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Simply AMAZING by Wolfespring. While I haven't yet completed the game, I am about 1/3 of the way through it and absolutely LOVE it! I recently played through the first game and while I enjoyed it a great deal, it did get extremely repetitive. I found myself killing every guard I came across just to keep things interesting near the end. I also found the story to be a bit disjointed when returning to the portions with Desmond. In this second installment I find that none of these things are an issue any longer.
The main characters as well as NPCs and members of the crowd in Assassin's Creed II are extremely varied and detailed, not only their modeling and texturing but even their voices and mannerisms.; each feels like there is a reason that they are in the game, like they have purpose, not just placed to fill the town. I like that when I am walking around the city, people seem to have a more unique response to me or even just to each other, like conversations are happening with or without me, like they have lives rather than just meandering around. This alone makes the game seem more deep and inviting.
I found myself early in the game taking my time exploring and talking to people just to take everything in. I thought I would be annoyed that I didn't have a weapon initially, but the way the story unfolds really draws you in and makes you feel like you are learning with the character. The video clips I have watched from the developers kept talking about organic delivery of missions, and I found this kind of hard to understand until I played the game; I was amazed at how naturally the game progresses and how I can choose what I want to do or not do at any given time.
The cities I have played in so far are nothing short of amazing. They don't feel repetitive as they did in the first game. The architecture of the buildings really lends itself to climbing. Free running, climbing, jumping, hiding and blending just flow. The climbing doesn't feel choppy anymore, but much more organic and you don't feel like it is a chore to climb, you can climb at various speeds which really makes it interesting.
The storyline is so well done that you can play without having played the first, but if you have played the first you can really feel the flow from one to the next. I expected that it would be a shock going from the crusades to the renaissance, but really feel that the writers did a tremendous job tying the two games together. The writing this time is much deeper, it engulfs the player, it doesn't feel forced, but rather flows. Each character you meet has a depth to them, a real place in the story, you learn how their lives intertwine. I think it is especially cool how in this new game you have a team of people working the animus and they feed data into it to inform you about the main characters and buildings and history. It really adds to the depth and realism of the game to be able to read real history about buildings, events and people; if gives you much more of a purpose for being in the animus, you are there to learn, to adapt what you learn to the Desmond character. This results in a much tighter integration of the two characters.
Due to the way you obtain weapons and missions this time around you don't long for the completion of a mission just so you can get more knives, or a new move. The training ground has had a few minor improvements this time around that are a nice touch. I also find that the fighting sequences work MUCH better. Not only is the timing easier to achieve for combos and assassinations, but there are a considerable more amount of animations and combos to enjoy. Being able to throw people off buildings is great too. I also like that not only can you pick up opponent's weapons and disarm them, but after you kill them you can carry them and hide them.
I enjoy this game so much that while my Xbox is being repaired right now due to the dreaded red rings (nothing to do with Assassin's Creed II) I find that this is the one game that I keep wishing I could play right now. I find that each time I turn it on, there is some new detail that I didn't previously notice, little things like trees blowing in the breeze, the varied cloud formations, the whispers in the crowds...
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video-games_xbox
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Awesome product, well made, versatile and comfortable. After several checks on the reviews both good and bad I thought I would give this a try and I must say it is fantastic (with glitches of course).
PROS:
1. Plug and Playability: Perfect. I have 5 windows 10 computers in my family and 1 win 8.1 (test purposes only). I just plugged it in and windows found the drivers and poof it worked perfectly.
2. Sound: Freaking great!! Even my nearly deaf father could hear clearly. There is a slight change from the high bass sound and the high vocal switch but nothing I would brag about. What's nice is I can hear people talking fairly clearly with the headphones on but it dampens the background noises nicely.
3. Comfort: I have earrings and wear glasses. I would suggest taking out the earrings due to irritation after a few hrs. though. Wearing glasses is no problem at all after you get used to the tighter fit (it is nice to have the weight off the bridge of my nose). As with all headphones prolonged exposure causes sweating but with the cloth earpiece that allows breathing so this increases the time I can have them on (about 3 hrs. at a time).
4. Mic: This one I am not to sure about as I don't use this very much. The volume that is for the mic/chat is fantastic for filtering between the two and the mic is adjustable just a very stiff adjustment. And since it is detachable that is a big plus in my book.
5. Additional features: The glowing led around the earpieces can change colors. I had to download the user manual from the website and even then it was poorly written. Just press and hold the Mode button and the LED will change colors and even shut off if you don't want the glow.
CONS:
1. There is connectivity issues if you plug in the receiver into the USB ports in the back. To resolve this use the Side USB on the Xbox and front USB in PC's if you can. Once I did this no more problems.
2. for me the ear pieces are ALMOST large enough to cover my whole ear (reason to take out earrings). The length could be maybe an inch longer in the adjustment.
3. PISS POOR USER MANUAL ... do companies not know how to put out instructions on how to use their products any more?
Summary:
All in all the best product for wireless I have seen in many years that are under $100. Comfortable, well made, versatile, long battery life (about 15hrs of continuous playing), and great sound. A great product for any home.
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video-games_xbox
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Marvelous execution. I had every reason to hate Borderlands. Weeks before it first hit the shelves, my annoying college roommate insisted that I watch every single trailer and webisode he could find. He then played the game nonstop, laughing way too hard at its cheesy one-liners, then abruptly ceased playing only a couple weeks later when Modern Warfare 2 debuted. Zoom forward two years to the present day and a friend of mine, who had already lost some credibility by recommending Dead Island to me (we both later agreed it was a flop), suggested Borderlands, which Dead Island appears to have copied (poorly). I tentatively gave it a shot, expecting and even wanting to dislike it. Furthermore, I generally prefer pure FPS games, not those sprinkled with RPG elements or weapons with "stats," games like Rainbow 6 and Call of Duty.
So after all that...I absolutely love Borderlands. I can't get enough of the game and often put off other more important activities in order to play (lame, I know, but normally not a problem I suffer with games). Not only do I thoroughly enjoy the gameplay mechanics, I also find the execution of details to be top-notch. The game does have some minor flaws, but overall it is a very polished title that brings a lot to the table.
What is Borderlands? The game is set on a foreign desert planet known as Pandora, which has a very post-apocalyptic vibe. The story follows a group of four "vault hunters" who have arrived on the planet to search for the legendary Vault, a hidden repository supposedly filled with advanced alien technology and weapons. Such a vault had been found on a neighboring planet by the monolithic Atlas Corporation, placing them far ahead of their competitors in the market of weaponry, seemingly the primary commodity of the time. Competitor Dahl Corporation set up shop on Pandora searching for the Vault, then abandoned the project after it became cost prohibitive, releasing their workforce of prison labor just in time for the planet's summer, which unleashed a variety of hostile creatures from hibernation.
As a player, you can choose from one of the four vault hunters, which include a soldier, sniper, "muscle man," and a spy. Each character has unique abilities and a special "action skill" which suits them for different types of combat. While the game performs like a first person shooter with a large assortment of guns and a melee skill being only a minor inclusion (like Call of Duty), there are also RPG elements included. The game is quest-based, and experience points are gained by kills and quest completion. As experience is gained, the player will "Level Up," unlocking access to more special skills to enhance their performance. To prevent the game from becoming too easy, enemies also level up and become more difficult to kill. As such, weapons available for sale or looting increase in power as a player progresses. Looting is also a primary gameplay mechanic. Enemies drop money, health, and weapons when they die, and there are a vast assortment of "lootable objects" around the map which include lockers, safes, weapons chests, toilets, etc. which contain a variety of objects. Unlike other games of this type, there are not random items to be found. All items that aren't quest items are either weapons, shields, "class mods" (give a special performance boost to one of the characters), grenades, cash, or ammo. This simplifies things and ensures that all lootable objects will contain something potentially useful.
The game was largely designed to be a multiplayer experience. Most of the game can easily be accomplished in single player mode, but some missions (especially arena matches in one of the DLC packs) benefit from additional players. The game can be played with 1 to 4 players and offers a variety of ways to connect. Joining the game is "drop-in/drop-out" meaning that one will enter the host's world wherever they are located and can then simply exit at any time. However, if the host quits, the game returns to the menu so that the player can select their own world again. Despite the fact that each player has their own world, they can still complete and receive XP for quests performed in a co-op game. To prevent imbalance, all kill XP and money received is given equally to each player. To offset the obvious ease of combat granted by additional players, enemies become more difficult in multiplayer.
The game was hyped at launch for its "random weapons generator." While this sounds more exciting than it actually is, the fact remains that there are literally millions of different guns to be found. However, these guns can be narrowed down into much smaller groups, and within those groups only vary in power, accuracy, rate of fire, magazine capacity, and special effects. Weapons types include sniper rifles, submachine guns, combat rifles, handguns (revolvers, "repeaters," and machine pistols), shotguns, rocket launchers, and special alien "Eridian" weapons, a flavor of the theoretical Vault contents. Some weapons have special "elemental" effects, which include shock, incendiary, corrosive, and explosive, that can do further damage to certain enemies. Though playing the game for a few hours soon reveals most of the weapons types that will be found, I can attest to the fact that even hundreds of hours later, there is still great excitement in finding some powerful or fast-firing gun that trumps the one being used at the time.
As I mentioned, the details are what really cause the game to stand out after the basic gameplay tenets have been laid out. Rather than trying for a photo-realistic appearance which would have given the game a different flavor, Gearbox aimed for a completely different feel by portraying the game like a graphic novel. The planet of Pandora resembles a post-nuclear landscape, consisting mostly of a barren desert interspersed with vast junkyards and ramshackle corrugated metal structures. In some of the later DLC, there is even a dried-up sea (Aral Sea, anyone?) littered with the broken remains of a vast superhighway system. These settings combine with the graphics to really set the tone for the game. Weapons in the game are all branded with a handful of manufacturers, each of which specialize in a certain style of weapon. For example, the brand Maliwan always has an elemental effect. Weapons, shields, health packs, ammo, and such are all available from vending machines scattered around the map, which feature a random jingle by the vendor when accessed. If one leaves their character idle for too long, the character will say something derisive about the lack of activity. The game contains a fair amount of humor, and this increases with the later DLC packs. Some of the "Echo recordings" (recorded or broadcast messages from various AI characters which can be found or automatically accessed) had me laughing out loud. The game also contains a variety of pop-culture references which add to the complexity and style. All these small but well-thought-out additions make the game shine.
Borderlands can get boring from time to time as it is "just one quest after another," but the frequent combat caused by groups of enemies standing in the way of quest progress spices things up. In addition, the drive to level up and acquire new skills, and the hopes of finding some sweet new weapon keep the game enticing. The game can also be extremely challenging at times. If one tries to progress on the main plot too quickly, they will soon encounter large groups of enemies who are all very difficult to kill, and this can result in repeated death (which respawns the player at the last checkpoint location and removes 7% of total money, which can be fairly devastating). In these cases, it is best to try easier side quests until leveling up, at which point the challenge will become more reasonable.
I have also experienced a few glitches from time to time. Sometimes (rarely) my player gets stuck, which necessitates a costly death; I have also seen enemies get stuck. I have had some errors with the map and one error which prevented me from opening lootable objects. However, most of these issues (except getting stuck) have gone away after accessing the in-game menu.
Borderlands offers great replay value in a variety of ways. First off, completing all quests will take a considerable amount of time, and there are four DLC packs which add considerably more quests in new Pandoran locations. Second, after the game is completed once, "Playthrough 2" can commence. The player starts this new game with all their acquired skills, cash, and weapons, and as such the enemies are tougher to begin with. Of course, the weapons are also better. After the second playthrough, there are no more quests, but the world can still be explored, enemies can still be killed for XP, and weapons can still be found. In addition, there are a variety of "challenges" (such as getting a certain number of kills with each weapon type) which yield additional XP and will take more than one playthrough to achieve. There are also a variety of hidden achievements which can be unlocked. Completing both playthroughs fully will take a substantial amount of time, and after all that, one can always try the game again with a different character. Several games can also be started at once, which allows different strategies and characters to be tried. As multiplayer games will be too easy or hard depending on the host's level, this multiple save file system can also allow for different levels of characters to be stored for ideal co-op use with different friends.
Overall, Borderlands stunned me with its marvelous gameplay and execution of details. I did not expect to like it, much less become addicted to it. I have put in roughly equal time in single-player and in co-op with the friend who suggested it to me. After both of us complete 2 playthroughs, we are already talking about starting all over again with different characters. In addition, Borderlands 2 is slated for release next year...here's to hoping it lives up to the glory of the original.
I definitely recommend this game to any shooter fan. Like I said, I prefer pure FPS games, but Borderlands has me hooked.
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video-games_xbox
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You'll Wish Epic Had Made It This Way The First Time. Gears of War 2 simply is a game that must be played by any 360 owner who enjoys shooters of any flavor. Whether you love the over-the-top craziness that is Halo or if Rainbow 6 is more to your liking, there is much to be found here in Gears 2. While keeping the gameplay that every Gears fan knows and loves intact, Epic has managed to improve on the things that needed improvement, wiped out almost all of what pulled the first game down, added lots of new features that only add to the experience while literally take nothing away, nothing, and managed to expand upon the admittedly fairly simple characters.
Seeing as how the letdowns are very minor, I'll just get those out of the way now.
1. It's still easy to hit cover you don't want to hit, although this is much improved. I went from constantly hitting cover I didn't want in almost every single round to doing it maybe once or twice a match, and saying it happens four or more times per match is being absurdly ridiculous.
2. The "three downs and you're out" rule is still in effect in Execution, even there is NO mention of it anywhere in the tutorials or the game description - the game just tells you to get a one-shot kill or an in-close "execution" on the enemy.
3. The single player gives the player a "crutch" on Casual - if you fall in Solo, you can be helped up, but no such luck on harder modes, if you fall, you die. I can understand Epic wanting to ease the player in but that is already very easily accomplished with the bucket loads of ammo and the limited damage an enemy does. Having this put in only to take it away on a harder mode is needless.
4. The Multiplayer bots are STUPID. I actually had a match where it was down to one enemy and I had all four of my bots alive, yet their idiocy led to the one killing off all four of them one at a time. And sometimes the last enemy will be down but they won't rush in to finish them even if the clock is on its last 10 seconds. They're not completely worthless but they're not completely reliable either.
5. If a friend is down next to a weapon, for some reason the game will force you to pick up the weapon first, then help up your friend.
6. The Endor, I mean, Reaver level could've been better, or just scratched and used as a cutscene. Hopefully Gears 3 will be without this.
7. For reasons I cannot even begin to comprehend, Epic forces the player to have a completely different weapons setup for the fight with Skorge. And they don't give you your original layout after that and the following section are finished.
Update: The many glitches that brought the gameplay in multiplayer down have been destroyed. For details, search "Gears 2 Glitches Fixed" without the quotes.
