Split (3)

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This series is going backwards in quality. First off, let me say that I've been a huge fan of this series since its inception. With that said, however, this might just be the game that convinced me to never buy another Tenchu game ever again. For beginners, not one piece of this game displays anything that couldn't be accomplished on the original Xbox. 50 missions? Yeah right. Try 12 maps rehashed over, and over, and over, and over again. Daytime and nighttime versions of the same level aren't very different aside from expanding your enemies' field of vision. The graphics are respectable, but nowhere near the 360's capabilities. Enemy AI is better than past Tenchus, but they still suffer from absolutely no short term memory. The voice tracks may or may not be rehashed throughout the game. Truth is I have no idea, since I DON'T SPEAK JAPANESE! What in the world made the developers decide that we didn't need this game in english. Heck, I'd even settle for engrish as long as I could understand them. Also, what the hell happened to having some kind of storyline? C'mon, who seriously thinks that a 5 second animated sequence counts as a quality storyline? Granted, at least the storyline follows a straight line. This is the first time that's happened in a Tenchu game since Tenchu 2 (that's right, last century!). Still, the game has 2 playable characters (neither of which are Ayame or Rikimaru, more on that later), so you have two parallel stories, right? Wrong. In fact, you can't even play through the second character's path without using a second profile. The game only allows one save file per profile. Back to the playable characters. Ask anybody what their biggest problem was with MGS2, and guaranteed that response will be one word: Raiden. Making a Tenchu game where you can't play as Ayame or Rikimaru is about as bad as a Super Mario game that only allows you to play as Kupas. And lastly, would it kill the developers to include a mapmaker function in this game? Online play's great and all, but I guarantee 110% that anybody who buys this game and plays it online would much rather be able to download countless user-created missions than to play one of the countless (read:12) missions included in the game. I might be a bit impressed with with the online missions, if they weren't the EXACT SAME MISSIONS FROM THE SINGLE PLAYER GAME! Face it, if ever there was a niche game, this is it. People aren't going to line up tho play this game, aside from the rabid Tenchu fans who are in love with the series. Look at any fansite dedicated to the series, and everybody begs for a mapmaker every time a new Tenchu game comes out. Sadly, the Tenchu series seems to be relegated to the same fate as the Chicago Cubs. We'll never see any solid improvements as long as we blindly give our money out. Maybe if we would boycott this game, the developers just might listen to the fans of the series next time. Not that I honestly expect that, though. Does the Ninja Gaiden fan club have an opening?	video-games_xbox
Masterful and Bland, the Toyota Camry of videogames. There was clearly a lot of love put into this game. It looks amazing, the interface is very good, and technically I haven't found any issues. I think the unlimited tries model (i.e. no deaths, just an animation of Elika saving you) works just fine. It's a perfect balance, yes, I get frustrated by watching the animation over and over, but there should be some penalty for missing a jump. On the other hand, some jumps and sections seem impossible to plan out properly, but any system sufficiently complicated to be interesting will have some puzzling parts (upside down sections it's not obvious which direction to push in). And, as also mentioned in the other reviews, the fights are dull and repetitive. There is some strategy taught to you, but it basically results in holding down the 'block' button and guessing when a good time to strike would be. The enemies don't have patterns as predictable or puzzle-like as the old SNES games like Mario. And if you make a mistake you don't die ... the enemy's life meter goes back to 100%. This results in a lot of long, button mashing contests. The fights LOOK spectacular. The dialogue system is nice, it sounds appropriately first date-ish for the story, even if there's too much of it. The map and hint system is perfect (though it has less to do in this game than most). BUT the story is perfectly fill-in-the-numbers for a videogame, a made-up fallen deity, dark lands, restoring this that and the other thing with a generic family tie in to Elika, and you're the generic rogue type. You can explore in any direction, but each direction is a perfectly linear acrobatic path. The game seems artsy pretentious but is really a mindless bimbo underneath. It's a fantastic effort, this game, I'm glad I got it (used and cheap) but I'm glad I'm quitting it, too. Islam, Persia, faith, mideast war, family conflict, these are all relevant to the 'Prince of Persia' series and to modern life, the games should be about one of these things. Ubisoft Montreal clearly has a lot of talent still in search of a message to deliver.	video-games_xbox
Which to buy? X Box, PS2, or Gamecube. It's around the holidays. Thinking of buying a system. I'll go through the pros and cons of each one. X Box- If you are the kind of person who likes shooting games such as Halo this is for you. This has the most games for the older group. It has a DVD Player and a CD Player. Also, unlike the PS2 or Gamecube, it has memory built in so you don't have to spend $20 on a memory card. The graphics are the best out of the systems. BUT... The controllers are the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in my life. Even the small version is HUGE!!! Also the actual system itself is VERY BIG!!! It takes up a lot of room. The only good games that are only for X Box are Halo and Halo 2. PS2- This system has a lot of 1 player games. Ratchet and Clank, Grad Theft Auto, and so on. If you like single player games that take a while to beat, you should get a PS2. The controllers are the best of the three systems. It's very comfortable. It also has a DVD Player and CD Player built in. it doesn't take up a lot of room, but now they have released the slimmer version of the PS2. So it will take up almost no room. BUT... You have to spend $20 for each memory card. There are some very good games that are only for PS2. Gamecube- If you like Nintendo games like Mario games, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, then this system is for you. It has a lot of kiddy games. The controllers are pretty comfotable but there are a few buttons that are hard to press. Also it is very small. It is also the cheapest of the three systems. BUT... It does not have a DVD Player or a CD Player. Also you have to spend money on a memory card. It has a lot of games that are only for Gamecube, but there are also a lot of games only for PS2 and X Box. So, you decide. Do you like shooting games, single player games, or Mario games. Do you need a DVD Player or CD Player. Do you want to spend $$$ on a memory card. How much do you want to spend. They all have their pros, and they all have their cons. I personally, as a baseball, James Bond lover chose the PS2 as my first game system. I like the sport games better on PS2 then on X Box. (Gamecube doesn't make many sport games.) Also James Bond is a single player game. It's a tough choice!!!	video-games_xbox
Great Game. Let me start off by saying this is a great game. From what I can tell by playing this game it is a combination of Halo, Lost Planet, Quake, COD, Battlefield, and more, etc, all in one. First off, you need to change the controller settings to Button Kicker and turn Sprint on to ALWAYS in the settings. This will make you super fast and hard to kill. Its the way the game is meant to be played. Maybe some of you don't like button kicker but its the closest to Halo and COD. Secondly, I do not recommend going into the campaign right away. The reason for this is that its hard to listed to the campaign story and learn how to play the game at the same time. Head into Online Multiplayer Classic and play Attrition for a while and get a feel for the maps and movement. After a while, go to the campaign and it will be easy to kick butt and listen to the story. The number one reason to play the campaign is to unlock the Other 2 Titans and upgrade them yourself. I personally see how every game I know was made into this one game and it feels awesome. Its the best of everything. I can understand some people miss things they find in other games such as naming classes, custom games, etc. but I personally never thought of them or missed them while playing. It takes time and skill to get good at this game. Don't expect to be number one like COD just because you have a good hiding spot, this is not that game. In time, you will get better at knowing how the game functions and get alot of skill to be good. I feel it takes so much time and skill to be good at this game which is rewarding, that they put grunts and specters in so people feel rewarded even if they can't kill other pilots. Also, I found it twice as fun when I was not in my Titan and had the Titan on follow mode. This way, I could kill pilots on foot and my Titan helped me, twice the man power to win. If someone got on top of my Titan I could easily shoot them off. I personally have no complaints about the game and I have played every Halo since its release in 2001 and COD since its first release. I hope This Helps.	video-games_xbox
Release day fun. It's hard to justify writing a review on the day of release and only a few hours of playing (call it 5 hours), but I felt like I was able to get a sufficient experience to write a review. A side note, I have not played the betas to compare or comment on the gameplay or differences that there may be. The Good: The environment is beautiful and feels real to me. I wouldn't say that everything is realistic, but as close as a game has made me feel to a real environment. There seems to be a plethora of gear, modifications and weapons to choose from so you can customize your look and style of play. I don't feel like I'm a slouch at shooters (3rd person or otherwise), but this game has had points where it's actually difficult, which I like. I haven't had to retry a mission more than once to complete it either as I learn what works best for that specific encounter or how the game works in general. Bottom line is that it's fun to play for me at this point. The Bad: I'm finding myself getting stuck on objects occasionally. Although the controls aren't hard, they take a little practice to do right and I'm not quite there yet. Early in the game there isn't a whole lot of backstory to really explain what's really going on, but that might be a personal preference thing for me. I like to know everything there is to know and not get the 2 minute rundown at the beginning. Not a deal breaker at all. There are some random issues like navigating through menus that I would have liked to be done better, but that's all very minor. I'm sure I'll find more things I dislike about the game as I put more hours into it, but it's polished enough that the problems aren't appearing at the points I'm at in the game. The Ugly: I let my initial game download run from midnight until about 8 AM and was only at 56% complete when I woke up and checked. It was mostly that I neglected to pre-load the game that caused this and could have been an issue with my internet overnight, but felt like the servers are getting killed and the downloads were taking way too long. In the few hours I played, I lost connection to the servers twice which was annoying. I'm sure as the release day onslaught of the servers smooths out, the issues will be reduced or eliminated. Overall, any fan of shooter games, especially 3rd person shooters or RPGs, as well as fans of dystopian fiction should give this game a try. I hope that the end game will be enough to keep me interested for a long time, but I don't know enough about that yet to say for sure. I just know I'm having fun right now. I hope this review helps, and I'll see you in the Dark Zone.	video-games_xbox
Fixes problems, creates others, but a great game overall. I felt that after playing the game I had a good enough experience that I should review it. I will review it in two parts: Campaign and Online Multiplayer. Campaign Theres one word to describe the campaign, and that word is thrilling. You get to try out a new vehicle almost right from the start. I played on heroic/normal and what surprised me was the intelligence of the AI. Elites dodged when something was thrown at them and they are a pain to take out because they can lunge and melee you quickly, especially the invisible ones with energy swords. I used to think that jackals and grunts were a joke, but they actually presented quite a challenge when they were in numbers. No more rushing in and unloading bullets, you're not master chief anymore. There were also occasions where they (accidentally) "comboed" me by launching a fully charged plasma pistol shot to remove the shields and then shooting me all at once with the needle rifle, a new weapon that replaces the carbine from Halo 3. Brutes were quite similar to brutes from Halo 3, except that they lack brute shots and could rampage/assassinate you. Armor abilities are much better than equipment, although some such as hologram are useless on AI. One of the only problems is that it can get overwhelming at times, even if you play it smart. There are times when you cant even step out of cover without have your head picked off by 5 jackals at once or getting blown up by a grunt, yes a grunt, with a fuel rod cannon. And then theres the shade turrets. They are easily the most aggravating things in campaign because they fire in bursts of about 20 shots at once and are extremely accurate. If you do not have a long range weapon, you can say without hesitation that you are screwed. Multiplayer They fixed many of the problems in halo 3, like excessive spawn camping and spraying, but they also made some worse. For example, getting headshots with the improved "battle rifle" like midrange rifle is wayyy to easy. The energy sword is now overpowered due to people jetpacking up and landing on you or camping invisible in a corner. In Invasion (Spartan vs Elite), Elites own in every way possible. Needle Rife > Anything else because 4-5 shots = explosion and its range is huge. The elites basically just camp in the Spartan base with energy swords and spartans cant do anything about it. However, despite all of these flaws, it is still a very refined experience. I went 2-15 my first game and still had loads of fun, mainly due to the armor abilities.	video-games_xbox
An improvement over 5 - and a lot of fun in its own right. Forza Motorsport brings what you would expect to the table: lots of cars and tracks, gorgeous weather and plenty of little hooks to keep you coming back for more. The racing itself has not advance much, but it still makes for a solid experience with several options to help everyone find their ideal way to experience the game. Forza Motorsport 6 gets off to an almost pretentious start, with this short video and voice over about how humans simply have a need to race, to be the fastest and the best. It is not wrong on any level, but it came across as a little strange at first. Entertaining? Sure, but one thing Forza Motorsport 6 is guilty of is a little overindulgence. It knows that it has breathtaking venues and fast, fascinating cars, and there is a lot of pomp and conversation around each track or event. Again, not a bad thing, but these slow down the pace of a game that really is all about speed. So what about the racing in Forza? This is how you spend the majority of your time after all, and while it still feels great, some aspects of the racing hold up better than others. Forza Motorsport 6 still does an excellent job of creating a strong sense of speed, especially when you are in a showcase event trying something far different than your normal races and courses. It can straddle the line between simulation and arcade nicely, with your settings playing a huge factor in this. I am by no means a racing expert - my wife is the one who can usually rock the sim settings without issue. Me? Give me additional modifiers to help my racing along, because I am simply not that great at these games. I enjoy them, I just wish I was better at them. There are options for this. Speaking of modifiers, there are also 'mods' you can attach to your car. Some last from race to race, such as additional traction that does an even better job on a specific course. Others are one and done - giving you bonus experience or money if you burn them off on a particular race. I have mixed feelings on these, because they give you even further customized control over your car, but they do not make a great deal of sense from an in-world standpoint. I like them, but they are somewhat illogical as cards that you simply play on your car. The Drivatar system is still very entertaining. I don't care that it really is not one of my friends (as it seems to draw heavily from your friends who have played and compiled Drivatars), it is still a good time to see one on the road in front of me. You know, before I nudge them back off of the road. I was curious to see how the system would pick up on driving techniques, and the best example I saw was in watching my oldest daughter play the game. My wife and I both showed up on several of her tracks, and the differences in our driving styles were quite pronounced. Mind you, my wife's is better, but that is something that the Drivatar system picked up on. She takes turns more cleanly and chooses better times to accelerate and generally runs a clean race. I have a tendency (okay, more of a compulsion) to try and knock people out of my way. I have mastered the fine art of hitting someone in the back wheel and panel area to spin them out on a turn. I'm a jerk. I accept that, but on the track I am a jerk. Watching my daughter race saw my wife gunning past people, avoiding contact, while my car seemed to be involved in every dust-up out there. It was an oddly satisfying thing to see. While there has long been night racing in Forza, here in Motorsport 6 it gets taken up a notch. I tend to race in a third person perspective above and somewhat behind my car so I can see the environment better. My wife tends to race with the 'in the car view'. I was amazed at how her range of vision was impacted by her headlights at night. The cooler temperatures also had a discernible impact on the tires and how well they held the road. Rain is a glorious new effect. I was suitably impressed with the rain effects in Driveclub, but they are even better here both in how they look and in the way the cars react to them. The career mode is really just a series of light narratives meant to guide you through some of the more notable locations and types of cars out there. I'm not a motorhead by any means, so for me this was often education if unnecessary (as I mentioned before - I just wanted to get to the racing). My wife has a far greater appreciation for cars and I found her nodding her head and smiling at a lot of the information that was being presented as we made our way through not only those Stories of Motorsport, but the Showcase events that pop up along the way. Forza Motorsport 6 somehow manages to find a way to straddle the line between arcade and simulation very nicely. The assists can be tweaked and toggled in such a way that even someone such as myself can feel competitive while playing - though I know I am not as good as others out there at simulation racing games. Earning credits to unlock new cars and encountering new Showcases are a great way to spice things up, and there is a very active community of racers and people designing looks for cars - it is great seeing what is new on that front. This is a gorgeous game with audio that growls and hums when it needs to. There is a bit more fluff around the edges than I personally cared for, but the rain and night effects are awesome and worth seeing as well.	video-games_xbox
Nearly flawless controller, good value with P&C bundle. I am verrry glad Microsoft didn't change the successful controller formula they came up with many years ago. This is a fantastic controller. It feels like a tiny bit of a better fit in my hands than the 360 controller, and I like the new ridges on the thumbsticks. There were only two things I ever really thought they needed to change from the 360 controller, and they did both: Fix the crappy D-pad (it is much better now), and move the guide/dashboard button. I like how it is higher up on the controller now so you won't ever accidentally hit it when going for the start/back buttons. Speaking of which, I guess that's my only very minor complaint. They should have stuck with "Start" and "Back" as the names for those two center buttons. It sounds a lot less cool to read "Press the menu button to begin" on the Killer Instinct main screen, rather than the classic "Press Start". But, not a big deal. The rechargeable batteries seem a little smaller than the Xbox 360 ones, but worked great all through my Xbox One's launch night. The only very minor downside is it takes a few seconds longer to swap these batteries out than it did to swap out an Xbox 360 battery, but I like the tradeoff of having the Xbox One controller be slimmer and sleeker since there isn't a big battery jutting out the back. The charging cable is sufficiently long to play from my couch (8 feet away from my TV). Took an hour or so for the initial charging to finish from whatever capacity percentage these come from the factory. Don't bother with the third-party junk batteries. While the cable is just a basic micro USB and interchangeable, off-brand rechargeable batteries are rarely worth bothering with for the small difference in price. FYI: While amazon is sold out of these bundles at the moment, I saw stacks of them at my local Best Buy and Walmarts, so you may want to check there. It is definitely worth getting this bundle since it's $10 cheaper than buying both items separately.	video-games_xbox
Happily got for free, would have paid for it now knowing how good it is. So, I started out this review process reading the one star summaries and I want to clear a few things up. 1. I didn't pay for this game because it was the 360's game with gold a few months ago. 2. I had zero issues with glitches so I suspect the GwG version was patched to fix many of the problems previous reviewers had. 3. I've never played any of the other games in the series and I only knew there was a separate trilogy because I inadvertently googled tips for the wrong game. With that all said, the game I downloaded and paid nothing for was one of the best experiences I've had on the 360. There are story flaws, for sure, but the overall pace of the game and, specifically, the attention to detail was refreshing to me. The city, for example, is a really, really stylaized steam punk version of an archetypal late baroque/early industrial town and the architecture was surprisingly accurate. The extremely confined spaces, building jettying (where each "floor" of the house gets larger as the building goes higher) and the timbering were all characteristic of common European towns during those highly corrupted and gilded ages. You're never really sure what "year" you're in (it's all fictitious, the year is listed as like 842 but they have electricity and ductwork) but the overall feel flows well. The missions get redundant and the game is quite short, but still worthwhile. The similarities to Dishonored are both shocking and enjoyable because that's my other favorite steam punk pantheon experience. This game, however, is much more physical and much less magical. You can see with a special vision, but you can't teleport or manipulate things remotely like Corvo could. My 5 stars might be worth less than the 5 stars I have Skyrim, but the game, to me, is much better than its current 3.5 star holding. I've loved Square since the FF days and I think this is one of the better things they've given us since XII. Totally worth the $20, but I would go with the digital download because it seems like the launch disc had a lot of bugs. Once again, I had zero problems with the GwG version.	video-games_xbox
Glorified Expansion or Not, We're STILL Gonna Need More Zombies. The original Left 4 Dead was a milestone in console gaming as it combined two legendary genres (survival horror and first-person shooters) and contained a great split-screen co-op whether online or offline. I gave great praise to the first Left 4 Dead a year ago, and yet, desired a lot more than what was presented. When I heard that the production company Valve was releasing an entirely new sequel barely one year after the release of the first game, I was very, VERY skeptical the developers would pull off a good game. In fact, there was a massive online boycott being organized almost immediately following Valve's announcement of a sequel due to a lack of downloadable content, quick release. Many speculated that Left 4 Dead 2 would be nothing more than a glorified expansion. Despite all the controversy, however, I through all caution (not to mention the money for a full-priced game) to the wind and purchased the game on it's midnight release. Having played Left 4 Dead 2 for a few hours, I can safely say that the sequel has lived up to the hype despite prior skepticism and controversy. Left 4 Dead 2 closely follows the basic gaming principles of its predecessor, a gratuitous first-person shooter against the backdrop of a global zombie pandemic. The player follows four new survivors (although possessing similar personality quirks) across several campaigns with an almost endless supply of ammo, almost as many zombies including special mutated ones, and no shooter's shoulder to worry about. Towards the end of the campaign the survivors must defend a position to await rescue whilst going up against seemingly impossible odds. Like the original, Left 4 Dead 2 focuses on teamwork survival rather than the typical one-man-army. It is virtually impossible for one gamer to survive the campaigns without assistance from either ally AI or from another player and no, this is not a dare to try. Weapons are hyper-accurate similar to doom as you simply have to point the weapon in the general direction of your target in order to hit them, thus making the Left 4 Dead franchise the ultimate zombie shooter. I definitely agree with the Left 4 Dead 2 television commercial that, even with 10 million zombies, there just isn't enough to go around as a player can kill more zombies than Electronic Arts has killed more Nazis in the Medal of Honor franchise. (BTW: to any worried parents or concerned citizens that are hesitant or disgusted by the intense violence of Left 4 Dead, lemme just say this. It's a gratuitous shooter, it's supposed to be this violent. Don't be surprised if you see head chopped off or limbs fly around as that is a common sight in the game. You've been forewarned so either watch what your kids play or don't play it. Step aside and let us gamers deal with the zombie apocalypse.) Left 4 Dead 2 also contains the same online multiplayer experience with survivors versus special infected (oh the fun of peeking around the corner as a boomer and unloading your stomach contents on the survivors all the hoard to survey), online campaign co-op, and survival mode similar to firefight mode in Halo 3: ODST albeit with considerably more difficulty. It's a good thing Valve did not try to tweak these features too much since that can easily ruin a good feature that everyone liked to begin with. However, like any other sequel, Left 4 Dead 2 sports several improvements over the original game that are certainly worth noting. 1: Left 4 Dead 2 possesses a defined story arc with character development. The original game had a very, VERY basic story with little character development. The most extensive story development in the original game was contained in the instruction manual and not the game itself. The story involving the campaigns seemed almost mutually exclusive from each other and lacked any real focus. While a lacking story beyond survive and kill did not hinder Left 4 Dead from being an absolutely awesome game, it could have made the game a whole lot better. Left 4 Dead 2 differs from this as it gives a defined story involving how the survivors found each other, their backgrounds are more defined through dialog, but their interactions with each other is just as hilarious as the first such as the survivor's discussion of NASCAR. Also, the campaigns are linked through a common thread rather than being mutually exclusive. 2: More diverse firearms selections. One of my original criticisms of Left 4 Dead was the lack of weapons selections. You had two full-automatic choices, two shotguns, one pistol, two types of grenades, and one rifle. That was it. Left 4 Dead sports the exact same weapons as well as several new automatic weapons, more shotguns, more pistols, and most importantly... 3: Melee Weapons!! Let's face it, we've all wanted to take either a fire axe or a katana to a zombie. Now you can! The player can also choose between such melee weapons as a guitar (which makes a loud metal sound similar to the one in Dead Rising), a cricket stick, Gordon Freeman's signature crowbar, frying pans, and everyone's favorite: the chainsaw. This was one of the most redeeming qualities of Left 4 Dead 2 as cutting through zombie hordes with a chainsaw has been a dream of many gamers since we witnessed that burlap-sack-chainsaw-welding maniac on Resident Evil 4 decapitate Leon S. Kennedy over and over. 4: Realism Mode. Left 4 Dead, being a gratuitous shooter, does lack a more relatively realistic approach that other survival horror games offer. As such, Valve included a realism mode that A) prevents the player from seeing the other player's silhouettes when not in direct sight, B) dead survivors can only be revived by a defibrillator (another new item), C) damage dealt to zombies is based on where it hits rather than one hit equals the same damage whether the zombie is hit in the arm or in the dead, and D) dead survivors cannot be respawned via redemption closets. This makes the game considerably more difficult even for more seasoned veterans of the game. There are a few more subtle changes such as increased difficulty. There are more zombies, some take more hits, and a survivor can only utilize a few melee attacks before becoming exhausted. My brother and I, who are very big fans of the original game, used to practice playing split-screen co-op on hard but experienced noticeable difficulty on Left 4 Dead 2's easy mode. Perhaps it was a fluke but we certainly were not out of practice. This is an improvement in a way since it makes the player think more before charging into a room or open space. Other improvements include smoother game textures (the weapons, in particular, are more detailed and refined), less loading time (the original took two minutes to load the menu screen), and more challenging special zombies such as the charger and certain zombies in riot gear making them more resistant to bullets. I'll admit, Left 4 Dead 2 does not feel so much as a new game but I wouldn't even come close to designating it an expansion. Not in the least. It is obvious Valve went to great measures to ensure their sequel would live up to the hype of the original and the price of a new game by improving upon the base formula considerably w/o sacrificing any good elements from the first. Valve even designed the button placement and configuration to be virtually identical to the original. From what I can see, Valve did not sacrifice anything good to improve upon the sequel and this is rare. At first, I was a very skeptical gamer when Valve announced a new Left 4 Dead but they turned me into a believer after all as I enjoyed the campaigns and the online multiplayer and will continue to do so in the future. My only wish is that Valve would include more zombies, but I'll just have to wait until Left 4 Dead 3 next Christmas when they introduce more environmental weapons than Dead Rising! Happy hunting!	video-games_xbox
X-Com: Perfection Within. Love this game. One of the BEST turn-based strategy games in existence. The PC version looks much better, but this version is great--especially if you are closer to the TV than not. Customize your soldiers' equipment, abilities, and even languages! Lots of combat options to tweak. The voice acting is great. The story lines are entertaining and kind of creepy. There are a few stand-out characters. Then, of course, there are the four "cheat" characters based on well-known gaming personalities (Sid Meier, for example). If you are a sci-fi geekazoid, you HAVE to try this game. It burns away the hours and leaves you smiling. You can even torture yourself with impossible difficulty levels and game enhancing disabilities. It's a game that you can make as hard you wish it to be. The aliens are unique and have their own powers--only some of which you can duplicate through research, interrogation, and autopsy. But you have to catch the critters first. The robotic servants of the aliens are pretty scary--one of which needs to be handled carefully, or it can destroy your entire squad in six moves. Freaky aliens that create zombies screech into your face. Cyborg aliens fly into combat. Heavily armored reptoids make it feel like you are fighting tanks. Alien commanders and "ethereals" who can take control of your soldiers can extend game play quite a while.. It's all lots of fun, because you never know what lurks in the dark or around a corner. Plus, the aliens try to flank you and escape disadvantaged positions, so the outcome can change at the drop of a hat. Also, when your soldier dies, he or she is dead. Bye bye forever, Sergeant Dirk Bobblebrain (Or whatever you rename him). You can genetically enhance your soldiers, discover psychic powers, create cyborgs, and research alien tech to acquire better weaponry, vehicles, and armor. The possibilities are endless. You can make research more difficult, psychics rare, genetic enhancement and psychic powers non-compatible, and so on. Lots of cool options which make replay value REALLY HIGH. Oh, and the music is impressive. It really sets the mood. Whether you are investigating a crash in a forest, invading a giant abductor vessel, trying to escape an alien-infested wharf--the music is scary and adrenaline-inducing. So, go get some green blood on your boots, soldier! It's killing time! BUY THIS GAME. On PC too, if you can. (There is a great mod on PC which allows you to field lots more soldiers and face incredibly diverse mixtures of aliens.)	video-games_xbox
Great RPG fun. This game is fantastic. It got panned by critics when it was first released because it was extremely buggy and the graphics were less than stellar. But 8 or 10 months after its release (something like that), the devs overhauled the graphics and fixed all the bugs, then released an expansion (which is included here) that was almost as long as the original game...each part takes around 50 hours if you do all there is to do, for a total of over 100 hours of gameplay. If you rush through the main story, you could probably finish it faster, but in a game like this, why would you want to? We play these kinds of games (literally ROLE PLAYING games) to immerse ourselves in the world the devs have created...and this one does not disappoint. The extra time the devs spent polishing the game up were well worth it. I didn't play it when it was originally released, so this was my first experience with it, and I'm quite impressed. The graphics actually look pretty darn good. Rich detail throughout, and very few areas look less-than-completely polished. The character animations aren't the strong suit here, but they are on par with most other RPGs, and better than many. The main story is pretty good, for a game like this (which, for games based on story, are frequently pretty lame, sadly). The side quests are decent...fairly standard RPG fare, but they take you into some pretty cool environments, which are all fairly well developed. It's not perfect, however. My biggest gripe (and, frankly, one of my only ones) is with the controls. Generally, they're fine, but if you want to highlight something/someone (like when you want to talk with someone), you have to get a tiny little cursor perfectly on them before you can push a button to initiate a conversation (or pick up an item, or whatever). It's extremely frustrating, and even after many, many hours of play, it doesn't get much less frustrating. That being said, that really is one of my few gripes. The gameplay is, by and large, quite fun, with varying and unique enemies and environments. The game really comes into its own, though, when it allows you to take dragon form...something that unfortunately doesn't happen (except once, briefly) until quite far into the game. This is a shame, because it's the best part of the game. Flying around as a dragon is loads of fun, and the flying controls are excellent. Insofar as such is possible, I really felt like a dragon flying around, spinning through the air and breathing fire. Very cool. I just wish they had introduced this far earlier in the game, and (thus) allowed for a lot more time spent as a dragon. Note to developers: being a dragon is cool. When you pull it off well, make it a large portion of the game! Overall, this game is very fun, and highly recommended. I didn't play it when it was first released (largely due to the bad reviews), but the devs have clearly fixed the vast majority of these issues. A quick search of reviews for the updated version shows that most reviewers love the new version, and rightly so. It's awesome. The expansion, which again is included here, is just as high quality as the original campaign, and for the cost here, the package is an incredible value. Highly recommended!	video-games_xbox
Ready to have some fun. Dead birds and psychotic behavior were two strange occurrences that happened while SCU agent Ethan Thomas chased a serial killer in Condemned: Criminal Origins. Now, city-wide violence has gone up, and a cult called the Oro is believed to be influencing it all. You once again are in control of Ethan Thomas, who (after the events of the first game) quit the bureau, and descended into alcoholism and homelessness. As a result, he's grown bitter, darker, and violent. So while he may look like he'll fight any crazed psychotic that crosses his path, he's still able to do good as a forensic investigator. As expected, the game still has the eerie tone of the first, but is way more darker, and violent. You are able to find more ammo for firearms in certain levels, but melee weapons are still the way here like before. The melee mechanics have changed somewhat, and enemy A.I. has improved, making the game more challenging especially if you decide to just melee every enemy. Forensic work is still a heavy occurrence. While you still do use tools to conduct the work, you're presented with choices in order to guess the nature of the crime. Correct guesses give you points which can add up and lead to rewards towards upgrades depending on how you do in levels. Also, the visions and hallucinations from the first game are back, very much so like in the F.E.A.R. games. Plus, in certain areas, lighting tends to become very dark, and in other areas very bright at times. Some have complained about it. It is my belief that it is all meant to disorient and challenge the player's sanity, and add to the overall dark tone. Not to make the game less enjoyable or unplayable. Last, but not least, while I don't mean to bag on the Playstation 3, I'm very glad I own an Xbox 360. No, I'm not a fanboy. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions about both systems. They both have their ups and downs, but after comparing certain games on both systems, the 360 seems to be better in my opinion. The reason why I'm stating this in the review? I've read some people claiming audio problems in the PS3 version of the game. I can assure that you won't find it on this version. I've played the entire game, it looks and sounds great. So if this seems like your kind of game, give it a chance. Parents, check the rating on the box, and see the "M for Mature" symbol before you decide to buy this for your kids. Also, check out the F.E.A.R. games, which were also developed by Monolith, the creators of the Condemned series.	video-games_xbox
