perfect! if your looking to get a replacement 360 or just getting into the awesomeness for the first time..this is the way to go..
lets be honest, this is how the 360 should have been designed from the start...you can tell they took some tips from the playstation 3 with this one... with all the extra fans and vents.. which were really needed..
i love the touch sensors and the gloss finish (again ala ps3) the extra fans are really helpful and are so quiet and work well that hot air is pushed away at lightspeed.. on my old 360 it always sounded like a jet engine.. the 250 gb hard drive is also a nice touch and i like how its actually inside the system at the bottom now (again like the ps3) you'll need to get a inexpensive data transfer cable to move all of your games, downloads, etc from your old xbox to the new slim because they have different hard drives... ive read that you can mod the hard drive though ..but i wouldnt do it, because you might mess it up..and your out of luck..
For the people that don't think they need the hard drive..THINK AGAIN..BECAUSE YOU DO! if now now, you'll need it eventually.. if you want to use the Xbox live service for online gaming etc or even to play some particular games (halo reach is a good example ) a dinky little flash drive attatched is NOT going to help you out..sure the 4gb is good for saving your level..thats about it..pony up and spring for the drive...or get it with the system...
the controller is the same awesome one like before but only in black..and yep you can still use the same battery packs (play and charge kit also) it also comes with a month free of the xbox live gold service..whats there not to love?
the "ghostbuster trap" power brick is smaller as well.. but still remember the 360 still gets really warm ( then again so does the ps3) so keep the system and power brick in a area where air can get to it...
bottom line the new xbox360 "slim" system is worth the upgrade
now, if youll excuse me..im off to play some halo reach online :) you try finding games like that on the wii..i don't think so :)
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video-games_xbox
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