However, all of these gripes even put together do not in any way shape or form diminish the game at all. AT ALL. Suffice it to say that Epic has smashed all expectations, and given how high they were, that is saying something. The new Gears, despite the cynical, self-righteous jaded players insist, is NOT just the same game with a "2" behind it. As they were supposed to do, Epic has added much, such as chainsaw dueling, mobile cover, new multiplayer modes, new maps, (some of which have new hazards to look out for) new weapons, the heavy machine guns can overheat now, and while this isn't saying much, the storyline delves into the characters, especially Dom, a little bit more deeply, emphasis on the "little bit." We're only given a hint of Dom searching for his wife in the first game, and that story line comes to the fore later in this game, although it does NOT take anything away from the overall conflict. The plot twist towards the end probably could've had a little more of a punch to it but it's not terrible in any way, and the ending will leave the gamer to wonder what will happen now, especially if they're patient enough to wait out the credits.
The chainsaw duels are simple - Just tap B! but there's tension that you feel leading up to the outcome, which makes winning it feel really good. An enemy can interfere, but that's what teammates are for.
Speaking of teammates, rely on them. Use them to help you. Communicate. Stick to cover and help your buddies out. Teamwork, communication and cover are key. Fail to use one and you'll probably lose. Fail to use two and you will lose. Don't use any of them and you've already lost before the match has even started. Now that being shot slows you down, gone is the chance to rush in shotguns blazing and Rambo your team to victory. Try that in Gears 2 and your only reward is to watch the entire match through spectator camera, which is much improved by the way. Now you have to see to it that concrete, not air, is between you and the bullets if you want to have a chance at winning the match. So stick with your teammates. You win as a team, you lose as a team.
Mobile cover makes its debut and is a smashing addition. In Gears 1, there was only about one way to get mobile cover - be in front of someone who's taking the bullets. Now there is a heavy shield and the chance to take hostage enemies that are downed. Either one will work, although the latter will deteriorate as it soaks up damage and slows you down. The shield will prevent you from mantling and rolling but running is still there. Given just how important cover is in this game, being able to move around with it is good.
I won't delve much into the new modes as the game does a great job of walking the player through how each mode works. Guardian is a great twist on the VIP type of match, even better than Assassination. Submission is a great twist on Capture the Flag, Wingman is very chaotic, perhaps about as chaotic as Gears gets, given the number of small teams, King of the Hill hasn't changed the formula but why fix it if its not broken and Horde is a lot of fun, especially with people who will work together to keep everyone alive. Execution, Warzone and Annex are still the same.
The maps are easy to memorize and suit both sides well. Neither side has a positional advantage regardless of which spawn point they begin the map on. Most are symmetrical and all are small so players will always have plenty of action quickly on in a round and investigating a map to flush out the final enemy doesn't take too long. The maps called Avalanche, Security and Hail have environmental hazards that are just as deadly as an enemy, so a novice would do well to find out how to avoid these so as to not die needlessly.
The Flamethrower, Ink Grenades, an automatic pistol, a mobile heavy machine gun, mortar and the aforementioned shield help round out Gear's already robust weapon roster and any of these can be removed or changed if a player doesn't like them. The Ink Grenades are basically poison, throw or set it and an enemy (or friend!) will continually take damage as they remain in the affected area. Smoke grenades now stun an enemy. As said before, heavy machine guns will overheat, so while mounted ones have unlimited ammo, this helps balance them out. The mobile variant, however, still has a limit, but again, you can move around. Slowly. Speaking of moving around, another MUCH APPRECIATED feature is the ability to crawl when the enemy has downed you in multiplayer. In the first game, if you were downed, you had to stay in place and hope someone would come get you before the enemy finished the job. Now you can close some of the distance between yourself and a teammate, which can mean the difference between winning and losing a match.
And thankfully the sniper rifle's active reload does NOT automatically down someone in Gears 2. Epic got smart and decided to make it so that if your character has full health, an active will damage your character enough so that one more hit will down you. Why on earth they didn't do it this way in the first place is beyond me, but THANK YOU Epic for fixing this needlessly frustrating gameplay element. There are few things more annoying than being killed by a sniper who doesn't have the skill to properly use their weapon. It takes no skill whatsoever to down someone this way. In the first game, all you'd have to do is get another active and down the enemy two more times to kill them, since after getting up the player has to wait a moment before moving (again Epic, WHY DID YOU DO THIS?) So again, Epic, thank you for not allowing such a cheap and frustrating gameplay element poison a great multiplayer experience two games in a row.
Well, I think that about covers it....Oh wait, that's right, the story. Epic still isn't getting high marks for a stellar storyline, but let's face it - the game is about war and the characters have bodies that steroid users can only wish for. Marcus is still the gruff meat head who sounds like gravel is grinding in his throat, Dom is his more level-headed friend who wants to find his wife, Cole is still the hilarious but excellent soldier and Baird is still the whiny sarcastic jerk who will remind everyone that he's the only one who knows how to fix things. Adding onto the roster is Tai, a spiritual warrior who prays as well as he shoots, Benjamin Carmine, Anthony Carmine's (from the first game) brother and Dizzy, who quickly shows just how one-dimensional his character is in about the first five minutes you meet him but is still funny enough to deserve to be in the next game. With the exception of Dom, none of the characters really grow or change throughout the second game, but then again, this is Gears we're talking about. In these games storyline simply does take a backseat to the gameplay, and the gameplay is solid.
And parents, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT let the Mature rating prevent you from letting your child at least rent the game, because in another stroke of genius, Epic has given you the ability to filter out the language and/or gore.
All in all Gears 2 is a great game and I would strongly recommend it. There is much to be found and loved by the whole gaming community. If you haven't played the first Gears yet, there's little reason to bother getting it first, as Wikipedia can fill the player in on the storyline. In all honesty, had I known beforehand that Gears 2 would be as great as it is, I'd have just saved my money for Gears 2.
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video-games_xbox
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wow. This review is not to mycrosoft or to the actual seller of this item but to all who leave negative reviews.
To all who dislike the xbox 360 why are you waisting the time writting negative reviews like you got nothing better to do? xbox 360 is the best sistem that microsoft has ever came up with. the ps3 is only a copy of the power that a 360 has came up with. as i recall the play station industry used memorie cards in all their prior models as the regular xbox or "green box" as i like to call it did not. xbox started xbox live and revolutionised online gaming to its ultimate form, ps3 is only a copy of the power of microsoft and will always live under its name. xbox comes with a detachable hard drive meaning you don't only have to have the 20 40 60 80 but as many as you want and if you cant aford a hard drive they do come with the memorie card not as the ps3. the games for xbox 360 are just amazing as in for the ps3 they will never catch up as not many ppl know the blueray in the ps3 makes it extremley hard for game copiers to manufacture ps3 games and most don't even want to bother as for the xbox 360 making there own games and making them easy. the ps3 will not catch up with the xbox. not many ppl liked the green box but its younger brother will make a lasting impression to all who play them.
lets just say microsoft is the best. they own most computer. schools, buisnesses, doctors, everyone uses microsoft and it'll be the same for a verry long time. now price. the xbox made it affordable soo that almost anyone under any income can purchase one. you can have the arcade for [...] the pro with a 20 gig hard drive for [...] or the xbox elite for [...] and the video games r all afordable. the ps3 still has not dropped there price and cannot afford to. this is just a battle the play station company cannot win. soo too all ps lovers hate on the 360 all you want your just mad because it don't get no better then halo 3 and over a million people who use it or have tried it can tell you otherwise. xbox 360 rules!!!
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video-games_xbox
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Essentially absent of plot, Worst Creed game yet. I've played and thoroughly enjoyed both AC1 & 2, though I have never played Brotherhood nor Revelations. First and foremost, the first 2-3 hours of gameplay are incredibly dull and just about pointless. As soon as you complete the 1 and a half long first tutorial mission, you switch to a different character and again must learn how to climb and fight and other things that use the same controls and basic concept just over a different terrain to squeeze in as many gameplay hours as possible. In other words; you're yet again not an Assassin for several more hours of gameplay. Then alas, 2.5 hours in you become full-fledged Native American Assassin Connor. A lackluster droll of a protagonist who remains monotone through every bit of dialogue in the game. Ever heard Microsoft Sam on an old Windows computer? Yeah that's him. There is essentially no character development and you can't help but feel frustrated by your lack of sympathy when [SPOILER] Connor kills his childhood bestfriend. He does not hesitate to do so, nor does he even seem to care or regret his decision. And you don't care either, even when you call detect it's a feeble attempt to arose emotion, because there is simply no character development. The HUD and interface from previous games is completely overhauled and replaced by a blue color scheme that makes it feel even more different from the previous games. It honestly feels like it was made by a completely different team of developers. The Desmond story is awful and outside-the-animus graphics are equivalent to those of a PS2 at best. The Templar vs. Assassin conflict seems forced and there are no clear alignment or goals of either sect. At one point the Templars are fighting for British then Rebel then British then back and there is no explanation of motives as to why. The only attempt they made to explain the Assassin or Templar motives is the repeated line that "Assassins believe in Peace through Freedom" "Templars believe in Peace through Order". I can understand the latter but since when was the former a part of the Assassin's creed? Combat is awful, literally all there is it to press B or Square and get an auto kill. Guns auto-kills, glitchy and near useless without a double holster (which is also glitched. if you fast-travel your 2nd gun will change randomly or dissapear!!!). Overall, bad game especially by AC standards. Only positive point were Naval battles. Don't waste your time or money.
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video-games_xbox
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This is the version to get. This is a great game to buy. It has a lot of cool comic characters and fun, easy to get into combat. It also has rpg elements but not too many. If you have the luxury of having more than one video game console and are trying to decide which system to buy this game for then this is the game! To my knowledge, the xbox 360 version is the only one with the bonus characters. If you don't have the xbox then obviously you won't want to get a new system (unless you are a hardcore Hulk/Venom etc. fan) but if you do why wouldn't you pick the one with the most bang for your buck?
Playing this game is very fun if a bit easy at times for the more hardcore gamer. Here's a test; if you find Gears of war to be not too difficult (and what a strapping gamer you must be) you might find this game to be a joke. You will definitely want to unlock hard as soon as you can. Maybe try not upgrading all your guys outfits. Right now I am playing with Venom, Hulk and Sabretooth and a fourth guy who I swap out from among my roster of heroes. Right now I am crushing people with very little resistance. The only time I got a challenge was when I had to sub out Venom and Hulk(I think they fell off a cliff or something) and I brought in two scrubs to face Blackheart. I actually had a hard time beating him and one of my underdeveloped underleveled guys got beat down. Gasp, a boss fight that was difficult! Anyway, long story short this is a pretty easy game. The one exception was the bonus comic missions. They were hard but only because they often require you to play with heroes that you aren't as familiar with and haven't developed. Mr. Fantastic got beat down so many times it wasn't even funny. Actually, it was a little funny.
I summation this is a fun game that I enjoyed playing through several times. As hinted above I liked playing Venom and the Hulk(the absence of the hulk in the first version of the game was my only gripe with it) but I liked a lot of the other heroes as well. If you were or are a Marvel comic fan then you should be able to find a favorite here. A sheer delight for fans of the classic comics.
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video-games_xbox
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Can be very frustrating. I'm a bargain hunter when it comes to buying games. I don't buy games when it first come out. I'll wait a year for the price to come down. This game is one of the games that I've been waiting to buy. After reading all the good reviews I was a bit excited at first. Now that I played a few hours of the game, I think I can give a few comments of the game.
The concept is interesting. However, the gameplay can be frustrating. I've never played the first one so I'm not sure if it is relevant to the 2nd Bioshock.
The story itself is intriguing. The controls of BD make sense. As I first met with some of the denizens, I realized how difficult the game is. I think the developers tried to make it real by having Big Daddy to suffer damage easily because of the 50's technology. For one thing, BD does not have any shield and the health does not regenerate. A single shot taken by BD can easily take half of BD life. Two or three shots and I have to start all over from the nearest vita-chamber with the supplies lost. At some scenes it gets really frustrating - I died at least 10 times before I could get past the stage. By the time I'm done, I lost all my ammo, fuel and EVE. Walking around with either is asking for trouble. At this day and age, I think it is ridiculous to make a game so difficult to play. I play games to release stress from my daily life. Games like this really take the fun out of the equation. While I don't deny there are some good qualities of the game, but making the player really work to get the good qualities is just a little too much.
Update Feb 22, 2011
I put down the game for a month. Retried it yesterday and boy was I dissapointed. I consider myself a casual gamer and I've done pretty good in a lot of shooting games. By far, BioShock 2 is one of the worst game. It is extremely hard and the mechanics are extremely frustrating. The logic in how you spend your bullets are ridiculous. After just 30 minutes of game yesterday, I decided to sell this game. I decided to lower the rating to 1 star.
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video-games_xbox
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Hey, it's fun again. This is my first review so bear with me.
I have been a big fan since Ninja Gaiden 2... then I played the original... then back to Ninja Gaiden 2(which is my favorite). So, of course, I was eagerly awaiting NG3. Having heard that they replaced Itigaki, I was like, "oh great, I see where this is going!" So, NG3 came out; I read the negative reviews and thought it couldn't be that bad. I tried it, and it WAS that bad. I couldn't believe the changes they made! They took the buttery smooth finesse from the second game and replaced it with mind numbing, button mashing, dynasty warrior style (thinking this is what the western gamers wanted). Are you f...ing me? But most of you already knew that. This isn't a review of NG3, this is a review of Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor's Edge! And let me tell you my fellow gamers, who are on the fence about this one, the game rocks! I picked it up on release day. I had to wait for my 3 year old to go to bed and then I stayed up all night playing it, with an empty stomach and tons of coffee, to get the proper rush. Team Ninja took a horrible game and put most of what made NG2 work: from punishing difficulty, dismemberment, amount of enemies on screen, and most importantly the fun factor. I was at least hoping the trail of death, like the original NG2(not like sigma 2 and NG3), would make a return. It sort of did but not quite. But make no mistake, it is one bloody game.
Pros:
Most of the weapons are back with the return of button input combos
Karma you earn in battles is spent on skills and a few never before used skills
Enemies are smart and put up a real fight to Ninja Gaiden standards
If you die... it's your fault
Skulls and scarabs return
They sharpened up the controls
FUN FUN FUN!!!
Cons:
Story is stupid but it's always been that way
Level layouts are bland
Music is forgettable, with the exception of Ayane (which sucks because Ninja Gaiden has had some of the best OST)
No essence and healing herbs(but there is a healing skill which uses up your KI... so it's not a total loss)
Lot's of blood but not quite the level NG2
So there you have it folks, you can't go wrong with a forty dollar purchase. Show Team Ninja this is what we want!!!
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video-games_xbox
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First Impressions. Just received my new system, and so far it's pretty good. Just some quick notes:
Updates - I have to say, this is such a weird part of modern gaming. I remember the excitement of getting all of my previous systems, plugging them in, putting in a game, and enjoying my brand new game console. With this console (just like my Wii U) instead of this happening, when I fired up the system, I immediately had to update the system which took about a half hour (at 6Mb/s). When it was finally able to start, I began exploring a bit. I decided to download all the things which make the system work. Things like CD and DVD functions were not standard apps and had to be downloaded. Then I decided to download the free Kinect Sports preseason. It took several hours, so I went to bed.