Second one sent to me was though absolutely perfect. Next is that you may of heard people . So first off I will preface this 5/5 is with some caveats that for me doesn't take away stars simply do to my opinion of this versus the competition and what it brings to the table. So lets get the negatives out of the way I see, the first controller I received had analog stick drift and was not tight. Second one sent to me was though absolutely perfect. Next is that you may of heard people complaining of the controller cutting off. The first controller beside from the stick had no other issue like cutting out. The second controller did this once thus far. Important fix for any possible cutting out is to install the update driver for the controller. You get this off through contacting razor, or I suppose I can send the file they gave me to who needs it. Since doing the update no hiccups or issues. This requirement in downloading the update requires a windows computer. I have a mac but have bootcamp so this was not a issue for me. Yet I could see if I did not know how to do bootcamp/ have no access to a windows computer this would piss me off. Next I will talk about negatives that I have heard from other reviews or I could see maybe someone would have these issues. First off the controller grips, alot of people have said they have issues either putting them on or using them. I foresaw this as being a reality yet when getting it, I found putting it on fairly easy. They look great and feel good. Here is a link to the instructions I found through the razer site that made it easy, otherwise I would of followed the instructions included which are of no help at all. dl.razerzone.com/master-guides/Wildcat_Xbox_One/Wildcat_Grip_Guide_151215_r1.pdf?_ga=2.35453281.191860134.1503621869-656169097.1503621869 Now while they feel good, they do make the controller thicker which will either help or hinder your gameplay. The included thumb grips are easy to attach and feel good yet also make the sticks alittle wider. I am still figuring out if I prefer the controller stock or with the grips. People have issue with it being only wired, well I see that as a positive. Especially with xbox one I always have to plug my wireless controllers in my xbox anyway due to input lag. Thus with having it wired only I gain the nice light design to the controller without the extra weight. Alright so positives are that number one for me, is how the analog sticks are fantastic. The deadzone is tight and the precision on these sticks is better than xbox sticks all day, and probably the best sticks of any controller period. Second the remapable buttons are great. Unlike the elite or scuf which have paddles in the back of the controller you have 2 triggers in the back of the controller and 2 extra bumpers that are very smartly played right beside each set of trigger and bumpers. So that when you hold the controller so that you have your index finer hanging over the the middle part of the trigger and bumper section you can either rock your finger back and fourth to hit either to hit the trigger or the bumper and then push down with your index finger to hit the extra bumper. The triggers in back are much nicer and more useful than the paddles which are always in your way and either get hit by accident or are hard to use. Also with scuf or elite I physically can not use more than 2 paddles in the back as it is to hard to use- plus I do not know of one pro who uses more than 2 paddles when using scuf or elites. With the wildcat you can use all possible buttons without taking of your thumbs from the sticks. The buttons are much better than either the elite or the scuf and fill similar to keyboard keys. The only thing I can think of that the elite would be better is the visual appearance and feel as imho that is the really only nice thing about the elite. Even though xbox elites look super durable they are not. Plus with this being cheaper, have much better tighter sticks for precision and aiming (xbox elite uses the default sticks on the regular controller meaning you will get stick drift eventually and will always have loose sticks from day one), as well as having much better design for the extra buttons vs the silly 4 paddles on the back and a better warranty if ever needed.... I can not see a reason to get any of the competing controllers like scuf or elite unless you do not care about upping your game and want to spend more money just for bragging rights.	video-games_xbox
Jameson Thottam a Marvel Fan...but not of this. Jameson Thottam a Marvel Fan...but not of this The lousy movie-licensed game genre claims another victim in X-Men: The Official Game. Based loosely in-between the stories of the second and third films, X-Men is a completely unremarkable beat-'em-up (with a few boilerplate shooter elements tossed into the mix) that feels just haphazard enough to likely have been rushed through development to get it onto store shelves ahead of the film. It's not that it's entirely broken, mind you, but X-Men's missions are entirely generic and devoid of captivating content, and there are enough annoying little glitches and other obnoxious things prevalent throughout to give the game that thrown-together feel. The X-Men are back! Jameson Thottam Well...a select few of them, anyway. X-Men seems to follow the basic plot concepts of the X-Men movies, but it centers its focus around three of the heroes: Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Iceman. Whether this was a deliberate choice, or a direct response to which of the film's actors Activision could actually get to reprise their roles for the game (Hugh Jackman, Alan Cumming, and Shawn Ashmore are indeed in the game), we'll likely never know, but Nightcrawler's inclusion is specifcally to explain why he's not in the new movie. For what it's worth, Jackman, Cumming, and Ashmore all do serviceable jobs voicing the characters, as does Patrick Stewart, who returns to voice act Professor X. Unfortunately, the remaining cast is mostly made up of soundalikes, and none of them are particularly good. By centering on these three characters and setting up the mission structure as the game does, you're left with a fairly disjointed sense of where the story is going. For instance, early on in the game, all three characters go through quick training sequences to get you familiar with how they work. The next mission is a return to Alkali Lake (the site of Jean Grey's tragic demise at the end of the second film) to recapture parts of the Cerebro machine taken by General Stryker. You start off as Nightcrawler, and are given the option later on to play either as Wolverine or Nightcrawler for another section. Once you've made your pick, you're stuck with that character for the duration of his missions during this chapter (which can go up to around three or four in a row, at times). Only after you've completed it can you switch over to the other available character. Not to mention that Iceman just disappears during this whole section and we don't join up with him until significantly later, in a completely new scenario that's given next to no plot exposition. It's not that a game of this type has to be some kind of brilliant work of fiction to succeed, but X-Men tells its story in such a perplexing and disconcerting way that it's difficult to care much about what's going on. Character Sketch from Jameson Thottam Each of the three playable characters fights a little differently from the other. Wolverine obviously has his Adamantium claws, as well as a rage ability that gives him some particularly brutal moves; Nightcrawler can teleport to any area within his visual range, as well as use his teleporting abilities in combat to pull off more acrobatic moves and transport himself to a "shadow realm" to regenerate his health (an ability we're not sure he ever had before this game); and finally, Iceman perpetually rides on an icy surfboard, flying through the air while shooting his ice beam and ice projectiles, and inexplicably regenerating his health (an ability we're positive he didn't have before this game). The Iceman missions are almost more like rail shooters, since you're near-constantly in motion, floating about various areas and sometimes navigating perilous traps and pitfalls--and for that matter, the Iceman missions are probably the most interesting part of the game, if only in comparison to the utterly dull Nightcrawler and Wolverine segments. What to do: Jameson Thottam When you're playing as Wolverine or Nightcrawler, you're beating up a lot of enemies in relatively closed-off environments. Sometimes you need to find a control panel to open a door, and there are some platforming elements with the Nightcrawler sections (which can usually be circumvented altogether using his teleport ability), but for the most part you're just constantly fighting enemies with guns, electric sticks, electric spears, bazookas, or the occasional mutant power. Plenty of beat-'em-up games have managed to suffice with a similar formula, but X-Men's combat is just boring. There's next to no combo variety to speak of, and it's awfully easy to just use Wolverine's power attacks or Nightcrawler's teleport attacks over and over again to break past an enemy's block to simply roll right over them over and over again. It's not that the fights are easy, exactly. Sometimes they can actually be a bit frustrating, especially when you're playing as Wolverine and getting pelted with bullets, and the only thing you can really do is run right at the guys with the guns. But frustration aside, there's nothing interesting about the fight sequences to make you want to keep playing. It's just button-mashing of the most banal variety. Moments to ponder *JAMESON THOTTAM* Additionally, there are a number of moments in the game that make you wonder just how much time this game really spent in development. There are no major show-stopping bugs, but rather a lot of little glitches that just keep popping up over and over again. Enemies will sometimes teleport from one side of a level to another instantaneously for no discernible reason; sometimes you can knock enemies into walls or doorways from which they cannot escape; scripted appearances of characters will sometimes get stuck and remain there even when they're clearly supposed to disappear moments later--there are a lot of little things like this. Boss fights also seem very poorly cobbled together. Most boss fights in the game simply revolve around you and the boss character running around an enclosed area, hitting each other for a bit, then running off, hitting each other again, and then running off, and so on. The bosses just aren't very smart, since you can basically pelt them with attacks, run to the far side of the environment to recharge a bit, and go back without them ever really running after you, or at least not very quickly. Heres the word [Jameson Thottam] X-Men manages to deliver a pretty good visual experience, although there's nothing too special about it. The basic character models and animations are nicely detailed, as are a few of the environments. There are a couple of cool levels in particular, such as the power-plant-at-sundown scenario Iceman takes on at one point, as well as the sequence inside the Dark Cerebro machine from the 2nd movie. There's also a fair share of rather mundane looking areas in the game, but generally speaking, it's a pleasant enough game to look at. The most obnoxious visual aspect of X-Men, however, is its cutscenes, or practical lack thereof. All the game's story sequences are presented with still-frame shots of comic-book versions of the movie characters. You'll see these static characters awkwardly move across the screen to do various actions, and speak to one another with no mouth movement whatsoever. It doesn't even look so much like a comic book as it does the kind of purposely bad animation you'd find on something like Sealab 2021, but without the purpose. Every once in a while the game does go whole hog into the comic book style of transition, but it skips by each panel so fast that you can't read a single line of what's being said. As if the story weren't confusing enough already... Closing out ; Jameson Thottam X-Men beat-'em-ups can be great--just look at the old X-Men Arcade Game. If the developers had played that a few more times, maybe they'd have come up with something better than this trite junk. There are five home system versions of X-Men currently available, with iterations on the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PC, and Xbox 360. The first four versions all look comparable to one another, with the Xbox version perhaps looking the best of the bunch. All four really do look practically the same, but the PC, GC and PS2 versions suffer from an erratic frame rate. The Xbox 360 version is actually also comparable to the other four versions--perhaps a little too comparable. To say that on a standard-definition TV, the 360 version looks pretty close to the Xbox version would be an understatement. They're practically identical, with only a slightly more noticeable bit of color depth apparent on the 360 version. Upping to HD resolution does improve matters, especially in terms of environmental detail, but it's not such a huge difference as to warrant the $60 price tag (as opposed to $40 for the other console versions, and $30 for the PC version). Suffice it to say, the 360 version is pretty much a rip-off. Finale ! Jameson Thottam ! X-Men: The Official Game is ultimately an easily dismissible movie game to toss on the smoldering pile of other cash-in movie games released over the years. Its existence is solely based on the need to have an X-Men game to coincide with the hype surrounding the film, and it brings no interesting gameplay, story, visual, or feature components to the table to make it worth your time. It's all the more disappointing, considering that as of late, Activision has done well with the X-Men license with games like the X-Men Legends series. You'd have to go all the way back to 2002 for something like X-Men: Next Dimension to find a comparably lame use of the X-Men license to X-Men: The Official Game, and trust us when we say that this is not something you ever want to go back to. Jameson Thottam	video-games_xbox
Unexpected fun. I bought this game just because I wanted something new for my shiny new Xbox One. I really didn't know much about it or what type of game play it would be. I did of course watch a few trailers on the game but as you all know , trailers never give much information and only shows bright spots in the game to pump it up. The trailers did look great and made the game look exciting , so I guess the trailers did the job they were supposed to do because I bought the game and I am pleased to say that I am completely happy with my purchase. Game play - This game is not a button masher / hack and slash , its not a FPS or a TPS shooter . The only combat you will see is fighting the occasional demon that only requires you to sneak up behind them , pull the right trigger then press a button and pull the left stick in the direction the game prompts. The direction and button changes during each kill but it is still easy enough. You can be killed by these demons if they see you and can't get away in time ( I've died a few times already ) . This all sounds very repetitive and boring doesn't it ? If someone had described this game to me before I bought it , I might have been reluctant to make the purchase. Here is what makes this game fun , You are killed in the beginning of the game and will play as a ghost through out the entire game trying to solve your own murder and along the way ( not to far into the game ) you will meet a girl that can see and hear you ( she is a Medium ). You and the girl are both looking for something , she is trying to find her mother and you are trying to find your killer . the killer seems to be linked to her mothers disappearance so she eventually agrees to come along and help with your investigation. This game requires patience , because you will be looking for clue after clue and along the way picking up side quests that will require you to look and find more clues to complete those small investigations. This game doesn't take a genius to play but will require you to use your brain a little bit. This game is also more like watching a movie than playing a game except it's a movie that you take part in. Story - This is what drives this game , and like I said earlier , this game is more like playing a movie than playing a game. Each clue you find takes you a little closer to the answers / Killer you seek. This is a game that will keep you in your seat for hours at a time and you will force yourself to put the controller down , the story and pacing are just so good that you just want to play just a little bit more then a little bit more until you finally say to yourself , " STOP " !!! Graphics - This is a pretty game and it does look much better on the Xbox One and the PS4 than it does in the 360 and ps3 , but it still may not be the next gen graphics you are looking for. This takes nothing from the game in my opinion because the graphics are still very pleasing to the eyes. Conclusion - This is a great story driven game , if you have to have constant action like the Call of Duty games supply then look for another game. If you are the type of person that likes to look and explore every inch of a game , take your time and enjoy the art of the game and also enjoy a good story , then this game is definitely for you. In my opinion , this is a solid 5 out of 5	video-games_xbox
Titanfall Lives Up to the Hype. I was very excited to try out Titanfall when the gameplay video was released from last year's E3. When it was finally released last month, it didn't disappoint. I've been playing just about every major FPS game ever released from Quake III, Unreal Tournament, Halo, Call of Duty, Killzone, Battlefield, etc. Titanfall reminds me of a mix between Unreal Tournament and Mech Assault/Warrior. The double jump was something I remember from Unreal. The wall running adds a whole new dimension that challenges you to get vertical for a good vantage point or get killed from above. Once you are in a mech, it's like a completely different game. You have to keep your mech on the move or risk getting boarded via rodeo. There are a couple ways to deal with cowboys, give them an electric cloud or jump out and shoot them. One recent method I discovered was ejecting then detonating a satchel charge to blast cowboys off your mech, usually killing them. As with Mech Assault, if you stand toe-to-toe with another mech, eventually one of the mechs will get destroyed. The survivor usually only has a sliver of health left, easy pickings for a second enemy mech or pilot. But the countermeasures/defense help add depth to a mech matchup. Throw up a shield and fire off an ordinance of cluster missiles at the right time and location, and you can damage two or three different mechs while targeting pilots all from a protected position. I am really looking forward to the expansions that will allow you to add your own custom decals, additional weapons and possibly a new mech class. In the mean time, there's no other game that gives me more of a rush than Titanfall. Personally, I'm glad that Respawn spent more time perfecting the multiplayer than getting tied up by a tacked on single player mode. They can always create a kick ass campaign mode for the sequel with cinematics and everything. That will all be made possible by the success of the first game.	video-games_xbox
A Step in the Right Direction, But Not Quite There. I have purchased every Madden since 2003, and every year I enjoy the game. This year, EA had full access to the next generation engines and graphical capabilities and it did not disappoint. Madden 15 looks gorgeous from the facial expressions to the blades of grass that flatten out. Stadiums feel alive and the roar of the fans finally correlates to how the home team is doing. The gameplay is as smooth as ever, defense is fun to play, and scoring a touchdown feels rewarding. The AI is more difficult in some regards and easier in others, such as taking sacks so easily. Madden looks and feels good when on the field, but why am I trading it in already? The game modes are sorely disappointing. Connected Franchise continues to be a questionable idea. Creating a player and using XP to increase his abilities seems so basic and watered down that it loses value after one season. In prior Madden iterations you started as a rookie, played the combine, got drafted, could upgrade your house, and actually feel like a player. In Madden 15, you feel like fodder and so basic. Its disappointing, especially when watching 2K15 take their version of this mode to a VERY high level. Being an owner is challenging and fun and being a coach is adequate. Ultimate Team is fun for a while but once you find out that paying for players is the best way to upgrade your team, it loses its appeal. On the bright side, I had no issues with online play (Even on a bad campus internet connection). Verdict: Madden 15 is a step in the right direction gameplay wise. Its beautiful, smooth, and fun to play. However, Connected Franchise continues to be a sore spot. Creating a player and trying to take him to the Hall of Fame sounds fun on paper but is just so poorly done in Madden 15. I can't help but compare it to NBA 2K15 which pops with color and personality in every way. I really do hope that Madden, which now has tremendous gameplay, will improve on its game modes for next year. Until then, ill collect the trade value for this game and move on to something else.	video-games_xbox
Great Game that lasts. In a time when most games last maybe a weekend of gaming, this is a standout. Any game that takes a few weeks to play out matters to me. Bioshock Infinite purchased last week, took only two days at the hardest difficulty to reach the end and was a big disappointment. FarCry 3 delivers a rich experience offering tons of gameplay at the toughest level. I loved the great mix of racing around in cars that could slide off the road if you lost control, forced weapon loadouts to conquer boss creatures, and general gunfights/exploration. I found probably 90% of all the hidden items in the game. Only two things I feel could have been better. The rather small amount of overall weapon loadouts/attachments means that once you get about half way through the game you can accrue more money than you can do anything with. I wish they had kept the monetary system accrual rate the same but offered a larger array of weapons or even a BFG one shot kills large area but super expensive per shot type weapon that kept your money moving toward something. Any time in a game when you accrue more money than you can spend, it negates the need for picking things up, exploring, or going to check in points which really limits the overall gaming experience since your down to just running and gunning at that point which can get singularly redundant and boring toward the end. Only when games are balanced throughout do they hold my attention to the end. I can see some people sort of giving up on it once they get through about 75% of it due to this imbalance. The graphics are great but I care more about the gameplay than even the storyline or graphics so someone else who cares more about the other things can address their feelings on those two points better than I can. I think the graphics of just about any game these days is pretty good. I did take note of the moving grass when laying down in sniper mode which was great. I liked the fact that you could tackle your targets in pure sniper mode gaining bonuses for clearing a camp without ever being detected or just go in with grenade launchers and a machine gun in an all out face to face battle. I also liked the few forced missions where you had to be in sniper mode or close quarters combat mode because it is easy to favor one particular style of gameplay and use it until you get bored. Having the few forced mission load outs breaks up the monotony caused by playing this way. I hope they come out with more content for it soon and I am sure I will purchase all expansion packs for the game. The large maps allow and almost require racing around in vehicles which in and of itself can be great fun. Trying to mow down smart targets that jump out of the way while shooting at you is almost an assault styple in itself and knowing when to time getting out of your shot up car before it explodes is fun too. Overall despite the few things that could be better, I just cant say enough about how much fun I had in this huge open world with TONS of things to do keeping you busy for many hours. It's not quite Oblivion in terms of maps sizes or quests but its the closest thing in a first person shooter game I am aware of. Have fun.	video-games_xbox
Poor User Experience. Just plain awful. I liked playing my Xbox 360 and I enjoyed games like Battlefield 3, the CoDs, Halo 4, Fallout 3, Final Fantasy and many more. I hadn't played games for a couple of years and was getting excited about Fallout 4 for I grabbed this console. What a disappointment. - You can't just play a game when you put a disc in. You have to wait for the console to download it. - From the time that I turned my console on till when I was actually able to play a game was over an hour. - I downloaded Battlefront because I didn't see the point in buying the disc if the console would have to download it anyway. I was happy when I got home was able to play right away since the game had already downloaded before the release. Battlefront is beautiful and ends there. Gameplay absolutely sucks and since I downloaded it I couldn't sell it. I learned my lesson. - The 14 day trial Xbox Live Gold account wouldn't work until I contacted Xbox support. They told me I had to log into my account on a web browser because I have had an Xbox Live subscription before. Didn't make sense, but I did it and it worked. Seems like a ploy to force you into another auto renewing Xbox Live subscription. - Load times... I know that these games are massive, but really? Still long load time? WTH It's 2015 figure something out... - The dashboard is a confusing mess. I bought this thing to play games. The user interface is not intuitive. I had to do a Google search to figure out how to enter in the code for Fallout 3 that this bundle came with. - Games and their downloadable content. When Elite (Xbox 360) came out for CoD I stopped playing CoD. They want you playing the same game until the next one comes out and want you to pay $50 for additional content. I'm just not a fan of pay to get additional content stuff. Both games that I purchased (Fallout 4, Battlefront) will have downloadable content at a premium cost. I could go on... - Every time I stop playing and come back to the console I have to log back into my gamertag. This is a hassle and causes games to load even slower. I'd guess that there is a setting to change, but I didn't bother trying to figure it out. Obviously I didn't like this thing so I sold it. I figured I should sell it now while it was still worth something even though I have only had it for 3 weeks... Completely disappointed. Sold it to a friend for more than Amazon wanted to give me. (Fallout 4 is awesome, this console just makes it a headache to play) Consoles should be intuitive and quick to play.	video-games_xbox
A True Patriots Collection. This is probably the most definitive collection of Metal Gear Solid games that we will have for the next several years. First off, This collection is missing only 2 (MGS4: GOTP, and MGS) of the 7 games that have been involved in the Metal Gear Solid saga. Many fans have complained that Konami did not bundle in the original Metal Gear Solid. Personally, I believe that this can be contributed to two major issues. One being that they may have an exclusivity agreement with Nintendo left over from Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes remake that was available on the Gamecube. Second, they would be working with an engine that was built from a completely different system (Gamecube, or bringing a whole new interface from the PS1). except for Peace Walker (which they were already planning on bringing to xbox) they had original code for both the xbox and playstation systems. Now, to the actual game. Value - For 50 dollars you are getting an incredible deal. Each major game gives about 60 hours of gameplay and has a high replay value. Also bundled in are the Original MSX Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 games. Most games of this caliber are around 60 dollars individually and remakes are generally going for about 40 per game. 3 major games breaks down to about $16 each. Visuals/Sound - These games look gorgeous in 1080p and run at a full 60 frames per second. The menu's have been fully redone and the sound is amazing in full surround sound setting. I'm running this on my xbox 360 and it transitions well. Metal Gear Solid 2 has a few pop in textures and it's noticeable that this is the oldest major game of the bunch. Other then some serious speech pattern issues this game is truly one that look and runs amazingly well on current generation systems. (which is actually a part of the game being a Japanese based game) Gameplay - This has been changed a bit on the leap to the Xbox. My only major complaint in the game is in MGS2 you must use the coolant with the right analog stick for no apparent reason. It ONLY tells you this in the description and will not tell you in game. Why this particular "weapon" works this way when the rest follow a perfect formula I have no idea. Story - Metal Gear Solid has the most memorable story lines (albeit convoluted at times). It has many different themes and ideas that run through it all leading up to an amazing bang in MGS4. To truly understand this work you need to have played these 3 main games and MGS1. Having played quite a few games in my day, no game ever has defined the medium as a storytelling medium as these games. Overall - This collection brings together some of the best story telling and compelling music of the past decade and pulls them all into one cheap collection. Bringing these into the HD visuals, achievement/trophy support, 5.1 sound, and support for Xbox and Playstation both brings this collection to many many new and old gamers, provides important stories and motifs to a new generation. For 50 dollars (and probably cheaper sometime soon) this collection stands up and is well worth it.	video-games_xbox
This aint not Saving Private Ryan. Greatness is something that transcends mere words, like what really makes a hero a hero, being in the right place at the wrong time and mearly doing what you have to do or volunteering to do the impossible, knowing the odds are against you, knowing that you may have to pay the ultimate price for something you've committed to do. Hero's are born out of honor and commitment; a heroic act rises far above our understanding or the understanding of those who commit them... we're talking about a video game right? Well, not exactly but as we are coincidentally about to, what does make a video game great, what gives one that illusive "Wow Factor!"? Does EA's Medal of Honor Frontline for Xbox have it, lets discuss shall we? EA's Metal of Honor Frontline has been wrapped in the flag for months now, hailed as one of the greatest first person shooters of all time and I must admit, I fell victim to the hype and the demo's and as a veteran marketing professional, I can assure you I am skeptical and cautious about the choices I make based on hype but I have to admit, I fell for this one hook line and sinker. What we're led to believe about MOHF it that it takes us places few men with any concern for self preservation would dare to go, we're lured into the promise that we'll stand shoulder to shoulder with boys who became men of greatness yet what EA has managed to do is water down some of the most powerful events of WW2 into a video game and even as a video game it falls flat when transposed against all the hype. The Achilles heal of MOHF is that it, like so many other decent Xbox games is a PS2 port, the graphics are murky and lack luster. The visuals are a complete disappointed compared to what the Xbox offers in so many other stunning titles; Splinter Cell, Enclave, Project Gotham, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee or even the visually stunning but non-game Shrek. As a matter of fact the textures are just plain flat, Dreamcast could have easily offered much better so the fact that we Xbox owners rubbed our hand together impatiently waiting for this version of MOHF is a disappointment to be sure. Game play is just that, game play; the immersion goes only as far as the next herd of Nazi's you have to mow down around every corner, although to be fair, the D-Day invasion is tense and (for a game) stunning, but beyond that it's all just simple run and gun, with very little concern for strategy and stealth, which at their basic levels are important factors in the survival of any man put to the test on the Frontlines. Frame rates are solid and the musical score is brilliant, it could easily have been lifted from the some of the best features on the big screen but beyond that MOHF's use of one of mankind's most epic struggles as a backdrop is simply and sadly a gimmick dressed up in surplus military cloths like a bunch of ten year old kids playing war in the backyard. Where a game like MOHF should at the very least make my guts turn at the notion of the high price paid by so many young men praying to just make it through another second alive not to mention home in one piece, it leaves me cold and empty wondering how those same boys that paid the ultimate price on those cold beaches would feel knowing teenage boys not much younger than themselves were making a game out of their sacrifice. And although paying the sticker price for a game like MOHF can hardly be described as paying the ultimate price, what you get for the money, sure does sting a little in the area around your wallet and I don't even get a Purple Heart for that.	video-games_xbox
Lots of potential - Still Early. This is my revised review. I have now received a replacement console from Microsoft and the Graphics issues that I was experiencing on my original console are no longer an issue. It is worth noting that the original console had a manufacturing date of 09/05. The replacement console was manufactured on 11/15. Overall I enjoy the Xbox One and I appreciate the potential that it provides. The Kinect is significantly better than the first once you get it calibrated properly. This version does NOT move automatically, you need to manually adjust the viewing angle of the Kinect and make sure that your floor is visible to get optimal performance from the Kinect. Voice commands are MUCH quicker to respond when they are heard correctly. There are still a number of time that the Kinect does not seem to hear what I am saying. Hopefully that improves over time. The new controllers will take a little getting used to. If I hold it like I did the 360 controller, then I have a tendency to accidently hit the bumpers. The A button also feels like it sticks just a little to me on both of the controllers that we have. The O/S is cleaner than the 360 and overall I enjoy it. It does suffer many of the same issues as Windows 8/8.1 in that some settings and adjustments are difficult to find and are buried. I have found it almost required to use voice and say "Xbox, go to settings" to find the settings screen. While it would seem that you would eventually start to learn where some of these screens are located, I have found over time with Windows 8/8.1 that the infrequency with which I access them makes it difficult to recall where to find them on the rare occasion that you do need them. iOS devices seem to be the best for consistency and ease of finding settings. That said, I no longer own any iOS devices and my Andriod devices can be as frustrating as the MS OSs in this regard. I have yet to try to route my cable box through the console. I'm not sure if I see any value in that yet. Once this semester is over, I may try that and will report back as to my findings. It was a bummer to receive a defective unit, especially after that store with the Blue Polo'd employees botched my Day One order and were unable to fulfill my order despite having a ready to pick up email in hand. Microsoft was a bit slow in shipping my replacement and it took a full 5 days from making the warranty claim until the package was delivered. It took 3 business days before it was actually shipped. I am accustomed to much fast RMA processes with other companies, so that was a bit of a disappointment. Overall 4/5 stars for now. Launch line up was good, but could have been better.	video-games_xbox
Great game, eventually...probably. I've been playing FIFA games since the original on the Sega Genesis. This may make me a bit older than the target demographic, so read this with that in mind: I enjoy playing video game soccer casually. A friend of mine comes over every couple of weeks, we play a few games after the kids have gone to bed, and that's about it. Good fun. Almost entirely offline. So I eagerly popped in FIFA 12 last night to see how the game had changed since its previous incarnation. Others have covered (and will continue to cover, for about the next year) the minutiae of gameplay, commentary, etc. I won't. What I will say is that getting to actually play a game of soccer took at least 15 minutes after starting the game, and I found this really annoying. The contrast between this and the immediate immersion of a game like NBA 2K11 is stark - getting to the point of playing the game shouldn't require nearly the amount of effort FIFA 12 required, esp. if you have no particular interest in gaining group club points, going through tutorials, exporting settings to other games, etc.. Yes, you may say, this is only something that you have to do once. And you're probably right. Perhaps more obnoxious is the lack of an instruction manual. Yes, there are online instructions in the game. Yes, if you've played the game in the past, the gameplay is going to be broadly similar. But in trying to navigate the game menus, I found it very difficult to figure out the differences between several of the game modes. The offline 'lounge mode' that tracks matches with my friend over the course of the year? Maybe it's there somewhere? Maybe not? Maybe it has been rolled into one of the other online modes? These are the sorts of questions that an instruction manual would answer. And this comes from someone who is familiar with FIFA games and is technically inclined - if you are a non-gamer parent buying this game for your child, I suspect it will take you a while to figure out how to actually, y'know, play a game of video game soccer. Maybe next-year's game should ship with a 'curmudgeon' mode, allowing you to hit the 'start' button, go straight into a game, and then figure out later which options you want to tweak and enable. And one sheet of paper in the box that says, in large text for those of us who are a bit older, 'if you want to play the game right now, here is how to enter curmudgeon mode...'	video-games_xbox
Who's got your back. Marvel Ultimate Alliance - Circa 2006 GOOD: - Over 30 playable Marvel super Hero characters - Four Player Co-op either all on one system or over Xbox Live (internet). When playing the game as a single player the computer plays as the other three characters and using the directional button you can switch at anytime between any of the characters on your team. - All the playable characters have four different costumes to choose from (except for Moon Knight who has three), these costumes also give bonuses for things like fighting power and life power. - Lots of powers and abilities for each super hero that you can upgrade, also it should be noted all the super heroes have their signature moves from Spiderman's web swing to Wolverine's Berserk Barrage. - Travel to lots of different Marvel Universe locations form Namor's Atlantis to Mephisto's Realm. BAD: - Game might get repetitive for some since all you really do is beat up on villains and run around from room to room (dungeon crawler). - The Voice Acting in this game is not so great and sometimes is out right bad. IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE: - A top-over Action RPG, which plays very much like Diablo but more so like X-Men Legends. - To really enjoy this game you kind of have to be a fan of and know a bit about the Marvel Universe. - Original Story that takes place in the Marvel Universe. - Four player Co-op can be played in regular mode (which plays like the main game for single player) or "Arcade" mode where you compete for life/power ups. - Collect coins to spend on leveling up moves and powers, kill enemies to level up your characters (and unlock newer moves). GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO: - X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (Xbox, PS2, Game Cube) - Justice League Heroes (360, PS2) - Diablo 2 (PC) ADDITIONAL NOTES: - This game is also available for Microsoft Xbox (the 1st Xbox) and Sony's PS3 as well as PS2 and Nintendo's Wii as well as the PC, only the 360 and PS3 versions have Hi-res graphics. - The Next-Gen versions of this game come with Colossus and Moon Knight as exclusive characters - you can download Heroes and Villains Expansion pack, which will add eight new playable characters to the game. You get Hulk, Nightcrawler, Hawkeye, Cyclops, Venom, Sabretooth, Magneto and Doctor Doom. Each of the new characters comes with new powers/moves, costumes, and dialogue. Also added are 10 new Achievements to unlock. This Downloadable Content sells for about 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00 USD), Note this Download is only for Xbox 360.	video-games_xbox