A few days later, I received RYSE, which I rented, and excited to play that game, popped it in. To my dismay, the game needed a 3 GB update. Once again, I went to bed waiting for it to download.
I guess it's a double-edged sword. It's great that they are still taking the time to perfect things, but it's kind of a drag. I can imagine how frustrated kids must get waiting to finally use their system.
Pros - That being said, I really like my new system. It feels familiar, yet also feels very modern. The interface with the Kinect is cool.
Kinect - So many people look down on this feature, but I'm glad they made it a standard part of the system. Although not perfect, I think it's really impressive technology. You can scroll with gestures, use voice commands and I can only hope that some developers will get creative with it. Playing Kinect Sports was fun.
The motor is gone inside of this generation's Kinect, so you'll have to adjust it by hand. It almost seems like a step down, but once it's in place, you won't have to move it, so it's not that big of a deal. They've also added a heat sensor to the Kinect which can measure heart beat, and body temperature when you are doing things like exercising. As you work out, it will show which muscles are being used. I have to admit, it's kind of weird knowing that a camera is watching you in your living room all the time though. It's kind of Orwellian.
Home screen - It has a Windows 8 Live Tile experience. You can move things around, pin things to specific places, etc.
Internet - it's cool to have on the system for favorites, but if you want to search for something unique, the Kinect voice function won't work for in the search engine, leaving you to have to use the controller to type it in. Since this is so tedious, it's just easier to pick up the laptop or phone and search what you are looking for.
Controller - it' similar to the old one, but it feels smoother. I like it. the rumble pack is subtler.
Games - So far I've just played RYSE. It had some good graphics, but I don't obsess over frame rates and polygon counts, so all I can say is it looked good to me. I do like the fact that you can easily go back between the game and the home screen. There are not a lot of games out right now, but I'm glad that people clamored to keep the discs. I like buying cheap games or renting them.
TV, Apps, etc. - while I was curious about all the things included, the truth is I probably won't use most of the stuff. I already have Netflix, Spotify, etc. so I don't see myself buying a bunch of stuff through their store, which I know MS would love most people to do. I do like the fact that I can now Skype from my TV. The only problem, as many people have noted, is that you need to maintain your Gold membership to do all of this.
The Look - I don't know...it's a little boxy, kind of forgettable and fades into the background.
All-in-All - I like it. It seems like each iteration of a system there are so many heated opinions, some even saying that the console era is dead, and there's always the casual vs. hardcore gamer arguments being made. Personally, I like consoles because they're standard. Yes the technology stays in place for several years, but you know the games will work on them. I like popping in a disc, sitting on the couch with a controller and playing a game.
As far as the "casual" aspect of the system, I kind of think people are missing one big point. There are a lot of people who would like the casual aspects of the XBOX. Fun party games, being able to work out with the Kinect counting calories, and all the other functions are what might bring more people to like game consoles. And the thing is, the gaming is still at the center of the system, so you can be hardcore and play. So if you like these aspects of a game console, I'd say you won't be disappointed.
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video-games_xbox
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Homefront - First Impressions. Homefront is not your typical war FPS. Instead of taking place in some desert country with Taliban like enemies, the war takes place on US soil. North Korea expanded outside it's borders after the death of Kim Jong-Il and began systematically taking over the world. After unifying all of Korea and taking over China and Japan, Korea set it's sights on America. With America in turmoil over $20 gas prices and an influx of people heading for the borders to leave American soil, the stage is set for the first bloody conflict on US soil in over 200 years. Can THQ take this awesome setting and make video game gold or does it fall a little flat in comparison to some of the other shooters on the market? Keep reading to find out in my first impressions.
Homefront starts off in one of the brutal ways possible. You wake up in your apartment to find Koreans kicking down your door and taking you prisoner. On the transport bus to a labor camp, you see some of the most brutal displays of violence on the American people ever portrayed in a video game. I won't spoil it for you, but be on the lookout for one particular gut wrenching moment when a family is torn apart as soldiers kill a man and a woman who are trying to calm their crying toddler. After their deaths, he runs over to "wake" them as the soldiers leave him there. It's from this moment that you realize something special in the game...you HATE the Korean invaders. I can't say that I have ever particularly hated an enemy in a game before. Sure, you want them dead to make it to the next checkpoint, but in this particular game, I wanted to do bad things to them. That's an amazing accomplishment from a game developer and it's something you don't often see. Kudo's to the developers for creating this sort of anger and dread throughout the first five minutes of the game. Throughout the game, this anger only intensifies until it's almost palpable.
Unfortunately, the game doesn't go much deeper than that of a typical shooter. The ambiance is amazing and the visuals really make you feel like you are reclaiming America town by town, but the game mechanics are a little dated. Picture a typical shooter with a limited supply of ammo and you have Homefront. This isn't a knock against Homefront though. There are some really good FPS games out there and it does a solid job of mimicking them, it just doesn't go much deeper after that. The areas it does shine in involve vehicular combat and combat drones but this isn't enough to rise it out of the mediocre shooting mechanics the game employs. It's really a shame too since the game started so strong and gave that anger the player could have built off of. But just because the shooting mechanics are so so, there is a lot to like to in the game. It does do a little more than the typical shooter to make you feel like the world is a living breathing entity.
One thing that really put me into the story was the fact that the game often had breaks in the action where you would interact with people. It was never more than pressing a button to talk to the person a few times and you were usually following someone at the same time, but it did give the game a little more personality. You will recognize the characters and as things begin to take form and characters begin to grow and become more involved in the action, you'll feel for the loss of a teammate or ill decision of someone who responds off of anger. The game does a nice job to really show off the fallibility of man, especially during a time when their livelihood and country are being torn asunder.
The graphics and sound in the game are both pretty good. You won't see any Uncharted 2 type graphics or be blown away by any particular sound work, but it's serviceable and does the trick. Destroyed buildings and enemy encampments come to life with minor details in tact. Propaganda coming from the radio makes your blood boil and collectibles strewn through the level teach you about the history leading up to the invasion. These small attentions to detail really prove that the developers put a lot of time and effort into their game and fleshed out a nice backstory to accompany their game.
I was able to play a few rounds of multiplayer last night and from what I've seen, it's pretty good. It's got the Call of Duty points system people clamor for but it also uses vehicles. These vehicles are unlocked on the battle field and allow you to hop into them straight from a spawn point. They aren't too difficult to figure out how to use either and you can be soaring around the battlefield in no time dropping missiles on unsuspecting targets. The only game type I played was a capture point type game but there are others. I don't think it will make you leave your current game of choice, but it will provide a brief stint of multiplayer action before moving on to the next game to be released (or returning to your old game.)
So, do I recommend this game? Sure, I'd recommend it. As long as you aren't a FPS snob who pays critical attention to shooter mechanics and expects something revolutionary in each game to hit the market. The shooting you've seen before, but hell, is it even possible to make something new nowadays? Shooting is shooting and it's just like in other games minus the supply of ammo. You will be scrounging and picking up enemies weapons to stay alive. The story, ambiance, and overall emotions this game embarks upon the player is more than worth the price of admission. While you will probably beat it once and then never come back to it, the multiplayer will provide a short respite from your game of choice and maybe even pick up a few players for longer than that. So, pick it up, and take out those invaders and save America. Because no one, and I mean no one, blows up a Hooters and uses it as a battleground. Think about the children!
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video-games_xbox
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It's a very well rendered FPS hack and slash game. This is a very well rendered, first person, hack and slash game. As your character evolves it can upgrade finishing moves which mostly add to the gore. Decapitation for example, or limb removal. Blood is limited, and vanishes relatively quickly.
The game is very very linear. You start a story near the end, then are required to go back and relive the events which got you to the slaughter of a corrupt Roman ruler (Nero).
Rome and scenery are presented in very vivid detail, there is no real customization of your character (height, weight, age, color, facial features, gender are all locked).
Many upgrades can be purchased with in game earned currency or with real dollars. New skins (which will change your characters appearance and help it fight better) cost real money. To play against others also requires real money.
There are numerous acts, each broken down into different scenes. It isn't possible to go back after finishing a scene (without restarting the act again), and it isn't possible to skip a scene. Linear play is enforced. Virtually the entire game is fought within a series of limited sized arenas, even if the arena is invisible to the user (an open area may appear to not be an arena, but there are invisible walls preventing you from leaving a relatively small area).
Most combat is male to male, the only male on female combat is against Boudicca (sp). Boudicca is eventually beheaded. When we start our game Marius is ordering a subordinate to use a bag to quell the invading brits, we learn through game play the bag contains Boudicca's head.
The game is not historically accurate. If you seek a violent single player method of killing males mostly with swords, but occasionally with spear, this game has much to offer. If not, the game has limited value as it's somewhat short. Player vs player may extend the life somewhat for a slight fee.
In short, a beautiful game, somewhat mindless (at times fighting tactics are important), good player eye hand coordination is helpful, but the game is stuck in a very linear, historically inaccurate, hack and slash format which may get old for some players after a few hours.
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video-games_xbox
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Multi-player beta experience and several hours of campaign review. Played multiplayer beta before buying this and several hours of the campaign up to this point. Honestly I really enjoy this game. The speed at which you have to play at is the first thing I noticed. There is no peek carefully behind a fiery pillar to head shot a demon, there is only a frantic running and jumping around the level as the demons mass around you. That's another thing I noticed as I was playing, I was getting actually nervous (as much as one can playing a game) while filling my screen with demon destroying shells, rockets and plasma fire. The health and ammo system is an nice touch as well. Kills with a chainsaw will spit out ammo for most if not all your guns that you can get, and getting what's called "glory kills" in game produces more health than they would usually. A glory kill is when you deal enough damage that said demon is stunned but not dead, it slowly glows blue at first, easily seen, and gets faster as time goes on and you do nothing. The stun does run out if you don't do anything, but once you close the distance the glow turns orange and lets you perform a rather gory kill of said victim. So far I have not met an enemy that this doesn't apply to. You can flat out just kill enemies as well but the benefits of more health per kill as you sprint around with a gauss canon are pretty straight forward. The story is second to the action in this game, but if you put in the time to find the lore drops you will actually find a well filled undercurrent of a story. Overall I'm enjoying this game a lot and I am looking forward to more of it. Haven't dipped into the multi-player or the SnapMap system which as I understand it at a basic level is a map creator (I haven't touched it, so I know nothing about it.) But I hope it adds to my enjoyment. For current gen games this has a unique feel and play, and I'm glad that I don't get feelings of Call of Battlefield Honor Sniper Crysis of Metal Gear deju vu. (Not an opinion on any other games just stating it feels different.) Hope this review pushes you to buy and play the game. I didn't regret it.
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video-games_xbox
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Don't listen to those whiners. This is a great game. Maybe not for the hard core managing type player, but for casual players like me. I mean, they took away mini camp, which I rarely use, and NFL Superstar, but that game mode wasn't that good anyway. Taking away Owner Mode took a lot of pressure off me in Franchise Mode, and I rarely used Playmaker anyway. Think about how much you REALLY use that stuff. The only thing that I'm dissapointed about is challenging a play, but even still it's not the end of the world.
Now for the good stuff. The graphics are amazing. The faces are so realistic, and they actually have some emotion. I still can't get over how good the graphics are. But besides from the graphics, I also like the atmosphere. What I basically mean is the crowd. EA Sports really did a great job with making the crowd realistic (standing ovations, going nuts, that kind of thing). I love the new franchise mode. You don't have to worry about going out of bussiness because of debt, you can just play and only have to worry about the salary cap. Now, it is still pretty hard, but I like it that way, like struggling to have enough players before the season starts. I like that because you have to have the requirements but you also want to be a contender.
Replay mode rocks. The classic NFL music that they play (which I have the CD for)really puts you in the mood of an intense game. Plus, it made me want to go out and play some street football with my friends, but my arm is broken, (but that's a whole nother story, ha).
So overall, Madden 06 for XBOX 360 is a good game. If you love mini camp and can't live without letting a few bad calls slip by, then stick to Madden on Playstation 2. But, if you don't really care about that, and you just wanna play the freaking game, then buy it, it's deffinatley worth it.
And one more thing to think about, once you start a franchise, all you really do is go straight into franchise mode, right? That's what I do anyway, so the lost game modes aren't that big of deal. But if you're still gonna whine that it's not "perfect", then stop playing video games cause none of them are perfect, or just wait till 07 comes out for 360 or PS3, whichever you're going to buy.
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video-games_xbox
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The Saga of the Failed License Transfer. My advice to current XBox owners: Never purchase a new console. Always send your old one in for repairs. This will help you avoid the aggravation I have been forced to endure.
Back in February, my old XBox console started having longer load times and randomly freezing up. Realizing that it was several years old, likely on its last legs and long out of warranty (meaning I'd have to pay to have it repaired) I decided to purchase the newer S model. I also bought the hard drive transfer cable, moved all of my content to the new one, then ran the license transfer process to assign all of my downloadable game licenses to my new console.
Except... it didn't work. For some reason all of my content is still assigned to my old console. If I purchase something online, my download queue shows the message "Assigned to other console" and will not download it. Even if it's a new item I've never purchased before, it still gets assigned to the old console. Also, I now have to be signed in to XBox Live to play any previously downloaded games on my hard drive. If I'm offline, it shows up as the trial version, since the paid unlocked version is still assigned to my old console.
I have tried clearing the cache. I have tried deleting my profile and downloading it again. I have tried deleting the latest system update from my console and downloading it again. I am unable to attempt the license transfer again because of Microsoft's ridiculous limit on how often it can be performed. Which I understand is to prevent chronic miscreants from jumping to new consoles without penalty every time their current one gets banned, but in my particular case it kind of completely sucks.
Microsoft has proven themselves spectacularly useless in helping me get this fixed.
The first support representative I talked to was very friendly and assured me the problem would be fixed, but it could take up to 72 hours. Perfectly satisfactory answer. I wait three days. Nothing happens.
I call back and am told by another equally friendly support rep that, no, it actually takes up to 25 days. Why the first guy told me 3 he does not know, but all right, fine, I will wait 25 days, what other choice do I have.
25 days pass, and... still nothing. At this point I am exceedingly tired of this nonsense. Back into support chat where friendly support rep #3 helpfully asks for... my console ID for the new system. Because apparently they need it to do a manual license transfer. And they cannot obtain it on their own. And for some reason did not, oh, I don't know, actually ASK me for it during one of the previous two chats. So now I am waiting ANOTHER 25 days for them to resolve this. In the meantime I am stuck with a not insignificant amount of purchased content that I must be connected to XBox Live to even use. I'm sure anyone who has ever purchased a PC game with invasive DRM that requires a persistent online connection can understand my frustration with that.
At this point my confidence in Microsoft's ability to fix this is pretty much zero. It feels as if they are utterly incompetent and dragging their feet every step of the way. I have been a loyal Microsoft customer for years, and am not asking for anything big. I just want my content back, the content which I own a license to use. I just want what is mine. That is not too much to ask.