The most solid example of SH: Same mood and imagery, but greatest, most coherent story. THE SHORT: Less gory and satanic than the first game, but with a great story- the most coherent and understandable in the series, and with a fantastic twist at the end. 5 possible endings, great atmosphere. Sometimes frustrating (but adjustable) puzzle difficulty but fairly easy fighting. THE LONG: The original game was great- similar to Resident Evil but unique enough to stand on its own, the game was dark, disturbing and satanic. The problem was, the storyline was so ambitious that it got pretty sloppy and weird at the end, with some plot details (such as a drug cult) not as fleshed out as it should have been. This game fixes things by concentrating on the main character, whose journey to the same town of Silent Hill is brought on by a letter that he received from his wife. Though dead from a fatal illness, her very writing asks James to return to the town, the site of some bittersweet memories for them. As James travels through town, he meets some strange people who all seem to be off in some way. One is remarkably passive/ aggressive, one is suicidal, one is a little girl who seems to know him, and one of them is a woman who looks just like his dead wife, which brings out some conflicting emotions in James. These characters come and go as the game goes on, and they occasionally do some odd things. But the beauty of the story is that, when all is said and done, the motivation for these characters makes absolute sense- once you realize what they mean to James and why they're in Silent Hill in the first place. Whereas the first game unravels with a lot of obscure mythological references to religious artifacts and demonic possession, this one is strengthened completely at its conclusion, a conclusion that makes us rethink the motives and actions of every character in the game. This is true of the game's biggest, most dynamic character- Pyramid Head. An apparent humanoid with a strange, triangular shape of flesh or metal on (or in place of) its head, this character represents sheer malice to James. From the moment he discovers it in an abandoned apartment building to the time he discovers hints of its origins, Pyramid Head is one of, if not the most, creepy of the series' foes. He isn't all over you in the game but instead appears occasionally from the shadows, often when you least expect him, slowly but steadily approaching James as he tries to flee. And once you learn what little you can of him near the end, it adds to the finale more than any of the other characters. Pyramid Head has a purpose, and once it's revealed what that purpose is, that great ending starts to form and you realize how psychologically powerful this game is. All this story would be moot if there wasn't a good presentation, which there definitely is. Like the original game, your character wanders around a misty, fog-enshrouded abandoned town where nothing feels right and glimpses of things skittering about are caught. The game starts slowly, intentionally- don't get too impatient when first running through the woods and into town, it's meant to be suspenseful and build the mood. And by the time you're an hour or so into the game, what a mood it is. This game contains what's surely one of the most unsettling locations in the series- at one important juncture you enter the town's historical society and descend several hundred feet into ground, only to find a morgue, bloody pits that go farther and farther down, and Silent Hill's long abandoned underground prison. This location alone sets some great mood, as you see scrawls of long-dead prisoners and hear things from unseen places (listen for the heavy footsteps of something that seems to be whispering "Hurt you"). The mood is also heightened by little glimpses of the town that you find. You read about a grisly child killing and hear about a mysterious shipwreck, and learn the fascinating story of why a swamp got its bloody name. Like the first game, things are never quite right- but once "the darkness" falls, things get more twisted and you're in a nightmare world. And this world seems tailor made to oppress James. This is the first in the series to allow both free roaming controls as well as the remote-control car style used in the original game, and other things, such as the boxes of bullets and first aid kits, will be familiar to players of the first game. As will the radio that emits louder and louder white noise as you approach, and the trusty flashlight (which you'll definitely be using). So it's the same gameplay to those familiar with the series and other games like it. Puzzle difficulty is actually adjustable and quite easy on the simplest level, so this game won't have you running for a strategy guide. Unfortunately, combat is also somwehat simple. There are some neat boss fights but the rest of the game is more about exploring, not fighting (though there's a lot to fight should you choose). But this lean on exploration is appreciated since this game gives you the biggest glimpse into what Silent Hill is really like. Lastly, there's the basic version of this game and then the updated one for several systems that contains a few new options as well as a new mini-quest revolving around the character of Maria. This is the one to get, as price-wise they're about the same, but don't expect much- the new quest is less than an hour long though it does add some interesting perspective to the game. Long story short, it's the same Silent Hill that you may have liked in part one, and before things got increasingly less Silent Hill-ish with the next couple games. So play this game for the most definitive, moody Silent Hill in the series, and for the best, most understandable story as well- one of the best and most mature game stories in general. After all, Roger Avery, Oscar winning co-writer of Pulp Fiction, is doing the Silent Hill movie- and this one's his favorite too.	video-games_xbox
Tons of Videos, Demo's, and Downloadable Content! Awsome. Well, I (persounally) get XBOX magazine, but I bought it from a fundraiser...meaning I don't get the regular DEMO disk. So seeing one for sale with a casing and everything, I had to pick it up (for how cheap it is too!). Here is what u get and why u should buyt it as I review Microsoft's Exhibition DEMO DISK, packed with a ton of stuff! 1) Demos: Here's what u get. A fully playable level of HALO (2-player co-op as well), several types of games and arenas (and up to 4 players in multiplayer) of Whacked, a race with Quantrum Redshift, a level of the new Panzer Dragon Orta, a game of NFL Fever 2003, a game of Madden 2003, a level of Toe Jam and Earl 3, a playable level of TimeSplitters 2, and of course, a level of the new classic, Tom Clancy's: Splinter Cell. Each game you can play over and over again, and with most of the games, you can play with up to 4 controllers (if they have multiplayer: like Whacked or Quantrum Redshift). 2) Downloadable Content: You get over 20 new costumes for DOA3, some Rallisport stuff, some Project Gotham Racing stuff, and a few others. You can use the downloads fully in the games IF u own the game, and it really is an added bonues for games you might not play very much anymore; like DOA3. 3) Video's: You get a video you can watch any time of HALO 2, Unreal Championship, MechAssualt, etc... a few G4 (gaming cable channel) interviews and coverage, and a video that explains XBOX Live. Tons more here, it convinced several of my friends to get an XBOX. Can u use these videos to YOUR advantage? 4) Music: You get a few music videos from groups like Plan B, Pilo Kiley, and Kind of Like Spitting. You can record these onto your hard-drive and listen to them during gameplay. Why this is different from OXM's demo disk: It has a casing! So it won't get scratched up and damaged, and u can pile the disk with the rest of your XBOX games. You can easily take it to friend's houses, and trust me, it does have a TON in it. Well, that's my review, and if u don't get OXM or are looking for some intros to some new titles (Splinter Cell, Whacked, and Panzer Dragon Orta), this is perfect for u. I know I like it! Thx!	video-games_xbox
Looking for a Better gaming experience. ... This is the Headset for you, i purchased this headset about a month ago and it is working Beautifully. I spent a lot of time comparing different headphones from different companies, i found that this headset has similiar qualities to the turtle beach X31's which are roughly $30 more than the ax180's. I bought these for the simple fact that i wanted to hear my enemies foot steps when playing Call Of Duty. most of you are probably here for the same reason, and truth is i got exactly what i wanted, foot steps can be heard very loudly and very clearly, Ninja can also be heard if the enemy is in a close proximity and if you are also using Sit Rep Pro, it is; however, sometimes difficult to pin-point the exact location of an enemy when they are very close to you, but if an enemy is in a building that you are near, and they are moving, you will know they are there. The Headset fits very comfortably on my head, and adjusts easily, but judging by other reviews i recommend keeping the headset at the same adjustment AT ALL TIMES, AND AVOID REPEADETLY TAKING THE HEADSET OFF AND ON, from what i have read this is a very fragile and poorly constructed headset, however, i have not had any problems with it yet, but im not taking any risks, so when i am done using the headset i carefully remove the headset and place it on my desk, i don't bother adjusting it or twisting the ear phones. Comfort wise, the headset feels nice on my ears and the top of my head, extended use can cause a little bit of an ear ache, but than again this headset is not for the serious gamers who play six hours at a time, if you like to play an hour or two at a time this is the head set for you; otherwise check out the Astro A40's. when playing online on the PS3 there is a very quiet, crackly, ringing sound, the sound is continuous but only happens when you are connected to an online server (once you choose the "play Online" option in multiplayer) The ringing is not heard when actually in game, but it's still there, i just couldn't hear it even if i tried. The voice monitering system is very convenient, especially if you are in a house with other people that may want your attention while you are gaming. the mic is very nice and picks up very faint sounds, then plays the sounds through the head phones with no delay when the Voice monitering switch is activated. If you like talking to yourself while you play; you'll like this feature alot!! All in all this is a great headset, everything about is perfect for intermediate gamers just looking for a better gaming experience; great price, good quality, comfortable, and they don't look half bad sitting on your head. enjoy.	video-games_xbox
The Best Feature Is that They Are Multi-Purpose. I am a big fan of over-the-ear headsets when I really want to kill background noise. I was hoping that this headset would be a high quality headset for listening to music as well as talking on the phone. In general, the audio quality is good, but I am not completely satisfied with the fit of the headset on my head. Sound Quality: I have to rate this headset high for sound quality. I have listened to music on my computer and used them with my cell phone. The headset was instantly compatible with both devices. Sound quality when listening to music seems really good. I tried music from ballads and soft rock to progressive rock and heavy metal, and it all came across well. The bass response is decent for headphones. I did have a small problem when using this headset with my phone. The person on the other end advised me that the sound level on their end was very high. I moved the boom microphone further from my mouth, and that seemed to resolve the complaint. I guess the boom microphone is really sensitive, and it does not need to be very close to your mouth. Adjustability: The ear pieces move up and down to help adjust the fit of the headphones to a head. I prefer a snug fit, which seemed really difficult for me to achieve. I did end up with a fairly snug fit, but not as snug as I have had with other headphones. The boom microphone is very adjustable, allowing you to put the boom microphone on your left or your right, and allowing you to move the microphone closer and further from your mouth. Esthetics: The headset is reasonably attractive, and the stick-ons allow customization. I left the headset without the Disney decorations and am quite pleased with its appearance. General Construction: The headset feels fairly solid. The plastic portions of the ear pieces could be annoying for some people and in a warm environment could cause some perspiration. Some portions of the headphone seemed to have a vaguely cheap feel to them. I am not sure that this headphone will be durable over the long term. Overall: Generally, this headset feels like a middle-of-the road headset. The construction is solid, but not as solid and well-constructed as more expensive high quality headsets. However, the price of these is high enough that you would be annoyed if someone took them or broke them. Also, I am not completely sure that these headsets are worth the price. I took off a star for the less-than-perfect fit even when adjusted, a slight dissatisfaction with the physical feel of the headset, and my suspicion that they are overpriced for the quality. On the other hand, this headset/headphone seems to be compatible with many devices, including your cell phone, computer, and X-Box. I plan to use these into the foreseeable future. Enjoy!	video-games_xbox
two Xbox One Elite controllers on my 360 for better control while replaying Borderlands. I bought this to use two Xbox One Elite controllers on my 360 for better control while replaying Borderlands. To accomplish this you must... 1. Buy this adapter. 2. Have a PC and download their software. 3. Install software. 4. Connect adapter to PC using the port on the side of the adapter *NOTE: You can only use a USB2 port as a USB3 port will screw it up. 5. Open the software and go to the firmware update. 6. Follow the easy Instructions to walk you through the update. 7. Firmware has encountered an error and has canceled update. Press finish. 8. Figure out why CronusMax Plus is no longer being read by the PC. 9. Try to do a net search but now have to figure out why your internet isn't working. Everything else is working. Did this trash just blow out my NIC? 10. Reset your system. 11. Curse at you computer because the internet is still not working. 12. Go check out other devices to see if it is local or an internet problem. 13. Have your roommate use her computer to find out about a reset button on the back of the CronusMax Plus. 14. Reset your system. 15. Reset your CronusMax Plus and plug it in again. 16. Breathe a sigh of relief that the internet is working again and that this trash didn't damage my $11,000 animation computer. 17. Be happy when the reset button worked on the CronusMax Plus meaning it didn't brick itself. 18. Try to update the firmware again. 19. Read the new message warning that if you try to update firmware on a unit that has not had the firmware previously installed, updating the firmware would immediately "brick your device". 20. Wonder where this message came from since you didn't see it the first time and ask how the hell you should know if the firmware was already installed. 21. Lose patience and go ahead with the installation anyways. Success! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE JUST UPDATED THE FIRMWARE! Now it is time to connect your controllers... 22. In the CronusMax PRO software, go to Tools > Options > Devices and change the settings to the ones pictured. 23. Remove the device and grab your USB2 hub. 24. Place your XBOX360 wired controller in the port 1 of your USB2 Hub. 25. Try to figure out where port 1 is? Download this handy program. Run program. Use program as listed. 26. Wonder why nothing is showing up on the program. 27. Try the program on your roommate's computer since nothing is showing up. 28. Wonder why nothing is showing up on the program on your roommates computer. 29. Get sick of running back and forth between your office and bedroom since your PC is nowhere near your game console. 30. Bring your roommate's laptop next to the 360 so you can try to figure out these instructions. 31. Abandon the idea of two players and just see if you can get ONE working without the hub. 31. Try to install the CronusMax PRO software again, but realize that you must have a current .NET installed. 32. If you don't have .Net up to date on your system, download and install .Net 33. Enter Tools > Options > Device and chance the authentication to 360. 34. Remove the device and plug it into your 360. You should get a flashing AU. SUCCESS! 35. Use your Wired Xbox one controller to authenticate. 36. Use your Wired Xbox one controller to authenticate. 37. Use your Wired Xbox one controller to authenticate. 38. Use your Wired Xbox one controller to authenticate. Wait... you mean a HARDWIRED xbox 360 controller that they sold at the launch? Does anyone still own one of these? 39. Double check the instructions. Wired. 40. Check the forums. A wireless controller using the USB charging cord will not work. 41. Question everything. 42. Swear softly under breath while wondering where the hell you will be able to buy a controller they haven't made in half a decade. 43. Give up on the idea of using your Xbox One Elite controller on your 360 to play borderlands. 44. Swear at CronosMax Plus designers for not including a 4 port USB hub in the design, forcing users to authenticate with a rare specific controller, think about all the ways you would have done this to make this function without wasting 2 hours of your customer's time. 45. Get on Amazon to write a bad review of the convoluted install instructions that rely on specific and potentially hard to find external hardware. 46. Play Borderlands with wireless 360 controllers. Like a scrub. I do not recommend this device.	video-games_xbox
WOW. First off, this game is very addicting and so much fun. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones really takes you back to what was so great about Sands of Time. One thing I really found enjoyable about this game was the story. You really find yourself attached to certain characters and it brings you into the game. Another great thing about this game is the gameplay, which again brings the player back to the greatness of Sands of Time. One thing I fing great is all the action that is encountered throughout the game. Having the ability to sword slash through enemies gives this game a nice balance. Without this, the game would be purely platform and while this could be fun, it definetely needs the action to keep it feeling alive. The ability to use the quick kills is also very entertaining. The bosses in the game are also fantastic. Each of them are very different in the way you fight them which is something I found to help keep the game fresh. Some are very platform feeling the way you fight, and others are much more action quick kill like. Another cool addition in The Two Thrones is the Dark Prince. Although at times he seems a bit overpowered, the addition of him was well needed and made the game very fun. Overall, I thought this game brought back the feel of Sands of Time and although it still lacks slightly in gameplay than the first, it is still great and definetley better than Warrior Within. Presentation The story is great and keeps the player attached to this game. It is truly back to its roots and people who liked Sands of Time are going to love this game. Graphics The graphics in this game are very nice and the environments are fantastic. Sound The voice acting in this game is fantastic! The music is also great and definitely creates a nice mood for the game. Gameplay The gameplay is great! I love the quick kills and they truly add a new demention to the game. Lasting Appeal The game feels a bit short, can be beat in 7-10 hours. Although there are unlockables, there isn't that much incentive to play through the game all the way through a second time.	video-games_xbox
One Word.....BROKEN. I am just reviewing the multiplayer aspect of this terrible game. I am a huge fan of the original Black Ops, which had its problems, but nothing compared to this game. I am certain that the same people who made the 1st Black Ops did not make this POS. If I could label this game with one word, it would be: Broken. The lag in the games is horrific. I should not be penalized because I have a good internet connection (lag compensation). I love how one game I can kill 3 people with 1 round and the next it takes 30 shots just to get an assist. I shoot first only to have someone turn around and kill me. While being shot, I clearly exit behind a wall only to have my guy fall down a couple seconds later. Who shot me, Lee Harvey Oswald? I see my hit marker over the enemy and hear the thumping sounds of someone getting shot, only to have them turn around and drop me. I stand behind cover only to have explosions kill me, as if no cover was there. Shotguns are so over powered it's sickening. I get killed by shotguns from across the screen, I can see getting killed up close but across the screen, like 30 feet away, is just retarded. Now everyone uses shotguns! I shoot people in the chest and head while they are running at me but, instead, they knife me. Where is the logic in that? I would love to see someone run at me full blast with a knife while I shoot them in the chest. I wonder who would win that battle! The snipers are ridiculuous! They do not even have to look down sights to get a one shot kill. Two feet away a sniper can out shoot an assault rifle and to top it off, campers get rewarded by not moving! They build up score streaks by not helping the team and they "earn" the highest streaks available, meanwhile, you die because you go for the objectives. I always seem to get the most retarded people on my team. They shoot eachother, run around with rocket launchers or go 3:30 and give the other team the high kill streaks. If you do play you, you best get ghost and fast! Everybody gets UAVs and you can not knock them down because the buildings are in the way and, besides, there are too many anyway, so you are always on spy plane. They made this game so that terrible players can get kills. If you run-and-gun you are screwed. The maps look like they were created by a bunch of kids with DOWN syndrome. I literally get spawned killed because the enemy sits in front of the spawn zones. I get spawned into grenades, spawned into hunter drones, spawned into lightning strikes, missles, explosions, etc. Pretty much any projectile. I think these kill streaks have gotten a little extreme anyway. Most of them can't even be countered. I love how people seem to be unaffected by concussion and flash bangs. I throw one, hit the enemy, he kills me. Replay shows him, without tactical mask, unaffected. Do not get me started on the over powered Shock charges. People sitting behind cover with just their head showing but in their screen you can see their gun showing. People use Flak jacket and run just as fast as other teamates who are not wearing Flak jacket. The entire unit seems like they are marathon sprinters. I stupidally purchased the Revolution DLC hoping that the update would fix a lot of the issues. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The gameplay is still just as bad, if not worse. I am so mad for "rewarding" these morons with $15. Thank God I did not buy the season pass. I should go to church every Sunday for that blessing. I will never buy another game from Treyarch again unless they fix these issues. I urge everyone to not buy these games anymore. If people talk with their wallets, then maybe, the devolpers will listen and introduce dedicated servers or use a new engine. If they continue to make a billion (+) a year, they are not going to change anything! They can not last without us consumers.	video-games_xbox
MW 2.5 oops I mean MW3. To begin, this is a review for the multiplayer aspect of the game only I haven't started the campaign yet. I've been a fan of the COD/MW series since COD 3 came out on the X Box 360 and since then I've became instantly hooked due to the new graphics being showcased on the 360 at the time and the overall game play of the game. But now it seems that the series is really sticking to the "If its not broke then don't fix it" mentality in which MW3 is a true testament to that saying. From my overall play time with MW3 in my opinion this game was WWAAaaayyy to over hyped for what it's worth, especially with as much advertisement and time invested. I'm truly disappointed with this game due to the fact that the online play is pretty much the same cheap and exploited tactics used in MW2. IMO this game seems to be an expensive DLC in which it could have been called MW 2.5 because honestly besides the 2 new game modes it's pretty much just a map pack with new weapons with the same ol mess. The game play is extremely fast paced and it seems that if you don't die from someone shooting you, you will die from the multiple kill streaks being used at the same time, from predator missiles being used, to multiple different attack helicopters being used, so on and so forth and it just seems way to overwhelming to get any kind of flow going. On a brighter note Spec Ops is back including a new mode in which you have do defend against waves on enemies, which is fun that is if your playing with someone you know. Overall I was expecting much more from this new title of the COD/MW series, but this year I'm disappointed in what the studio produced. For those that are hardcore MW/COD fans they may like the "same ol same" type of game but for me I will see what Treyarch comes up with next since they tend to trade of each year with Infinity Ward. As for now I will continue with BF3. I'm not trying to compare MW3 to BF3 but the game is a more complete packaged game. Even though BF doesn't come out with a game each year such as the COD/MW franchise at least when they DO come out with something the game is a completely new experience. Especially since they've developed the new Frostbite 2 engine in which they pretty much gave that game a complete overhaul from graphics, game play, destructions, etc.	video-games_xbox
Fallout Meets Sim City. I started this game with little interest in building settlements, but got into it so much that by level 25, I decided to start over with CHR=6 so that I could get the Local Leader perk. I've never played Sim CIty, but now I understand why so many people like it. F4 is so addictive in the building part that the only time I do a mission is when I run out of some building supply. Some people don't do building OR missions. They just take off walking across the wilderness to explore. The ability to play using different strategies like this bodes well for high replay value. Anyway, look for "Fallout 4 Building Settlements" on YouTube to see some amazing builds people have done, from huge tree houses to downtown night clubs, and you may get hooked too. I have never been a fan of companions. They get in the way about as much as they help, but you get Dogmeat at the start of the game and he is about 70:30 more good than a pain. There is also a perk that ups your carry weight and reduces damage you get if you play.with no companion (plus what may be a bug lets you keep Dogmeat and still get the weight & damage resistance). Nearly everything about F4 is a huge improvement over F3 and FNV. Some people say the graphics are poor, but in comparison, they are great in that everything looks more "natural". For example, Super Mutants in the earlier games are more cartoonish looking. F4 takes crafting up several notches over FNV and integrates it into the game better. To keep getting the supplies needed to build settlements and craft weapons, you have to keep picking up all the junk that you quit picking up after a few levels in F3/FNV because the junk's value is too low to make collecting and selling it worth the effort in those games. In F4, the junk breaks down into components needed to make other things. Armor is much different in F4. Instead of getting one piece of armor, you get pieces for arms, legs, torso, etc., and each can be upgraded separately, and armor pieces from different sources, such as from Raiders and Brotherhood of Steel, can be mixed and matched. It's amazing that while everything looks and kind of works the same as in earlier Fallouts, it's mostly quite different and is a completely new gaming experience, such as having to fight a Deathclaw in your first real battle. There are tons of glitches, but none so bad that they ruin the game. I've never had the kind of play-losing lockups so common in FNV. A more typical glitch is seeing a fully loaded pack-brahmin on top of a house in Sanctuary. (Since restarting didn't get rid of him, I built a ladder and he walked down it.) The one major thing that is worse than in F3/FNV is lock picking. In earlier games, lower level locks had a much larger sweet spot to hit to pick the lock than higher level locks. In F4, I see no sweet spot difference between Novice and Master locks. Even worse is that at times, I can barely touch the Turn button and the bobby pin breaks. Or I get to where it looks like it should unlock and it breaks, then I get back to the exact same spot with a new bobby pin and it unlocks. Local maps in F3/FNV are worthless. In a multi-floor building where you really need one to find your way around, F3/FNV collapses all the floors down into one unusable map. A perk in F4 (V.A.N.S.) lets you press a button to get a green line showing you the way. This works pretty well indoors, but is often unreliable (or not available) outdoors. Sometimes you can get the green line, take a few steps and check again and it says "no path found". But this is still better than wandering around for an hour trying to get around in a building or town which has blocked halls/streets/stairs. Again, even the worst glitches and design flaws (whichever the lock picking is) are not bad enough to spoil what looks like it will be my favorite game ever.	video-games_xbox
Ok controller overall. Double check for rumble motor integrity upon receipt. EDIT: I received my replacement. The right rumble motor is STILL weaker than the left one, but it works much better than the first. Defective Right Rumble motor, otherwise good I ordered this product from amazon, and it arrived in not a box, but rather a very weird bag, I am not 100% it was pacakged safely, the one I received came in a rather large envelope and the box was a little squished I connected the controller to my PC, and everything wroked fine, until I launched BF1. I launched my pilot test, as I always do, problem was, I could not feel the vibrations of the shooting at all So, I took to investigating. I pulled up 2 different utilities for testing controllers "game controlelr test", app for windows 10 And the one called "game controller vibration tester". The right rumble motor failed both tests. I can only deduct that its defective. I suspect it could have been damaged on a drop since I received it, but I cannot confirm this. I can only suggest maybe sending this in a box rather than a folder with a thin bubble wrap. Other than taht, the controller is good! The thumbsticks are ok. There is very lsight yet noticeable deadzone on the right side of both thumbsticks, its minimal, but its STILL noticeable, movemenets at the very edge of the stick's right side will be slightly afected (weirdly, on the left side, the deadzone is almost completly gone, its quite amazing actually, The left side of both thumbsticks is extremely well balanced. The right side of the thumbsticks has the same problem on both thuimbstkcs) Other than the rumble problem, this seems like a ncie controller. I will update once I receive my replecement. Update! Replacement failed, they will honor the guarantee on the replacement. I'd overall rate the controller ok, but for some weird reason, it's prone to faulty rumble motors. Double check upon order to make sure it works fine, if you get a good one, congrats, it's quite a nice controller.	video-games_xbox
After Playing it...I keep my rating. My first review, a preview, was right in many ways, and when I look back, I know why this game got so much hype...it's FUN! Here are the basics of Blinx, and why u have to get it NOW! The basics: You walk around collecting time crystals that match (4 yellow stars, 4 blue moons). Collecting four of the same kind will give u that kind of time control power for up to 10 seconds (which is quite a lot in this game). The controls are: rewind, fast forward, slow motion, pause, and record (which is really fun) in which your shadow does whatever u recorded. Now, on each level, there are a certain amount of monsters (which are quite creative). To destroy them, u have to collect trash lying on the street (suck it up in your timesweeper) and shoot it at them. Once all the monsters are destroyed, u can leave the level. You can return at any time, and in the midst of all this, you have to collect gold. With the gold, u can buy upgrades of your cloths, shoes, jackets, time holders, and of course, your Timesweeper. It is crucial to have the best timesweeper to find secrets. You'll have to play to see what I mean. Replay Value: Tremendoes, as u can return to each level as many times as u want. Each time is petty fun, too, because u have to find secrets crucial to beating the game (while controling time of course) and collect gold. There are over 40 levels, labled first 1-1 to 1-3, then a boss. Once u beat the boss, u move to levels 2-1 to 2-3. Then beat that boss and then so on. It goes on to level 10-3 then an extremely tough boss. And no, this game is not too easy. I've still only halfway beaten it, and the overall fun never wheres off. This game, as u can imagine, has incredible replay value! Graphics: The best yet to be seen in many ways. The water looks like clear, real, shimmering water. The landscapes are huge, and every level is detailed down to the last ounce so that u feel like your in a living, breathing world! You can actually see the very fur on Blinx's body, and his tail swishes around in a very cat like way. Everything is beautiful in Blinx: The Timesweeper, and this game really showed (in my opinion) some of the true powers of the XBOX. Fun Factor: 5 stars! The whole thing is fun as hech. Whether it be controlling time, shooting monsters, to upgrading your weapons, this game has it all. I've spent hours upon hours playing this awsome game, and I know I'll spend hours upon hours more continueing that trend. A u can clearly see, Blinx: The Timesweeper is a hit, and very innovative. The power to control time is weaved in very well with the superb story, and the overall depth is there. This is a Mario like game in many ways, and yet is more challenging and takes more thinking than that. Blinx: The Timesweeper should be on your Christmas List this holiday season, and will bring joy, fun, and overall excitement to the whole family (plus their are 3 games files). Enjoy!	video-games_xbox
Fun. But some huge dissapointments. Overall 7/10 (The story was the most important to me) Gameplay 9/10 Story 5/10 Graphics 8/10 (On a big tv you can see the seams ALOT as in every 5 seconds you see a new one) Character Depth 9.5/10 (leaves you hanging on some part) Let me start by saying the first assassins creed was and still is my favorite game. This game however is pretty fun gameplay wise but is seriously lacking in the story department untill about halfway through the game. I just feel like the game I loved has been replaced by something completely gameplay focused. The free runing is really good although it does have some problems where Ezio will jump somwhere other then where you planned and you will probably end up with half your health gone. The climbing works well and is improved over the original. But none of the free runing or climbing requires much thought. There is almost always a clear cut path or you just have to go around the corner. Inside the tombs there is an obvious criss cross patern or it shows you the path you need to take. Another problem i had with the game was i didn't have the feeling that i was in the animus. yuor health is now literally health and you must pay to have yourself brought back up to full health. also you only play as desmond three times (i really enjoyed the desmond scenes from the original game) There are more types of quests but only a few types are enjoyable, (The beat up quests, the races, and some of the assassinations)unlike in the original where i wanted to do every single side quest. The beat up quests and the races are extremely enjoyable and you will want to do all of them that you find. on the other hand you have things like the courier quests which are just a complete pain. All of the main quest assassinations are enjoyable but only some of the side assassinations are fun while the rest are just tedious. Another pain is when you have to follow someone to a certain point withou being detected before killing them, if you bump into one person with a box you will most likely be starting over. The new weapons are pretty cool but you are barely ever going to use any of them besides your hidden blades, your sword, and your fists(and only these for the beat up quests). You can only aqquire weapons when the game makers are ready for you to have them because you have to wait untill later memory blocks for most weapons to be available (your going to already have the money). The villa is definitely the my favorite part of the game It is fun to upgrade and nice to get the money every 20 minutes also it is a nice safe place to hang around. I love how they took real paintings and told you the histories of them. But there just aren't enough upgrades and paintings to keep you entertained. Now I'm going to tell you about the story. The story is pretty pathetic. for the first half of the game its pretty much "EZIO MAD EZIO KILL" and the other half is crap about weird creators who want to save us or something. I'm not going to tell you the ending but (at least in my opinion) it was just stupid and worse then the first. The codex pages leave you wondering what happened after altair looked into the apple the last time or if he even did. But even though it isn't a great story i still half to say I am going to get the third to find out what happens and if they can fix this screw up. Also I have had a few glitches like when i got my head stuck in a gondola and it acted like i was walking even though the rest of me was underwater and i couldn't get out. Another time there was an archer with half his body in a building. The biggest problem of all is that YOU CAN'T REPLAY MEMORIES which was great for me in the original. I played through most assassinations multiple times in the original. Now that I'm done with the review part i'm going to tell you what ubisoft should release as downloadable content to fix at least some of these problems: More indoor maps, More side quest types as well as just more side quests, More addons for the stronghold including ones that increase its size and more paintings for it, more weapons and armour, and most of all a patch (thats free) That lets you replay specific memories. Anything else they can think of also.	video-games_xbox
Banjo-Kazooie : Nuts & Bolts. When I first heard that this game had come out for the X-Box 360, I was excited. I didn't have a 360 at the time, and I wanted to keep my reputation of owning all the B-K games which are all on their original systems I worked on my chores all summer - until I finally saved up $110 to buy the 2010 Spring Package X-Box 360 Arcade - which came with Nuts and Bolts, and Viva Pinata. Who would've guessed, me, one of the biggest Banjo-Kazooie fans ever, would be playing Viva Pinata more than Nuts and Bolts? Banjo-Kazooie is the first game of the franchise, released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64. The game is based on a brown honey bear, named Banjo, who's sister has been kidnapped by an evil witch named Gruntilda. With the aid of his best friend, a red feathered bird named Kazooie, they travel through nine worlds connected through a large hub world, collecting golden jigsaw pieces, -aka Jiggies- and musical notes to progress further in the game. Banjo-Tooie is the sequel to Banjo-Kazooie, and does more than live up to the original. In my opinion, it surpasses the original. It follows the same game mechanic - collecting Jiggies and musical notes to progress, and this game is much larger and harder than B-K. It also requires much more backtracking. What leads to the promise of Banjo-Kazooie - Nuts And Bolts, is Gruntilda's promise at the end- "Just you wait until Banjo-Threeie!" Banjo-Threeie was an actual game planned for the GameCube, but then, Microsoft bought out Rare. Then things went downhill. I could get all techincal, but for the sake of time, I wont. Look up JonTron's video covering Nuts and Bolts, and you can learn more from there. So, onto the game. It takes place eight years after Banjo-Tooie. From having no need no adventure, Banjo and Kazooie have grown overweight and lazy. When Gruntilda now just her skull escapes from a rock pile, which covers the way to go to Jinjo village in Tooie, they confront, and are just about to fight when a character callled LOG inturrupts, and in a nutshell, gives Grunty an artificial body, restores Banjo n Kazooie to normal, and throws them into a new hub world, Showdown Town. Jiggies function as normal, used to progress in the game, until Grunty and Banjo vie for ownership of Spiral Mountain. Pros- The graphics are great, the music is good. Worlds are large, and Banjoland has memoirs of the original 2 games. Cons- It is NOTHING like the other two games. Gameplay is vehicle-based, and Kazooie has lost all of her moves, and gets a wrench with two melee attacks. Worlds may be big, but empty and uninteresting. There are only 4 worlds with different acts. Text is hard to read, even on my HDTV. And no, I'm not dyslexic Don't get me wrong, Its a good game, just not a good Banjo-Kazooie game. It would be more acceptable if Microsoft gave the game to Conker, or something. And the commercial. Its nothing like the actual game. Its like seeing a commercial for Super Mario 64, and getting Super Mario City Simulator. So, in a nutshell, DO NOT buy if you want a true Banjo-Kazooie game. Go buy one of the original two off the X-Box Arcade, or better yet, for the N64. If you want a Banjo racing game, just get Banjo-Pilot.	video-games_xbox
Great game, great execution, all the bells and whistles. First off, I don't actually own this game. I rented it. Yesterday. I've already beaten it. Twice. It's not a tough game once you get the hang of it. The tutorial is excellent, meaning that it is a great pick up and play game. The controls are excellent. They give an infinite variety of moves, web techniques, etc. without the impossible controls found in some games. The graphics are insanely good. While watching some of the animation test movies, I actually forgot it was a video game. I was about to go get some popcorn when it ended. However, this level of graphics isn't only found in the cut scenes; the in-game graphics are supperb. This game truly has all the bells and whistles. Spidey is hillarious when he taunts the bosses during battle. I especially enjoy listening to him try to geuss his opponents names. The cheats are another big plus. This is extremely rare for a video game. This is only the 3rd game I've played that kept me playing just to unlock cheats (the others being Tony Hawk 2 and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for Dreamcast). This game includes what is definitely the coolest cheat in any game ever. I won't tell you how to get it, but if you meet one of two conditions, you can play as the Green Goblin. This not only changes your character's look, but it also give a completely new set of controls, voice acting, cut scenes, and even plot. It's essentially a new game with the same levels. The only problem here is that without Spidey's wall sticking and swinging ability, Green Goblin has to rely on power rather than stealth. No complaints though. The only thing that worried me about the controls was the implimentation of midair sequences. Trust me. This is not a problem. You can swing, while dodging bombs, while shooting web for hours with relatively little experience. The obvious attention to detail behind this game makes it a great title for all sorts of gamers. It doesn't matter what sort of games you like, this is a fun title for everyone.	video-games_xbox