I will post an update on April 20th, which is the end of my current 25-day waiting period.
I wish I had paid for a repair and gone without my old console for a few weeks. I deeply regret buying this new one.
This could happen to you.
UPDATE, 5/10/2012:
See the comments section. Amazon has a 1000-word limit on reviews. And oh my gosh is there ever more to tell. Seriously, get popcorn.
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video-games_xbox
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A decent Hack & Slash with a good story. Wow - Whats with all the hatred for this game???
Knights Contract is a game that I had my eye on for several months before its release. Perhaps it just the fact that I seem to prefer a good story driven adventure to another tired old war shooter. Perhaps it was the very cool pre-rendered trailers on you tube, or the dark and twisted gothic setting. Whatever it was - I was very excited about Knights contract... and then the first reviews came pouring in (with one particularly critical IGN review). I was so disappointed I almost did not pick the game up at all.
...But I reminded myself that I've enjoyed other poor scoring games in the past, so I went with my gut and picked this up. And I'm glad I did.
First off, if you are the type that gets frustrated with your games easily, this may not be the game for you. If you are willing to look past a few minor issues, there's plenty fun to be had though.
Knights contract is primarily one long escort mission. Yes I said it. Is this a bad thing? We'll let's consider that other excellent games like : Ico, Resident Evil 5, Prince of Persia, Half Life 2, Silent Hill 4 and many others are also escort missions, and you'll see that it's not necessarily bad.
Knights contract is a competent Hack and slash game. Its not the greatest game in the genre, but its definitely not the worst either. If you enjoyed Dante's inferno, Conan, Castlevania or The force Unleashed there's a good chance you'll enjoy this too.
The story revolves around Heinrich- a hardened immortal warrior, and the beautiful Gretchen - a reincarnation of a witch that Heinrich previously executed. Its a dark and grizzly fantasy tale, that's both interesting and moving - with 2 main characters you'll grow to care about, and definitely want to see through to their ultimate destination.
The graphics are pretty decent. This is not Gears of War, but it's still a nice looking game, with plenty diversity and nice looking characters. It has a couple of pre-rendered cut-scenes, which are absolutely stunning - we're talking Final Fantasy XIII quality here. Ignore the haters saying this game looks like a PS2 title. That is obviously not true.
The voice acting and sound are also pretty cool. Heinrich sounds suitably tough and rugged, while Gretchen plays her part well too.
As mentioned earlier, Heinrich is an immortal and cannot die. Gretchen however is definitely mortal and susceptible to harm. Others have hated this, but I found it refreshing. Gretchen is your charge, and you need to protect her as such. If you want to run off and kill everything that moves, and just ignore her, you are missing the point, and you are more than likely just going to be frustrated. I loved the fact that Gretchen was weak and vulnerable, and I particularly liked the way in which Heinrich could pick her up and carry her to safety - an emotional and subtly interesting touch. Call me old fashioned, but I found that one small detail great.
Overall, I'd say Knights Contract is a pretty decent hack and slash title. It does a few things differently, but if you approach it with an open mind, I can guarantee you that there's plenty fun to be had here. Don't listen to the nay-sayers. Knights contract is a decent game with a captivating story in a dark and interesting world - that you'll definitely want to see through to its conclusion.
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video-games_xbox
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Terrific game. NCAA Basketball 2K3 is one of the most interesting games I've played on my X-Box, and it is the one I've played the most. The reason I am not able to give it a 5 star rating deals more with a few bugs than with the enjoyment of playing.
I will rate it across a few categories that many Players of games use. Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Value, Tilt.
Graphics - 3.5 stars
The Graphics are good, but not great. Some players look too much like other players, possibly due to the generation process. On a normal television it is often difficult to make out the numbers on each player. It may be better on an HD-TV, but I can not speak to that. Some of the animations are ugly, such as the finish of a jump shot, and the collision detection may be over pronounced at times. Overall the courts look good, the crowds are part of the atmosphere, and there is enough variety to be interesting. It is fun to watch players falling down going after the ball.
Sound - 4 stars.
The crowds are a definite part of the game, as well as the bands. The thing that pulls down the sound is the repetitive phrases of the commentators, though this is somewhat expected as it would take a lot of additional work to cover an entire season with a more variety. The sounds of the game (ie the dribbling of the ball, the squeak of shoes) are not pronounced and do not get in the way. There is no talking by the players, it would be nice if they occaisionally celebrated or groaned.
Gameplay - 4.0 stars
The gameplay is very strong with a certain amount strategy. The coaches AI is poor when it comes to timeouts, and questionable as to substitutions, but you can mannually handle this. Overall the control scheme is easy to learn, but it is different from the NBA 2K3 scheme, which is a bit of a challenge if you come from the NBA 2K series. Passing leaves you very vulnerable to turnovers, but you can return this favor by making an unseemly amount of steals. Errors in the game such as an injury bug, a Roster Export failure, and a few others hurt the game a bit.
Value - 4.5 stars.
There are a number of modes that make this game replayable, even with the same teams. One could play for weeks and never really reach it's depth.
Tilt - 4.0 Stars
I liked NCAA Basketball 2K3 quite a bit. It allows you to do a lot of things. With a few less bugs and a slightly improved Graphics and Commentary this would be a 5 Star game all the way. It is worth its cost, and to top it off, it is fun, admittedly more fun if you are a college hoops fan, or if you ever wanted to lead your school to the NCAA Championship. There are over 200 colleges to choose from, from Elon in North Carolina, to Florida A & M, to the Big names. It is well worth the investment.
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video-games_xbox
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Great at first, but gets really boring. My experience with this game was exactly the same as my experience with Assassin's Creed. I went in expecting to love it, I was hugely impressed with the first three or four hours, and then I started to realize that 95% of the game is essentially the same two or three basic missions on a loop.
The graphics and game world here are very impressive, and there's a definite attempt at some sort of story, but it just doesn't add up to anything compelling. I think the main problem for me there is the fact that my stated objective is to kill an arms dealer because I find his occupation morally indefensible, but to gather information on him, I kill thousands of people and prolong the civil war I'm angry at him for supplying. If my character was supposed to be evil, I would take it and run with it, but the combination of explicitly evil actions and supposedly noble objectives just doesn't compute for me.
I think the fatal flaw of this game, though, is the combat. I could overlook the nebulous story or the constant driving or fighting through two or three identical guard posts on the way to each and every mission if the fighting didn't feel like such a chore. Really, the primary reason I put the game into the drive was to fight some virtual people, so it shouldn't matter that much who and where they are. I enjoy other first person shooters enough to replay missions over and over, so the repetition shouldn't be a major sticking point for me, either. But the combat here just doesn't do it for me.
I think the combat fails because of two things:
1) No stealth (like, at all -- almost all guards will see and begin to shoot at you before you can see them unless you're looking at them through a sniper rifle, no matter how quietly you creep into an area), so the only strategy is to shoot everyone in an area as quickly as possible. Subtlety won't cut it in this game, but it's not like you can just go Duke Nukem on 'em, either. No matter what weapon you're using, you're never powerful enough to mow down enemies at will. So you're stuck in an uncomfortable middle ground where you're not strong enough to obliterate multiple enemies at a time, but you're not totally free to use your brains to pick them off one at a time, either.
2) The weapons are uninteresting. Despite having lots of different options, I used the Ak-47, the dart rifle, and the secondary grenade launcher for most of the game. Most of the other weapons seemed like less effective variations on these three. The only exception to this was the flamethrower, which was definitely different, but ultimately less useful than the dart rifle. (The mortar is also different, but I don't see how you could kill anyone with it. I've literally dropped shells at people's feet without killing them.) A key factor here is that most of the weapons I use are available early on in the game, so there's very little feeling of progression. I enjoy that action-reward sequence you normally get in games, and I don't really get that from this one. I want my positive reinforcement!
Ultimately, I thought this game had some really good elements, but it didn't hold my interest like games normally do.
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video-games_xbox
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In the middle. Well a little story for me is i am a huge dbz fan. I have all the collection box sets of the series and have pretty much purchased and played all versions of dragon ball z games including the unreleased japanese snes games. I was coming into this game with amazing hopes and a huge let down from DBZ Burst Limit. Was looking forward to the open maps and the return of tenkaichi gameplay. I will say that the game delivers on some points but it really falls flat on other points.
Pros:
Graphics are amazing! Game looks pretty all the way through. Generally plays nice and smooth and looks like a real dbz game.
Gameplay is great if you can get ahang of it. Its a win loose game your either good or bad there really isn't a middle ground.
Characters there are a lot but they are missing all of the gt characters. Some minor dissapointments here and there but its a good lineup.
Music it what you should be expecting at this point in a dbz game.
Maps are huge and very destructable.
Character customization is back =)
ssj3 Vegeta and Broly
Cons:
Controls.... The controls on this game are simply horrible. Nothing is to do and some of the specials require you to use the right analog stick in a certain dirrection to pull off. This is where they lost a definate 2 stars. The control system is really really bad! I guess they tried to make it easy for everyone to be able to play but in the process they made it way too easy.
Gameplay... I know i have it as good but it doubles up as bad. The cpu is unrelenting if your learning. Cpu runs up in your face and fires off specials non stop. Its very hard to miss someone with a special and most of the time all the cpu does is charge run up in your face and special you. If you can beat the cpu to it then you win its pretty simple.
Not many maps to choose from due to the size of the ones that are around. Most maps are at least double what they were in previous games so there is plenty of space to run around. Still would have liked more.
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video-games_xbox
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Two worlds II review. Two Worlds II is not the best made game in the world don't get me wrong Two Worlds II is a great game. Its animations are awful, its combat loose, its voice acting ludicrous and its story is completely better than the first one. Yet somehow, it manages to become a rewarding and engrossing experience at the same time, and the most amazing part is that you'll never see it coming. In the begining of Two Worlds II it is downright terrible. The game starts with a tawdry prison breakout mission, as your nameless Hero escapes from the clutches of Gandohar, ooh!! Did i mention that your sister has been kidnapped by a stereotypically villain that looks bad***...
The game slowly, surely, starts to get interesting. Then it becomes quietly enjoyable. Then Your flying like a super saiyan 2 shooting beams out of your eyes. Customization makes up a huge part of the experience. There's also an incredibly magic creation system, in which you mix various cards together to create new and deadly spells theres over thousands of spells you can make. Quick note "turn on the Use safe area interface located in settings" to re-fit the image just right to fit your t.v. screen, i really have know idea why the screen hud and menu would be chopped off maybe the developers where to broke to have that setting already active.
The co-op is where the online section really shines up to eight players of awesome butt kicking satisfaction that leaves you in a awe. I can't say I recommend the PvP, the issues is either they have modded characters that have a billion endurance with a billion damage modifier or there spamming mages that stun you till you die and thats not very fun spawning and dying over and over again it gets very agitating and repetitive. So just play with friends that aren't douche bags like the other players on rank. If you can earn enough cash, you can also buy and maintain your own village and protect it from being destroyed by radiers or evil gargoyle that are basically invincble so have fun!!!
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video-games_xbox
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A masterpiece of the genre. Thief 3: Deadly Shadows does for the stealth-action genre what Doom did for first-person shooters. Intuitive, beautiful, immersive, and generally enjoyable, "Thief 3" is a tribute to its predecessors.
"Thief: The Dark Project" was one of the most unique games of its time. It was a first person shooter, but it differed in that the player spent most of their time avoiding frontal combat rather than just running in to a fray. You kept to the shadows, walked quietly, and ran when needed. You took out your enemies with one fell swoop so as not to attract attention. And you pillaged the crap out of everyone you met. These aspects set it apart from every other game, and now with the third installment of the series, "Thief" is back and better than ever.
The graphics are some of the most impressive I've ever seen; there's more detail and texture than 'Halo' or any of the other highlight XBox titles, and a huge deal of atmosphere to boot. Unfortunately, due to this incredible graphical detail, the framerate suffers, though the game never lags; things just seem less fluid throughout. Especially considering the demand for detailed lighting effects in a stealth-action game, graphics do not disappoint.
Gameplay couldn't be any more fun. Dozens of vast, enchanting areas to explore, including iron-age workshops, ghost-ships, shanty towns, and castles upon castles upon castles. Go anywhere, take anything that isn't nailed to the floor. The world is truly your oyster, and there is no one way to go about completing each objective.
Storyline is interesting (though not exactly gripping); you play Garret, most elusive and talented thief in the known world. Tired of saving the world from the forces of darkness, Garret just wants to hunker down and make his living off of the riches of others like every other thief in town. But alas, a thief's work is never done. Called upon by an arcane group of watchers known as 'The Keepers,' Garret is assigned to the burglary of numerous figures of high-power in the metaphysical community. Of course, during these missions, you're given liberty to take anything shiny and sellable that you find. You get to use all kinds of fun gadgets; lock-picks, wall-climbing gloves, arrows of all shapes and sizes, and of course, your trusty dagger, the thief's weapon-of-choice.
The game is fairly long. I've clocked at least 20 hours thus far, and I don't feel even half-through. This means that it is both lastingly enjoyable and, quite likely, replayable.
The only drawback that comes to mind is the lack of multiplayer capability. A co-op mode would be immensely entertaining (partners in crime), or even an 'Out-Stealing' match against an opponent or two; in Thief 2, there was no shortage of rival thieves lurking in the shadows, waiting to profit off of your work. However, in such an immersive and detailed game, the lack of multiplayer capability is very forgivable.
Great game, challenging, entertaining, immersive, and gratifying. A true masterpiece of the genre.
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video-games_xbox
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Bizarre Story Detracts From Otherwise Good Game. There is a lot to love about this game. The graphics are simply top notch, the best I have seen on the Xbox 360 (although they are significantly worse than the PC version on max settings, another sign that the Xbox 360 era is coming to an end). The attention to detail is truly astounding. While the game is fairly short, in the range of 10-20 hours depending on how meticulous you are and the difficulty you play on, that is in some ways a boon. The environments are incredibly rich, colorful, and alive. The dialogue and voice acting is excellent. It feels as Bioshock Infinite has had more time, energy, and money invested into any given moment of its playthrough than any other game out there. While some may (and indeed have) lamented the lack of multiplayer, I view that as a plus, meaning the developers could invest themselves in a truly engaging single player adventure, rather than putting two mediocre modes out as has happened in games like Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Mass Effect 3, and some may argue Bioshock 2. The combat itself is also stellar and much improved from the original Bioshock. There is also replay value in that after beating the game one unlocks another mode that is more challenging, not to mention the various achievements and the simple fact that there is so much to discover that few will be able to resist a second run through.
Why, then, am I giving this game 3 stars? The only qualm I have with the actual gameplay is that I found myself spending an inordinate amount of time looting boxes, trash cans, and corpses. This process is more enjoyable than it sounds, but it really can only be so much fun. I give the game three stars because the story was incredibly disappointing, and, in Bioshock games, story is paramount. It is the reason I bought the game. If I only cared about shooter mechanics, there are better games for the money. Initially, I found the story to be absolutely superb, perhaps even better than the original's. The Tea Party-esque "Founders" and the Occupy-esque "Vox Populi" conflict is timely, riddled with broad historical insights, and deeper than the simple class conflict in the original's Rapture. Columbia is a majestic city in the clouds every bit as creative as Rapture, and Zachary Comstock is an intriguing antagonist (albeit not Andrew Ryan quality). However, as the game progressed, the story became completely nonsensical, had gaping holes, and actually even resulted in me feeling indifferent toward the characters and their fates. When the "big twist" was revealed, I found myself numb with apathy. I won't spoil anything about the game's story and will merely say that the game invokes arcane physics concepts to justify absurd plot alterations that make no sense and make everything feel meaningless. If one is actually familiar with the physics concepts employed (quantum mechanics, time travel, multiverse theory), the latter half of the game and ending has gaping holes, defeating any attempt to feel truly absorbed in the plot. The more one reflects on the ending and the latter half of the game more generally, the less sense it makes. One can suspend disbelief and just accept the tale as the developers intended, but, for skeptical minds, it is unsatisfying and disappointing.
At the end of the day, I would say this game is worth a play through once its price drops. Expect, however, to find yourself frustrated as you see flaw after flaw in its storyline detract from its mind-blowing potential.
For those who have already beaten the game and disagree with my assessment of the ending, stop and spend a minute thinking about the ending's implications. I'm going to say this in a way that doesn't spoil anything: why was there only one universe in which Booker faced the crucial baptismal decision prior to the beginning of the game that set off certain critical events? Shouldn't there have been multiple such situations as a product of his earlier decisions? It follows then that his actions at the end accomplished absolutely nothing. Irrational Games ultimately failed to consider how invoking such concepts detracts from any sort of purpose, logic, and enjoyment one can take away from a story, which is a crying shame.
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video-games_xbox
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A grand finale for the WWII series of Call of Duty. The Good: Excellent presentation, enjoyable story and characters, lots of variety in single player, everything WWII has to offer is in here, addictive multiplayer
The Bad: This is still another WWII game, nothing ground breaking, doesn't take many risks
Every FPS fan has played a WWII shooter and it was either Call of Duty or Medal of Honor. While Call of Duty is the superior WWII series it's just as guilty for having constant sequel after sequel. The reason why the WWII genre is dry is because there is so much you can do with actual events that happened. You can only use D-Day and Market Garden so many times before new explosions and updated graphics won't even save those scenarios. Call of Duty at least tried to use new events in WWII and this was the battle for Chambois also known as the Falaise Gap.
The game has you playing four, I repeat, four different people and these are the Americans, Canadians, British, and Polish. The game does develop some attachable characters that have personality, but since the game is so short this can't be done properly. This is also the first "true next-gen" WWII game that came out (no CoD2 was just a PC port) so you have high-res textures, flowing grass, realistic weather effects etc. The game looks really good even for today and helps add to the realism of the game.
Everything here is the same as the past though with all your WWII weapons and I can't even tell which ones are new or old since it changes every time. You do have new game play elements such as button pressing sequences these are fun and break up some of the monotonous shooting. Now instead of just attaching explosives to Flak guns you have to do button presses to do this. You do, however, have to use cover a lot more in this game since the AI has improved a lot. Your teammates will actually shoot back and HELP you and the enemies target you and run to cover you pretty well. You can't just run around like Rambo shooting Nazis out in the open because you'll die pretty fast.
One thing I do love out the CoD series is the sweeping orchestral soundtrack and that tear jerking theme song! They put the right songs to the right moments of the game and it really makes the game feel epic (not as much CoD4 of course!) Basically, the single player game consists of 9 levels and is pretty much the same as before. You have driving sections, turret sections, tank sections, every WWII weapon you can think of, a decent story, decent characters, and a wonderful soundtrack so this makes things really solid.
When it comes to multiplayer things really shine since there are a lot of modes. You have all your typical modes, but what makes it great is you can play with 24 people on one map! This makes things chaotic and addictive and you'll never stop playing. You have (I think) six or seven classes to choose from such as medics, riflemen, assault troopers etc. All of these classes are well balanced and the map are nicely designed. When you die though you don't just die you can call for a medic (but no one is ever medic). The multiplayer is pretty straight forward, but it's highly addictive and this is always a plus.
I just wish they'd make a game on WWI or the Revolutionary War! Once you finish everything here you can look under the extras for concept art, videos etc. The achievements make for playing the single player more than once and overall this is a solid WWII shooter, but we all know it wasn't the last one.
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video-games_xbox
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Awesome game. After seeing commercials for this game and how it boasted a more hack 'n' slash fun feel than a scary horror feel, I kind of took a pass on this game because I always assumed that the commercials were just making this game out to be a parody within itself. Years later, I saw this game for cheap at a local mom and pop store and decided to give it a try. I didn't really expect much from it, but it actually surprised me. Despite all of the negative reviews that popular gaming sites gave this game, I actually really enjoyed it. Though it is more of a hack 'n' slash type game than a scary horror game, there are some small jump scares and even some psychological horror elements to be had in this game, but nothing major that you would get from a Resident Evil or Silent Hill game. The story was pretty good and kept me interested. The graphics are decent for a 360 game. The environment is nicely done, and the character models aren't too bad either, although you will be seeing a lot of the same enemy types pop up throughout the entirety of the game, but that didn't bother me much. The only gripe I have about the graphics is that when playing, the main character's arms always look like they are detached from his body. Now the meat and potatoes of the game, the gameplay. A lot of people have criticized the gameplay saying that it was unresponsive. This is partially true, but only for the walking aspect of the game as the game for some reason sometimes doesn't register that your foot is placed forward in order to make the character walk. There is an auto walk feature however, but it is disabled in certain sections of the game forcing you to manually control your character's walking. Also if you want to explore the environment, you'll need to manually control the walking. Exploring the environment in this game is necessary for finding collectibles such as audio tapes and tarot cards, and for finding new weapons to use on your enemies. All other aspects of the game such as picking up weapons, opening doors, fighting and turning your character around are really responsive and work well. Note that there are some sections in the game that can be somewhat difficult such as some of the quicktime events where you'll have to run across a sinking derailed train or dodge traps. I know that the Kinect is not perfect, but it is innovative and works well enough to make this game playable. The controls do take a bit of time getting used to, but once you get used to them, you'll be slicing enemy limbs off in no time. Overall, I really enjoyed the game for what it was. It reminded me of a haunted house simulator more than it did a "fight for your life" type of game. The only complaint I have is that the game felt really short. If your a fan of horror games, a gorehound or if you just want a good cardio workout, then you'll probably enjoy this game.
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video-games_xbox
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Perfect for families, so-so for the rest. When developer Traveller's Tales make the Lego games, one common criticism is that there's not much that changes from previous games other than the license. How apt it feels then to have them do a Lego version of Rock Band and surprisingly it doesn't suck. But then again it's not perfect by any stretch and there's some annoyances that really grind my gears so to speak but then I'm an adult and when you mention the term "Lego Rock Band", it feels like you're 4 talking about quantum physics, it just doesn't look right, does it? Keep in mind there's nothing wrong with the game and I actually smiled quite a few times playing the game but then as far as gameplay is concerned I noticed some step downs from Rock Band 2 and even the Beatles game that I wish weren't part of this game. Families won't mind but if you're looking for more songs to play than you're kind of out of luck.
This is kind of a simple review since it's not really that story extensive or there's much to talk about so I'll just mention the gameplay. Personally, as a frequent Rock Band 2 player I'm not exactly digging the interface. Keep in mind I'm mainly a drummer in these kind of games so I'll chat about that with some mentions later of the guitar. If you play on expert you know how vitally important it is to distinguish when to hit a certain pad and cymbal together and when it's just one or the other in more complicated sections. I don't know if it's just me but I found it really hard to tell what to play when the bass pedal got more active and there was more notes as opposed to Harmonix games where I could easily tell and more than once I couldn't tell if it was just one note or a double tap or if the note was exactly on the bass pedal or in front of it. As far as the guitar is concerned, this was where it got tricky since at times it was hard to tell what was 2 separate notes and what was hammer-ons/pull-offs and while it's easily understood in lazier sections, when things get kicked up a notch, you're like "wait, are these all hammer-ons or separate notes?"
Another annoyance is in regards to the setlist during story in that it doesn't give you the option to automatically pick the next set. For example, the game is telling me to advance I need to play a Rock Challenge (describe those in a minute) at a certain set yet I can't see it, well turns out I had to go to my Rock Den where you can buy your instruments, decorate your lair and customize your character, pick another vehicle and play the set. Why isn't it like Rock Band 2 where upgrading your vehicle automatically upgrades your tour dates? For the rock challenges, these are actually quite fun even though they're just regular old playthroughs of songs, catch is you have to perform and through the power of rock, something special as to happen. The first you'll run into is to demolish a building with a Hives song (because it rocks? or because it's terrible and the building couldn't take it?). The one that practically had me smiling ear to ear though was where you have to exorcise ghosts from a mansion and what better way to do that than Ray Parker Jr's "Ghostbusters".
As far as the setlist, it's incredibly odd. There's some songs for the younger kiddies like Ghostbusters and even Kung Fu Fighting and Pink and songs that I'd personally would love to have in Rock Band 2 such as Summer of 69, You Give Love a Bad Name, and wouldn't you know it, another Foo Fighters song (seriously Harmonix, we don't need their entire catalogue as DLC, stop) but then you get indie bands barely anybody knows about and while I'm glad to see more Queen, I'm not lying when I say We Will Rock You is one of the most repetitive drum charts I've ever seen. Not to mention it's actually a short setlist and while DLC from RB1/RB2 will work, only select ones that have been cleared will transfer over which makes for some weird moments when the random song set gave me Won't Get Fooled Again, still one of the hardest Expert drum songs there is and at 7-8 minutes long, a curious entry to a family game with decidely short attention spans. Speaking of, there's a Super Easy mode where all you really have to do is hit the notes, regardless of what it is and you'll pass which sounds good for players but considering No Fail option is here, it feels kind of superflous. Oh and there's an option to have automatic kick drums too. Too bad this wasn't available for Visions, eh?
I think most people will just buy this game so they can export the setlist to Rock Band 2 or if they're into family games. While there's some songs here I'd love to have as DLC, the game itself feels like a step back despite the fact it's undeniably adorable.
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video-games_xbox
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Excellent RPG with a great balance of steath/action, and player options. After upon hearing Final Fantasy 15 was delayed two more months, I decided on what my next game was going to be so I could crave my anticipation for the next upcoming title. I figured, why not Dues Ex? I mean I love the cyberpunk genre, and I rarely if ever see a video game on it. I have never played a Deus Ex game before, so my viewpoint is coming entirely from a newcomer to the series. I wanted to play a Deus Ex game, however was skeptical about picking one up due to the extensive knowledge of the series. Upon hearing that Dues ex Mankind Divided was a standalone title from the Deus Ex games, I picked up a copy myself, and let me tell you, I am glad I did.
*NOTE* I am like at least a maybe 2-3 hours in the game, so please keep that in mind that my review is limited
Pros:
- Rewarding towards player exploration
- Large selection of combat abilities
- Great tutorials for players new to the series
- An immersive world, with a plethora of side quests, none of which are your simple fetch quests or assassination quests. These are like well thought standalone stories. At times, I was reluctant to do the main quests because I was so interested in completed the side quests and finding even more side quests.
- Gives players an enormous amount of options of when approaching a situation. This is one game where I am not pressured to fire my gun at all but rather encouraged to explore my options and the possible routes when infiltrating an area. Sometimes, I was so frustrated at how I would allow myself to be detected, that I would restart the mission from the last checkpoint so I could avoid any unnecessary encounters lol.
- Well thought Dialogue wheel, at times I was amazed at how authentic and real the dialogue was between characters when the situation allowed for the players to choose their own responses
- Great balance between the amount of usage of combat abilities, doesnt make me feel godlike or overpowered, but powerful enough to be methodical about when I should use my abilities and how I should use them.
- Excellent crafting system
- Interesting characters, they are well thought and there is never a dull moment between them.
Cons (So far):
- You cannot melee whatsoever; melee actions come in the form of takedowns and that requires energy. It becomes really frustrating at times when I need to perform a quick melee on a guard and cannot because I don't have enough energy.
- I am amazed at how sometimes the AI is a bit inconsistent. For example I can perform a non- lethal take down a guard and leave his body on the floor and whenever someone walks by its as if nobody would notices. You would think that realistically that when performing a non-lethal takedown (such as putting them to sleep) they would wake up eventually and succumb to their senses, but its like you put them to sleep and they never wake up, making non-lethal takedowns essentially useless. Yet at times they are quick to notice my footsteps or my last location whenever I scurry past them or make a dash towards cover.
*NOTE* I have not played the game mode Breach, so I am not going to cover that part of the game or mention it.
Although I am nit-picking here, the inconsistency in the AI can be an initial turn-off to some, however I will say that it is not something that will prohibit you from your full enjoyment of the game. In other words, it is not bothersome to the point that I cannot simply continue to play the game any further because the AI is atrocious. I cannot provide any details on the story as a whole, for I have not completed it yet but so far its looking great.
But if I were to rate Deus Ex through a 1-10 scale, I would give Deus Ex an 8/10, and would recommend to players looking for an immersive RPG with an excellent blend of action/stealth parts. I would also especially recommend it to those who love being rewarded for exploration.
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video-games_xbox
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Must buy for co-op. Wait for price drop for single. Dragon Ball Xenoverse is a very fun game and has improved upon two features not often seen in Dragon Ball games, although they seem to do so at the expense of some others.
Any fan of Dragon Ball Z knows that fights are most often not the 1 on 1 variety that we've seen in games for so long. Battle of Z tried to pull of group battles but the combat itself was so watered down the result was still terrible. Xenoverse truly shines in this regard. Fighting groups feels fluid and satisfying as does fighting individuals. Some previous games have had a more rich combat system but those games never had 3v3 or 1v5 battles so its understandable that some things get simplified, but only to a small degree.
The next area this game really delivers is in its character creator. In Xenoverse you play through the story mode as the character you make. You can choose Human (m/f), Saiyan (m/f), Majin(Buu) (m/f), Namekian, or Frieza Race. Each race, and gender, has its own bonuses and drawbacks and they balance fairly well. You get a handful of options in various categories for customizing the appearance and you get to choose whether you want to fight close, far, or stay balanced, which will determine your starting abilities. As you progress you unlock new abilities and clothing pieces to truly make the character your own.
As great as this game is it has its negatives too. The main negative, which is in my opinion a fairly big one seems like shear laziness; the roster. Where some recent DBZ games had rosters of upwards of 80 people this game has in the 40s, with the usual repeat characters being listed separately when it isn't always necessary (3 Gokus, 3 Gohan, 3 Friezas, 2 Cells). If you want an idea of who is missing just look up Raging Blast 2's roster and compare with Xenoverse. With that said, the roster is good and once you're playing you won't keep questioning where Kooler and the Spice Boys are.