Gears of War is a must have. This review will be written in the areas that disappointed/impressed me. Graphics: WOW. This is my first Xbox 360 game to play and I can say graphics wise the 360 won't disappoint me. The graphics of this game are unbelievable. I've been playing the game on my 20" flat panel and it looks great. Tonight I tried the game on our 52" HDTV and it was AMAZING! Rating: 5.0 Fight Sequences: This game has a concept I've seen in few games and the games I have seen it in didn't do it well enough to note. The concept I'm speaking of is the ability to hide behind walls and debris. You can hide behind a wall and you can even switch to a closeby wall or something similar with the press of one button. You may also aim out and shoot but what really got my attention what this. You have the ability to point your gun outside of the object you're hiding behind and fire. This is extremly useful under heavy fire. Though to add realism the accuracy drops but who complains about realism? Not I. Rating: 5.0 Weapons: I loved the weapons in this game. One of your assualt rifles has a chainsaw baonet(sp). The shotgun is extremly powerful. The sniper rifle is amazing easy to use. If you're not good at sniping you shouldn't have a problem with it in this game. (Sniping in Halo 2 is harder than this) I did have one problem with the weapons though. I did not like the grenades. The grenade is some type of alien contraption and it doesn't always go where you want it to. It's also hard to tell where it does go. The good news is where you target the grenade to land is where it will land. Rating: 4.0 Story: Graphics, Gameplay and great weapons don't make a truly awsome game though. The story is what really determines the greatness of a game. This game LACKS STORY! <Rant Begins> WHAT IS WITH NEW GAMES AND NO STORY!? YOU PAY 60$ FOR A GAME THAT YOU CAN BEAT IN LESS THAN A DAY! WE SAY IT'S FOR GRAPHICS AMAZING GRAPHICS. GAME DEVELOPERS WORK ON YOUR STORIES! TAKE A LOOK AT VALVE AND ID THEY KNOW WHAT STORY MEANS! <Rant Ends> This game has no story. In fact most of the game you're so confused you have no idea what's going on. If you don't watch the video when you put the disk in, you know the one you get by letting it sit for a while? If you don't watch that video you'll be so confused and won't understand a lot of what's happening. Logic would state that this very important video that describes the setting of the game you're playing would be placed as a video when you select that neat little button that says NEW CAMPAIGN! I'll just give you a few ideas of the ways you'll be confused while playing this game may contain spoilers: -You have to watch the intro to understand the game -You hear about a certain trial but never know why that person was on trial -You hear about a persons father, who seems to have an important role in the story, but guess what THEY TELL YOU NOTHING OF THIS MANS FATHER! -You don't know how the marines in the game know each other, some make it obvious that they know each other but how YOU'LL NEVER KNOW! Rating: 1.0 Replayability: Yes, you can play this game over. There are many achievements you can strive for that will keep you busy for a while. The game is so vague you could play the game over and over again hoping to catch a peice of the story you missed. It's fun to collect the CoG tags and complete the achievements to get your Gamerscore up. Rating: 5.0 To sum it up: If you want a fun game with great graphics that can keep you busy for a while, this is a game for you. I only recommend renting this game if you're not a hardcore gamer. Some of the acheivements are really hard and can take you a while to complete so if you're not a hardcore gamer you probly won't even try some of these. One acheivement is to kill 10k people... so yeah. Total Rating: 3.0	video-games_xbox
Final Fantasy XIV/Borderlands 2 Tested: Nerd Approved. Up until trying the RIG, I was the one odd duck in my XBox Live group that used a traditional plain Jane, official voice-operated switch (VOX) headset that had trouble capturing my voice and sending it consistently over party chat. Everyone else had Turtle Beaches like all the cool kids while I ate at the loner table with my $20 headset and ate PB&J sandwiches. Thank GOD I had the opportunity to try out the new Plantronics RIG system as I've been using nothing since. It's more comfortable than any other gaming headset I've used, the VOX is virtually seamless, easy to connect, universal, and everyone keeps telling me to turn the volume down as they can hear my game. I was originally going to get one of these for my brother but, after playing with it for over a month, he can get his own! Now, I have not really used a Turtle Beach except at demonstrations at gaming or electronics stores and I felt like they were designed more for teenage heads, and by that, I mean smaller than my gargantuan sized head. They weren't really all that comfortable and, like Alienware computers, grossly overpriced. With all that in mind, I was very excited to try out the RIG system. When my headset arrived it didn't take long for me to connect it to my XBox 360. Come to think of it, it took all of twenty seconds to figure out where the USB cord goes, connect audio jack here, this there, and viola! I started up a party chat and did some sound tests by myself to see if the mic icon would flash indicating that my voice was being recognized by the VOX and transmitting. It was, so I then invited a few people in to see if they noticed a difference WITHOUT telling them I acquired a new headset. The first friend came in and noticed a difference almost immediately and commented on it. He said there was no real delay in my speech so he heard everything I said and told me to turn down the VOX volume as he could also hear my XBox and my phone when a text message arrived (It's Joker from Mass Effect saying, "Message coming in... patching it through!"). The next guy comes in and notices a similar change within five minutes, then the last person noticed immediately. We then went on to play Borderlands 2 for a few hours and they kept commenting on how I should NEVER go back to my old headset and gave some pointers on how to dispose of it from burning it to shooting it. Either way, I wasn't the only satisfied with the RIG with it's comfort and ease of use, my friends on Live were also satisfied that I didn't have to repeat myself several times over my old headset during the heat of fighting a raid boss. So, it worked well on XBox Live, now onto something a little more MMO-ish. My older brother has been playing Final Fantasy XIV (14) on his PC for quite some time and had been trying to recruit me to play it. After much refusing given my reservations on MMO games, he got me a copy for my PS3 (I'm an egalitarian console owner) and a 1-month free trial. After realizing that the PS3 chat and PC chats are not compatible (that we know of it) we tried another method of chatting via TeamSpeak on my laptop. After merely switching the AUX and USB cables over to my laptop, I was able to begin almost immediately and we played for hours on end. Turns out, MMO games aren't that bad but not quite my cup of tea. After switching Free Companies (guilds) within FFXIV we had to switch software over to something called Mumble and, again, a seamless transition. Now after a month of prolonged use and countless hours online, I have come to really like the RIG and will be using it as my primary until it breaks and that doesn't seem like anytime soon. My only beef is that, sometimes, the AUX input doesn't seem to line up right and I have to adjust it while making a long noise with my mouth and wait for the others on chat to go, "That's it!" On occasion, something hits the mute button and I won't notice until someone points out that I stopped talking. Not much a fault to the RIG and more my dirty man cave. All in all, the RIG is a very nice choice for the price over other brands like Turtle Beach. It's easy to install even for us n00bs, comfortable to wear even after prolonged use, and your friends will notice a difference if you are leaving the traditional $20 plain Jane headsets.	video-games_xbox
A one note composition. Kane & Lynch 2 demonstrates what happens when a development team tries to form an entire game around one glimmering fragment of a good idea. The story is almost non-existent. It's Mario Bros. Two guys fighting their way through each level, trying to rescue the girl. That's it. It, obviously, continues with the same two irredeemable and unlikable lead characters from the first game that one feels no connection to or interest in. Also, like the first Kane & Lynch, it tries far too hard to be edgy. As a fan of cleverly applied foul language, I'm put off when a game is so blatantly trying to appeal to twelve year old boys with excessive use of the 'F-word'. It comes across fake and insincere and patronizing. It has one note of gameplay. You run through hallways shooting people, until you get to the other side. Then a new level loads and you shoot through another hallway, shooting more people. Four hours later, the game is over. Many have rightfully complained that while length is not everything, it's hard to justify a full retail price for a four hour game. I agree, but I also would not have wanted to sit through another four hours of the same tiring, boring, monotonous action. In fact, I started looking forward to the end arriving, by about the third hour. Multiplayer has potential, but falls flat. Part of that is due to the poor matchmaking, which seems dated. You'll spend a lot of time waiting in lobbies for people to join and games to start. The loading screens between games, joining lobbies, leaving lobbies, returning to lobbies from games are lengthy and a bit frustrating. There also isn't any host-migration, which has come to be expected in modern multiplayer games. This results in a _lot_ of prematurely ended games due to the host dropping out. I tried playing Cops & Robbers for four hours last night and I never completed a game. Cops and Robbers is four rounds long and in every game over those four hours, the host left before the third round. The concept of the multiplayer in this game is interesting, though. I'd like to see someone expand on the idea and execute it much better. It could use some polish and definitely could use more maps (there are five or six, I think - though it feels like only three). There are three additional maps, but you only get those if you pre-ordered the game from certain retailers. Even then, you only get ONE of the three locked maps; not all of them. If you ordered from Amazon, you got a special assault gun, instead of any maps. I believe that you can play on those maps if the host has the map, but I have not come across any games where that is the case. You also can't buy the maps as DLC. There is also a Co-Op mode. It's nothing to write home about. It's just the single player game, but with the other person playing Kane. So instead of one player falling asleep with their finger constantly yanking the trigger and pushing forward through the path, someone else can suffer along with you. All that said, Kane & Lynch 2 does a couple things right. First, while the graphics often look very dated (especially the faces and animations, if you stop and watch Kane running around) -- the "camera man" filters they apply cover it up. In fact, the effects they apply can be absolutely stunning and go a long way toward improving realism. (Of course, there is never any explanation for why some guy with a camera is following two murderers around with a camera, risking getting himself killed by stray bullets the entire time, and witnessing to countless crimes by these crooks). Still, the effect is very cool. I also like that the game, except for frequent long loading screens, has a bit of a "one long tracking shot" feel to it. Think of the scene from Children of Men, but much longer. If they could have found a way to stream-load the game, instead of having loading screens, it may have been memorable for presenting that sort of "game starts at point A and goes to point B and you never stop at any spot in between" experience. So, in conclusion, Kane & Lynch 2 is a one-note game with a couple intriguing elements that belong in a much better game. I suspect this game will appeal to the same kind of mindset that gets off on all the weed references in Modern Warfare 2 or buys Bayonetta just because it features a naked chick in a "hair suit" standing in stilettos. These people probably wouldn't even realize they're being patronized, though. For everyone else - I suspect they will find it boring and repetitive and wish they'd spent their money elsewhere (even despite the couple of interesting elements that could have had potential). Rent it or pick it up at no more than half of retail price. Otherwise, skip it. It really seems like IO Interactive had a brainstorming meeting and they came up with one good idea that had enough content for one level of the game and that was the last brainstorming session they ever had, until the game was released. As for why they spent so much time making so little game? There seems to be no explanation for that.	video-games_xbox
Fun, but gets a bit repetitive before the end. Tomb Raider is, at times, incredibly fun. Lara's mobility and ease of control makes the exploration elements very enjoyable and rarely frustrating. This is, sadly, at the expense of difficulty. Everywhere you're capable of going is clearly marked by streaks where (I suppose) other Tomb Raiders have previously traversed. There's not really a sense of discovery as everything is clearly marked on your map, and the game strains to endlessly pat you on the head for every little thing you do. You don't just discover an ancient tomb, you discover a "CHALLENGE TOMB" that rewards you with some sort of (mostly arbitrary) new ability! Why does everything have to feel like a scavenger hunt? Why can't the act of finding a new tomb to raid be a reward in and of itself? The game is at its best when you are quietly traversing the environments and conquering a new tomb. Which makes it absolutely bizarre that the tombs are optional. Why the heck are they optional in a game called TOMB raider? They're easily the best parts of the game. The action is entertaining and it plays well. It sort of makes you feel like the hero in a movie. No one really stands much of a chance against you. In fact, I often intentionally made things harder on myself by meleeing or crafting weapons when I could just as easily just blow through everyone with the weapons given. Resources never felt that limited throughout my play through. The games story is goofy and I eventually found myself just skipping through it. The gameplay and plot were often at odds with each other. The game wants you to feel rushed along but wait! there's a hidden scroll or piece of treasure to pick up. Better just stop and gather more junk while everything is literally burning down around me! The plot involves some sort of ancient thing that does something and some people want it for some reason. It's super engaging! It's also hilarious that Lara, an archeologist spends so much time desecrating and destroying ancient tombs just to get to the treasure at the end. The game really is mostly fun. I just got fatigued with the repetitive combat and found it to be too easy. I don't have a problem with easy games, but I find their gameplay rarely sustains their length. Even as a short game it started to feel very repetitive by the end. If you enjoyed the first Tomb Raider reboot, you'll like this one. It's more of the same and arguably better.	video-games_xbox
Does Not Work. Fortunately I read the instruction very carefully! The instruction says that I you plan to put on and take off the Zoom frequently, then use the provided clear plastic sticker on Kinect sensor lenses. I was planning on using the Zoom permanently, but I still used the clear sticker. That saved my Kinect because I had to put on and take off the Zoom to run many trial and error procedures to see if I can get the Zoom to work. But nothing helped and I ended up returning the Zoom only few hours after receiving the shipment. If you want to try this product, I suggest that you follow the instruction and use the clear plastic sticker to protect your Kinect. Otherwise you may end up with a scratched Kinect sensor, just like many other first days buyers here in Amazon. I took care to properly align the Zoom lenses with the Kinect Sensor lenses. After putting on the Zoom, I first calibrated the Kinect Sensor with the Spectacle Calibration card. Then I went and used other tuning steps on Kinect Tuner. I have my sensor wall mounted. In that position, Kinect cannot see the floor with Zoom. But it sees the floor clearly without Zoom. To accommodate the Zoom, I took the sensor from the Wall mount and placed it under the TV. In this position it sees the floor. This is the only success that I got with Zoom. Nothing else worked. It cannot see the player in any position- wall mounted or under the TV. The little camera view on the lower right corner just shows a dark screen. I turned on lights even during the day to light up my living room. But it still showed dark screen. Since I failed to get the Kinect to work with the Zoom, I then skipped all the tuning part and tried to play game without tuning the sensor. First I tried, Fruit Ninja Arcade game. It does not even let me start the game. I get a warning message that Kinect cannot see. I tried Kinect Sports, but I was not able to cross the game menu because the sensor was not able to follow my hand movement on menu selection. So I ended up taking the Zoom off and placed the Kinect back on its wall mounted position. I am back to my perfectly working Kinect. I have large space on my living room and so I can play perfectly without the Zoom. I had to relocate my Sofa to a different position to make room for 2-player space. I purchased the Zoom so that I can bring the Sofa back to its original position. But the Nyko Zoom turned out to be a failed project and worthless wait of couple of months for this product.	video-games_xbox
Why did you REALLY get this game in the first place. First of all, I want to ask to those who are rating this game with bad scores, why in the heck did you guys buy this game in the first place? Whatever your reasons are, I bought it for one reason and one reason only; to enjoy viewing of amazing scenery, beautiful graphics, and best of all, DOA girls. I'm pretty sure many people who played this game, whether it be from renting or owning, got it on their hands for the same reason that I bought it for. I'm sure there are some exceptions such as people who had to play for reviewing, got it as a present, or got it in any way without spending any money, but that doesn't change the fact that most of us are perverts and are fascinated by any sex related topics. However, many people are saying that they got it to play a volleyball game, but I find that hard to believe. Just think about this; why do you think that Tecmo developed a game like this? Because they know that most men are perverts and would get this so called "game" even when it's actually more of a soft porn rather than an actual game. Basically, my point is that it's really funny to see that many of you guys are saying that this game sucks when it's real purpose isn't even to be played but rather, drooled at. It's just too ironic that people rent or buy this game knowing what kind of "game" (or in my case, porn) this is, only to end up bashing about it. Ultimately, it would be better if everyone just admit that they bought it for different reasons than to play it and just enjoy this sexually welcomed and fantasized game. Lastly, I prefer paying $20 for a "game" (which can be played for hours )and porn put in one rather than an actual porn that only lasts a few hours. Besides, if your mother catches you playing this porn, you can pass it off as a game. Can you do that with an actual porn? For those who were forced to play or got this game for free, you ratings are perfectly reasonable. But then, once again, it wouldn't hurt to keep it in the shelves and pull it out every once in a while when you are in need of sexual desires. :)	video-games_xbox
The Head sets sound beautiful and block out the street noise of my busy . Let 's get right into it. I brought these for reasons other than gaming. My plan was when my son's Black Metal Band where is using his room as a studio I would put these on and listen to some music and block the noise out. So when I'm off on the weekend after working around anywhere from 48 to 55 hours a week I want to get some space, peace, quiet and some relaxation in. That is totally impossible with a Black Metal Band jamming and practicing in the room next to you. Loud talking, screaming to the top of their lungs, cymbals, drums banging do I have to explain further. I got them thinking I would listen to some calming music and block them out and hopefully sleep through it. First night I used the Kotion G9000 Gaming Headset I fell asleep listening to my music on Google Play. The Head sets sound beautiful and block out the street noise of my busy street. But I can see right now the love relationship I have with my Kotion Headset is not going to last that long and I tell you why later. The second night me, my son and his friend John tested them with his Xbox One. Let me tell you these are the best Gaming Headset I've tried. There is a difference between regular over the ear headset and these Kotion G9000 Gaming Headset. They are called Gaming Heatsets for a reason. Let me tell you what makes Kotion G9000 Gaming Heatsets different or what sets they aside from using just regular over the ear Headsets for getting your game on. The Positive - these headphones have an excellent balance low end and high end - treble is nice and crisp, while the bass is deep and rich - the materials are sturdy and the parts that are plastic are made of high quality - cord is braided which means it's harder to tangle and it's also a sturdier cable - the microphone boom is very sturdy and it doesn't seem it would detach easily from the cup of the headset - the person you are playing with over WiFi can hear you just if they where right there with you - has a good microphone and you can used this ti talk on your phone and the voice is crisp and clear - the cord is long enough so you can sit comfortable if you TV is up on the wall like our is. - the cable has a 3.5 mm plug to connect into a media player, computer, tablet, or the headset has a USB connection to plug into a computer or game console for audio chat or recording. - sound quality was so precise you could hear the footstep advancing, the bullets, etc it was like 360 degrees sound. Very realistic. - I also forgot them seem to vibrate -- it was like you was actually living in the game. The Negative - I told you I would tell you later -- my son is taking over my Kotion Headset ruining my relative because I hardly get to use them now. I haven't found any other negative qualities yet. If you really looking for a pair of Gaming Headsets I suggest you try DIZA100 Kotion G9000 Gaming Headsets you never go back to boring over the ear headsets again.<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/DIZA100-Kotion-Each-G9000-Gaming-Headset-Headphone-3-5mm-Stereo-Jack-with-Mic-LED-Light-for-PS4-Tablet-Laptop-Cell-Phone-Black-Red/dp/B019C6N2WU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">DIZA100 Kotion Each G9000 Gaming Headset Headphone 3.5mm Stereo Jack with Mic LED Light for PS4/Tablet/Laptop/Cell Phone-Black&Red</a> Disclaimer: I received a discount on this product to test, and review in exchange for my honest opinion. This in no way impacted my opinion of the product.	video-games_xbox
In my Restless Dreams, I see a wonderful game. Silent Hill 2, widely regarded to be one of the hallmarks in horror gaming, has stood the test of time. After hearing about it ages ago, I felt that it was time to purchase a copy; I chose the Xbox "Restless Dreams" edition because it came equipped with an optional side scenario ("Born from a Wish"). Outside of one or two graphical errors which reset themselves upon reloading the game, I found Silent Hill 2 to both easily accessible from a gameplay standpoint and from a narrative standpoint. The game has aged in a few respects. Being designed a past generation of gaming consoles, the graphics (though still quite detailed) have become slightly outdated; in particular, the character models seem a bit stiff and there are times in game when an animation or texture doesn't quite load/function as intended. However, this being said, the love and attention that went into the visual components of this game still shines through with the unique, ominous visual flair of the game. As I stated before, gameplay is fairly accessible. Although the game relies on a "tank" control method, the player's ability to navigate the fog-flooded streets of Silent Hill is not impeded. Fans of more action oriented games (i.e. Dead Space or Resident Evil) may wish to avoid this title as the game dissuades the player from engaging in combat for extended periods of time. Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams story and puzzle mechanics deserve special note. This game features a particularly dark story, dealing with subject matter as terminal illness, abusive relationships, guilt, memory repression, and murder; the voice acting isn't always superb, but it is effective and believable. For anyone who enjoys deeply symbolic stories laced with heavy content, this game is a must buy. The puzzles, though difficult, are quite solvable, though more riddle-challenged gamers may wish to consult an FAQ. (The game does feature different difficulties for the puzzles in game, which are adjustable at the outset of any given playthrough.) All in all, this is a survival horror title that must be experienced first hand in order to be truly appreciated. The development team, Team Silent, did an outstanding job bringing the rusty, demon-filled streets of Silent Hill to live, and the journey of James Sunderland for the truth about his wife's death is a narrative trek that is rife with frightening, shocking, and touching moments. Anyone who enjoys scary games will get a kick out of Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams; anyone who enjoys narrative-rich games, will absolutely adore it.	video-games_xbox
Better Late than Never, Right. Real quick background about me (to give you a point of view): I basically missed the last generation of gaming since I did not get a Xbox 360 until Feb 2013. Since then, I have been playing a backlog of AAA games. I've found that after playing games developed later in the console cycle, I don't have the "stomach" for earlier games. They just are not as refined. With that being said... Assassin's Creed was awesome. ...for about the first three or four memory blocks (levels). After that, the repetition of the game began to get to me. You basically do the same things over, and over, and over, and over, and... you get the idea. Next is the gameplay mechanics themselves. OMFG. This started to literally, piss me off. For example, I am trying to escape a horde (yes a horde) of guards that I pissed off because some weirdo pushed me by climbing a ladder. Except I can't get on the ladder because I run up the wall, then fall. Or climb a box, barrel, vendor stand, and so on. What I am saying is, a lot of the frustration was from poor game mechanics, not intentionally hard gaming. Now the good... I agree with reviewers that say it is visually stunning, because it is. Even for a game that was fairly early into this generation, it looks sweet. By comparison, I find the graphics styling in the first game to be slightly more impressive than the second, but I've only played the second for about 30 minutes. Also, it is kind of sweet assassinating people, jumping from rooftops, and even the fighting is pretty good (once you get the hang of it). By the end of the game I was wishing for just that, the end. I was tired of battling waves of guards, running from a city full of guards, pickpocketing thieves and scums, saving citizens, and eavesdropping on bystanders. I am hoping, like most first entries into a series that the sequel builds on the good and burns the bad.	video-games_xbox
One of the greatest, and toughest, games I've ever played. Just who made this game I am not entirely sure. Global Star Software has their name placed prominently- indeed, theirs is the only name that appears on the front of the game case. But on the back, the listings of who gets some kind of credit for the game's creation get so convoluted I really have no idea. But that's not the point. The game is rated Mature for blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, suggestive themes, and use of drugs. Hoo, baby. Does it ever. That's not the point either, though. The point is that this is one of the greatest but least-recognized games of all time. It is comparable to such things as VMI's Ratline and basic training at Fort Knox, simply for the reason that it is extremely tough, frustrating, and does its utmost to beat you or force you to give up. And when you're done, you'll be glad you did it once, but you probably won't ever want to do it again. At least, that's how I felt after I jumped right into the game on the third hardest difficulty and played through, the fourth being unavailable during your first go. 14 missions is all the game has, but each one is so stretched out it seems like an eternity. And the saving system, which seems to have been designed by a group of Army or Marine drill sergeants specially tasked with creating a save system that will bring out great levels of frustration and pain, is one of your worst enemies. In each mission, a war unto itself, the game lets you save twice. That's it. But that may have been a blessing as well as a curse. It forced me to think, to fight, with a kind of intensity and focus that few other games have ever given me reason to do. Slip up and hordes of VC will happily destroy you, on some occasions with the assistance of RPG-7 wielding infantry and T-34 tanks. Each move, most of all each save, must and will be made with the utmost care if you have any desire to survive. Containing some 20 cutscenes and just four main characters, "Conflict: Vietnam" has a fascinating introduction, playthrough, and ending for its story. 19-year old Private (E-2) Harold Kahler has been drafted- holy [CENSORED], he didn't run to Canada! Actually stood up like a man and went!- and soon finds himself in what one fella tells Kahler is nothing but a big heap of someone else's bovine patties. Introduced to his squadmates on a Huey ride into a 101st Airborne base in the ROV, Kahler is assigned to Delta Squad. Its leader, Staff Sergeant Frank Wier, has done two tours in Vietnam already and is well-known and respected within Bravo Company. Corporals Will Schaefer and Bruce Lesh dislike the newcomer almost as much as they dislike each other, the former being a rural white Southerner and the latter being an urban black Northerner. Initially, things are quiet. Enough so that stealing an M-35 with a disabled transmission was a high point of the day. But real quick, things heat up- two missions later, the 1968 Tet Offensive hits Ghost Town. Soon, Delta Squad is battling through miles of VC-held territory, briefly finding refuge in a 1st Air Cav base that is soon after overrun. Through the many missions you spend battling the VC alone on their home turf, a squad of Australian SAS- how the VC feared them... those guys could fight so well that even Colonel David H. Hackworth, with his 100+ medals, was saying we should learn how to fight the VC from them- led by Sergeant Stone are some of the only friendlies you ever see. That, and a cheerful PT boat commander called "The Chief". It's a shame you don't get to work with Stone more- his squad and Sergeant Wier's three Screaming Eagles could probably stormed their way to Hanoi all by themselves. Considering each man in Delta Squad had over 400 kills to his record by the end, I could believe that. This game is one that you could say does not encourage you to use the "run and gun" style that so many games are so fond of. The way I played it, in fact, it brutally and mercilessly punishes "run and gun" players. I like it that way- the combat in this game is far more realistic than in many other first, and in this case- first/third-person shooters. "Conflict: Vietnam" keeps a detailed record of each character, and you can play as and issue orders as any one of them, though Wier or "Ragman" is the one in charge. It lists things done in that mission and in the game so far, such as times wounded, times shot, number of rounds fired, rounds that hit and where, and personal kills. The game also has a system of awarding medals. I never, ever found out how or why they are awarded, but playing mostly as one character seems to ensure that he will acquire the most medals by the end of the game. The total number of medals you can earn is revealed at the end- the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, POW Medal, Bronze Star, Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, and Vietnam Service Medal are the ones I remember being listed. The Purple Heart is never awarded at the end of a mission, however, and despite the fact that every character in Delta Squad got shot over 200 times with Red bullets, some never got one. But the bizarre and arbitrary system for medals is somewhat realistic, given how jacked up the US Army was at the time. Staff Sergeant Wier and his squad, I firmly believe, deserved at least one Medal of Honor each for what they did in the game. Maybe two each. Did they? Not at all, and that is the case in many conflicts. Men are often never properly thanked, never given the decorations they deserve. The game's choice of music is excellent, as is the voice acting. "Paint It, Black", "Nowhere To Run", and a fantastic instrumental score add to the game very well. By the end of the game, I cared about each of Delta Squad's four members as if they were real people, and friends at that. When their tour ends and each of them goes his separate way, I found their respective end stories very interesting. Sergeant Wier goes home from his third tour to find his wife has deserted him behind his back and cleaned out the house, but in the end finds a well-deserved peace, living out his days in the Rocky Mountains with his dog, Ho Chi Minh. Corporal Lesh joins the Black Panther Party and soon after his return home dies in a shootout with the FBI, and end he didn't at all deserve after what he'd endured in Vietnam. The hot-headed, crude, but likeable Corporal Schaefer stays in the Army as long as he can, going from warzone to warzone, forever seeking the thrill of combat. And the main character, Private Kahler, becomes a successful doctor, marrying and starting his own family. But the Vietnam War never really ends for Kahler, who sees himself back there again every time he tries to sleep. But, recalling a favored phrase used by soldiers in the game, he says in closing, "But **** it, it don't mean a thing, right?"	video-games_xbox
So far disappointed. I was really hoping to like this game, I really was. I love RPG's. I am a big fan of the Fable, Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, among others. This game, however, is dark and creepy, but not in a good way. Let's talk about the less good first: - Game play is awkward at best. - It's hard to target and disengage enemies. - The interface (and graphics) look like something from a 6 year old game. - You can't pause. If you want to take a minute to look at your walkthrough or user manual for the controls, or even go to the bathroom for that matter, too bad. The enemies will kill you. - The game just isn't fun. You die all the time, and it's unbalanced. Most RPGs start you off with weaker enemies, and as you work your way up, the enemies get tougher. In this game, you start with level 1 enemies, then they quickly jump to level 5, and they kill you again and again. Who came up with this sick and twisted idea? I'll be honest, I couldn't get passed stage 2 of this game - Firelink Shrine. I accidentally attacked the swordsman near the first campfire, and he overpowered me. I die, and then continue, and he STILL attacks me. After trying to beat him 10 times and failing, I tried running away. I would try to rush to the area with copious amounts of skeletons (while the swordsman followed). Sometimes I could lose the swordsman, other times he followed me and I got gang beat by him and the skeletons. When I did manage to evade him, the skeletons would kick my ass anyway. To boot, after I died I'd restart at the camp fire, to the swordsman chasing me every time. How are you supposed to progress in a game when you make one mistake like this? After about 20 tries here, I've given up. In any other RPG i've played, if you piss off a neutral character who is much stronger than you are, the game forgives you once you die, and you can choose not to make that mistake again. Not this game. It could be a glitch, but I doubt it. Anyhow, after playing this game for 2h I'm left feeling deprived of joy and frustrated. I have never had this experience with an RPG before. What's good about this game? The IGN review, that's about it. There was nothing this game had that made it stand out from Dragon Age, Fable, or any other fun RPG I've played.	video-games_xbox
Show me the exit. I am very pleased that I rented this game instead of buying it. I'm not too big of a Matrix fan. I thought the first movie was great and I thought the sequel to be kind of a flop. The game Enter The Matrix, in my opinion, follows the second movie down the same dissatisfying path. To be fair, the graphics are great and the kung-fu\gravity bending gameplay is unprecedented and fun to watch. The action moves you can perform play like some of the fight sequences in the films. Unfortunately, the action combos and the wall walking gets old really fast. After about an hour of doing the same martial arts combos and jumping over bullets I began to grow bored with the gameplay. I found myself doing the same thing over and over: Follow the trails, shoot the same guards, do the same moves. There is no variety in this game. You fight and easily kill dozens upon dozens of generic swat cops and security guards. You easily get an auto-lock on your target, jump through the air and shoot them.... OVER AND OVER AND OVER, LEVEL TO LEVEL TO LEVEL. Gameplay is much too linear, and the lack of any sort of rush coupled with the same recycled orchestral music playing in an endless loop left me wanting more. The game didn't convey any real 'get up and go.' Just the same bad guys for you to kill in different rooms. In summary: Pros: Great graphics, great gun and explosion sounds, exceptional gameplay as far as manipulating the environment(wall walking, bullet dodging etc..), Agents are intimidating and fun to fight, clever interposing between gaming and movie clips gives you a better understanding of The Matrix. Cons: Poor lighting and shadows, TOTAL lack of variety from level to level, recycled enemies and recycled musical score resulting in monotonous levels of easy shoot-em-up gaming, Unchallenging combat interface: Enemies are weak and predicatble, lacking any sort of surprise tactics or skills equal to your own. If you're a fan of The Matrix and are just dying to get any sort of Matrix fix before the next film, then you will probably make this game work for you. If you're a first person shooter fan looking for anything to bridge the gap from now until Halo 2, maybe this title will keep you interested for a night or two. - It's no miracle in action gameplay. Allow the river of hype this game has generated to float to the wayside with the rest of the garbage. Worth the rent, not the buy.	video-games_xbox
Beautiful, engaging, but sometimes repetitive. The developers did a great job on this game. The levels are beautiful, the level of detail is amazing, and there's plenty to look at without ever getting bored. Nothing is overdone, and everything fits perfectly into the environment. The sounds are perfect, and the music, when it's there, almost fades into the background, it's so perfectly-selected for the environment. Voice acting is superb. Game play is easy, there are no annoying controls and nothing complicated to remember. Ultimately this is a RPG/shooter. For the most part, you'll do more RPG than shooting. The developers provided a wide variety of different ways to destroy enemies, and you're really left up to your creativity. There are on-screen prompts that help guide you, but more experienced users can turn those prompts off. The game is just challenging enough that you'll never get frustrated and you'll never seem stuck. The maps can be a little confusing at times, but fortunately maps are provided -- I cannot imagine completing this game without them! The game suffers from a few flaws which appear in the level called "Fort Frolic". There are some frame-rate issues and jumpiness here, which seems to clear about 2 levels later. Consult official forums for discussions, although there appears to be no solution for any problems. Just be prepared for possible jerkiness mid-game and you'll be fine. The Xbox 360 achievements seem to be well-designed and thought-out. If you blast through the game, you'll miss them. If you take your time and see everything there is to see in the city of Rapture, you'll get most of the achievements on your first play, although it will take quite some time to complete. However, this game is not meant to be played quickly. Replay value for me is mixed. There is an "evil" track and a "good" track, which only determines which ending you will see. You can experiment with different "weapons" and "abilities" (called plasmids and tonics), and make the game much harder for yourself depending upon what you do. But I believe if you play the game thoroughly once, there is very little reason to play more than twice. Online play is not valuable for me, and the lack of online play does not bother me. I judge a game by how deeply I am pulled into the game's world. Bioshock has some scary moments -- when you least expect something to happen, something happens! If you are playing this game and somebody walks into the room, you will probably jump, as I have. For me, it means I'm totally engrossed in the environment, and that the developers have done an excellent job at creating an alternate world. The visuals, characters, controls, sounds, and story are fantastic. If it weren't for some glitchiness in the middle of the game, this would garner 5 stars.	video-games_xbox