My conclusion is that this game is definitely a buy for any Dragon Ball Z or GT fan. The game contains mostly DBZ content but has a few chaacters from GT and the DLC seems to be focusing on GT. Playing with friends and chaining combos with them and synchronizing your ultimate moves is incredibly satisfying. Playing alone is still fun but seriously play it with someone. Playing alone this game is a 3.5/5 but playing with a full team of 3 the game is definitely a 5/5.
If you want a better 1 on 1 DBZ game with a huge roster and solid item system check out Raging Blast 2 (or even Raging Blast 1).
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video-games_xbox
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If it weren't for the sloppy controller. When a new Tetris game comes out, I know to expect a few common modes. Marathon and Cascade, and a few new ones as well as some sort of feature that brings out the individuality of its platform. Tetris DS offered new Nintendo-flavored gameplay, some touch-based control, and WiFi multiplayer. Tetris Worlds on the Xbox introduced Xbox Live gameplay. Tetris Evolution, the $29.99 Xbox 360 Tetris title, doesn't actually offer a lot of new stuff. Is it still worth picking up?
Here you'll find eight single-player game modes. Familiar modes like Marathon, Cascade, and Score make a repeat appearance. There are also a few styles I'd never heard of. The first was Ultra-you race against the clock, clearing lines and scoring as many points as possible in the said amount of time. There's Race, which I found to be particularly addictive in my quest to earn Achievement points-you set out to clear 10, 25, or 40 lines as quickly as possible. Points don't matter in this gameplay mode, so setting up huge line clears isn't as necessary-it's all about quick drops and speedy fingers. Hotline and Eraser are quite similar-there are highlighted lines on the board that must be cleared to earn points. The latter ends only when the designated lines are eliminated. Go Low, the final option, distributes points based on the height of the block that clears a line. The goal is to keep the blocks from rising too far above the bottom of the matrix.
All of the gameplay modes are fun to play. For God's sake, it's Tetris! I found myself nonchalantly popping in the game, expecting to play a few rounds and then having to peel my wireless controller out of my hands to go about my normal life. The addictive gameplay accompanied by addictive Achievement collection accompanied by addictive Xbox Live gameplay-well, that's gaming crack if I've ever seen it. Still, Tetris Evolution falls short of being one of the better Tetris games for one sole reason: you have to play it with an Xbox 360 controller. The Xbox 360 controller, which I find ideal for sports games and shooters, is hardly favorable for any sort of 2D experience. The analog stick just doesn't work well for a Tetris game, and the finicky directional pad will work against you from time to time. You will occasionally try to move a falling piece around the board and accidentally just slightly touch the directional pad in an upward direction, sending the piece hard-dropping to the bottom of the board. It's annoying, it causes a lot of gaps, and it can even ruin your round of Tetris. Clearly this controller just doesn't work for the game as well as others do. Still, that's hardly the game's fault-after all, Microsoft called for the directional pad design, not THQ or Mass Media.
Multiplayer (same-screen or Xbox Live) is a blast, but that's to be expected. It's unfortunate, though, that only four players are supported in any given game mode. After all, Tetris DS allowed 10 players to connect wirelessly and clear lines together. The three modes of play in multiplayer matches are Versus (clear lines to plug up the bottom of your opponent's matrix), Hotseat (cooperative Tetris, where players alternatively control pieces as they fall), and Independent (non-competitive play). Versus is obviously the standard Xbox Live mode of play, but I thought Hotseat was an interesting idea-clearing lines back and forth with a friend is an interesting and different concept. One of the perks in Tetris Evolution is the customizable icons, skins, and backgrounds-the icons and skins appear when you play on Xbox Live and allow you to show a bit of your personality, but the backgrounds, I felt, were just really distracting. Fortunately they can be set to still or slideshow settings rather than full-motion video, but truthfully I'd have almost preferred a static or black background.
Tetris Evolution is mostly a no-frills Tetris compilation. It is offered at the low price of $29.99, which I think is pretty fair for a totally-capable Xbox Live-enhanced, Achievement-loaded Xbox 360 game. Tetris fans will enjoy Xbox Live multiplayer and familiar modes in high definition, and newcomers-well, if Tetris newcomers really exist-will enjoy the nice selection of different gameplay styles. Still, I must warn any player of the finicky Xbox 360 controls; they can definitely hamper the otherwise addictive and fun experience and turn it into a frustrating one.
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video-games_xbox
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Great game, and a few corrections. Crimson Skies is a superb blend of action, comedy, camp, and noir. Do you like Indiana Jones? Do you like James Bond? How about Casablanca? How about the classic Private Eye stories full of mobsters and dames? Crimson skies is a flying game backed by a superb action-adventure story line, and yes it's worthy of comparison to the above. Note: I don't have XBox Live, so this review is entirely based on the singleplayer. That said, I love this game enough to give it 5 stars for singleplayer alone. Live is the super atomic icing on the cake. And I'll try to keep this pretty much spoiler free.
The story(10/10): You are Nathan Zachary, a former playboy who met unfortunate circumstances (along with the rest of the nation) and is fighting his way back to the top. Along the way, you form a rag-tag band of air pirates as you explore this strange quasi-America and unravel a mysterious plot.
The immersion factor(10/10): Amazing. From the moment the intro cutscene pops up, you're going to be completely immersed. Segments like this do tons to push the story, and you're going to love savoring every moment of them. You're quickly thrown into the fray as you hop into the pilot seat. This game makes you remember why you always wanted to be a plane/ bird/ pilot/ superhero/ mobster/ pirate/ (you get the idea) as a kid.
Controls(9/10): The first "level" is a mini-tutorial that's quick and fun. Controls are super natural and goals are (almost) always extremely clear, so you have tons of time to enjoy flying and rarely have to spend time wondering about objectives.
Value(9/10): The singleplayer is long enough to please and worth every moment. I'm not even finished yet, and I would be 100% content if the game was only as long as I've played to. Very nice. There's not much replayability aside from collecting more tokens or exploring more areas, but for some (like me) it'll be more than enough to warrant a few more games.
Overall: This game is FUN. The story needs to be a movie yesterday. The controls can be picked up instantly, but there's plenty of room to grow in skill. The gameplay ranges from frantic dogfights to free-form exploration. Yes, you will find yourself just skimming a lake to see the water splash on the camera, or buzzing through a canyon to test your skills. The combination of graphics, control, and gameplay combine for what may be the best flying experience ever. Sure, die-hard sim fans will gripe about the realism. But do you ever really want too much realism in an action-adventure? I think not.
Bottom line (9.5/10): I think this game is going to start showing up on a couple "Top games of all time" lists. Not THE top game, but definately not far.
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video-games_xbox
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A fresh take on first person shooters. This review is directed towards helping those who are on the fence about Medal of Honor, and also for Call of Duty fans that are sick of the series.
Medal of Honor doesn't revolutionize the FPS genre, but it utilizes some new aspects that help create a fresh take on it. I used to be a fan of Call of Duty, and the mistake people are making is to compare it to Modern Warfare 2 when they should really be comparing it to Battlefield 2 (MoH's predecessor) and Black Ops, since they were released around the same time. Since I never played Bad Company 2 I can't really compare MoH to it, so if I talk about anything that was used in BC2, please correct me!
Pros
-Multiplayer scorechain system. The player receives a certain amount of points depending on the kill (+5 for headshots, Tier 1 kills, revenge kills, etc.). Instead of receiving kill rewards based on killstreaks, the player is required to allot a certain amount of points in order to obtain each reward. For example, if you get a headshot on a player, you'll get 15 points, and if you kill a Tier 1 player, you'll get an extra 5 points, instead of the usual 10 for a single kill.
-Multiplayer scorechain system, part 2: Instead of selecting from a list of killstreaks, the player is given two options per scorechain: the option to choose between an artillery strike or UAV, for example. This allows for a better tactical decision based on the player's current situation.
-No kill cams. This forces the player to think about their tactics, instead of running around in the open with guns blazing. If you walk down a certain hallway and get sniped every single time, this forces you to take a different approach.
-Mortar and artillery strikes require the use of binoculars to paint the target, instead of pulling up a map and hitting a random area.
Cons
-The multiplayer graphics do seem to be somewhat sub-par, but if you have a big enough TV with a very high resolution you forget about it after a few minutes of playing.
-The majority of the guns don't seem to have any recoil whatsoever, and there isn't a huge identifiable difference between the submachine guns and assault rifles.
-The ability to be absolutely dominated in one position can be overwhelming. The maps are designed in such a way that if the enemy team spawns in a dominant fire position, your entire team will continuously spawn in the same back corner where you are subject to mortar strikes and sniper fire; i.e. being killed five times in 15 seconds. Very frustrating.
-Grenades have literally a one-second fuse. My guess is they were trying to stop players from aiming at the sky and throwing grenades across the map, but they kinda went overboard on the fuse timer.
-Another review touched on this, but grenade launchers are VERY weak. I never noob tubed in Call of Duty, but there are some situations where three guys are camping a hallway and your only chance is to launch a grenade at them.. But in MoH, odds are it won't even hit them.
All of these comments are based on a few days of playing the game, and so I will update as I continue to play. Please feel free to comment and share your ideas as well!
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video-games_xbox
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Should have been 2 star but gave it 3 due creating your own solos. Ok so I've been a big fan in the rock band series, and I must say I'm slightly disappointed when I first got it.
The reviews of the guitar dropping notes is on point, had to calibrate every time I turned the game on, which got annoying. 2- the song list and how weak it is also is on point. Although still fun to play, not a lot of good songs. 3- the songs are $2.15 with taxes and that to me is a bit much, but you the wonderful thing about that is they are worth the money. I am more of a guitar player than I am a vocal or drum player so I can't tell you the issues I might have with that except the kick stand on the drums looks like it's poorly made because it's straight up plastic. And last con that I have is that in the questions someone said that you can play your Xbox 360 equipment on the Xbox one with no problem? Ya that's a load of crap. You'll have to plug a separate adapter for like $24, but once you get the adapter, it makes this game so much better and the issue with the dropped notes goes away, so recommend the adapter big time.
The biggest con and the reason for my 3 stars instead of 4 is because ABSOLUTELY NO ONLINE MULTIPLAYER!!!!!!!! Rock band should have kept the online multiplayer like they did in the previous. It was such a disappointment when I saw it didn't have it. When you look in the store, it says what your friends and what everyone else has bought, played, but doesn't allow you to play with them? That to me, is such a disappointment.
Hope rock band 5 fixes these issues...
The one good thing I did like about this game and it's why I have a 3 star instead of 2, is because you can create your own solos which is very nice so you don't have to use your star power just to get past the solo section due to the difficult solos from the actual songs.
Also one good thing they kept from the previous rock bands was that if you don't use your star power at the end. In the "start a show, or career mode", your star power and medals carry over to the next song.
I'd think twice before getting this game, but if you do, definitely buy the $24 adapter.
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video-games_xbox
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As others say: More of the same. I'm pretty sure others have covered this pretty well. This game is more of the same. I'm going to make this a brief review.
The storyline continues right where MW2 left off. You have a target. You switch between different characters constantly. If you're playing on hard expect a few deaths that probably should not have happened. Expect a couple of levels where you just need to follow orders and snipe the right guy in the face at the right time and duck when they tell you to do so. Expect to have to crawl with your left and right trigger (man that's getting old).
Special ops: I love this mode. Well, I love the survival mode and playing with my friends. It can get a bit repetitive and I don't like that the difficulty changes from level to level. I'd rather just plan any level of my choosing and set the difficulty level myself. Either way this is the part that I enjoyed the most.
I don't really get too involved in the multiplayer aspect. I used to play competitively in different games and I just don't enjoy playing with a bunch of children anymore. I also don't have the time to sit on there for hours every day and memorize the maps.
Was it worth getting? Yes. I enjoyed it as much as MW2. Does it deserve 5 stars? No, it wasn't really innovative. It was better than Black Ops, but that was a different developer (although Treyarch is getting better).
Edit: I've since played the multiplayer extensively. I'm currently ranked pretty highly in the world with about a 3.2 kill/death ratio overall and a weekly that is about 6-8 depending on my week. I played around a bit much with the throwing knife in the first couple of months playing online. I can say that it is still much like previous games, but it is pretty fun. This game is definitely centered around the multiplayer experience I guess. I'm just still not that heavy into playing with other people as I constantly get harassed by potheads and basement dwellers that get upset when I dominate them.
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video-games_xbox
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The game I've been waiting for, but things are missing that I expected at launch. If there were a 3.5 rating, that would be exactly what I would give this iteration of the Rock Band series, and here is why:
Overall this game is exactly what I've been wanting since the xbox one was released, a new iteration of the game so that I could finally retire my xbox 360.
Things I really like:
- The option for the band to vote on things. In the past the group voted amongst each other, but now we physically vote with our instruments. Small but great option.
- The Calibration: I love the new way to calibrate my instruments. Hold my guitar up to the TV? Great! There was always some amount of human error in the old ways and I love this change.
- The new tour mode is fun. While I do miss the subtle story you got in Rock Band 3, I really like the options to make your story as you go.
- Gameplay seems great so far. Outside of the drums, I've found the gameplay to be really good so far. I really like the little mini achievements you get while playing, and small things like popping up that you hit 5 stars during the song. Little things, but I really like them.
Things I am meh about:
- The new guitar solos. They sound really cool, and when you're playing with the visual cues they can be somewhat challenging to keep your streak alive. However, sometimes you really want to play those difficult solo sections. Luckily, you have your old songs to import to do this.
- The drums. I can't tell if it's just me being bad with this instrument or if it doesn't register properly. I was a casual drummer for a while at my church, and I know that I can keep a beat, but sometimes it just doesn't seem to keep up. Not putting this in the cons section because I'm just not sure. I will be trying old drums with the legacy adapter.
- The setlist is a bit of a bummer, however the fact that all the songs from the older games are either available or are coming soon makes up for this. I still would love to see a great lineup, but it's just possible that all of the great songs have already been done. Sometimes you find some really good songs though in these lineups though, so I won't mark that as a bad thing.
- Downloading old songs is a bit of a pain, but doing it through the store in-game is not so bad. For the most part anything you own is marked as Purchased so you can scroll through and try and find them easily.
- Lack of an online mode is neither good nor bad for me. I knew that it would be missing as I've been following the game for a while, but it is a bit surprising that it's not available.
Thing's that bother me:
- The character creation process is extremely bland. When compared to Rock Band 3, the game falls short in this department. For my wife and me, creating our own avatars was a really fun part of the game.
- When my band is performing a song that features a female lead, why is my same male singer belting out these lady vocals? Seems like a small thing, but I enjoy feeling immersed in the game when I'm playing. You might think that's lame, but I'm sure it's different for everyone :)
Overall I'm glad I bought this game since it allows me to free up space from my old console and continue to play one of our favorite franchises. The character creation leaves something to be desired but there are some new features that I really like in the game. Overall would recommend for anyone who loves the franchise and wants to move everything to their next gen system. If no online is a deal breaker then stay away for now, it sounds like Harmonix is likely working on this.
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video-games_xbox
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Sketchy Quality. So I am an XBOX fan and got this controller at the recommendation of a friend. In just one hour I was hooked as there are some really great features on this controller. After a few days I knew I would only be using Razer Onza controllers from now on. About 12 months later the controller began to malfunction. My character would move across the screen by itself. Apparently this was a known error and you could have the controller replaced. I was able to work around it so I did. Then the thumb sticks became very hard to operate. Now I have a full time job and many other interests outside of XBOX and I mention this to qualify the life span of this controller. I am not an 18 year old hardcore XBOX gamer spending 5 hours a day playing. Rather I play about 10-12 hours a week. When the Razer Onza began to malfunction I thought, wow only a years worth of play time, that certainly does not equal the standard XBOX controllers durability I have experienced. Anyhow, because I liked it so much I was willing to put up another $50 bucks and buy a second Razer Onza, yes I was that impressed. This time I got the Battlefield edition. I purchased it on July 11th per Amazon. It is now September 6th and as of last night the controller is starting to give up. This time the left trigger is malfunctioning so I am unable to zoom my weapon. I am hoping Amazon/Razer will help me out this time in regards to a replacement and will update my response accordingly if they do.
In summary this is a well thought out controller from a logistics standpoint but the actual performance in my experience has been sketchy at best. Oh and the friend who recommended it to me, well after asking him how his were working and telling him about my experience, he said, "I already had to throw two of them away." ;(
11-12, have purchased Scuff gaming controller, well over hundred play hours and this thing is excellent, very custom, it is expensive but very high end, so far a great purchase, Onza is dead to me.
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video-games_xbox
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Legendary Edition of a Legendary Game. With the literally thousands of reviews of Halo 3 available throughout the internet and print media, I'll let you decide for yourself. Instead I will focus on merely THIS edition of Halo 3.
First off, if the price tag didn't let you know, this is for serious fans only. If you're a casual fan, or maybe you like having the occasional local match, youd be better off with the Limited edition, or just the normal. This is purely for those who live for Halo.
The packaging is mythic. It's a hell of a lot bigger than it looks in these pictures. The helmet is the size of an adult's head, plus the base. The box is wrapped with a VERY cool Legendary Edition poster, so be careful opening it. Inside it's pretty straightforward. A helmet, a Base, and two DVD cases.
The helmet is beautiful. It's plastic, so it won't weigh a ton, but man, it looks the part. it slides over the base, which is also quite impressive. on the back of it is a serial number.
The discs. first off you get the game disc in a black dvd style case with a darker cover art than the other editions. this disc is identical to all other editions.
the other dvd case has two dvd's in it with special features. one is the same as the limited edition, with behind the scenes, interviews, etc etc. lots of fun there, very comparable to Halo 2's special eidtion.
the 2nd bonus disc has a few features on it, like the voice of cortana going on a PR tour, bonus episodes of Red vs. Blue and This Spartan Life, and a full bestiary which was really cool for any fan of the canon.
the base has a lot of room for DVDs in it. I took out the bonus dvd case and keep halo 1 2 and 3 all in there, they fit nicely, with room to spare.
i think the legendary was originally going to get the metallic case like the limited edition, hence the wider space in the base.
Was it worth $130? yes, but barely. The helmet is what really sells it. the extra bonus features are cool, especially the Red vs. Blue episodes, but unless you're a MAJOR and im talking friggin MAJOR halo fan (as in accounts on halo.bungie.org, read all the novels, own the soundtracks, have downloaded every movie on XBL, and have a Halo 3 Zune) then its not necessary.
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video-games_xbox
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SSX mixed with RalliSport Challenge. The best way to describe Pure is to think SSX / RalliSport Challenge. Both of these titles obviously influenced the development and design of this game.
The action of the game is very reminiscent of SSX. You have a boost meter, you perform tricks to increase the boost meter, the higher the meter - the better the tricks, and use the boost during the game to increase your speed in an attempt to land a first place.
Pure also shares the attitude of the SSX franchise. The characters will snipe out snide little remarks as the pass each other such as "See you later" or perhaps an "Excuse me" as they bump past each other. Trendy, young, style, cool are all words that were probably oft repeated during the design phase.
The progress through the levels are more reminiscent of RalliSport Challenge. You have to score a certain amount of points to progress to the next set of races. A first place will net you the most points. A lower rank in an individual race, such as sixth, will still add to your cumulative score, but not nearly as much as the first. This encourages the player to go back and try the earlier races again to improve the overall score in order to unlock the later stages of the game.
There are a few different race types to choose from, but basically the races consists of either getting to the finish line first or scoring the most points doing tricks.
The off road vehicle design section of this game is surprisingly in depth and detailed. There are literally hundreds of different parts and configurations to choose from and earn. As you advance in the game, new parts are unlocked, so tweaking your vehicle to perform is always encouraged. And while amazingly detailed, all the parts basically only modify 5 or 6 different stats in one direction or the other. But the parts the detailed accompanying graphics keeps the game fresh much longer than it otherwise would be.
Overall, Pure is a great game, but there is one serious omission. There is no split-screen racing on the same console! Why, Disney, why?
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video-games_xbox
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I want my life back. As the comic book dude from "The Simpsons" would say, "This is the worst game ever!" and that includes E.T. I was extremely disappointed with this game. Across online game review sites I had seen nothing but great reviews for this game so I had high expectations.
Let's start with the good stuff. It had very good graphics, although body movement was a little blocky, as well as lighting and weather effects, expansive environments which did look a little bit dated for the Xbox, especially the buildings, and I guess a good story line. Ok that was it for the good stuff.
Now the bad stuff:
1. Boring, especially the numerous cutscenes, and what makes it worse is that the game throws in QTE's (quick time events where you have to press buttons as they appear on the screen) so that you can't use the cutscenes for that they are normally used for - bathroom breaks.
2. Working for money was boring, there was no way to get money by performing a task other than moving crates, which was boring and repetitive. Most of the time the D pad didn't respond well to the double and triple taps to the left and right, which made it extremly frustrating.
3. Linear storyline and playing.
4. Way too many load screens, and trivial cutscenes.
5. Only 1 of the 3 sections of game was halfway fun and entertaining and that was the middle section when Ryo was in Kowloon. There was plenty of action and not too many bathroom breaks ... uh I mean cutscenes. The HK and Guilin secions were a bore, especially Guilin. I kept expecting to get to Bailu village and being able to do more of what was done in Kowloon, let's just say that it was a major disappointment.
6. Fixed camera angle, unable to adjust 3rd person camera location to a different fixed position. Ryo took up too much of the screen and in the beginning I got sick watching the screen when Ryo ran.
7. Bad control layout and responsiveness.
8. Command QTE's. Sometimes I was unable to see the order in which the buttons were pressed even when I wasn't even trying to hit the buttons just watch them in order.
9. Ryo's bandaid on his face, it was there throughout the game.
10. Not enough fighting. I'm not a fighting game fan but thats what was the most fun in the game, I found the "free roaming" to be extremely linear and restrictive
... and many more, but the above mentioned were my biggest disappointments. I kept playing because I thought I would this storyline fighting game a chance and I kept expecting the game to suddenly get better, but it didn't. Is there any way I can sue Sega to get that part of my life back that I wasted on this game?
DON'T BUY THIS GAME!!! ... well buy my copy but nobody else buy this game!
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video-games_xbox
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Riveting, Sexy, Amazing, Pushed the Xbox to its limits. Pros:
I don't know why everyone doesn't like the ending; I guess it's just the stupid American way to rush through everything. I thought the ending set the Halo 3 up perfectly. And even though the campaign is short there is plenty of replay value, try finding the skulls or beating it on legendary, both very rewarding.
They made all the right adjustments to the old weapons balancing them out, and kept the new weapons within the ballpark. That was one of the very few problems with Halo the pistol made it to easy to kill people in multiplayer.
The new physics are a very cool addition not to the engine not to mention the stunning graphics. No kidding these graphics are some of the best graphics ever to touch the shooter realm, and they managed to keep the frame rates good for the nearly all the time you spend playing the game.
The sound is so incredible, and I loved the new music. With my surround sound speakers it really placed me directly in the game.
All the changes they made to the vehicles we perfect, right on the money. Now anyone on foot can take out any vehicle.
The multiplayer combined with Live extends the replay value to almost never ending. With the games new game-types and awesome levels how could anyone resist the addiction?
The cinematic scenes are very cool. If only some of them were pre-rendered.
I am pretty sure I covered most of the game awesome features, now for the cons.
Cons:
This is hardly a con but the game in the beginning took a little getting used to, they view had a different look to it, after a couple hours of playing the game, the problem was fixed.
There are some animation glitches when someone exits a vehicle right when being boarded, Hardly a problem.
You can fly/drive all of the vehicles, just like the wraith in halo you can there are some vehicles you should be able to pilot.
They didn't add the ATV, oh well. Maybe in Halo 3 there will be an ATV
Can't think of any other problems so I guess that's it the cons.
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video-games_xbox
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A Fun Game Despite The Selling Out. I've been a big Splinter Cell fan since it was first released on the original Xbox. And I've always loved the series as an alternative to all the other major games on the Xbox consoles. Sometimes you can just get too burnt out on the typical straight forward shooter, that's why I always liked going back to Splinter Cell and relying on strategy, skill, intelligence and most of all, stealth.
You don't have any need for stealth in other major franchises like Halo or Call of Duty etc. but games like Splinter Cell are built around it, and reward you for blending into the shadows and getting through missions without even being seen, let alone actually killing an enemy.
That's why I found myself somewhat disappointed when I played Splinter Cell Conviction for the first time.
Sure, the game is exciting, it moves at a fast pace, it keeps you interested. It's full of action, explosions, firefights etc. elements that most people prize in a game, however, they've sacrificed the stealth element of the game which is what has made this series so great.
In previous Splinter Cell games, I've found myself hiding in shadows with non-lethal weapons equipped and all kinds of gadgets at the ready to distract guards. When I have had to subdue a guard, I was able to move his body somewhere else to hide. The little features like that is what Ubisoft gave up in Conviction.
What they gave us is an awkward fencesitter of a game that's not sure whether it wants to be a third-person shooter or a stealth-based game. There are still hiding elements involved, you can use the shadows as your friend to sneak up on enemies, and you can still use strategy to dispatch enemies.
For example, in one early level, there is a door towards the end of the mission, after peaking under the door, you'll notice an entire batallion of mercenaries waiting to fire at the first person who walks through the door. You can basically walk in, kicking the door down, guns firing and going down in a blaze of glory, or you can be smart and climb out of the window and climb around the outside of the building and sneak attack them with grenades.
Things like those are cool.
But the other things aren't there. If you kill an enemy, you can't move his body, he just stays there.
And overall, this game just seems too easy. I found myself just crouching in a dark corner with a pistol, shooting wandering enemies in the head until I got too bored.
There are some new features which are cool, like the mark and execute feature, and the interrogation feature. But interrogation could be so much better, Ubisoft could have done so much more with it.
But anyway, Splinter Cell Conviction is good for what it is. A shooter with elements of stealth gameplay. Diehard fans of the older installments in this series will find themselves a little disappointed and frustrated with the gameplay in this game, but I'm not writing off this whole game, there is still fun to be had here. Maybe just rent it first before buying.
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video-games_xbox
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AC: Revelations - Review in Sub-Sections. Initially, I have to state how frustrating it was to still be stuck on Ezio. After the 3rd game with Ezio I was getting pretty tired of the character. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find the older version of Ezio MUCH more bearable. He seemed wiser and less rash in those character video sequences. I also have to state that I don't play many games. My experience is limited to the X Box and to a handful of games (like Star Wars, Dragon Age, and AC). That being said, I am continually pleased with the progress that Ubisoft makes in the AC games.
SKILLS: First, I loved how you began the game with all the skills you had in the end of the previous game. There was no "building up" to the point you were at in the previous game when things got good. That opening sequence (video) with Ezio was pretty amazing. The realistic detail and vivid colors are simply a reflection of the potential of Ubisoft's design team and the future of games. Second, the new skills that you learn with the hook blade are WICKED. I make excuses to go on the zip lines. They are not always where I want them to be but they are KICK-BUTT. Unfortunately, the skill where you can run up to someone and use the hook blade to jump around/over them is really cool but I never had the opportunity to use it because by the time I got up to the person to run away, they had swiped at me with their weapon. Bomb building is a pleasant addition but most of the time, useless. I find use out of the bombs similar to the smoke bombs in the previous games but otherwise, they do little other than disappoint.
LOCATION: I do agree with some reviews that have stated the disappointment of being stuck in one city (same with Brotherhood). I liked the excitement of traveling from one city to the next - it added more depth and intrigue and length to the game time. And I loved the difference in one city to the next - historically and visually. Speaking of which, a lot of the history behind the buildings and people seems to be sorely lacking as well. I love learning and I always would take the time to read the little blurbs about the people, the location, and the buildings. This time, there were not even close to as many historical bios.
ASSASSIN'S DENS/MISSIONS: While I loved the addition of fellow assassins in Brotherhood, the way they are set up this time around is extremely time-consuming. You have to continually send your fellow assassins out to defend other cities otherwise the Templars will retake them in moments. Unfortunately, that means you never get to use your assassins as they are always in other cities. The idea of having Dens is similar to the Borgia Towers except you can go inside and assign a specific assassin to it. Unfortunately, if you don't assign the assassin at Level 10, then you've lost your chance to assign one. I have also never won a Den Defense which is continually irritating as I play very strategically.
NOTORIETY: Good luck keeping that down as every time you open a new shop or even purchase anything, your notoriety goes up. And the only way to bring it down is by bribing heralds or killing those town leaders (and they are never around). And you can never get down to all clear - you will always be stuck at 10% notoriety and there is no option to reduce it then.
MULTIPLAYER: I have mixed feelings over the multiplayer. I did not play it much because I was so easily frustrated with it. I liked the idea behind it but became easily confused as there are a million of the same characters. There are only eight options to choose from and while you are playing, you have no idea if the target you are searching for is the one on the roof, to your right, to your left, in front of you, or the one behind you. I became too easily frustrated as I was continually killed (as I couldn't hear the heartbeat/warning of my pursuer approaching me) and gave up on multiplayer.
GAME LENGTH: Overall, I was disappointed by the length of the game. In the previous games, even if I don't complete all of the side quests/adventures, I would end up with 20+ hours of game time. This time around, I completed the game with only 14 hours of game time - an EXTREME disappointment. Granted, I didn't complete all of the side adventures. At the Animus Island I got halfway through those IRRITATING sequences before I was SO frustrated I could NOT go on. It was getting ridiculous. Those side games are stupid, irritating, and a waste of time. All it does is feed you some memories and thoughts of Desmond's childhood/past. If that's all I get out of it, then no thank you. Please don't waist your time with those - stick to Ezio for the good action and fun.