Big but shallow world fails to hold interest. tl;dr: It's okay--but the gonzo violence doesn't match with how serious the game wants to be. Four stars for technical excellence, only three for fun. There's much to like about Watch Dogs, an openish-world game set in a near future Chicago, but I didn't find it compelling. Decent graphics and interesting game play gives you lots of options to solve problems--you can walk in blazing, sneak around, and use environmental tools to distract and blow up your enemies. It's a rich world, but ultimately dissatisfying. Why? I think its because Watch Dogs sets itself to be a grim, serious, interesting techno-thriller, but ends up being a good but not great stealth and hacking themed Grand Theft Auto knockoff. The game opens with a very dark, well-produced segment where the player character faces some tragedy as the outcome for his hacking activities. Fast forward a year and you're trying to figure out what happened and get revenge for the death of your niece. Ok, motivation. Got it. From there, you get to run around hacking phones, jacking cars, doing minor and major missions. The main problem with the game is that is not nearly as serious as it would like to be. It is hard to take Watch Dogs seriously when you run over multiple civilians and have gun fights in the street without attracting police attention, but if you steal the wrong person's car, the wrath of justice falls down on you. That said, if you take it for what it is: which is a variation on the Grand Theft Auto theme with light collectible/role playing game elements (you can choose which skills to improve and buy weapons, all of which appear magically from your Trench Coat of Holding), Watch Dogs can hold your interest for a long time. Running enemies off the road, hacking cameras to blow up power grids and incapacitate bad guys, and hacking everything in sight is pretty fun. There's also an interesting aspect that other players can hack you during the game. This starts a mini-game in which you have to apprehend the other player before he finishes hacking you. On the downside, there do not appear to be enough players to make this viable. Although I got hacked a couple times, I haven't been able to find a game to hack myself. Overall, an interesting but not amazing game. It hits all the technical points but fails the basic test of making me want to keep playing.	video-games_xbox
Owned a PS4 for the last 2 years, it now collects dust. I decided to buy an Xbox One in July 2015 due to Microsoft's dedication to updating and making the console better, and after their presentation at E3 2015 with the announcement of backwards compatibility. For nearly 2 years I held out and went from the Xbox 360 to the PlayStation 4 because I wanted to wait and see if Microsoft was going to make an effort to change the Xbox One by making it better and worth purchasing after that atrocious 2013 release and the whole talk nobody really cared about ''tv, kinect, drm, all-in-one, etc.'' Boy I'm glad I waited because the Xbox One is officially better, somewhat innovative, simply more exciting than the competition in 2015 and the Xbox One 1TB Halo MCC bundle is well woth it! Here is what I think of it so far with pro's and con's. Pros: Less than $400 and comes with 1TB of hard drive space, new and improved Xbox One controller with a 3.5mm headset jack (should've been like this from launch.) AND the best exclusive sci-fi FPS game series of the 2000s: Halo MCC. Xbox One exclusive games. Loved the exclusives out already such as Dead Rising 3, Titanfall, Ryse, Killer Instinct, and the Forza games. The flagship Halo series is still alive and strong, and a promising long lineup is due starting in Sept 2015. Backwards Compatibility. BC was announced at e3 2015, and will launch in Nov 2015. BC will allow you to play hundreds of X360 games AND DLC that you own without the need of using a X360 anymore. The awesome thing for me is that you can also play multiplayer with anyone that is on the X360 AND someone that is on an Xbox One using BC. Universal Apps. Dozens and dozens of apps like Netflix or Youtube to use on the Xbox one. Some apps require a subscription, but some are free and should never leave you bored. Oh yeah did I mention that twitch is available and you can stream your gameplay and also watch gameplay from gamers that are using ANY console/pc. Multiple apps can be open like you are on a pc, you can close them at your discretion. Xbox + PC integration with Windows 10. DLNA support. External hard drive option. Another feature I wanted my PS4 to have. 2 AA battery option for controller. I always have several rechargeable AA batteries on hand, and I never have to worry about plugging the controller itself up for a charge. Quiet console even with a power brick and huge fan inside. Console firmware updates and new features/fixes from user feedback nearly every other month. Microsoft actually have a website for Xbox user feedback with voting/response/comments/status/upcoming updates/fixes. Xbox Live is phenomenal on the Xbox one. Dedicated servers deliver stable online use and multiplayer. Microsoft finally ended the terrible paywall in 2014 that required you to have their paid gold membership just to access certain features and apps with subscriptions that you ALREADY PAID FOR! The only thing that you need a gold membership now is for multiplayer and free games every month. They also adopted the ''twitter'' style for friends as well. No longer do you have to get pelted with friend requests, people can follow you and you can choose who to follow back. Want to share gameplay with more than youtube and Facebook? There is a Upload studio app that allows you to be creative with your gameplay vids, and you can actually attach vids with a message and share among friends. Your vids can be public or trend to everyone that uses the app or whoever view the specific game in the xbox store or hub. Xbox live also has custom themes and a lot more features as well. Phil Spencer is the head of Xbox at Microsoft as of 2014. He actually cares about gamers, listens to feedback, and is a gamer himself. He is the reason why the Xbox One has gotten better and receives updates so often. If he was in charge during the next gen planning and release of the current Xbox, everything listed and updated would have been included at the launch in 2013. He said himself that the Xbox One was headed in the wrong direction in 2013 but he had no control then because he wasn't the boss. Cons: Not all games are 1080p. The Xbox One have a lot of games at 1080p, but due to the GPU, some games on the Xbox One is either upscaled or 900p on up. Microsoft will try to solve that problem with the release of Directx 12 to be updated on the console in Nov 2015. Directx 12 will not fix the problem completely, and I don't think any games are less than 900p on the Xbox One. External power brick still exist. By now the power supply should be inside the system. Frustrating snap and complicated, sometimes slow User Interface. For a next gen console the entire UI should be much faster and instant like the PS4. When you click on something simple as friends or messages, instead of being instant, an image pops up then it loads up. The snap option can take anywhere from 5 seconds to 1 minute to load up while playing a game and the UI will slow down as well. There should be a option to use a guide menu like the X360 have or you could choose to use snap. Microsoft listened to feedback and said there will be a UI change and windows 10 will be implemented on the console in Nov 2015 for a faster, friendlier UI. (I will update when it is released.) No option to listen to music while playing a game without using the snap feature. No option to use a headset and hear people talk over the tv speakers as well. Slow install times for older titles. The settings page don't have its own tab, not visible on home screen either. You have to press the options button or use it as a pin to access settings. The 2 buttons under the controller power button that replace the start and select buttons don't state what the buttons is, just a small image on each. Also, if you have multiple controllers on, there is no extra led lights indicating which is which. No easy option to replace the internal hard drive. You can replace the hard drive, but you will void the warranty that is still valid on the console. Not that much use offline. Consoles these days need an internet connection to give you the full features and great experience. Ok, that's my review and I hope I was clear enough for someone who is considering to purchase this console or not.	video-games_xbox
Enemy At The Gates meets Windtalkers. Looks like I am a couple years late. Oh well. I have this game the xbox 360, bought it brand new for $30.00. My experience is very limited with COD games. I've played COD modern warfare (good game, but too short) and COD black ops (good game, not a fan of the multiplayer), and there the list ends. I'm not a big fan of fps, but I was in the mood for a WWII game and decided on this one. Like the title I put on it, I thought of those two movies as I played this game, being put in the shoes of those characters and in those scenes as I played it. The already saturated WWII genre has always been full of nazis vs americans. Since this game gives you the viewpoint of the Russians vs. Germans and US vs Japan, I thought it would be very interesting. Pros: The graphics are awesome. The explosions, flames, gore, soldiers, uniforms, terrain, etc. are beautiful. The sound effects are average for a WWII game, maybe a touch above. The weapons are all authentic looking, and I like the fact that almost every weapon type is constantly avaliable. Action is intense, up close, and personal. Especially with the freaking Banzai Japanese. (I've lost count of how many times I've been bayoneted) The storyline isn't very complicated, and the characters are fun to play with. (Especially Resnov) (Companions actually kill the enemy) Lot's of characters on the screen in battles. I don't like the games where it's me vs. the entire enemy army. Cons: Sometimes I get stuck between the AI and a wall or bunker and it takes me a while to get out. Too many grenades being thrown in my opinion. 80% of the time my deaths are due to grenades. (I pick one up and throw it back, just to die as a second one thrown at the same time as the first one goes off) No open world gameplay. I know it's not a role-playing game, but I hate always having to follow a specific path to finish a mission. Remember the old delta force games? You could come from any direction that you wanted. I don't like the vehicle missions (when you have to fly a plane or drive a tank). There is nothing wrong with how they made these missions it's just my preference to play as infantry. I haven't played the zombie or multiplayer yet, but I will update this review when I do. For now I give it a 4.5/5 Great game for the price.	video-games_xbox
Online ONLY - DO NOT BUY THE DISC. Bought the disc for the PS3 brand new...my experience so far 1. Froze the first few minutes after the zombie after the cop car crash ate me. Restarted the system 2. Half of Episode was one was fine but got almost unplayable with MASSIVE skipping towards the end which happened during timed gameplay sessions and cost you dialogue choices. 3. Episode two on the farm, saw it autosaved when I entered the barn. Closed the game. Upon restarting I see the autosave didn't work it set me back to the prior autosave and had to redo ten minutes or so. 4. Episode two closes similar to one, getting choppier and sometimes the skipping happens during timed gameplay events and dialogue. 5. The stats displayed at the end of each chapter FROZE on me for Episode 2. Had to restart the game. When I went back, luckily it let me go to Episode 3, however, when I went back to the episode menue to see Episode 2's stats, IT FROZE AGAIN. 6. Episode 3 so far so good with minor skipping. But motion/physics was glitchy as I could walk through the RV. In general a lot of the cut scenes look OVERLY PIXELATED like it was over compressed and gives me flashbacks to the 90s and PSX cutscenes. Apparently other people have had issues with the game erasing your save data around Episode 4 which I haven't played yet but now I'm afraid to continue. This game was not ready for release. Take a lesson as gamers aren't used to online content. If a game is released online FIRST, the media will review the online version and skip reviewing the disc and most people will trust the great reviews from the online version. Really hard to find disc reviews from the media so take note of actual user experience. Good game but NOT WORTH THE BULL@#$% hassle the disc version gives you. Buy this ONLINE ONLY IMO. From online research it's been about 3 months since the disc version was released and can't find an official patch or recall from Telltale games, they're just "collecting" info from users but these problems are not just a few copies, this is a full blown problem with the entire run. ARGH. And good luck trying to return a game bought new but now is open and the store wants to just do an exchange when all the copies have these problems. Perfect reason to buy used only.	video-games_xbox
When in doubt, break everything. I got this game as a Christmas gift and played through the story mode with my husband recently. Now I'm playing it on free mode by myself since I'm crazy about trying to get 100% in LEGO games. Here's my Pros and Cons list for this game: PROS: * Like other LEGO titles before it, the game is an excellent mix of humor, puzzling, and action. It's a game for kids, so none of the puzzles or actions are intended to be really intense or difficult (though I'll discuss some of the cons of that later). Anytime a puzzle can't be solved, it's usually because we didn't break enough bricks. When in doubt, break everything! And usually the solution will present itself. Obviously, most levels aren't meant to be completely finished in one playthrough. Since my husband and I both like Lord of the Rings and LEGO video games, we greatly enjoyed playing it together. * The map of Middle Earth replaces the main hub in the previous games. That's fun for me since I like maps, especially of Middle Earth, and it makes navigating from Hobbiton to Isengard a snap. And navigation is easy anyways, since Middle Earth is in tiny scale here. One can see Isengard and Rohan simultaneously from Fangorn Forest. It's kind of cute. * The characters don't speak in-game, but their grunts and incoherence sometimes sound like the movie characters. Like, when Legolas jumps, he makes this grunting noise that sounds just like Orlando Bloom. The same with most members of the Fellowship. It's pretty cute. * The Treebeard levels are incredibly fun...for people that like to smash everything and break dams. * Go craft and use a mithril disco phial. The result is hilarious and I now use it in the game just for a good soundtrack. * Spot Peter Jackson in Bree. CONS: * There's a poor balance of character abilities. In the end, it seems like Sam is needed for pretty much everything (I still haven't found a replacement for his fire-making ability) while some major characters like Boromir have nothing major to contribute. His horn blowing is amusing, though! I bought some of the unlocked characters, thinking they'd be awesome. But Tom Bombadil has the same fear of the Black Riders as anyone else and the King of the Dead can't actually pass through walls. It's a bit disappointing, especially Tom Bombadil! * The cut scenes are sometimes amusing, although I do like it better when LEGO didn't use voices and just conveyed everything through miming and LEGO grunts. The actual voice clips from the movies, which are sometimes very serious, makes the game not as humorous as previous titles.. * I think the game is trying too hard to be too many things and it kind of fails. There are new functions where items can be combined to make another item and characters can carry several items at once. I haven't encountered any of the serious glitches like other reviews stated where they had to restart or reboot or didn't let them complete levels. But the game is finicky and it's most obvious when I play it on one-player. The developer really should have taken time to refine the item carrying function more. If a character equips something from the treasure chest, it has to be re-equipped anytime the character switches to use another item. It seems like the unused item should just have been put in the item wheel for easier selection later instead of going thought the treasure chest menu. * Switching to other characters can be a frustration in and of itself at times as it doesn't always change the character you're controlling to another character; it switches you to the second player character. So that's incredibly frustrating when say, when you're standing on a ledge and just need to change to an elf to high jump to the next ledge. The game instead switches you to the other character, standing in another area of the map. And since the AI controller character automatically follows the player character, well, you can imagine the frustration. And sometimes after switching characters, the items the previous character was carrying would be lost in the shuffle, especially switching to Gollum, who can't carry more than one item. * The camera angles are more adjustable than I remembered from previous LEGO titles, although a lot of times, the camera angles are still fixed in certain situations, which makes jumping puzzles incredibly difficult to complete. And that also brings me to the major con of this game: the controls are very unforgiving for a children's game. I can mess up very long jumping puzzles just because the character wasn't jumping exactly onto a platform or a hanging vine or a pole. The more mature video games I've played, such as Assassin's Creed or Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, are by far more forgiving in their controls than this game when it came to jumping puzzles. The camera angle adds to the frustration with the controls. Some camera angles makes it impossible to judge distance or the direction the jump should go. And as was the problem with the Harry Potter games, it's the same with this game: the levitation puzzles are annoying, mainly because the control is horrible. Trying to maneuver blocks into stairs using Gandalf's power made me want to throw the controller across the room! Well, it looks like I listed or went into more details about the cons of the game. But don't get me wrong! I really enjoyed this game and I'm still playing it to try to get to 100%. Still, it is more frustrating than I remember the other LEGO games being. One suggestion I would make is to play the game with someone else. It adds to the fun and is a nice way to pass the evening. And there's twice the brick breaking power with two players! A suggestion to the developers is to make the controls more forgiving or make the camera angles better on jumping puzzles. Oh, and do away with those levitation puzzles or fix the controls! And also stop adding functions until they've been fine-tuned! And I think that's it.	video-games_xbox
Lowering the Quality Bar. As someone who is a bit of a connoisseur of the video game and most notably I have a lot of Rock Band equipment, I was excited to pick this guitar up. After all, no one wanted to come over and play Bass on the regular Fender look-a-like that comes with Rock Band. So because those in my house wanted to play bass on something that resembled a Bass guitar I went and got this rather than the Rock band 2 wireless guitar. From the moment I removed it form the box I could tell it was not up to the quality given forth by other Rock Band instruments. The guitar neck was made of cheap plastic and felt like it would break if any pressure was to be put on it. The buttons on the neck clicked and clacked like you were pressing plastic buttons down and did not have the smooth feeling of the original guitars that came with the game. What was nice was that it did have a double strum button which I felt lacked on the original guitar. This may be it's one saving grace. Playing with it however made things come to light. The buttons were unresponsive and the strum, while feeling better than the original Rock Band brand guitar did not recognize every strum in time with the beats. What the original Rock Band Guitar lacks is mainly in the strum bar where this, while feeling tight was unresponsive to a fault and made playing the game a chore. The final straw that broke the camels back was that the price. This guitar is priced the same as the wireless Rock Band 2 guitar. After feeling a lot of buyers remorse, I packaged it back up and returned it for the wireless guitar. Needless to say I was much happier with my purchase after my return. Going against my instinct, Madcatz has constantly proven to be a peripheral house that uses cheap materials and their products do not hold the quality of the original. I have only witnessed a few Madcatz products that I would buy again and sadly the console they were for no longer exists in retail sales. Beware of any product bearing the logo Madcatz.	video-games_xbox
Over-Hyped and Not-That-Great. Try before you buy. Don't just read the hype. First, let me say that I have the xbox Game of the Year Edition, I have downloaded everything I could find for the game from xbox Live, I have played the game a few times (but I play many many hours at a time), and I've already got over 3/4 of the Achievements available for the Survivors. Whether or not you will like this game depends on the style of play you like in your games. Some people might like this type of play, but I didn't. I've enjoyed playing everything from the Evil Dead games and Dead Rising to Resident Evil 1 & 4 and a bunch of other "zombie" type games. The issue I have is that Left 4 Dead doesn't play like how it feels like it should play - or it feels one way but plays another way. Left 4 Dead feels like it should play like a tight strategy game of team tactics and smart game play - hardcore Zombie Apocalypse survivors: The smart & the dead, ... but it isn't, it just isn't. I'll get back to the game play in a minute. A lot of the game looks OK at first (maybe "Good", but nothing "Great"). The graphics break-down badly when you are getting stomped on by zeds (any time you are on the ground, or when zeds are too close to you) and when you get dragged by Smoker zeds it gets really glitchy. And the fire effect (i.e. from molotov cocktails) is awful. But, for as flawed as some of these things are, I wouldn't necessarily say that they detract too much from the game play. The areas/maps aren't very open; there is a definite "tunnel" feel to the game. Which, given the nature of the objectives, is probably unavoidable. Yet some of the tight tunnel areas, like the ones that are outside, do provide an illusion of openness, which is nice. But, what this all means is that, game play is relatively linear; the route to a destination is pretty tight, and your style of game play will be pretty much forced upon you. So all that turn-off-your-lights and sneak-around-the-witch dialogue is garbage - she's either in your way or she isn't - anyhow, just shoot her. And, now speaking of that game play, it's just an ammo-burner game. You have limited ammo for your "special" weapon of choice (shotgun, assault rifle, Uzi, whatever), but unlimited ammo for your pistol(s) - and you go through a lot of it really fast. Forget about S.W.A.T. play, forget about being a ninja, forget about sniping to clear a path ahead; just forget about stealth and efficiency. You shoot, you run and shoot, and you shoot and run some more. Lingering around areas, being cautious and thorough, will only get you more encounters with randomly generated zeds. There is not a general fixed number of zeds in an area, the game will spawn more zeds (crap-loads more) when conditions are triggered. This is a game of "whatever" (like "get from Point A to Point B", or "stand on a rooftop/Lighthouse") that is punctuated by random "Special Zed" appearances and waves of rushing zed hoards. Pointless wave after random wave of rushing zed hoards. A Run-n-Gun (or a Stand-n-Gun). So the best tactic is to just run through an area until you hit a Special Zed, or a good vantage point, and then turn around and deal with everything in a hail of blazing lead (or a pipe bomb - they're magical zed magnets). Seriously, it works best that way; you'll save ammo, and time, and deal with less crap. Because, when you trigger a zed rush, they will spawn and come running at you from all directions: from the empty rooms you just swept clear, from the dead-end halls you just swept clear, from anywhere and everywhere they will magically appear to come charging at you. So forget your Spec-Ops mentality; it's pointless. And there is no meaningful stealth action. So just forget about "INTELLIGENT" game play, unless your idea of strategy is to back yourself into a closet and fire outwards. Now, maybe everything I have complaints about is just the way the game is supposed to be? Maybe I'm whining about would'a, should'a, could'a, and crying about stuff that I want to have that just shouldn't be a part of the game? I keep wondering about that myself. But then the heavy-handed teamwork elements keep running up to me and smacking me in the face. This is a total "buddy system" game. You aren't going to get anywhere without someone else there to pick you up-off the ground. It is FORCED upon you through the games mechanics. There is no running ahead and going solo because everyone else is cramping your style. This is a game about teamwork, team tactics, teammate support and assists. It is a key element in the game - there are several Achievements based off of this. It's good and it's bad; I'm still on the fence about how I feel about it. In some ways I do like it, and in other ways I think it totally hamstrings game play. You are the "I've fallen and I can't get up!" lady. If you are grabbed: you are helpless until someone else assists you. If you are on the ground, no matter how much health you have: you are stuck on the ground until someone assists you. If your whole team gets knocked down, no matter how much health everyone has, or how many health packs everyone has: it is Game Over because no one is left standing to assist anyone else back up. And Survivors WILL get knocked-down and dragged-around (and probably bitten and mauled) a lot. With this sort of forced and required team-play element, the game feels like it should be more at a level of SOCOM, Call of Duty, Ghost Recon, Halo, or even Splinter Cell or Tenchu; demanding a higher level of tactical style and strategic "cover your, and your teammates, butts" type of game play - but it's not. It's a sloppy trigger-happy fire-fest. This is not a game of clean shots and efficient kills, there is no "Go ahead, I've got you covered" stuff; Spec-Ops style tactics (or any thoughtful or cautious efforts) just don't have any credit here. Fast zombies or slow zombies, infected or undead; I don't really have a preference, but I thought the "Special" zombie types in this game were kinda lame. Puker/Exploder fat thing stereotype. `Roid-Rage Tank stereotype thing. Leaper/Pouncer zed. Sniper-Tongue smoke-exploding (?!?) zed. "I just want to cry and I hate the light" emo Witch zed. I just don't think any of them are really cool or inspiring. I can only rate this game a 2 or 3 stars. The only recommendation I can make is: Try before you buy. Don't just read the hype.	video-games_xbox
The best so far. I totally agree that this is definetely the best fighting game of E3. There are over 20 characters that you can choose from, each one inlcluding three different styles, one of the styles using a weapon. (Except for Noob-Smoke which is one of the characters that you unlock, in their case, one of their styles is switching characters between Noob and Smoke-pretty self explanatory). There are two words that describe Mortal Kombat Deception-Mortal Kombat! I will now break down my review in terms of graphics, audio, gameplay and online play. Graphics: The graphics in Mortal Kombat Deception are alright, not bad but nood great. Lets start with the good then we can drift on to the bad. The good part of the graphics in Mortal Kombat Deception are the character models and the character movements. One other wonderful thing about the graphics is the amount of background detail that the creator of Mortal Kombat Deception took his time to put into it, great job for that! One other great thing is, i know there is really only one goood cutscene in this game, the one before the game actually starts, showing the intro, but i think that the creators of this game really did what they needed to do to make this cutscene actually worth watching. What the cutscene is, is basically an introduction to the sequel of Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance. Basically, the alliance breaks up, but then come back together again. When you watch this cutscene, in some terms, it seems like you are actually watching a real movie which is really fun and entertaining and unlike most cutscenes now a days where they are all just junk and with a cheesy script. Now on to the bad part of the graphicss. The bad part of the graphics feature is that the blood looks like something you would find out of a Sega Genesis, they really need to work on the violence/blood/gore to make it look much more realistic then it is right now, because right now, it looks really, really g@y and definetely nothing that you would find in an Xbox now a days. I think that instead of making it so that their is an overload of blood pouring out the characters body and face, they should have decreased the amount of blood by a little bit, but should have added a lot more detail/texture into the blood and gore, that would have made this game way better i think. This also includes the fatalities which need much more work as well. But i guess that graphics don't matter that much in a game like Mortal Kombat Deception, just keep in mind guys that we want just a little bit more detail into the "violent" part of the graphics, then the graphics aspect of the game will be perfect! Audio: The audio in Mortal Kombat is great, from the magnificent music from the cutscene in the beginning before the game actually launches to the different music in each multiplayer map. The classic Mortal Kombat music has returned- Great job in terms of audio! The quality is amazing, and definetely not part of the game that i should rate negatively! Gameplay: The gameplay aspect of the game is definetely the best out of all the Mortal Kombat Deception games so far in my opinion. There are now three new modes in Mortal Kombat which i will explain below. Puzzle Kombat: A fun minigame where you have to match up different colors of blocks. As one player gets rid of their blocks, the amount of blocks that dissappeared from the players screen, gets added to the opponents screen making it a fun and strategic game to play both online and off. Each character has their own special moves which make it even more entertaining and strategic when it comes to which character you should choose when facing your opponent online or the CPU. Chess Kombat: Pretty self explanatory. You basically play chess, getting to choose your team (every MK character moves the same way as in the real Chess game) and when you come into contact with a player you get to fight for whoever takes over the square. An extremely fun game to play once again both online and off, but can get a little dull and boring, considering that if your both good at it it can take a little over 20 minutes to complete the game. One cool feature about this is that you have a spell list where you can cast certain special moves at anytime you want, however once you use one special move, you cant use that same one again making it strategic to know when you want to cast each spell. Konquest Mode: Basically an adventure mode, you play young Shujinko and you basically are out on a quest to gain honor. The graphics in this mode isn't that great and there are a few little glitches, but nothing to major. You get to do side quests for people which earn you koins which you can go and spend on extra features i.e, making of the game, comentary, characters, extra costumes (etc). Also, as you go through the adventure mode you actually do unlock new puzzle fighters, kombat fighters, new arenas, clothing, music and moves which i found was pretty cool and gave me one other reason to complete this mode besides the fact that its really fun! The actual gameplay itself is awesome. There are two fatalities per character, but what sucks is that you have to be a certain distance away from your opponent, and its extremely accurate and can be frustrating. Each character also has a new hari-kiri move where they basically kill themselves after they have lost. You do not have to be a certain distance away to perform these suicidal moves. There are many different combos, and for once its not a fighting game that resorts on button mashing, which is very good because thats how most fighting games are now a days, they require no skill. Another new feature about this game is that their are death traps on some of the maps, for example, brutal spikes, a grinder, and pirhanas which can be a cool and deadly way to kill your opponent considering that if you throw your enemy into one of these traps, its an instant kill. As a result of the gameplay aspect, it is great, and another reason to buy this hit game! Online play: Mortal Kombat Deception now allows you to compete head to head on Xbox live which is really great. Your opponents are usually very, very skilled as they most of the time have completed Konquest mode and unlocked every feature of the game, but what can i say, most of the competitive people on Xbox Live are good at what they play. There is a ranking system and you are able to play either Puzzle, Chess or normal Kombat which i thought was really cool seeing that my first reaction to the online play was that you could only fight with your opponents in Kombat mode, but fortunetely i was wrong. The only problem that i have to say there is with Mortal Kombat Deception on Xbox Live is that if the connections start to fail even a bit you will get a disconnect which shows up on your "profile." This can get really frustrating if your winning for once and then the game disconnects. It usually happens one in every six-seven games that you play, so as you can see it is quite a frequent error, even if you have a good connection. But overall, Mortal Kombat definetely has a descent online feature and is definetely worth spending $50 on the game for. One of the problems that i have though with Mortal Kombat is when your playing Kombat Mode, the boss, the dragon, is incredibly cheap as if he grapples you once, almost one quarter of your health is taken away. But thats not that bad is it... In conclusion, Mortal Kombat can be hard and frustrating at times, and the graphics could need a little work on, but the gameplay itself is amazing with two fatalities per character, new gameplay modes, many characters and by far the best audio in the whole MK series! Recommended Yes	video-games_xbox
Don't play 360 or PS3 first. I first played NCAA 08 for the PS3. Let me say EVERYTHING is different. The games can't be compared. You'll be greatly disappointed (like me at first). In sticking with the Xbox version, here are the pros and cons: PROS -GAMEPLAY GRPAHICS. No more guys walking through each other on the replay or the chain gang getting knocked down every time (became annoying to me). The graphics are improved and guys look real. -PENALTIES. Excessive celebration penalties are vastly cut down which is a big plus. Running into the kicker every freaking time on a block attempt seems to be cut down as well. -RECRUITING. Let me say, this is basically the same as last year. Start off the year selecting 15 recruits and divide 100 pts between them however you like. The big add, some recruits want promises. The ones I find the most common are a WR wanting jersey #72 or a HB wanting #91. Something pretty odd ball but if it gets you the 4 star prize, why not? Playing time is tricky. It doesn't mean, play me sometimes. It means, they start every game. If not, they may transfer. You can always go back to the promise screen and see what promises you made and a percentage meter of adherence helps you to know how you fare. If you start a guy sometimes, the adherence level may be 33%. I don't know what level they will transfer but don't redshirt them. That is stupid and something I did. I got greedy and didn't want to waste his year of eligibility because unknowingly I had a bunch of upperclassmen who improved a lot and got an even better recruit offseason. Even if he never played, I'm sure he'd transfered but definitely don't redshirt the dude. When conducting a visit, you can select 5 different pitches to sell to recruits. Usually, there are hints of what recruits don't like (sometimes what they do like) on the prospect screen. It's a welcome added twist. -RUSHING. No matter how good my running back was, my offensive line, or if he was a fully composed redshirt senior, team captain, impact player, it was no fun to run on NCAA 07. Anyone feel me? I got so tired of 2.7 yd averages. No matter the down or distance or team, it was a nightmare. I'd have a few big gains but really, it was a waste to run. I recruited fast quarterbacks and did SOOOOO much better than a stupid running back. In 08, rushing is a bit easier with a stud running back. If you have a less than stellar back, he won't be so hot to trot but at least it makes sense he'd struggle unlike having a beast struggle in 07. Stats are more likely to realistic than in previous versions. I don't play with cheat codes or anything so those of you who say I beat the CPU 80-3 on Heisman level is full of it. No pennants, no cheats, no tutorials for hardcore trickster manuals. Just open the game and play it to the best of my ability. You can't just throw 70 yd TD passes everytime and break off ridiculous tackles with impact receivers either. There's more balance of big throw and running the ball. I love it. -SUMMER DRILLS. It's so awesome to have training camp like in Madden. You can develop your backup quarterbacks with 4 different drills. That is a huge help. There are a total of 17 drills but I believe developing the QB of the future (while also the QB of now) is the most important aspect. Simply love it. -MEDICAL REDSHIRTS. Ability to save a player for another year if he has a lengthy injury early on. I can't tell you how great this is and can make a major difference to your team. Gives the game even more of a realistic feel. Now for the CONS, CONS -Played PS3 version before. Got to see it's recruiting interface and also the ability to play high school games in campus legend. Xbox really didn't put much development into this game since it's the last for the Xbox. I almost sold the game on the spot finding out it was nowhere close to the 360 and PS3 version. The PS3 has a lot of cons the Xbox doesn't have so I'm not saying go out and buy a PS3 for this game and be in Heaven. I'm just saying, the Xbox should've taken a cue from the 360 and PS3 versions when it comes to recruiting and campus legend. -HEISMAN LEVEL. Don't attempt to play this game on anything harder than All-American. It's just complete idiocy if you do. Guys drop way too many balls in All-American as it is. Heisman is for those who have a sadomasacist (sp?) complex. It's pure torture. -PROMISES. I really wish you could make promises to players in the offseason portion of recruiting as well. Would've been a nice addition. -BASICALLY 07. Looking for a completely different game, 360 or PS3 is your answer. If you love 07 the way it is with a few nice tweaks here and there, you have 08. Fall in love again with NCAA 08 and the new rosters. It's just not updated player names, it's updated ratings. Brent Schaeffer was pretty solid in 07 and now he's properly rated. Mediocre. It's more than just, well, Troy Smith is gone, no big deal. It's the entire team has changed and the ratings and makes it completely different. It's a great incentive to purchase the new game. 4 out of 5 stars. Once I got over the initial shock of it not being anything like the 360 or PS3 versions, realized the game is so much like 07 which I loved, and also realized the 360 and PS3 versions have a lot of cons this didn't, I was able to truly enjoy this game. Enjoy!	video-games_xbox
Review Shark - Grand Theft Auto 4. This is my first "official" review, so let's get some things straight. I am not one of those reviewers who simply praise games because I am a fan of them. I do not favor certain companies over others. I am a well-rounded gamer, and rarely consider games to be "perfect." (10/10) However, Grand Theft Auto 4 is a game is beautiful, entertaining, and really shows gamers what the third generation systems are capable of. First of all, the story is amazing. You follow the path of a Russian by the name of Niko Bellic. Immediately you feel sympathy for Niko when you find that he was sort of tricked into coming to America by his dead beat cousin Roman, who is nothing more than a whiny annoyance. Nevertheless, he is family, and Niko tries to make a living by doing odd jobs for his relative. He soon becomes friends with the wrong people, and begins working for people in a higher position than Roman. While the missions can seem repetitive, I found myself really growing on Niko. I began to feel the same emotions he did. When Niko was angry, I understood why. When Niko was sad, I felt sorry for him. The characters are really well developed and each one has their own unique personality. Brucie is stupid and irritating, but completely harmless. Little Jacob is loyal and always has Niko's back. Roman, as stated before, is simply annoying. There are several characters you will meet during the story, whom you will either love or hate. Another important aspect of the game is the option to choose things. During certain missions, you can choose to kill or spare a target's life, something that usually has an impact on Stranger Missions you find later on. Also, you have the option to make a very important choice for the last mission, which gives you two completely different endings, but no spoilers here! Liberty City is probably one of the most beautiful gaming environments ever created. The level of detail is simply astonishing. There are several minigames that can be found quite fun, such as bowling and playing QUB3D. There are several places that are explorable, including hospitals, strip clubs, diners, theaters, and even a laundry mat. The cars bend and react depending on the way they are crashed, rather than get all "crumbly" like they do in so many other games. To boot, there are activities with friends, helicopter rides, comedy shows, many radio stations, TV shows, private stripper booths, hookers, drug deal missions, stranger missions, racing, darts, the ability to get drunk, and several other fun things to do around the city, giving you hours of game-play outside of the story. The achievements are another great aspect of the game. While some achievements are relatively easy to get, such as completing the first mission, others are very difficult. For example, one achievement requires you to hunt down all 200 of the hidden pigeons across the sandbox environment. This takes several hours, even with a guide. This can be good or bad, depending on if you like a challenge or not. The game does have some minor flaws with it. I often found myself taking taxis to destinations as driving through the city proved to be annoying after awhile. I am thankful they actually gave you the ability to take taxis, or I don't know if I would have had the patience to drive to all of the missions (over 90 in all). Also, while hanging out with friends can be fun, it can be annoying a lot of the times, especially when they call you on your way to start a mission. (There is a trick however, to not hang out and still not lose respect from them. Simply say yes to whatever they want to do, then cancel your plans.) The only way to disable this feature is to put your phone on sleep mode, and this stops you from completing your story sometimes. Also, there are some glitches with using abilities. I found that when I phoned a friend to make use of their abilities, it didn't always work, which could be frustrating. All in all, this game deserves a lot of credit. Since no game is perfect, some of the glitches that occur can be pardoned. I definitely give it a 9.6 out of 10, and recommend it to almost any type of gamer. It looks great, plays great, and is a steal for the price. This is Review Shark, signing off!	video-games_xbox
It's Halo, 10 years later and 10 years copied. I remember the moment I put Halo into my Xbox drive 10 years ago. I remember that it was not the FIRST game I'd put into my shiny new Xbox (not really shiny- more matte black or dark green) but when I put Halo in and I ran around the desk of the Pillar of Autumn for the first time... then when I pulled that trigger on the pistol and The Duke rocked in my hands- WOW what a moment. 10 years later the game has returned with a new coat of paint on it and a new sound library to go with it. The memory is VERY strong and the feeling is spot on. The new Pistol sound it great, as is every other weapon... everything looks and sounds amazing on this game. More importantly though, the gameplay is just like I remember. That's a very, very good thing. It's not like I haven't played Halo in 10 years, I played through the game less than a year ago. It's that they actually remastered it to make it look brand new and coupled with the sound effects, it FEELS brand new yet perfectly familiar. Each level is painstakingly perfectly replicated yet vastly more beautiful. A simple touch of the button takes you back or forward and it's worth looking at both. The Library level is now, comically enough, one of the most beautiful in the game. The addition of the Terminals and Skulls is GREAT! So are the features they put in with Kinect. So called "core gamers" need to get a reality check and realize they can turn 13 years old and still play Kinect games. The fact that you can scan each item in the game to later check out in the library is cool, but the adjustments of the graphics (not just old and new, but brighter, darker, more or less contrast) on the fly is great! I recommend going darker with less contrast and seeing how cool each level looks! Overall this was a great blast from the past and it added 7 new levels to Reach's multiplayer experience. I will, without a doubt, play the whole game over a few times, but if I get distracted and move on to something else in between plays, this was still worth the price and then some.	video-games_xbox
Mass Effect, the Overkill Edition. The game combines several elements from Mass Effect with an attempt at exciting gameplay and a whole lot of Diablo 3's crafting system, unfortunately some things are contradicting and prevent an exciting adventure from happening. The Good: Characters are good, there's fun in interacting and I'm engaged to talk to them. Of course there are the traditional "Imaginary Choice"-dialogue options but what do you expect? You can never be truly evil in a game. Graphics are good, next-gen is here. This gives me good hope for Witcher 3. DA Inquisition looks wonderful on 900p, but keep in mind the world is not very alive or realistic; treasure placement is pretty detrimental to atmosphere. Think huge pretty maps with some enemies on it. The Story is classic and good but they still milk the Mages vs Templars theme and bad Tevinters from Origins, a 'lil originality plz? The Bad: Getting to the Normandy/Skyhold takes forever and grinding Hinterlands is mandatory. Acquiring Agents to unlock Perks or getting some crafting done is essential as difficulty is troublesome in beginning. This poses serious problems for replayability as the Mass Effect formula locks content away in one playthrough; if I want to have some Lesbian Sera I need different file which requires another 50 hour grind. Crafting in this game is your road to Power but without the item-duplicating glitch it might as well not be there...materials are too scarce, all to create filler for player but it's over the top. You'll look back on driving the Mako or ME2 planet scanning as fun times compared to this. I can say that without the item-duplicating glitch the game tanks. If I have to farm 70 Great Bear Hides I will die from tedium. If you do go through the process you become overpowered and stuff dies instantly even on Nightmare. My Dwarf Reaver along with maxed-out ability (another awesome glitch that takes forever) Cole, Cassandra/Vivienne and Dorian has no challenge. All this filler detracts from story and dialogue, you'll be like: "Let's hurry so I can go craft for 0.5% more damage". So Diablo crafting in a story RPG does not combine well and prevents replaying. The Classes and abilities are only fun after the glitch and grind process, you level extremely slow in this game so if you want ability you need to farm Power Amulets. The AI is very bad, basically your succes depends on you being the High-DPS Gun because your partywill be useless at low level. Once again you need to craft and make them overpowered to have fun...filler on top of filler...Tactical Cam or switching to them is annoying and they always position bad, Dorian often runs 'straight' up to enemy 'cause he feels like casting in your face. Unbelievable. Icing on cake is the 10 dragons but I was so OP they got pawned pretty bad, no Tactical Mode or nothing. All in all, you might pick this up; it'll certainly keep you busy and there's no other RPG now. Also Bioware deserves some love, they worked hard to give you a cool game and I would like DA4: Fighting the Evil Inquisition.	video-games_xbox
Above average, but no Guitar Hero Controller. When Harmonix teamed up with RedOctane to create the Guitar Hero franchise, magic happened. They were a perfect marriage, bringing together Harmonix's musical sensibilities with RedOctane's expert designs for guitars. Since that first game, the guitars have become better and better. Then, Harmonix and RedOctane split and began working on two different franchises. Why the history lesson? Because RedOctane was the instrument-creator of the two companies. Having played both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band and owning both guitars, my honest opinion is that while Rock Band wins in terms of fun and group play, RedOctane still creates the best guitars of the two. There's some nice functionality with the Rock Band guitar; the layout of the fret buttons are very nice and once you get used to them feel more natural than the more button-feeling GH guitars. The spacing is also pretty nice. For the most part, the five fret buttons towards the base of the guitar are useless. The only time they'll come into play is at the end of certain songs, when you burst out into a final jam session before ending the song. Other than that, they just sit there. Untouched. I also appreciate the longer and nicer whammy bar, not to mention the fact that the guitar is a bit bigger and feels more like a real guitar than a toy. The modulator switch is a nice addition, I suppose. However, I hardly ever touch it. Two areas are where the Rock Band guitar doesn't quite live up to the GH guitar. The first is the strummer and is merely a matter of opinion. It is completely silent, which might sound like a good thing but when you're strumming up and down it's hard to tell if your screwups are due to the guitar or your playing. The fret buttons, instead, clack louder. So instead of clacking in time with the song, you sometimes clack prior to the beat. That might not make much sense, but for a rhythm game it tends to throw me off. Compounding the first problem I have is the fact that I don't trust the guitar registering my strums. I had to return the first guitar I received because it was definitely registering double strums instead of single ones. However, even with the new guitar, I'm not 100% convinced it registers accurately. I took it on a test drive, playing Rock Band songs on my GH3 guitar and the Rock Band guitar and found that on the same song/same difficulty I was consistently getting better scores with the GH3 guitar over the Rock Band guitar. While most of the things I've discussed runs the gamut of personal opinions and preferences, the last issue is one that I'm still on the fence about. It'd be one thing to justify it's in my mind and quite another to test it and find that maybe it's not simply in my mind. It's still a very good guitar and Rock Band is my favorite game of the two; however, I do wish the guitar rocked just as well as the RedOctane-developed one. One final note: as of this writing, the Guitar Hero series will not recognize the Rock Band guitar. The Xbox 360 version of Rock Band will recognize GH's guitar, obviously, but not vice versa.	video-games_xbox
The most ambitious racing game ever created. While I am not a racing purist, I loved the first Project Gotham racing and enjoy playing most racing games on my Xbox and PS2. It also appears that I'm the only reviewer at this point who has completed Project Gotham 2. For newbies and PG1 players, progressing through the game has been made considerably easier than the first game and you can easily teach yourself the ropes of each track and car class by playing for a bronze medal. Also you can jump into the super cars even if you haven't "unlocked" them in the single player game yet by visiting your garage. If you're familiar with the series, or have read the other reviews, you know that Microsoft has taken everything that was great in PG1 and upped the ante. For newbies, you'll find Project Gotham 2 is the most intense street racing game ever created. The game begins as a solid "race for place" competition against computer opponents, and adds variety events like cone solemn racing, vehicle overtake and photo radar gun top speed contests. In each event, you can select the award level you want to try for, which establishes the difficulty and the specific objectives. Aside from the career mode (which PG2 calls the "Kudos World Series") there are also three arcade modes, two time attack modes and numerous online challenges. Aside from the mere thrill of racing against human opponents, the online component has a few innovative features that set PG2 apart from any other racing game ever made. With online scoreboards you can see how you compare on each single player race you complete against everyone else in the world. Your rank, for each and every level is shown, along with the other gamers around you and the number 1 player. In addition, you can download "ghosts" which show you how the other people got their scores. And special trials are offered in the "ghost challenges" arena, where you can download the best performances from players around the world and try to beat them. Technically, this game is perfect. The load times are extraordinarily fast and the game instantly returns you to the starting line if you restart the level (where many games would require lengthy reload time). There's also a seamless line between online and single player game play. There are 10+ things about this game which are absolutely amazing: 1. Online features and functionality (see above) 2. Graphics. (This game looks best on a 480i HDTV) 3. Music. (And I'm a tough critic, but I really enjoy the songs on this game) 4. Vast number of tracks, well designed and well detailed. 5. Vast number of game modes 6. The environment has detailed elements, like leaves blowing across the track or birds flying in the foreground. Animations (like a ferris wheel) are in the background to provide even more graphic realism. 7. Your vehicle sustains incredible damage as you drive and while the performance is not affected, knocking out your headlights on a dark level makes it tough to drive! 8. Spectacular lighting effects! 9. Replayability 10. Achievable unlockable vehicles and accomplishable tasks 11. VERY cool secret unlockable cars! There are 3 things that could have used improvement: 1. Often, the competitors will fall into two packs. If you get behind the second pack, they will intentionally slow you down or crash into you so that it is almost impossible to reach the front pack. 2. Some of the levels are so tight (one/two lane tracks) that playing the same level at easier difficulty is a negligible advantage. 3. In the final car circuit, (called the "Ultimate Series") the tracks are considerably longer and require an extended number of laps for no apparent reason other than to delay game completion. There are 3 things about this game which are absolutely ridiculous: 1. Apparently the AI drivers all have PhDs in automotive physics because they know EXACTLY where to hit your car to send it into a spin. And they will do this to you more often then not. 2. When YOU hit a wall it's a reverse/back-up/steer out/gas procedure, but when an AI competitor hits the wall (or, OK, I run them into a wall), they somehow miraculously recover and are instantly behind you. 3. AI cars will often "take the line" while driving, meaning that they plow into you if you're already in the optimal apex. All-in-all, this game suffers many of the flaws that all racing video games have, and while this game isn't absolutely perfect, it is -by far- the best racing game available on any platform.	video-games_xbox
Jurassic Park - The Game ... kinda. STORY: 8 / 10 GAMEPLAY: 3/10 BUGGY: VERY (Especially near the end) REPLAY VALUE: 1/10 OVERALL: 2/10 Quick Opinion: Worth it to the fans out there, but could be real boring for most gamers out there. On the flipside, a creative way to tell a story...just needed a couple more months of development time. Full Opinion: First off, this is a different kind of game. If you're looking for a change from the norm, this might be right up your way. It is a cool way to immerse the player into a story, but I don't think it was too well executed. It would be good to know that I play a variety of games, thus am open-minded to new types of game play. I took this one as a challenge and stepped up to it because it was quite different from the other games I frequently play (Modern Warfare, L.A. Noire, Starcraft, etc.). This game opens up a great deal of story that took place on the island post movie. For Jurassic Park fans this is worth sitting through. You get to see some different parts of the island, get to know the history of the island, and I mean...there hasn't been a big JP release in a while. Action in the game comes in waves. I felt like I was doing a lot of sitting around but when the button mashing scenes came up they would prove to be a challenge here and there. One of the reviews on IGN was spot on in pointing out that the death scenes are quite hilarious (not to sound morbid or anything). What gets this game 2 stars is the fact that it should have had a bit more work done to it. I ran into a situation where I got to Episode 3 and wanted to go back through some scenarios in Episode 1&2 for achievements. This broke my story progression so when I tried to resume the story where I left off, it wouldn't progress. I had to repeat the entire two first episodes of the game to pick up the story again. I searched this on their site and it was apparently a feature...high-five. The animations and character actions were also sometimes graphically awkward or just plain buggy. I played this on 360 and when I sit down to play a 360 game, I expect it to be polished. Some situations where you are required to press a button in a timely manner didn't work due to the game being 'choppy' in sections and it would throw of timing on my button mashing. This got extremely noticeable near the end of the game even to the point where character speech was stuttering and repeating. In my personal opinion, the game is great for fans of the JP franchise, but I wouldn't recommend it for any other reason. Replay-ability is zero on this game. Whence you beat it, you've gone and done it all. It was a easy 1000 MS Gamerscore though.	video-games_xbox
Every scrap of duck on the wind. I'm 50 hours into AC4, and the game is STILL fun. I've completed the campaign, explored every location, collected all Mayan artifacts, chests, bottled messages, animus fragments, manuscripts, etc. I've also completed all Assassin contracts, naval contracts, naval fort challenges, crafting challenges, etc. But there's STILL more to do, and most importantly - I'm still having a blast! This is, quite simply, the greatest open world I've ever seen in a game, and it's a joy to behold and explore. I typically don't enjoy open world type games too much, but this one is just about perfect, enhanced with intelligent "fast travel" options (not just for major locations, but for locations within other locations!), clearly marked objectives, and a beautifl ship that is magnificent to pilot across the open waters. Though the combat (both on foot and aboard the Jackdaw) is fun and intuitive, my favorite parts of this game is the exploration. It's such a joy to sail across the Carribean, diving through sunken ships, searching for loot while attempting to avoid the notice of the circling Great White sharks... or slinking through a smuggler's cove, attempting to relieve the pirates of their stolen goods... or finding a new island with hidden secrets and interesting wildlife. There is so much detail AND content packed into AC4, it's astonishing... it's clearly a labor of love, and one of the few games where you can actually see why it required hundreds of developers, programmers, and artists. It's so much fun, and such a beauty to behold, I still look forward to my trips into the animus, and I'm hoping for my content, in addition to the Freedom Cry DLC (I have not tried the multiplayer yet). When I'm playing AC4, I can almost feel the sea breeze against my face, the salt on my lips, and the spray of water against my skin... it's one of the best games I've ever experienced.	video-games_xbox
Godzilla war of the monsters. With the success of Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee which needed a sequel thus this game is the result is it better then the game before it lets find out also this game has never seen a Nintendo GameCube release so we only have an Xbox release and a Playstation 2 release. Story/Plot: The storyline of Save the Earth takes place two years after Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. The story involves mankind getting hold of Godzilla's DNA, known in the game as "G-Cells" and unlocked the secrets of them. The Vortaak learn of this, once again returning to Earth, controlling a vast army of monsters, including their ultimate weapon: SpaceGodzilla. In the climax, Godzilla confronts SpaceGodzilla in a final duel. Godzilla blasts off SpaceGodzilla's shoulder crystals causing a black hole to form. SpaceGodzilla is sucked in and apparently killed, forcing the Vortaak to retreat while Godzilla lets out a roar of victory having saved Earth yet again. Gameplay: The player faces down many controlled monsters in different locations. This time around, new monsters are added as well as more detailed arenas including hills, elevated highways, and waist-deep water. Another addition is Challenge Mode, in which the player must attain goals other than simply defeating their opponent. Also for Xbox there was an online play. This mode is now offline. For monsters we have 18 playable monsters Anguirus Baragon Destoroyah Gigan Godzilla 1990s Godzilla 2000 Jet Jaguar King Ghidorah Mechagodzilla 2 Mechagodzilla 3 Mecha-King Ghidorah Megaguirus Megalon Moguera Mothra Orga Rodan SpaceGodzilla we only have 3 unplayable monsters which are Battra, Ebirah, and Orgas previous forms from the Godzilla 2000 film. Controls are the same as the last one. Music: The music is a little different then the game before this and its good the end credits are the same from Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee with Akira Ifukubes Godzilla Theme. Story 4.5/5 Gameplay 5/5 Music 5/5 Overall 9.5/10 = A A great Godzilla fighting game along with good controls.	video-games_xbox
Just got it....mucho sweet. I ...shop Amazon frequently to read the reviews of others and their reactions. This game is very good. This game is a TPS(Third Person Shooter). You are thinking aww great...why couldn't they have made it a FPS, but might I remind you that one of the highest ranking XBOX games by anyones standards is Splinter Cell which is also the same type camara angle. It does however have aspects of a FPS. Such as whenever you have a zoomable weapon, it goes to FPS mode when you zoom in. The cutscense on this are pretty amazing. The graphics have had some work done on them as well. Perhaps one of the best aspects to this game (along with others of this type) is the co-opability of it. The only other 4 player co-op games I know of are Hunter and Conflict:Desert Storm. I haven't gotten to play the co-op with friends yet(that's what this weekend is for), but I did want to see if it was anything great. And it looks to be that. Each charahcter has there own speciality as you have read from others reviews. I am torn between each one, but right now, I really enjoy playing as Hawk when you go steathfully, you are almost unstoppable until your special abilty runs out. But then Tex with his dual weilding gun bezerk mode is pretty awesome. Brutus is pretty cool with his Vengar "nightvision like" rage. His health regens and when he gets hit it does less damage on him. And flint's uber "auto targeting" sniping skills since she is a "synthetic" are pretty kewl. The controls are very intuitive and yet simple for such a complex game. There is no melee attack as in halo unless you are hawk with her one shot one kill psionic blade. But to get close to enemies you gotta be pretty sneaky unless cloaked. The one advnatage that you do have that at first I was kinda mad about was that I wanted 2 certain weapons(i.e. I wasnted to have 2 miniguns for Tex) but they only allow you to have one weapon with a usuable amount of ammo and then one with a regenerative ammo. It has its plusses and minuses as I have learned. The opposing AI are pretty smart as well as your own team AI is prety smart(i.e. not rushing into a room full of aliens or trying to take them all on) The only AI that needs work is those that you have to protect sometimes. If they die, you lose the mission and some of them are not the smartest for being an all powerful mind reader as well as being able to minupulate the ground(you don't get to play this character except in multiplayer via system link or Live) You may ask why I only gave this a 4.....well one, I am not driven by media hype and two it had its inadequacies. The way you get a score is by cash for killing people and doing objectives. Now maybe because I haven't gotten far enough, but what is the point of bounties and pay if you can't .....I don't know spend it and...... bilogically enhance your characters(since you are clones anyway) or buy a different type of ammo/gun early on that you can only get from the federation that will shoot about any ammo you find or something(since we are in fantasy realm anywya)...etc....seemed kind of cheezy to me. I still think this would have been better as a FPS. All the stuff was there for it but they just chose to go with a TPS like Splinter Cell. The game runs fluidly on the XBOX. When you have about 30 people shooting at you and you are thorwing frag nades all over the place, it doesn't slow down a lick.... In retrospect with as much as I have played it so far(about 5 hours after I got home from work), I am glad of my purchase. This was the first time I pre-ordered anything and I was well pleased with my purchase. I would buy it all over again. ...it will give you hours of enjoyment which is what you are paying for anyway. Since I don't have live, I can't rate that portion, but I feel that FFA and co-op games types will be no less better than that of FPS games....	video-games_xbox
Simply Amazing. This game is, in a word, stunning. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion comes to you in only a way that the next generation of gaming can deliver: the visuals are crystal clear, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking, and the depth of the game is mind-boggling. In case you haven't yet heard, Oblivion has what could be considered the best graphics of any video game. Ever. Period. And if you own an HDTV, prepare to be shocked. I have an HDTV that supports this game in 720p resolution (I had to buy a VGA cable since the composite made my picture too dark), but regardless of the step down from 1080i, the graphics don't suffer a bit. Every time I take my first step into the world, I'm convinced that I'm actually traversing dense forests, navigating a musty cave filled with bandits, or sneaking into someone's house to nab a few price-worthy items. On that note, I have yet to play a game as immersive as Oblivion. The impeccable combination of graphics, sound, and lighting make the world of Tamriel come alive in ways previous generations of consoles could never hope of achieving. A real-time weather and clock/calendar system only further the level of realism. You can tell a storm is coming as the clouds move faster overhead and the sky begins to darken. The storm rages for hours (in game time) and as the clouds eventually dissipate, a lush sky full of stars and a bright moon appears. Such attention to detail makes for an unprecedented gaming experience that shouldn't be overlooked. And what of the combat and storyline, the things that REALLY matter in an RPG? Everything you've come to expect of the Elder Scrolls series is there, and it comes in spades. Massive improvements have been made to the lackluster combat system of Morrowind, and the inventory is now easier to use than ever. The story is gripping, kicking off to a riveting start within the first 10 minutes of play. This game grabs you from the beginning and never lets go. And should you not feel like following the main storyline, why not indulge yourself in the almost countless number of side quests? With four guilds to join, each with their own separate story line (and keep in mind that you can join as many guilds as you'd like), you will never have a lack of activity in the world of Tamriel. Even then, if joining a guild isn't your thing, why not just set out and explore to your heart's content? The province of Cyrodiil is full of caves, forts, and bandit hideouts for you to raid. Some of these are massive underground lairs which can take up to a full hour to thoroughly pilfer. All this being said, if you find yourself playing Oblivion and say "I have nothing to do in this game", you're wrong. All in all, this is one of THE BEST video games I have ever played. Minor bugs, such as low-res textures in the background, and sometimes long loading times, do nothing to mar the experience this game offers. If you have an Xbox 360 (or a PC capable of handling the processing load), stop reading this review and head to the store immediately. I'm serious. Go.	video-games_xbox
Fun but lacking. Soul Calibur V has the best online experience and character customization seen in this franchise to date, but the worst single player experience and arguably its worst changes to the fighting system and roster. The graphics and animations are a treat as always, the music superb and the controls tight and responsive. After that there are a few quirks that take away from the experience, and a few short-comings that prevent the game from being great. Soul Calibur V is a lot of fun when it comes to multi-player combat, but lacking in single player modes. If you want to spend hours tweaking your costume with stickers or patterns to show off in online modes then this is the game for you. To me, adding a plaid pattern to medieval metal armor set is cheap and tacky, but to each his own. The new character customization system uses many of the armor pieces from Soul Calibur IV, but now you can adjust their look more than you could in the past. This particular improvement doesn't really compensate for faults in other areas. Fighting against friends is still a great thrill but if you have come to love the single player missions of the past SC games, this one is a letdown. You are forced to use Patroklos for the majority of the story mode, and personally I didn't like his fighting style. This mode can be beaten in one sitting, which is a blessing in disguise. There are not many good modes of play in this game; you have the poorly done story mode, classic vs mode, online play, quick battle and arcade/time attack. There are a few options in online play and they work well especially the coliseum mode. Arcade has been simplified down to 6 battles which you are racing against the clock to get the best time. There are no character specific endings in arcade (there isn't any ending at all), so there is no real reason to try out different characters here. Quick battle reminds me of VF5 arcade mode, you fight against opponents that look like they are wearing randomly generated outfits to win titles. Quick battle is a snore fest. Kilik, Taki, Sophitia and Xianghua have been displaced for new younger characters that have annoying personalities and voices. Taki's replacement, Natsu could be called Notso, as she is a direct clone of Taki but with blonde hair. She even uses Taki's victory stances but her statements fit more along with an anime and not the melodramatic epic that is Soul Calibur. Many fans will notice a lot of missing characters, but there are some new additions to help with the loss. There are some genuinely new characters to the game like Viola who has an interesting fighting style using an orb who fits well in the SC universe, and then you have Z.W.E.I. the werewolf summoner who seems like he may belong in another game altogether (FF maybe). There is a new lizard type dude that uses dual axes, as well as the Assassin of Florence, Ezio. Ezio is a perfect fit for this game, much more so than Z.W.E.I. or Notso. The new super move system is a poorly implemented gimmick borrowed from other contemporary fighting games. You build up a charge meter by attacking or taking damage so you can do a super move that looks flashy and over the top. I'm sure there will be some debate as to whether this addition is needed to keep SC fresh, personally I would have passed on it. The new blocking system removes parrying in favor of using some of your charge meter to do a guard impact that has the same effect parrying used to. This is a bit of a shame as it takes away from blocking properly, and parrying was ton of fun in prior games. Aside from this the combat is still intense and enjoyable and worth some time, but maybe not as much time as prior releases. Your heart will skip a beat when it's a close match, you my scream out in delight when you win and groan when you are defeated. There are a lot of characters to pick from, and at least a few of them are going to appeal to you.	video-games_xbox
Better Characters then the Show. You follow the exploits of Lee (or Li?) in this game, some criminal who's being escorted to prison when s* hits the fan. When I first played this I didn't get into it, usually preferring the faster paced L4D when it comes to zombies, but I picked it up again and actually got sucked into the story. The gameplay ranges from between dialogue options and Silent Hill-lite, which sound very limiting but they actually pull off the dialogue well, where many choices aren't easy and you get to see how exactly your decisions affect the other people. Some parts were obvious while other parts were surprising, so the writing quality fluctuates a little throughout but overall it's held together through strong characterizations. Some people have complained about how despite being able to make choices, the story still follows a rather linear path where you can't alter the story. While it's true there's some enjoyment from like a Fallout game where you can manipulate the outcome, the story for this game is compelling enough to where it is what it is, an interactive movie. The story is long and complicated, so I'll just organize the episodes from least favorite to favorite (spoilers of course). 4<2<1<5<3 4. They finally reach the big city, and what happens? Not much. For a big location this one was really underwhelming in every sense of the word. Plus many of their actions were either really obvious or contrived. For example I knew what was going on with the blonde chick with the pickaxe really early on, and yet they wait until near the end of the episode for her to literally sit there and spell it out, at this point I wanted to find a wall and start pounding my head against it. Also there was a lot of potential with Crawford, but it just becomes another dealing with walkers situation, when it would've been cool to run into a gang of them holding out or something, and be stuck between crazy people and walkers instead of more of the same. Also there should've been more of a sense of urgency when on that mission but there just wasn't. Could've been great. 2. The entire episode felt like they just put the story on pause and it came out as filler. Sure you could make a point that the people were learning to get used to their predicament, they ramped up the tensions nicely but the farm subplot felt distracting and it was disappointing when I figured that the entire story pretty much happens in one location. Because of it being contained though, if people were to play just 1 episode I'd suggest this one. Also I didn't like how they throw in a random new character that wasn't in the 1st just for him to get killed off, would've been more ballsy to off a known character from the first one or set him up better. Still the mystery has a nice payoff and you get to know the characters a lot more. 1. Gets everything started, it's interesting how when you first meet people they're not too concerned about the outbreak (Bill from L4D1 apparently makes a cameo), but as it goes along people are starting to realize that the danger is for real, so that worked nicely for me. Though the pharmacy part did have some slow boring moments and one of the characters was basically just the old white guy from Night of the Living Dead. The episode was good enough for me though to continue the story, so definitely interesting enough. Also the motel puzzle was heaps of fun. 5. The finale! Things wrap up pretty nicely here, there's a lot of adventure that goes on, and the walls are constantly closing on our characters. Also the mystery at the end was well done, I didn't expect it and it made sense. It was pretty short though, but I prefer it to be short and sweet instead of dragged out. Especially considering how the 4th one ended it makes some sense that it'd be short. A satisfying finale to a long but good game. 3. My personal favorite, after 1 sets everything up and 2 kinda stagnates but you get to know the characters, 3 shifts things into full gear, and whereas the show is somewhat predictable and non-compelling, this episode revealed that the game just don't give a f* about who gets offed, and many moments caught me completely off guard. Not a dull moment for me in this episode, it showed just how dark and utterly engrossing the series could be. So you'd like this if you want more to a videogame then a mindless escape, it's not necessarily fun, but it's engaging and is essentially an interactive movie. I wish they would lay the pressure on more at certain points, but again, Walking Dead is more about the people dealing with the zombie crisis rather then zombie action, so it worked. I enjoyed the hell out of this game and am looking forward to a sequel. Little things here and there annoyed me, especially how the characters are rather reckless when it comes to being around the dead, and it sucked seeing the protagonist get bit over a dumb situation. Also, like almost all zombie lore nowadays, they completely skip over the outbreak and do the 28 Days Later approach where you're in the aftermath. For once I'd like to be in the middle of the outbreak chaos, maybe one day... It's kinda sad when a zombie video game has better characters then most zombie films, each character looked like a normal person instead of an action star, they all had distinctive personalities, and they weren't black and white villains or stereotypes. Instead they all felt like real people, which is the spine to this game. If they felt like cartoon characters the story wouldn't have worked out. Especially impressive is Clementine, considering I normally hate escorting children in video games. If she was some cutesy/whiny rugrat I wouldn't have gotten past the first episode, but because of the good writing and characterization, it all clicks. P.S. Right when episode 5's end credits showed up I knew I had to play Jim Carrol's 'People Who Died' and it went along perfectly with the end credits and results. See for yourself: [watch?v=oOCCpUkr8iI]	video-games_xbox
Positive Offer, My Satisfaction is Met. In a five out of five star rating in my personal opinion and experience with the game console, I would highly recommend purchasing this system with the exception of the Xbox One. With this offer you get approximately $50.00 or more off than what Microsoft offers their Xbox 360s for(Prices may change). You also get two free games, a free month of Xbox Live Gold and Hulu Plus, a headset for online gaming, 250 GB(Giga Bytes) of memory, free limited warranty, and a new and improved designed Xbox 360, wireless, controller. Microsoft offers their version of the console for approximately $399.99(Prices may vary), but that can't compete towards this deal if your patient enough for the console to ship to you. If you were to purchase this system on the official Xbox or Microsoft website, you will have to pay additional shipping and handling fees. This offer still has the same downside for us, but at least it's cheaper. Everyone should know, however, that the system is exactly the same to the Xbox 360 S in terms of menu layout. In fact, with this version of the game console which is known as the Xbox 360 E, there are not as many ports for the system such as USB, HDMI, and ethernet that the Xbox 360 S version has. So in conclusion, most people will be better served with the second version of Xbox 360(Xbox 360 S). Additionally, I have noticed that if you have any downloaded games stored onto your Xbox 360 E hardrive, a person is actually required to have an active Xbox Live Gold membership in order to play both Online and Offline video games(According to my experience)* The console is also smaller than the: Original, Elite(Enhanced Version of the Original), and 'S' versions of the Xbox 360. I must add, though, that this is still a great deal, unlike the Xbox One which is notable for banning Xbox Live members for "cussing" Online or Offline via the Kinect, in which detects voice speech. I don't have the 'Verified Purchase' notification by my review, but I still have bought the system at a local Best Buy. I can't believe that I missed out out this offer...	video-games_xbox
Total Garbage. Let me start off by saying I have bought Madden for the 360 every year and it really seems that it gets worse and worse every year. I thought to myself, "well 13 could not possibly be any worse than 12 was." Sadly I was wrong and not even just wrong, I was dead wrong. Graphics / Presentation / Gameplay : -The graphics look very cheesy, and do not look very realisitc at all. -The new commentators in 13 are just horrible, they put me to sleep. I know many did not like Collinsworth and Johnson but they were so much better than Nantz and Simms. -Whether it was the previous commentators or the current ones, the lines they say are repeated constantly it is ridiculous. -Cutscenes have no variety to them and are repeated many times as well. -It seems that Madden did not even attempt to polish up any parts of the flaws that have been criticized for years by the experts. -The physics engine is an improvemnt but not much of one as it seems way over done in terms of players falling all over the place well after the play is over, its comical but at the same time a disgrace to the users as well. Game Modes: -NO Franchise Mode: GM Connected is a terrible replacement for the offline mode that made the Madden series playable. While you have the option to play an offline GM Connected mode keep in mind that you cannot edit rosters, have a fantasy draft, import an NCAA draft class, etc. This is a huge screw up if you ask me and as many others have pointed out not having this kills this game. -No Fantasy Draft in the Online GM Mode either! - Whoever is responsible for taking out Franchise Mode, the ability to be able to have a fantasy draft (offline and online), and to not allow users to import a NCAA draft class, should be fired. Online Gameplay: -Another aspect of the Madden series that has been horrible for a long time, issues with lag are still present. **I know for a fact that it is not an issue with my connection because I play Madden, Fifa, and NHL games from EA online constantly and the only one I have ever had problems with is Madden. I play NHL and Fifa online way more than Madden and yet the only one I have ever had problems with year in and year out is Madden, coincidence I think not. Overall: -Simply put this is the WORST Madden game I have ever played. -For those who are deciding whether to buy this game or not, save your hard earned money and save yourself the headache of buying this game. Sorry for the novel of an review, but this product deserves all the negative feedback it has been getting.	video-games_xbox
Makes you feel like the hulk, but is very hard. The Good: You really feel like Hulk, flying and jumping over the city is fun, tons of unlockable moves and artwork, fun combat The Bad:...when it works, excruciatingly difficult, a few minor camera problems, doesn't look too swift I'm not really a comic book person, but when a good game comes along I won't pass it up. UD is probably the ONLY game ever made that let's you jump 300 feet in the air. Jump over sky scrapers, grab cars and use them as steel fists, battle giant mechs and grab on the copters and bring them to the ground. UD pulls this off superbly but not perfectly. The main problem with UD is the extreme difficulty. The difficulty is unbalanced so you'll get an easy mission then an impossible one. The enemies just won't let up at all. You'll have 10 mechs come after you shooting missiles and what not and after a few minutes you're dead. This will make some people just give up (such as myself). The game has a pretty decent story, but it's nothing too special. You are Bruce Banner who tries to tame the Hulk inside of him by partnering up with a scientist and getting various parts to build the machine to do the latter. Some missions have you protecting things, some have you destroying things, and some have you fetching things. That is pretty much all the missions are about. The combat is really rewarding and awesome. You have to basic attack but combos with these will do massive damage along with grabs and slams. You can buy new upgrades after you unlock each chapter. There are a good 50+ moves and they are all different. Some vary from being able to grab and throw things while running, to jumping on copters and bringing them to the ground. This would be even more fun if there was some sort of block or counter button. You have to take all the damage that sent at you unless you purchase moves that send missiles flying back and what not. You can run up buildings and fly over them to get health but you'll be doing this more than fighting and it's so annoying. While the initial introduction of flying all over the place and jumping as high as a plane, and being able to utterly destroy a whole city is fun it gets old kind of fast because that's all you do in this game. You do have mini-games you can play but they are pretty lame and boring. You can use a pole to smack enemies as far as you can in one, races, float and land in the middle of a giant ring, rescue people etc. but they just aren't as fun as they sound. Hulk fan will be able to unlock artwork and what not through pick ups in the game but this still doesn't save you from fighting the difficulty. The graphics are nothing special. This is a 2003 game so it looks pretty bad compared to today. If you can stomach the high difficulty then pick this up. If only this game were easier I would have been able to finish it.	video-games_xbox
Very fun with a few problems. There are several things I like about this game. The main one is the Vital Suits, VS, which are like big combat mechs you can ride around in and fight with, lots of fun. On the one player game the main thing I like is the huge boss battles. The bosses all look great and are fun to fight. The game has several difficulty settings. The "normal" mode isn't too hard but it also has a hard mode and an extremely hard mode if you're up for a challenge. Of course the multiplayer is fun. It has different modes to keep things interesting. There are a few problems that keep this game from being better. The first is that you walk very slow. This problem is alleviated some by the use of a grapple that you can use to quickly move around in the multi-player stages, but in the one player there isn't as much to grapple on to. The second problem is the enemy AI. Even on the hardest difficulty the enemies all seem rather stupid. This makes the game on normal difficulty seem really easy, but the game can still be very difficult on the harder modes. A third problem is the story suffers a little from bad localization. The main thing that makes this game different is the use of thermal energy. In the one player game you are able to use the "harmonizer" to refill your health using thermal energy. In the multiplayer you don't have this option and only use the thermal energy to power VS and energy weapons. In the one player if you run out of thermal energy you will lose health until you refill it or die, but running out in multiplayer only means you can't use a VS or energy weapons until you refill. You get thermal energy from every enemy you kill, from "way points", and from T-energy storage containers. On multiplayer there are specific places you can stand at to fill your energy. You continue to lose thermal energy while walking around and you use even more while using a VS. This help balance out the game and you must consider your T-energy when deciding whether to use a VS or Energy weapons. Overall the good in this game out does its shortcomings. I really enjoy playing this game and would encourage people to give it a try. On another note, I bought this special edition. It comes with some artwork and a bonus online stage. I believe this "exclusive" stage has been made available to people who didn't buy the collectors edition. There are some thing you can download to your pc, such as a lost planet skin for windows media player. These are nice but not worth the extra money. The metal box the game comes in is awesome! If I were buying it again though, that wouldn't be enough to sell me on the special edition. Probably anyone interested would be better to get the regular edition.	video-games_xbox
Qanba Q4 - Best Bang For The Buck. I currently own a Madcatz TE-S (dual modded with a Phreakmods Cerberus board) and was looking to pick up a second arcade stick just to have a backup/if a friend comes over and after searching around, I was recommended the Qanba Q4RAF. After I received it in the mail, I noticed that the Q4 is a few inches wider across than the TE-S and definitely felt a lot more hefty in weight. This is something that definitely suited my preference as the larger size/weight, along with the base of the stick which is entirely covered by a felt material, made it feel like that this stick wasn't going anywhere when I played with it on my lap. The main selling point of the Q4 is the dual mod already built into the stick, which makes this arcade stick one of the only ones out there ready to play out of the box on an XBox 360, Playstation 3, or PC. You can buy a Madcatz TE and a dual modded board for $140-$160 and do it yourself (WARNING: Keep in mind, modding the stick voids the warranty and some basic knowledge of wiring/soldering may be needed), or pay $200+ to have it installed by any number of reputable modders out there, but most would benefit from the peace of mind of the Q4 at $170. One big underrated feature is the large carry handle located at the top of the arcade stick which makes traveling with it a breeze. This feature may not benefit you if you plan to keep your stick sitting at home, but for tournament players/local casuals/and players who want to take their arcade stick over to a buddy's place for some matches, the handle is really convenient. All the components in the Q4 are the same genuine Sanwa parts you can find in the Japanese arcade machines. For people who may not be too familiar for what this means, the quality of the buttons and the joystick you find in cheaper arcade sticks are much different than the pricier sticks. You get what you pay for essentially. Pretty much every serious fighting game player will either have Sanwa or Seimitsu brand components in their sticks for a reason. The higher quality buttons and sticks just feel more responsive and are built to last through the rigorous button mashing. (Note: I've seen older reviews of the Q4 that have said the Start button on the face of the Q4 isn't a Sanwa button, but the Q4 I received definitely feels like a Sanwa. I suppose they might have updated it for the latest sticks.) And on the topic of the Start button, yes, it's located on the front panel of the stick right next to your main 8 buttons. For some it's a deal breaker or an inconvenience. I know personally that in the first 5 hours or so of playing with my Q4, I hit the start button twice, which would be an automatic DQ or match loss in competitive play. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it just yet, maybe I just need to get used to playing with it. For the more disciplined players, this may not be an issue. One thing I may suggest down the line if it continues to be a problem, is to open up the stick (I believe Qanba has a 90 day warranty) and to just disconnect the start button which is simple and easy. The biggest comparison the Q4 gets is to the Eightarc Fusion. Eightarc's products are made by Qanba so they're virtually the same stick with just a few minor differences. The Eightarc doesn't have the Start button located next to the 8 button layout, doesn't have a carry handle, different artwork, and is around $30 more than the Q4. While personally I do like the appearance of the Eightarc slightly better than the Q4, along with the Start button not being directly to the right of the buttons, the convenience of the carry handle as well as the cheaper pricetag of the Q4 sealed the deal. If you're interested in stepping up your game and buying your first stick or just looking to add another one like I was, I highly recommend the Q4. It's a great investment due to the dual modding pre built in which is great for people who play in tourneys (since what console they use for the games always change) or if your buddy has an XBox 360 but you have a PS3.	video-games_xbox
New strings = happy player. First impressions(10/22/2013): Tried playing with both guitars that I haven't restrung in a year. Tuner is finicky like all other reviewers have mentioned so far. Had issues with the car chase scales game not recognizing my low E notes. The game got stuck in a calibration loop when I tried to do the other scale game and I had to reboot my 360. Much preferred Scale Runner on the original. The lo-res graphics games are cute but I won't be giving away my old disc to a friend. I still have problems viewing blue open strings like the first. $10 import fee for the original content. I believe Rock Band 2 or 3 did this as well. I didn't go through the initial setup but may do that today. The play for an hour setting is nice. It lets you pick through your song list and just keep playing straight through. Riff repeater on the fly and difficulty settings are handy. Tried out session mode but it wasn't very intuitive. I think it will be a great feature once I learn to actually jam for a long time by myself. The bends are represented graphically up and down to match how the song really is rather than 'do a bend'. I was a huge champion of this game to anyone who doesn't know how to play and although I quit playing for a year think this and the changing weather will put me back on my journey to pick up a useful skill and hobby. Will update my review as time passes. 10/23/2013: Restrung one of my guitars and the tuner works much better. If you can't get it to register on one sustained note, keep playing the same open string over and over and it will fill the circle. Played the time mode for an hour again today(WHITE ZOMBIE!), and just went through scale warriors game. It is Double Dragon clone that you can play along to the soundtrack. Awesome! I thought the car chase version was awful the day before but this one is very addictive and doesn't end in under a minute. Followed the R icons and understand the session mode a little better now. Sore hands but can't wait for the weekend!	video-games_xbox
PGR3 Is Definitely Worth $50. Like most gamers out there, there are four major aspects of a game's development that I look at when deciding if it is worth my time and money. In order to really impress me, a game must have all of the following: good graphics (obviously), good audio quality, controls that aren't overly complicated, and a good overall value. In my book, PGR3 scores high in three out of four categories and average in the other - This make it a great buy for your buck. GRAPHICS: 5/5 - Anymore it seems like graphics are the paramount measuring stick, by which a game's worthiness is deemed. Though I disagree with this idea (there are many games that are good, but have only average graphics), PGR3 excels in this area far ahead of its closest competition. The cars and environments are so pretty and realistic that it's almost as much fun to watch someone else play as it is to be playing yourself. When it's that much fun to be a spectator, that's when you know a game looks good! Frankly, I haven't been as blown away by a game's graphics since the first Metroid Prime debutted on Nintendo Game Cube over three years ago. AUDIO: 3/5 - For the most part, as long as a game's soundtrack isn't so god awful (Super Monkey Ball, anyone?) that it distracts me from playing, I'm okay with it. While not ground-breaking or cutting edge, PGR3's background music is what it is, and it serves its purpose dutifully. Sure, the music could be better, but with graphics like that who really cares how it sounds?! CONTROL: 3/5 - People can complain all they want about the controls, but I haven't played a single racing game yet for which the controls weren't at least a little bit of a nuisance. The bottom line is, after you learn the basic physics of how fast and slow to take turns and when to brake and accelerate, the rest is just going. I will admit that I am still acclimating to the sensitivity of the controls, but the controls really don't seem so bad like other reviewers are peaving them to be. Sure, from time to time the steering isn't as responsive as a real car might be, but this is to be expected. Don't let a little imperfection deter you from buying this game, and if you're really on the fence you can always rent the game first and judge for yourself. VALUE: 5/5 - There really is no better value in terms of what's available in the Xbox 360's launch line-up. To my knowledge it's the ONLY game so far that's $50 (the rest are priced at a hefty $60, or more - Elder Scrolls IV Special Edition will be $70). At least, if there are other games for only $50, then they must not be any good or I would have heard of them. In my book, high quality for low price is an unbeatable bargain. OVERALL SCORE: 4/5 - In the end (averaging the four previous scores), PGR3 works out to a game that, while not quite perfect (and, come on, what game really is?), definitely a solid choice for first-time Xbox 360 buyers and a good selection for those looking to expand on their already established 360 library.	video-games_xbox
Bad Writing and Repeated Maps Do Not a Game Make. I was very disappointed in this game after playing through its precursors and all their downloadable content. There are nice parts to this game, don't get me wrong, and I'll start with them. The graphics are much better this time around, which makes for some very impressive scenery! The inventory control is improved by simple virtue of the fact that your companions will not let you change their armor. That simplifies things a great deal, and frees up a lot of inventory slots you may have been cluttering up with potential armor pieces for them. The combat system works better, too. You have a lot more to do, and you feel more like you're in control of your characters. The game is just as good as its precursors when it comes to the voice acting. I am very impressed with how good it is, in fact! (Even if one of your companions can't seem to figure out what a comma between two adjectives should sound like. "Everything here is cold, hard ground" comes out sounding like "Everything here is cold. Hard ground." shrug No big deal there.) The banter between companions (of course) varies depending on who is with you, and choices you've made and is just as humorous as the precursors' banter. Now to the bad. If I have to go through that one mine map (yes, one!) again, I may shoot myself. The only variation they give you on the maps that they repeat over and over again is to seal off some passageways and open others. That doesn't change the fact that every warehouse is the same as every other. Side missions (which always had at least a small paragraph to describe what needs doing and why in the previous games) are now just clickables. You pick up an item from a chest, and bingo you have a mission! Yeah. And that "mission" has no real description in your journal except to go see So-and-so in neighborhood such-and-such. When you get there, you click on the person and every time, your character says something along the lines of "Hey, I found this," and the mission person thanks you. No further narrative. Seems a little empty to me. On that, there are bigger missions in the game with a similar lack of narrative. In one mission, you have reason to ask your uncle about a game he played in his youth. He mentions that his equipment is still up on his wall. You may now click the equipment, and when you do, your mission updates to go look at a tree. With absolutely no reason as to why! This happens throughout the game, with missions that pop up and you check your journal only to find that you have to go someplace. Don't ask why, just go. The chapter layout of the game works for the first chapter, and partway through the second, but after that, the game becomes a bit disjointed and you are on rails, with hardly any choices to make. Your choices essentially determine only which car in the train you get to sit in, not which way the train goes. Heck, even the main choice at the end (won't spoil it here) ends with you still having to fight the exact same end fights, whichever choice you make! Lastly, throughout the game, you do not have the choice to be a bad guy. Your choices are between being a good guy and being a good guy who inexplicably decides to do something evil, with no real justification for it. All around, I am very disappointed in the shabby writing and the unimaginative maps. After how well written the first games were, this was a major letdown, and I will most likely think very, very hard before I plunk down the cash for another DA.	video-games_xbox
Great Multiplayer Game. Blizzard is well known for making good games and Diablo III is another quality game. First off, buy this game used. The only thing that comes in the box is the disc and a one page manual so any extra money spent on a new copy is only for plastic wrap and that annoying sticker that makes the game really hard to get in to. The mechanics of Diablo are solid. The controls are easy to learn and customizable to your liking. The game pad makes combat really fun and easy by making the left stick move and the right stick dodge with left trigger to lock on. The buttons are all basically for attacks and spells/skills so there really isn't a lot to learn beyond remembering which button is equipped with which attack or skill. The story is good and has that Blizzard humor throughout. The graphics are high quality considering it is a console game with limited rendering power. With the new expansion out and coming soon to consoles this is a great time to pick this game up. The expansion ushered in a lot of changes on the PC which fixed a lot of the known problems and has brought back many who gave up and also inspired new explorers to join in the fray. The changes should be reflected in the console versions especially the Xbox One and PS4 versions which will have the expansion included. Diablo III has a lot going for it with multiple characters each with many different styles, appearances, and attacks which gives players the ability to replay the game and have different experiences with each play through. The co-op aspect is another of this game's awesome features. Get together with friends at home or far away and play a four player game in which working together is rewarded. Too many games are about player versus player so a game that is about working together is nice to see, at least on consoles. The leveling, skills, and gear are acquired through grinding so it can be very unappealing to some players but the old school RPG dungeon crawling fans will love it. The game is a top down third person isometric style game which is also very familiar to old school RPG fans but may be unappealing to some players. Diablo III really is about friends, gear and story so prepare for some good times and lots of loot.	video-games_xbox
The playstation of course has better performance, so if you want the potential extra . I own both consoles and here is how I feel. This is not a biased review, it's completely based on opinion. Performance: The playstation of course has better performance, so if you want the potential extra frame rate/resolution go for it. Even for games likes Destiny, the render distance is a fair amount further. The playstation has crashed less than the Xbox, but it gets alot hotter. Xbox still can handle beautiful games intensive games, the games that run the same frame rate/resolution, i personally prefer the xbox for the way it handles shading(watch a video if the opening cinematic for BF4 comparision). Games: The lineup isn't much different at the moment, just prefers what exclusives you like better, future still makes this a hard decision, PS4 has stuff like no mans sky, xbox has halo and many more. Operating system: This one is xbox hands down, Playstation attempted to make it simpler but in the end I cant stand it, I prefer the PS3 OS. Xbox's tile based multitasking makes everything pretty simple. Controller: Playstation has made their best controller to date, I have a blue one and love looking at it, however Im not a fan of the thumbstick positions. Xbox's controller is perfect, it feels like it was made for your hand, I almost hate putting it down. However I hate how there is no way to tell who's player1/player2 without having to worry about signing in. Network hands down goes to playstation, if I have a 25gb game, it downloads in almost half the time it takes the xbox to download the same game. I cant tell a difference in multiplayer. Extras: I personally love the kinect, if i could go back I would still pay the extra $100 for it. I use the voice commands way more than I ever imagined. I do love the playstation's remote play, it was one of the reasons I got it, and Im not disappointed. Final Verdict: In the end If a game comes out for both consoles, I'd buy it for Xbox. That decision for me is based from the OS, the controller, and the heat my PS4 kicks out. However if i want the game as soon as possible I get it for playstation thanks to DL speed. In the end it's all about whos exclusives youve liked better in the past, I had a hard time deciding so I got both.	video-games_xbox
Barely scrapes the passing ground as a controller and as a product. Strictly as a gamepad, the 360 controller is mostly fine. The sticks and triggers feel good, the buttons are fine, and the only thing I dislike is the D-pad. I actually dislike it a lot, though. It's inaccurate and feels bad and cheaply-put-together to the point where I would rather use the stick in menu-heavy RPGs, which isn't a good sign. I don't generally play 2D platformers, but I imagine something like that would be even worse with this D-pad. That aside, this just isn't a very resilient device. Around half a year into using it not-very-frequently, its RT trigger stopped registering consistently. When holding it down, the connection would often break and you'd have to release it and try holding it down again. The controller's cord is arguably worse about this: Around the same time as RT started breaking, the controller would intermittently disconnect from and quickly reconnect to the PC, causing it to re-register as player 2, 3, or 4. In all the games with which I've tried the controller, this stops control of the game unless it's manually disconnected and reconnected. A little over a year after purchase, this issue crops up every couple minutes at best; it's virtually unusable at this point. Finally, an issue with the controller's drivers has rendered it unusable with some Windows 7 systems for many months. It functions when plugged in (assuming it manages to maintain the connection; see above), but usually causes a bluescreen within ten minutes. Some fixes found on Google have been reported to work, but speaking for myself, the only one of them that's given me results is giving up and switching to Windows 10, by pure coincidence. At any rate, it's a moot point because I knew that the hardware issues with this controller were already too much, and ultimately switched to W10 so I could get a PS4 controller instead.	video-games_xbox
flawed but 20hours later still having fun. Okay a grade a game this is not. A very fun grade B game this is. your gonna see people hate it or love this game. personaly I was disapointed in x-plays score of 1. And note that when talking of game control they were using the human for hand to hand and she is slower and the weakest hand to hand fighter. when they talk about how easy and dumb zombies are they showed video from early in game before the gernades and machine gun toting zombies. Makes me wonder if they only played 1/2 the game on easy said screw this and gave a premature review. First off the game does have flaws. The audio loop for saki running is like 3 moans that loops so short and fast its anoying untill u get use to it and don't hear it anymore. And the almost static 3d model stading there for most story secences was not good in enchanted arms and is just as uinspiring here. u will likly skip them. the video story secence are good and unfortunatly are less then 1/2 of the story secences in game. Playing as anna can be fustrating at first because the auto lockon feal poorly exicuted and targeting the esact zombie u want can be a pain. But once u realize that her guns hit everything in firing path u become a sidesteep fanatic and this issue disapears. I'm note a big fan of the timed pres combo system. Some people might like this. For me trying to time out my button mashes while trying to take down 6 undead cops before they lowered thier shotguns wasn't a time to creativly time presses. most player will mash the attack button and get then same combo 80% of the time. this game was designed to play threw multiple times. easy mode is to easy and normal is also very easy untill the second half.once the army and harder zombies start coming out then game gets more intresting. 2 or 3 guns hitting u at once will kill u from full healf. The game has i think 5 diffaculty lvls and the hard lvl up is were most the chalange will lye for most players. Were the game is most fun is when your surrounded by enemies and dispaching them as fast as possible trying to find the cop or army zombies before u hear the loading of a shotgun or a gernade goes off in your face. I've never liked dynesty warriors, and this game will be compaird because of the symularity of fighting many foes at once. It is the same yet somehow diffrent. koi games always bored me. 20 hours later this game is still mindlessly fun. In wrap up all i can say is I like this game despit its flaws. If they make the animations alittle more fluid. Improve the story sequinces alot and flesh out the combos more while inceasing the intelignce of the dumb hord types in game alittle it would be a very good grade A title. Intsead its a very fun grade B with a outdated control scyme. graphics and presitaion: 4 stars. humans look great zombies need more love. gameplay" 4stars 4 for fun but controls feal outdated unless compared to koi games audio: 2stars while the music feals apropriate, you"ll hear alot of the same songs. and realy.... saki running is "ah ahh ah" looped?..... seriosly? can i be a audio directer for a game too???? audio is ither good or horid. they should fire the audio director for this game for his inconsistancy. fun and replay: 4 stars. It is hard to say why esactly im injoying this game. 22 hours in and im still injoying it and just starting hard with lvl 40 chars so also alot of replay. final 4 stars but game should be 20-30 bucks for quallity. i don't feal ripped off. but quality wise this shouldnt be a 40-50 game.	video-games_xbox
A Buggy Port of an Outdated PC Game. Risen would have been a decent game if it came out a decade earlier. Unfortunately, the game industry passed it by in terms of graphics, story, and design. Story: 3/10 The opening cinematic poorly shows a Dark Lord using a magic spell to sink a ship, in fact, it's so poorly done, I'm not even sure what happened. There was a weird guy, a spell, some monster face thing... Keep in mind that this pre-rendered intro is supposed to set up the story for the player and get them excited about the game. Instead, you just feel sort of disappointed and confused. When the game begins, the main character wakes up on an island with debris and bodies. After some time, he finds himself in a power struggle between an oppressive order of holy monks and lawless bandits. To make matters worse, ancient ruins and creatures are appearing all over the island. The hero must save the day by performing 250 menial tasks by talking to bored NPC's and delivering items. Graphics: 1/10 Low res textures, bland character designs, no normal maps, no bump maps, texture stretching all over the environments, character animations popping from one to the next, some characters moving without animations and sliding around the world with their arms straight out... The only thing this game has going for it is the forest created by Speed Tree (used in Oblivion.) In the grand scheme of things, Morrowind (2002) actually looks better than this game. (Sacred 2 and The Last Remnant may be the only games that look worse.) Gameplay: 3/10 There are two types of gameplay: Combat and Quests The Combat involves blocking by pressing RT and attacking by pressing LT. As your character levels up, you unlock new moves like parry and slash, but the game basically boils down to you standing in front of an enemy and swinging your sword by pressing RT over and over. If you are attacked by multiple enemies, it's best to try not to get flanked, so you need to move around. The combat is somewhat buggy. If you attack a wolf from behind, it can't turn around to attack you. If you attack a powerful ogre and get in close, you can repeatedly hit it 100 times to kill it and it can't hit you. Missile and Magic attacks are somewhat worthless. Most of the fights take place in enclosed places, so bows and crossbows are only good for one shot before the enemy is upon you. There are two basic types of spells in the game: Navigation and Combat. The Navigation Spells are used almost like puzzle elements to get through environments. You can levitate, turn into a nautilus, open doors... The combat spells are all projectiles with a damage type, fire, frost... But you cannot use the spells together. You can't levitate around a room and throw fireballs at the same time. Risen could have really used buff, shield, and debuff spells. It would have added a much needed level of depth to the combat. Most of the Quests involve finding a person, then clicking on all of the dialogue options. What you say doesn't really affect the outcome of the story like Mass Effect, instead you basically just try to speed through the dialogue so you can get the item that you need. The quests are very simple, but they are structured in a really annoying manner. Here's an example: You must give this amulet to Carlo in Harbor Town. So, you walk to Harbor Town, (30 minutes) then open your quest window, scroll through the quest list, then scroll through your map interface. A dot gives you a rough idea where Carlo is located. So you try to find Carlo (5 minutes) and when you get to him, he refuses to talk to you. Then you realize that this quest was dependent on some other quest that you had, so you scroll through the 100 quests in your quest log to try and find the right one. Then you spend the next 3 hours talking to NPC's who don't help you and ask, "Don't you have something better to do?" (No Joke, they actually say that!) If this sounds fun, then this is the perfect game for you! Interface Screens: 1/10 The quest / map screens are a notch above completely worthless and when you trade items, highlighting any item opens a window that obscures your Gold, so you can't see how much you have without moving the cursor out of the way. The screens that are supposed to make the adventure interactive actually work against you. Character Advancement: 4/10 As you level up, you gain Learning Points and additional Hit Points. In order to improve a skill, you must search the world to find a Trainer. However, Trainers are few and far between and you will most likely have to walk to a town that's far away to increase a certain skill. Most Trainers only teach 2 skills. You can increase in weapon and crafting skills, but crafting in this game is overly simplistic and fairly useless. Sound: 4/10 The main character sounds like Ewan McGregor in Star Wars the Phantom Menace, in both voice and tone. Basically, he sounds like an English guy who sounds bored out of his skull. Almost all of the characters sound really bored in the game. The music is very subtle, but fits the mood and the combat sound effects are fairly weak. Replay Value: 3/10 The main story is linear, but there are hundreds of side quests. But the only variation of how you play the game is where you start. You can start as a knight, a monk, or a bandit. Other than the beginning, there is no variation to the story and there are no multiplayer modes. Bugs: 9/10 Buggiest Game since Golden Axe: Beast Rider! It crashes, animations pop, characters get stuck on walls and teleport to roofs, texture tears are everywhere in the environment, some enemies can't hit you, there are invisible walls, and some quests seem to be broken. Tedium: 10/10 The game is tedious and does NOTHING to help you adventure through the world. You can unlock over 100 side quests at a time, but many of them must be done in a particular order, but you don't know which order. Your only option is to wander aimlessly around the world to try and find someone who will talk to you. You will literally waste hours doing this. When you level up, you must search the world for a trainer that teaches the skills that you want. You can find them on your map, but you will usually have to walk for 20-30 minutes to find the right one. Water... Water in your inventory restores mana, but when you drink it out of a barrel, it restores Health. When you find a barrel, you can drink the water and the character leans over, cups his hands, and drinks the water, then stands back up. When you do this, you get 10-20 HP. Most games would just fill your health, but since this is one of the few places to get free HP, you will have to press the drink button about 10 times and watch the animation over and over and over and over... There are chests all around the world. Some you can open and some need to be picked with a set of lock picks. After you search the chest, your character closes the lid and stands back up, so there is NO WAY to tell which chests you have already searched. The searched chests should have remained open, so this results in you seeing a closed chest and saying, "Cool a chest!" Then you run over, crouch, open the lid, search, find it's empty, close the lid, then stand back up... You'll waste time doing this, too. Dying... The game is loaded with deadly falls and insta-kill traps. Save often because the game likes to kill you. Healing during combat is also broken. You can hotkey a healing potion and access it by pressing RB+Y, but your character puts his sword and shield away, takes out the potion, drinks it, then stands there like a dummy during combat. The entire time, you are getting attacked and you lose more HP than you gain by drinking a potion. But, you can access your inventory during combat and the monsters stop attacking. They just stand there, so you can drink a potion or eat 15 pieces of meat, while your character performs the eat meat animation 15 times. When you close your inventory, the enemies immediately attack you. Because of the crafting / recipes in the game, you are encouraged to become an inventory hoarder. At times, you'll be too paranoid to sell items because you may need them in the future. Also, there is no way to DISCARD any item in your inventory and many items are unsellable. So, that key that you found in the small shack must clutter your inventory forever! Most games destroy quest items after they are used, to avoid confusion. Navigation is also tedious. You have a compass and you can pause the game to look at a very crude map, that's all you get. I could keep going, but talking about this game is making my review tedious. Maturity: M Swearing, Sexual Suggestions, Scantily Clad Prostitutes, and Fantasy Violence Overall: 3/10 The only strong point of the game is the satisfaction of completing quests and finding useful items through exploring. There is so much stuff hidden in the environment, you do feel rewarded for exploring and solving quests. Besides that, this game is poor in every category. If you like open ended RPG's, I strongly recommend Oblivion, Fallout 3, Red Dead Redemption, Dragon Age, Mass Effect 1 & 2, and Assassin's Creed 2. If you also play PC games, check out The Witcher! Buy this game if you like old school RPG's and have hours to kill. The interface is probably better on the PC, so if you have a PC that can run this game, I'd recommend the PC version over the 360 version. It's about a 50+ hour game, so I wouldn't rent it. Avoid this game if you need good graphics. Avoid this game if you need a good story. Avoid this game if you like streamlined adventures. Avoid this game if you like complex combat and magic systems. Avoid this game if you hate buggy gameplay. If you enjoyed this game, you could probably stomach playing Sacred 2, but it's lacking in story, atmosphere, and graphics.	video-games_xbox
My overall impressions. Alright so I never actually had to pay for this headset, I had won it in a game however, I have this headset. I'll start with the overall sound quality. The quality of the headset with just the usb connected, is okay. It's nothing special for the amount of money your paying. I have a razer headset that sounds much better that's $125. I will not say the quality is bad, but eh, nothing special overall. However, the mixamp gives you a great varity of sound throufh volume adjust and different settings. The optic cable is what makes the quality okay. When the optical cable plugged it it makes the headset sound a bit better, more of the okick most people want in their headset or headphones, but I say again, for the price, it's nothing special. Now the overall comfort and design. As others have posted, this is a sturdy headset, probably the sturdiest headset you'll ever buy, which has its ups, but also its downs. Being as sturdy as it is, it makes it HEAVY for what you would want in a headset. Not to mention the material on the top band of the headset(part that rest on your head) is very uncomfortable. After 30 sometimes more sometimes less minutes of use, I find myself having to keep adjusting my headset to keep it from giving me a headache. The parts that hold the actual speakers, are, odd. I prefer a headset that hugs my head, these however don't. If you where to put sort of a ovalish bowl around your head, it's kind of what it's like. My overall thougts. As a saying goes, it gets its bang for the buck. Well, that saying doesn't apply hear. This headset is honestly mediocre for the price. It's decent uncomfortable atleast to me, the sound quality it produces is subpar considering the price. The headset itself, it looks really cool. It comes in an awesome box that any gamer would love to see. Overall, I'm not happy with this headset considering the price. To be honest, I would peice this headset around $100-$125. I would reccomend you pass this headset and find something else. If I where to reccomend a headset I would reccomend Tritton's or somrthing by Razer. Those companies in my opinion produce quality, comfortable, and awesome headsets. Hope I could help!	video-games_xbox
A UNIQUE FPS/RPG HYBRID. I have been playing FPS games for well over 10 years now. I have played RPG games as well, but to a much lesser extent. Borderlands is certainly a fun and highly addictive game, but with a caveat. I think it works best when you play with someone else. (I'll explain more below). The game is a shooter at heart - you have entertaining and ever-evolving weapons that you acquire as dropped "loot." For the non RPG gamers out there, loot is the fun stuff that killed enemies drop and that you gather from found enemy chests and lockers. For the most part, you go from place to place and shoot various types of enemies. This is straight running and gunning. The RPG elements comes into play because you have some limited abilities to customize your character. You can choose from 4 different classes, which basically define what "special ability" you will have. You can be a sniper, a soldier, a brawler, or a female character that can become invisible for short periods of time. The chosen class gives you a special ability like deploying turrets, sending out a hunting bird, going invisible, etc. The class also defines what class of weapon you can specialize in that will deal additional damage. For instance, the soldier can add damage to shotguns and assault weapons, while the sniper (AKA Hunter) can add more damage to sniper rifles and pistols. But at the end of the day, all can shoot and use all weapons. Now, a true RPG game has an in depth story. Borderlands does not, not at all. The basic story involves you are on a Road Warrior type planet hunting for alien artifacts. That's about it. If you really want a story, this is not your game. That said, it is still a fun game. I think it is best played with a partner because the environment is pretty desolate and barren, and without an engaging story, I think it would be a bit dull to play this through alone. I am playing it coop, split screen, with my son off a single x-box and having a great time. I applaud the developer for including the split screen option. It was brilliant. The graphics are "cell shaded," meaning it looks like a comic book. I almost didn't buy it for this reason alone, but it actually works with this game and looks great. The game has a sense of cool style - I recommend it fully.	video-games_xbox
fun game. I had a blast playing Marvel Nemesis with friends. It has a versus mode where you can fight against a buddy or AI or on Xbox Live and singleplayer story mode too. The story mode is OK, and playing it will teach you some of the more complicated moves, like air tackle - but the real meat of the game is the multiplayer fights. (My guess is that they felt the story mode necessary to explain how the new Marvel characters fit into the Marvel world) You get to pick from a good selection of Marvel heroes (Ironman, Venom, Spiderman, Elektra, Magneto, Storm, Wolverine, Thing, Human Torch, and Daredevil) as well as 8 new characters that Marvel came up with for their "Imperfect" storyline. The new characters are pretty cool, (The Wink for example is a lot like a female version of Nightcrawler) but a lot more creepy than the classic ones, I guess Marvel's trying to be more edgy for the new generation of comic book fans. All the new characters are villains created by an evil scientist named Van Roekel. OK, that part of the story is not very original. The locations are cool and creepy, they went with a darker look like in the last Batman movie, so don't expect the bright and colorful 1950's comics style superheroes in leotards with brightly colored backgrounds. Each of the characters have regular attack moves plus their signature move superpower like webgrabbing for Spiderman where he spins his web around the opponent's feet and pulls him in close for attack, or sai throwing for Elektra, the claws for Wolverine etc..Other cool moves are wall climbing for Spidey and Wolverine (he uses his claws) wallrunning, Venom and Spiderman have super web blocking which is like a webdome effect that thows the attacking enemies back and so it's actually a good move to use against a group of guys, the Thing has a super ground-pound area damage attack as well as a cool headbutt and so on and so on. They did a good job with making all the characters unique. They also went with a simple control scheme so the attack and the block buttons are the same for all the characters so you don't need to memorize special combos which is a plus for some people and a minus for others. However because all the characters are so unique it does take skill and thought to fight. The fighting arenas are big and full of interactive objects that can be thrown, caught, destroyed or you can throw your opponent into some explosive barrels etc too. I love ripping out lightposts and mailboxes and using them as weapons. Overall, this is a good fighting game with fully 3D interactive environments that is unique among video games, comic or otherwise.	video-games_xbox
Good Stuff. Apparently, if you throw your controller into the ground hard enough, you WILL actually destroy it. Or so, I thought that was the case with mine. One cracked shell with damaged shoulder buttons later, I am on Amazon looking to order a new controller. I decided to pick up the new Transforming D-Pad controller to replace my toasted original controller, and shortly after ordering, stumbled across the multitude of custom parts and replacement shells. Found this one for the new Transforming D-Pad controller. I'd never taken apart or put back together the 360 controller, but it looked simple enough. I figured, I might as well give it a shot. Item arrived and after 40 minutes of disassembling the remains of my original and reconstructing an amalgam of controller parts from both, I now have a perfectly functional Xbox 360 controller with a new transforming D-Pad that I can keep around as a spare or for friends to use. I mixed pieces from both old and new so I could have something different to tell them apart, as you're essentially getting everything that would turn your old controller into a brand new out-of-the-box Microsoft release, and at less than half the price of buying a brand new one. Keep in mind that the Housing Shell does not include screws, the rubber insulation between your buttons and circuitry, or the trigger button connector pieces attached to the circuits. Also, for those curious, the Transforming D-Pad requires the newer front shell due to slight physical alterations from the way the product was designed. Things I salvaged from the old controller: Colored A/B/X/Y, "start" and "back," Triggers, power button, and the little connector piece with the sync button that reads "Microsoft." (The new one has "Xbox 360" engraved on it). Things from the new shell housing: Front shell, Back shell, battery pack, analogs, Transforming D-Pad, shoulder buttons and the connector piece on the bottom. Everything fits smoothly together. No problems interchanging any parts. Analogs feel fine, though they are not smooth surfaced like the old ones. Shell has a slightly different texture to it than the solid white of the older controllers, but in no way does it feel cheap. Everything seems to be working great. If you're looking to upgrade your old controller, fix a broken shell or just want to mess around combining things, you can't go wrong with this one. ---BTW... I ordered this on Wednesday night and it arrived by Saturday morning. The new Transforming D-Pad Controller I ordered on Tuesday is still half-way across the country in transit.	video-games_xbox
A lot of fun; but disappointedly short. DISCLAIMER: This review is based on the single player campaign only. A few months ago, I did something quite out of character for me, I actually pre ordered a game at my local GameStop after constant prodding and nagging from the cashier. That game that I preordered was Gears of War 3. I was told that with my preorder, I would have exclusive access to the Multiplayer Beta for a few weeks. Well I played the multiplayer and came away a bit underwhelmed with the gameplay; I didn't really like the multiplayer on Gears of War 2, so that wasn't too much of a surprise for me. I didn't even play it every week during the beta so I missed out on some weapon skins or whatever, but I couldn't care less, the main reason I decided to get this game was because of the fun single player campaign and I came away very impressed with the first two titles in the series and I expected nothing less in the final(?) installment. So as the release day, arrived, I decided to go pick it up since I had nothing better to do. So I get the game home and play for an hour or so before going to bed and my initial reaction was it was just ok, but when I got home from work and played it again, this time I was very impressed with the fun gameplay, excellent sound and graphics and intriguing storyline. Voice acting was done well and at many times it felt like a movie instead of a game. Your fellow Cogs still are entertaining with their snarky dialogue during battle and when talking to each other, and you can definitely feel the comradery between them. In addition to Dom, Carmine, Cole and Baird, and Dizzy, you also fight with new characters that haven't fought with you in the previous games; these characters are Jace as well as two female characters, Sam and Anya. This is the same Anya that Marcus would be in contact with in the previous installments. In battle, Sam and Anya hold their own and are a very nice addition to the squad. Also new to the game are more opportunities to use machinery such as the Silverback which is similar to the APU's seen in Matrix Revolutions. There is also a very fun level that takes place in a submarine underwater and you and your squad have to man the turrets as Dizzy guides the sub to your destination. There are also a handful of new weapons in addition to the old favorites. In addition to the new weapons and characters, there is also a brand new breed of enemies you now have to contend with in addition to the Locust. These new enemies were done very well and add to the excitement of this game. Some are just emulsion infused locust while others are completely new and they do make for a enjoyable experience. I continued to play this game for about an hour a day and long (or should I say short) story short, I finished the game the following Sunday morning; in fact I would have been done Saturday afternoon, but I had to do something for my wife and I also wanted to catch up on some TV shows I had recorded. While I really enjoyed the game, while it lasted, it was over WAY too quickly. I would say this game is at max 8 hours and it's very conceivable it can be completed by the afternoon if you start playing in the morning. While I did enjoy playing the game, and had a blast doing so, I am very disappointed with the length. I remember the original Gears of War was much longer, and even Gears of War 2 while shorter than the original it was still longer than this. It seems that game studios these days are spending more time on multiplayer, virtually treating Single player modes as an afterthought. As a said before I wasn't ever too impressed with Gears on multiplayer and only bought these games for the single player experience. Another thing that disappointed me is the lack of new character development, we only get a few scenes with Hoffman and players are basically left hanging with the conflict between Fenix and the new character, Griffin. I was expecting him to show up later on in the game, but he never does. Now that I am done with the single player I will go back and play it again, and perhaps have a Gears of War marathon playing all three in order, and when I'm done with that, I MAY play multiplayer again, but I don't expect I will spend too much time with it. As far a purchasing goes, I would say don't bother unless you plan to play multiplayer after finishing the single player campaign or if you already have the first two gears and want to complete your collection. If neither of these apply to you, then just get the game from Blockbuster (if they are still in your area), RedBox, or Gamefly and beat the game in a couple of days and save your money for a game whose single player warrants such a high price tag. I don't regret my purchase, because I am a game collector almost as much as I am a player, but if this was the only game in the series, I would have been very disappointed due to the fact it was over so quickly. I'm giving five stars for fun factor because the single game is extremely fun to pay, but only 3 overall because the story was too short and seemed rushed. It would have easily been rated higher if it were longer. Again, this review is for single player mode only, I have not and probably will not play multiplayer often enough to warrant a multiplayer review.	video-games_xbox
Not quite what I expected. I've played this game for a total of 10 hours now, and I've looked at just about every facet of the game. The game is not nearly what I expected, both in good ways and in bad. Here's a rundown of the different sports: American Football: This is probably the most disappointing of the sports. It was the one I was looking forward to the most, and perhaps that is why I would consider it last. To start, you only get to play offense. The game begins with the kickoff where you wait for the ball to come to you and then run in place and try to dodge tackles. Then you take over on offense. The game only lets you pick between 6 passing plays. These get very repetitive after a while, and I noticed myself constantly calling for the deep pass every time because it's the easiest to run. When you score a touchdown/field goal or punt, the screen switches to a summary mode to show you what the opponent did. You never get to play defense or even see the other team score. It simply tells you whether they did or not. Then the whole process repeats until the game ends. As far as motions go, the sensor read my movements fairly accurately, but the running in place part did have some glitches. Don't expect to go through the motions just like a real quarterback, though. The motions are a bit dumbed-down. Overall I give this a 1/5. Baseball: This was a bit better, but still disappointing. The batting part is pretty fun, as is running/sliding to first base if you don't hit the ball into the outfield. The pitching and defensive part of the game is a little boring. The pitching motions can be interesting, but the sensor didn't always read my movements correctly. I never once got a strikeout. I never even threw a ball (as opposed to a strike) for that matter. When the opponent hits the ball, you have a couple seconds to play to outfielder and get your hand in the right part of the screen to catch. This game tends to be much more fun when playing multiplayer though, as it gets to be more challenging that way. I give this sport a 2/5. Darts: When I bought the game, I never thought I would play darts much at all. It seemed like another random sport they just decided to throw in there. However, after playing it a couple times, it has come to be one of my favorites. The computer difficulty levels are well programmed, as the Rookie level is not good at all, and the Champion level requires you to be on your A game. The sensor detects even the slightest movements of your arm as you aim. When you pull back for the throw, a target locks on to a part of the board where you started to pull back and your throwing movement determines how accurately the dart hits. You can change your throwing motion ever so slightly to get the dart to go higher or lower or left or right of where it locked on. You can even distract your opponent when its his/her turn to make them less accurate. I thought that was a bit clever. Overall I give this sport a 5/5. Golf: I was somewhat pleased with this game, but unfortunately the motions for this are not as complex as I would have liked. When swinging, there is very little difference between trying to whack the heck out of the ball or gently moving your arms. The ball will go almost the same distance. The best way to change the distance your shot goes is by changing the club, not by changing how hard you swing. The holes are pretty fun, but ultimately the Kinect falls short of the Wii on this sports. I give this a 2.5/5. Skiing: I was pleasantly surprised by the way this sport was put together. The motions used in this make it feel more like the real thing than the other sports. This is also the only sport that requires you to jump, which is one thing it has over Wii Fit (in which you can't actually jump off of the board). There isn't much else to say about this sport, but I give it a 3.5/5. Tennis: This sport is probably my favorite. While the motions are pretty simple, it is more strategy oriented than the other sports. The Champion difficultly level is actually quite challenging. I noticed that after playing it so many times my shoulder and arm started to ache, but in a good way. Once again, there isn't much more I can say. The game is pretty simple, but it's still quite fun. The best part, though, is definitely multiplayer/Xbox Live gameplay. I give this sport a 4.5/5. One of the features I also like about this game overall is the calorie counter. After every game you play, it estimates the number of calories burned and totals the number of calories burned from the entire playing session. This is a great motivator and makes the game more fun and exciting when trying to reach a calorie goal for the day. I give the game as a whole a 3/5, about on par with the first Kinect Sports.	video-games_xbox
Most Realistic Warfare since ARMA 2. As a member of the military for the past 22 plus years (retiring end of the year) I have had the pleasure of serving on 6 continents (including Antarctica) and have been in various war zones and in my humble opinion this video game is the most realistic military simulator (for the most part) you'll find on consoles today (Battlefield 3 will take the crown mostly from O.F. later this year). I own or owned nearly all of the military shooters on the Xbox 360 and PS3 (Battlefield 2, Black Ops, MW2, Homefront, OF: Dragon Rising, Sniper: Ghost Warrior, MAG, SOCOM etc...) and this game is pretty good. Gameplay: I really enjoyed working with my four human teammates and battling tons of enemies across huge battlefields. Each battle can last for an hour or more and very intense. If you enjoy realistic battles that make you work as a team and coordinate together then you will enjoy this game. Anybody who likes to run around and just fire away with no regard to realism then please go play the Call Duty, Halo and Gears of War series and have fun (they are fun in their own way). I like working together as a team throughout a mission and feel a sense of cohesiveness that can only be found with military squads working together to accomplish the objectives. Example of what I'm talking about happened on my first night of playing. I was playing with 4 teammates on a campaign mission and one of the teammates was a young guy who told us how good Call of Duty: Black Ops (it is in its own way) is compared to other shooters and then complained about why does this game have such huge levels and why he keeps getting killed. Well when we started are mission he took off like you do in games like COD: Black Ops and we all kept telling him to form up and stay together. He kept saying how good he was and how he prestiged several times (etc etc...)in COD: Black Ops. One of my squad mates said this isn't that type of game and you need to stay together and work as a team or you will get killed. Well he went off and decided to take on the PLA on his own and within a few seconds he was on the ground asking for help. We tried to get to him but we got into our own intense firefight and barely made it to him. After healing him we pressed on and he worked for a while with us and then he decided to go off again (geez Call of Duty and Halo players) and he goes around a building and gets a nice tank shell in his face (no saving him now). I will say after that he never went on his own again. I guess him thinking he was Master Chief came to an abrupt end. Graphics: The visual effects are top notch. When you take time to look around (not just at the ground and dirt roads) you will see a visually stunning mountain peaks and clouds, and clear blue skies. The dust up when you're in the heat of battle is very authentic and can obscure your view just like in real combat battles in the Middle East (actually the dust ups are more intense in certain areas). The lighting (sun, night vision, stars and moon) are as authentic as can be. The team went out of their way to make sure you really experienced the utmost realism as possible. The guns, the character modeling, vehicles (Humvee's, tanks, Helicopters, fighters, and other vehicles) are top notch (not perfect, again what game is in this area). Sound: I really liked the sound of the various weapons. They sounded just like their real life counterparts. The development team worked with real military units in their country to hear and record the real sounds of the various weapons. So to the naysayers (if any) this game has the sound of the real deal. The voice acting was done adequately and is standard nothing spectacular. I will say that I had to turn the speech down because I was very annoyed with the foul language over and over again. My wife was not happy and told me it was not appropriate for a game to have this kind of language in it. Being in the military you hear some foul language once in a while (a few times a week), but not like this over and over and over again. I would advise you to turn it down or off and if you still want to know what the people are saying then put on subtitles. Because of this I can't let my teenage son play this because it's worse than anything he has heard in school (especially because it's so much and way over the top). Music: The musical score is standard and not John Williams or Danny Elfman quality but it works for the game. I will say it has a few moments of great sound and then goes back in the background or off at the right time. So you don't have to worry about feeling like it's you, your squad, and the London Symphony Orchestra taking on the enemy in every battle. PC Version Comments: In regards to PC it's still a great game, but as most have stated ARMA 2 is better and I can't disagree with that. Both came from the same starting point i.e. Operation Flashpoint 1, but have gone separately like a fork in the road over the years. They both have dedicated fans who adore them both even if neither one of them are perfect (what game is, except Chess and Stratego!!!). Closing: I really am enjoying this game on my Xbox 360 (still checking it out on my PC). I somewhat enjoyed OF: Dragon Rising but a variety issues dragged it down for me a little bit. I enjoy co-op missions and look forward to the expansions coming out this month (free for us who pre-ordered). This game has some incredible moments and intense battles that you'll not forget for a long time. Listen, if you like running and gunning then please go play Call of Duty: Black Ops and Halo and have a blast (they are fun games). However if you want to enjoy realism then please pick up this game and prepare yourself because you will feel the heat of battles and the whizzing of bullets flying by your head. This game will be my top shooter along with Battlefield 2 until Battlefield 3 is released later this year (and yes all be picking of the next run and gun MW3 later this year as well). Gamplay: 5 stars. Enjoy working with others who work as a team in these very long missions. Those of you who like COD: Black OPS and Halo will learn painfully this isn't a run and gun type of game. Working as team is crucial to your missions success. Graphics: 4.5 stars. Sometimes I feel a sense of awe on the beauty of the landscape and special weather, lighting and night effects. The character modeling is very well done (again not perfect but well done). Sound: 5 Stars weapons, vehicles, and environment, 1 star for foul language and dialogue (yes some of the squad mates AI have funny comments). Music: 4 Stars. Not John Williams but pretty decent. I'm just glad I don't feel like I have an orchestra right behind me throughout the game (I can't recall experiencing that in any warzone I've been in). Overall: 5 stars. It has it faults but looking past these I'm very pleased and can't wait to form up again with my squad and fight for freedom once again. Semper Fi!!!	video-games_xbox
Awesome Western themed game. Those who enjoyed previous generation games like Gun and Red Dead Revolver will feel right at home with CoJ BiB. Also this is a must buy for those who enjoyed the first game. I enjoyed the first game's story and action but hated the platforming and stealth portions, needless to say I'm glad they were taken out for this game. In the game you play as one of the McCall brothers each with thier own special abilities and playing style. Ray who players of the first game will recognize is all about in your face confrontation. He can duel wield pistols, use dynamite, and even pick up a gattling gun. Thomas is more about long range sniping and clean stealth killing. He's deadly with a rifle and can use a bow and knives for stealthy clean kills. You can play as either through out most of the game execpt in a few levels. Personally I find Thomas more fun to play as because of his variety of different weapons but he's a little harder to use then Ray. Ray is more of a typical cookie cutter nearly invincible FPS protagonist but it just depends on your playing style. The game only lasts 7 hours but you can go through it twice with both characters. The game however isn't perfect, for one the story if you've played the previous game and even if you haven't is somewhat predictable and cliche. Also if you have played the first game you have a pretty good idea what's going to happen. If you haven't played the first though, I'd recommend skipping it until you've played this. Also the multiplayer is almost dead, maybe I got the game a little late but it's kind of disappointing there isn't more interest in this game when the multiplayer is actually decent. The voice acting is pretty top notch too and it sounds almost like something out of a classic hollywood western. Also it's nice to see an M-rated game that handles it's content maturely and artistically. Yes there's violence, harsh language and sexual innuendo but it's not juvenile or excessive. However I still wouldn't give this to a young child but anyone who enjoyed Gun, Red Dead Revolver, the first game or just shooters in general should consider picking this up.	video-games_xbox
The best fps game i have played yet. First off i would like to say that in my opinion resurection of evil is not better than the other doom3 but is a great add on to the already perfected doom3. This game doesn't lack much except for the fact that the stages are shorter. This i didn't like, if it was just expanded a couple stages more and made longer this game would be perfect. But i think this game is better weapons wise. You get most of your weapons in the first 3 stages, and not like in the other doom3 were you got a gun per stage. :P otherwise this is an exact replica of the other doom3. But this is cool because you go back to previous stages in the other doom3(portal to hell, hell, teleporting bay, the stage were you fight the first dog demon thingy, and the very first stage of doom3) so its pretty well thought out and loads of fun Well in this doom3 there are 2 new foes and 2 new weapons to choose from. -well im not sure what the 2 new enemies are called but there called something. -The two new weapons are a gravity gun and sarges double barrel shotgun.(which is my favorite weapon) I also think the shotgun is the most affective throughout the game until you get the rocket launcher and the plasma rifle. But also in this doom 3 you get a pretty cool artafact that gives you skills of destroyed foes. It is like a soul steeler err something. -well anyways you get 3 skills(but not right away) 1. is where you kill a big teleporting beast, this gives you the power to move at tremendious speeds,everything is slow motion except you!! very cool. 2. is were you kill another huge beast that has a diferent power, this gives you the power of berserker. berserker gives you the power to attack 3X as effective when you shoot an enemy, basically 1 hit kill with sarges double barrel. 3. the third boss when defeated gives you invunerability. this allows you to walk on any terain. which is useful in hell and fighting the final boss. ALL THESE SKILL are used at once and you must activate the artifact to do so. You need to steel souls of dead marines and othe people to charge the artifact. I would also encourage you to get the first doom3 before buying this game, because you wouldn't know whats going on and you wouldn't know the full story. errr bye them both at once and play doom3 first.	video-games_xbox
Really good inexpensive headset. This headset needs two AAA batteries in order for the LED & quadboost to work. Know that you CAN use this headset without batteries but you CANNOT use the LED & quadboost without batteries. If you have the quadboost off, you can't use the volume controls, but you can still mute yourself. Volume controls ONLY work if you have the headset on. I got this headset on Nov, 3rd. From then till Nov, 20th is how long the batteries (that the headset came with) lasted (so 18 days). I then replaced it with my rechargeable batteries which lasted 4 and a half days. Someone mentioned in their review that you can mute the mic by raising it up. NOT TRUE! There's only three ways to mute your mic. 1)On the headset itself there is a mute button on the left side of the headset. 2)In settings on the Xbox One you can mute the headset. 3)& finally, you can mute it if you're using an adapter. The mic is NOT detachable. It is flexible. Good length. You don't have to scream, nor have it insanely close to your mouth to be heard. It's sensitive, so it'll pick up your voice. The mic quality is clear, clean & crisp. No complaints! You can use a Xbox controller that sports a 3.5mm jack, OR you can use a adapter (an adapter is NOT needed if you have a Xbox controller with a 3.5mm jack). I use my covert forces controller which has a 3.5mm jack & the port for the adapter, so I have both options (for this reason I recommend this controller. It's nice to have these choices on one controller). The audio is actually really good! Clean, clear, & crisp! Bass is good! Any noises to the left, right, or from behind will be heard so clearly; it's impressive! Amazing! I have Turtle beaches that are $200 & they do a poor job at pointing out noises from every which way, imo. (Do know that the audio leaks from this afterglow headset. Anyone around you will hear whatever you are hearing. This includes people talking in your party or lobby. If you don't experience this, then maybe I just have the audio too loud, lol.) One thing this headset does which is new & different is that it vibrates. A feature that I've never heard of within a headset. Unfortunately, I rarely experience this (& I have this at max lvl) but when it does it's pretty cool! Unfortunately, comfort is a problem for me. After awhile this headset kills my ears & there's pressure on the top of my head. So in short, not comfortable at all for me, sadly (this is my biggest issue with this headset & the reason I've given 4 stars, rather then 5). Other than my Xbox One, I've used this headset with my iPod, phone, & PS Vita slim. It works with said devices (I did not, however, do a mic test)! I was able to adjust the volume on the headset when using said devices (adjusting the volume on the headset ONLY works when the headset is turned on).	video-games_xbox
Deluxe pain in the. I bought this game as Forza 6 has turned into an arcade racer, so I thought, why have an arcade racer without the arcade style? Well, I forgot how horrible the NFS physics are, but it's still a fun game, main reason for a poor review is the nightmare deluxe content. Good luck getting it, actually, it's very easy if you know every single aspect of the Xbox One, which I do not, all I wanted to buy the stupid console for was to pop in a semi-simulator and play that one game only for the console's life span. I never had a PS3 or 4, I have an Xbox 360 already but never had to enter codes or get DLC etc... my 360 does what I want it to, plays Forzas 3 and 4 and then just sits there the rest of the time. Anyway, bought the physical deluxe edition of this game for Xbox One, and since I bought the physical edition, I assumed the deluxe content would be on the disc, it's not, whatever, I play it anyway and I think I'll mess with the deluxe stuff later. So later comes, I grab the code from the card in the box and enter it in the store (I'm not completely inept) on the console itself and immediately the content starts downloading, awesome, I think to myself. Now, having grabbed a couple demos from the store and seeing as how they all downloaded AND installed automatically, I thought all was well and done. A couple days later and a few reboots later, still no content, do some google searches, they all show that after you reach the garage and talk to Amy, you can open a free slot and either buy the car for 0 or it will already be in a spot. Wrong again folks. Next step, manually hit the quit button (for the game) from the console and hard boot the console. Nothing. So I tried to manually start the game then manually quit again, that's when I noticed the 'Manage Game' app, F*** ME!!! You really can't just write this sh*t down on the DLC card? When all other DLC content automatically installs, and I buy the physical copy of the game, the LAST thing I expect is some hidden cryptic method to get what you paid for. Basically, I put more than ten bucks worth of effort into researching even how to get the content making this release worthless. Oh, and you're awesome 1080p picture is pretty worthless too when you have these beautiful graphics, yet it's NEVER DAYTIME. Acting sucks. Just.... I'm going to stop right here before I knock another star off.	video-games_xbox
Could have been better, could have been worse. I must admit that movie tie-in video games have a bad rap for a very good reason and this game is no exception. Had it been a Star Wars tie-in rather than a movie adaption, it could have been so much better. Video games need flexible release tables to give the programmers the time they need to work out the bugs and fine tune the details and Revenge of the Sith didn't get that chance. To offer a better idea of what I mean, let me break this game down. Revenge of the Sith is very similar in many ways to the holiday release adaption of King Arthur. The game is played from a flexible side-scrolling perspective that gives a cinimatic quality to the game over freedom of motion. This helps the game by giving you a feel for what the movie might bring and makes you feel as though you are a part of the movie itself. The problem is that the cut-scenes use actual video footage from the movie. Why is this a problem? Simple, the programmers didn't have the time necessary to smooth out all the rough edges and, compaired against the multi-million dollar CGI and professionally acted movie scenes, these edges appear more rough than they would have without the cut-scenes. Control wise, this game is good, but is also lacking, like the aforementioned King Arthur. With time to balance the controls a little better, this game could have been great. The basic fighting controls work great, but the more advanced moves take time and with how fast the action is moving, you may not always find yourself with the time you need. More to the point, the game offers three saber attack styles; light, medium, and heavy. The first two are quite useful, but the heavy attack is only necessary on the toughest opponents and takes so much time to prepare that your character often ends up striking empty space and being left open to counter attacks. Despite all this, Star Wars fans will probably find a lot to like from this game. Its just that $50 may be too much to shell out for it. Most people may want to rent before they buy, because, depending on your style, these edges may be more of a detractor to you than they were to me.	video-games_xbox
Great controller... BAD defects. Simply put, Razer is great at making computer accessories. Not Xbox 360 accessories. The controller looks, feels, and performs great. The buttons are nice, responsive, and the additional buttons are great. The problems quickly outweigh the good though. First off, using this controller on the computer for newer games is a nightmare. If you want it to function just like a normal Microsoft Xbox 360 controller on the PC, you're fine, but the process is fairly complicated if you're not a familiar with working with drivers. The drivers have to be manually installed as Microsoft will not recognize this controller to be compatible with their drivers (even though it is). However by doing that, the extra shoulder buttons will do nothing (the Microsoft drivers do nothing for them). If you want the shoulder buttons to work, you have to use a third party driver called XBCD, however that driver has major compatibility problems with most PC games that are setup to work with a 360 controller. Basically, the X button will be the B button, the Y button will be the X button, only one stick will work, etc. It's a complete nightmare and the only way to fix things will be to use a program like JoyToKey (which is clunky and a bit complicated) or XPadder (which is not free). Beyond the usage problems, this controller's excellent construction belies its horribly common factory defects. The first controller I was sent had mismatching tensions in the sticks (even before I tried setting the tension dials to fix it). On top of that, the sticks are strangely gummy and sometimes do not travel completely in one direction. While you may move the stick to one direction completely with no problems one time, the next time you try the stick will get "gummy" once you get near the edge of its movement limit, not completely traveling in the wanted direction. It will even get stuck sometimes. I don't understand what causes this issue, but it is very annoying, very apparent, and affects gameplay. Because of this problem, I returned the controller and got a second one. The second one had the exact same problem, so either that is how these are made (which is ridiculous), or many controllers are simply defective like this. The second controller also had another issue, where one trigger button had a higher pull tension than the other, and one trigger also felt slightly out of alignment, as in that when you pulled it back, the edge would rub against the plastic of the controller. All in all, this is a huge gamble of a purchase. If you're lucky enough to get one that has no issues, you're set. Odds are though, you're going to run into a defect. Your money is much better spent on a corded Microsoft Xbox 360 controller, or better yet an Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows, which also comes with a wireless receiver that can allow 4 Xbox 360 controllers to connect the the PC at the same time. You can get the receiver and a brand new Xbox 360 controller for the same price as this, so put your money there. I did.	video-games_xbox
Kinects first M-rated game is a pretty solid title. I have been following this game for a year now. The idea of a mature Kinect game with off-rails controls intrigued me heavily. Also knowing that the team behind the House of the Dead series was working on it made things even more optimistic. The graphics aren't bad, the blood and gore look really good, easily the best looking Kinect game available. The fun is in the immersion the game gives you, however, not the graphics. Even though it is essentially a light-gun game with melee weapons (and you are the lightgun), it actually adds in a pretty hefty story. That story may me convoluted and nonsensical at times, but I was surprised that there was actually something there. The way the game pulls you in is where everything clicks. You actually experience the fear and horror, and while it's not going to have you running for your blankie, there are plenty of creepy moments that will get you jumping. The meat of the game is moving around various areas searching for your missing wife after she is kidnapped. The thing is, zombies are now everywhere and it's up to you and tons of weapons to take them out for good. Things like lead-pipes, knives, machetes, even garden shears are used to end zombies in the most gruesome ways possible. The combat itself works pretty well. Pretend you are holding a knife and slash or stab the way you would if you were really holding one and the game responds pleasantly and usually pretty accurate. Want to open a door? Simply push it open like you would a real door, or kick it open for dramatic effect. Is there a lever that needs to be activated? Make a "pull lever" motion with your hand and your character will do it. Zombie in your face?...just kick it away and then slice it up. All the actions you have to coordinate may seem overwhelming at first, but they all make sense without the game even having to tell you what to do. On that note, there is a learning curve for the controls and the game will keep you very active. Remember, this game is optionally off-rails, meaning you move your character with your body. Simply put one foot forward and your character will walk, take a step back and he will walk backwards (you can also just raise your left hand at most places and have your character auto walk to the next point of interest), you turn by moving your shoulders left or right. It really does take some getting used to, but once you get it down, it turns into a blast to play. Rise of Nightmares is very much an experiment to see what they could really do with Kinect and that experiment mostly shines. Walking and moving can become a hassle at certain points (like moving and combat against multiple enemies), but it's something that won't drag on the overall experience too heavily. I am sure a sequel with multiplayer and more to do after the main single-player experience would greatly increase the replay and fun. As it stands, SEGA once again proves that they are the king of 'lightgun' style games. Nightmares is a solid 10-12 hour game if you don't do a whole lot of exploring and just go to finish the game as quick as possible, other than that, there isn't much in terms of replay value.	video-games_xbox

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