CONCLUSION: It seems as if Ubisoft was experimenting with this last installment of Ezio. They eliminated a lot of the irritating fluff that goes along with some of the Ezio video sequences but then they added more of Desmond (sadly). There were a lot of little changes that are too many to mention (this is long enough already). The graphics are amazing as always and the overall storyline of Ezio and Altair was beautiful. While this review may seem mainly negative, the game is exciting, fun, and beautiful - as all AC games are. Is it a major step up or worth the $60? While it is a great addition to the AC collection, I think it would be best to wait a while or rent it instead. There really isn't anything particularly wow or special or different from the previous AC: Brotherhood. It simply is another link in the story. Worth playing but not worth paying for the experience.
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video-games_xbox
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Not as fun as GRID. I have made it through the first two seasons of the career. So far, the game is fun, but it's not the same game as the first one. I actually think the cars handle far worse than the last game. The first GRID had handling that just seemed to work well, but here, I am running into more issues with keeping cars in a controlled drift. I am not sure why so many companies have trouble with this aspect. One of the few games that had driving down a science was Bizarre. Project Gotham Racing had arcade driving with drifting, YEARS AGO, and it worked perfectly. Even Forza, as great as the driving is, has terrible drifting. GRID seems to want to focus on drifting, but added in obnoxious arcade physics.
My biggest complaints regarding the physics have to do with AI and invisible walls:
-AI taps you and knocks you into a wall with the slightest hit. Meanwhile, if you bump into THEM, where it would normally send them out of control, or at least moving out of your way, you still somehow end up nose first in the wall. You hit their back bumper and you become stuck to their car. You try to bump along the side of the car and you end up getting stuck to their car and driving straight off the course.
-If you go off the road and graze the wall, you end up getting spun out and crashing. I end up having to use multiple rewinds just because I hit large patches or glue or something that makes they car spin 90-degrees and lose all forward momentum.
-Times are made up. I was flying on one track to the point where nobody was behind me. When I checked the mirror on the long straight, nobody was in my view. When the race was over, it said I only won by 100FT. I'm assuming AI times and scores are made up when you finish and are not based on where they are actually positioned on the track when you finish. Just annoying when you destroy someone and it says they were right on your heels.
Aside from all of that, the racing is pretty fun. I recommend not doing real damage on account of what I mentioned above. The damage is pretty good. Bumpers drag for a bit before falling off. Same with other body parts. The flow of the game is choppy compared to the first, but there is a decent progression. Car selection is decent, though half the cars in the game are pretty lame. Overall, I would recommend this game at the $30 price range.
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video-games_xbox
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Great SP, Hectic MP (updated 04/01/2011. The single player is great, but the multiplayer is a bit of a mess. In a good way, the multiplayer reminds of Deus Ex for the PC when the game of the year version came out way back then. I say that because the augmentations in that game worked very much like the nanosuit abilities for this game. I like this concept, but two things really hinder it from being a great multiplayer frag fest for me.
1. Spawn Points - you will spawn very close to the enemy and they can quickly put the drop on you or vice versa (think of the spawn points as blenders and you'll get the idea). Normally, I am okay with this as it makes you sharp and allows you to continue on with a kill streak, but that is really hard to do with the second problem.
2. Spotting Opponents - I don't mean because they are invisible. Everyone makes a big deal about that, but I have been throwing on heat vision with no problem. Its the actual character models that give me a hard time. They often blur into the environments or just plainly suffer due to motion blur. Maybe this is not a problem for the PC.
For those who care, I got this for the 360.
I returned Killzone 3 because I thought the multiplayer was too easy, but I know feel as though that was a much more enjoyable experience than this. However, I found that Crysis 2 as a single player game is awesome, so get KZ3 for multi and rent Crysis 2 for the single player if you are able.
If you didn't like KZ3 and are "just" curious about the multi for Crysis 2, once again, rent it and hope that maybe Brink comes out like a winner (which I don't think it will the more I hear about it).
My final last thoughts so you can get an idea of what type of multiplayer shooters I enjoy, I'll point out that I'm big on KDR and I'll present my all-time multiplayer shooter rankings:
1. Call of Duty (Modern Warfare to Black Ops)
2. Battlefield Bad Company 2
3. Halo: Combat Evolved
4. Counter Strike
5. Killzone 3
6. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (a very under rated game)
7. Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy
8. Halo Reach
9. Rainbow Six Vegas
10. Unreal Tournament
I am sure there are better games that I am missing, but these are the ones that do it for me.
****UPDATE****
After giving the multiplayer more time the past few days, I have decided that it is decent and once you realize the key mechanics of cloaking, stalking an area (do not sprint in this game or your roadkill), and then lighting up any poor fool who waltzes into your zone of cloak stalkdom then you can do really well. The only point I would like to make is that this is a very different kind of multiplayer experience and still doesn't do it for me. If you have a Xbox 360, examine why you would want to play a game like this versus the CoDs or Bad Company 2. Those games offer more weapon variety and a more satisfying feeling when you get kills. For me, I'd rather sprint around, locate my enemies, complete objectives, and accurately/quickly take down people rather than walk around cloaked find one helpless guy or a group of people, throw on armor and hold the right trigger. Then again, maybe some of the people who loved the game play with another more satisfying style that is equally effective....this is just my two cents.
For PS3, rent KZ3 and see if you like it. If not, once again there is the CoD franchise and Bad Company 2.
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video-games_xbox
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MLB 2K13 isn't just 2K12 with a roster update...it's less than that. Having put in 35 innings of "work" with MLB 2K13 and time skimming through Association and MyPlayer modes there's really no reason to dig any deeper into the game. Conjecture that it would be 2K12 with a roster update and only the absolutely necessary changes like the Astros to the AL and new schedule was in fact on the mark and as it turns out generous. It's a product that on its own is certainly not 2K9 levels of bad, it's okay for those who don't care all that much about baseball or haven't played recent iterations of the series, but represents a year that was not utilized to improve it yet the price remains the same.
2K Sports has essentially insulted consumers by failing to offer anything of worth with MLB 2K13 vs 2K12 and instead marketing the Perfect Game Contest as a distraction. In past years the contest has been propped up alongside the changes but nothing accompanies it this time around. There are no distinguishing differences in the gameplay or presentation and the primary modes appear to be exactly the same. Though it has been assumed to be the case the reason why the company failed to highlight improvements in 2K13 turned out to be due to the lack of any being present. Even worse, the feature set has been reduced, as Online League functionality has been removed. That's right, Online Leagues have been stripped out.
On the plus side of things cosmetic changes have been implemented. The Astros have their new uniforms and Safeco Field has its new outfield dimensions and video screen. The correct schedule appears to be in place within Association/MyPlayer modes. Outside of those type of elements though one would be hard pressed to point out anything different from 2K12. The menus and interfaces are the same, no work has been done to the dated graphics including the jagged shadows and ugly player faces, and the player pictures are outdated - even for someone like Ichrio who has been with his new team since last season. Poor Yoenis Cespedes is still stuck with his cyberface from last year. The pitcher-hitter battle remains strong but only because that was already a positive in 2K12.
There are the off-putting animation speed inconsistencies often seen in pitching and catcher throwing motions and then oddities like (see Pastapadre Youtube page for videos). Of course none of it is surprising as the same problems were seen in 2K12. The throw meter takes some getting used to again as the "green" area to hit can be tough to judge in a split-second and missing (even going soft thinking it's safe) usually results in an error.
In a full season sim within Association mode the Reds came out with the most wins (99), Jose Bautista led the league in home runs (54) followed closely by Curtis Granderson (53), Bautista won AL MVP, Aaron Hill won NL MVP, and the respective Cy Young winners were Vance Worley and Dan Haren. The AL West had all teams but the Astros over .500 and even they won 79 games. The Playoffs in the AL were comprised of the Mariners and Angels (play-in) along with the Rangers, Twins, and Rays. In the NL it was the Brewers and Diamondbacks (play-in) plus the Reds, Rockies, and Braves. The Braves would go on to win the World Series in six games over the Rays.
Commentary, what has been the strength of the series, is largely recycled. There are a few throwaway lines in about a team's performance last season or for the players who had high profile 2012 campaigns like Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, but otherwise there isn't much new. Even the Astros' move to the AL wasn't touched upon at all in the multiple contests I had them involved in with the hopes of hearing something about it.
There is also no reason to expect post-release support of any significance. If there is a patch it will have to wait until after the Perfect Game Contest period as was the case last year. MLB Today Season mode never even worked properly in 2K12 - no reason to think it will here. Support was dropped around midseason for MLB Today period. Occasional roster updates could be all that's ultimately delivered post-release.
The MLB 2K series still presents decent fun factor but the swindle 2K is trying to pull by putting practically the same game on the market for a second straight year minus an important feature can't be overlooked...particularly when factoring in the $60 sticker price. Criticize any other league licensed product on the major consoles all you want but no other has ever attempted to release with zero gameplay enhancements or changes to primary modes and nothing additional for the feature set. If MLB and 2K had any thoughts of sticking together into the next generation of consoles this game should completely bury that possibility. The league should be embarrassed and 2K has shown no pride in the franchise and no ambition to continue it.
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video-games_xbox
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Not the typical xbox splatterfest. I've only had my xbox360 for a few months now, but I'm already a little discouraged when I read game reviews in magazines that determine if a game is good or not by how much blood and gore there is. I'm also a little disappointed in the available titles for kids.
What does that have to do with Oblivion? I must set my focus so you know where I'm coming from. I'm middle aged and grew up with paper/pencil RPGs. I like games that have a lot to them, and I'd like my kids to have some fun games to play.
Oblivion is a RPG. Plain and simple.
Some reviews claim it is too complex...well, compared to some xbox titles i've seen that is true. Compared to your typical PC RPG it is right on par.
Some say it is big and boring. It is big, that is for sure. They crammed a lot into this game. Boring? Not for me. I found myself being lulled into a bit of boredom, and then *whack* something would happen to bring the game back into focus.
Some say the NPCs "suck". Yeah, I concede that. This is a typical Morrowind game where the NPCs have some little story and you get to choose one of several responses. It doesn't really matter which ones you choose because you will want to choose them all to make sure you didn't miss something. I found myself not even reading or listening to their talk...I just clicked through it to see if a quest appeared.
Terrain is something that is both impressive and a little silly. I loved the way the terrain looked, the contours, and elevations. Many times I'd get to the top of a mountain and just watch the view for a while. On the other hand, there are plants all over and I found myself thinking that they took all the plants out of a landscaping software package and through them in.
The one aspect of the game that was most annoying deals with theft. If you steal something you end up with a bounty on you almost instantly and regardless where you go the whole world knows you are a crook. I stole a horse and rode it across the map and then ditched it. Went to a city and was immediately attacked by the guards. Worse, when you go to click on someone to talk to them if you aren't positioned right you might steal something instead of talk...and it is off to jail with you!
Even with the problems (which included locking up my system a couple of times) this game is big, it is an RPG, and it is cheap. Given the current titles on the xbox360, this is a winning combination for anyone who loves games that spent more time on the game and less on blood and guts graphics.
Highly recommended.
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video-games_xbox
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NOT BETTER THAN ONE BUT DECENT GAME. After finishing Bioshock Infinite in Hard Difficulty, I figure I write a review for anybody who's a fan of the series. My favorite Bioshock game is still the first one. The story and game play was just awesome. The second game was okay and really improved the game play mechanics. Bioshock infinite has to be viewed as a completely separate game from 2k. Game mechanics is similar, but some of the leveling up system is good and bad.
Hard difficulty wasn't that challenging to get through in the last two days I played this game. After I finished it, you're able to unlock the 1999 mode, which is a "Hardcore" difficulty. You're able to play through previous chapters to do your Easter egg hunts, but it is only from your auto-save. So you're unable to use powers and weapons you acquired in later saves.
I was a little disappointed that the game wasn't as dark and gritty. It is a pretty game, where all the colors are vibrant, red white and blue flags, confetti on the cobblestones, etc. Probably one of the reasons I ran through the game so quickly; I wasn't afraid of what's ahead like I was with the first two games, because the setting was very reassuring.
The powers in this game are neat. Problem is starting off, they take up a lot of your (salt) meter, so it stops being fun when you have to conserve it for tougher enemy types. I didn't like most of the gears you find. You can carry gears to improve your weapon, damage, powers, and salvaging percentage. I didn't care much for any of the weapons, and I could only carry 2 in my play-trough. I stuck with the china broom shotgun that came with my pre-order bonus and a carbine as a secondary. I'm not sure if playing on hard difficulty restricted how many weapons I could carry, but I didn't bother picking up any new weapons after awhile, and never wasted money on upgrades for them at the vending machines.
The story is pretty straight forward. You get hired to get a girl to New York. It's pretty lame, to be honest. Yes they do reveal more of the plot and it does deliver a mind blowing explanation, but that isn't til you completed 70% of the game consisting of "lets go get X so we can go to X"
I felt there was something missing from this game. I'm not exactly sure what it was. The sky line stuff was interesting but it didn't really add much to the game. I did enjoy all the interaction with tears (time/space rift) and finding random red tears on the map was very cool. Wish they did more with that. That would had made the game more interesting, but the things you interacted with were all related to Columbia. (Sorry, trying really hard not to spoil things)
The ending is depressing. I have no interest of playing it again after experiencing the conclusion of the game. It seemed contrived. It was mind blowing with how everything was explained, but the twist at the very last few seconds of the game gave me a very negative reaction towards the game.
In conclusion, I gave the game 3 stars. If you love one and 2, this one plays like them.
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video-games_xbox
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The Best Zombie Game Ever...Period. With the idiotically fun 'Zombies Ate my Neighbors' right next to it, Dead Rising is, well, [the title of this review]. It's bloody, it's gritty, and has a certain humor in it. Oh and just so as you know, this game isn't based off of any of George Romero's terrific zombie movie classics. Anyway...
You assume the roll of Frank West, a hot-shot free lance photographer, who got a tip that something weird was going on in the small (made up) town of Willamette, Colorado. When you arrive there by helicopter, you are left stranded in a near-by mall literally swarming with thousands upon thousands of zombies. Your goal? Find out the scoop of what exactly happened here, in 3 days.
-FEATURES-
One of the main things that Dead Rising tries emphasize the most is that practically anything you can lay your hands on is a weapon. These items span from firearms, construction tools, sport items, chairs, wine barrels, soccer balls, rocks, bench presses, lawn mowers, cars, brooms, clothes hangers, ketchup bottles...do I need to say more? That's not all. While you are in the mall you can put on different kinds of clothes and accessories to customize Frank. You can also take pictures of stuff with your camera. If you get a good picture you get Prestige Points (or PP). These points allow you to level up in the game, basically, allowing you to learn new hand-to-hand moves, increase you health or item inventory, and make you stronger. You can also find survivors in the mall and bring them back to the Security Room (the only 'safe house' of the mall) so that you can earn PP and unlock certain achievements. But be warned, saving these people comes at a terrible (and aggravating) price, which I'll tell you about later. Oh, and don't beleive the people who say the graphics aren't that good. They're actually very good! The zombies are really cool in this game, where sometimes hundreds of zombies appear on screen at once! Just about no two zombies look the same. There is whole variety of zombies: fat zombies, old zombies, ethinic zombies, zombies with missing appendeges, etc.. There are also side quests that you can take part in, these are called "Scoops". Scoops allow you save people, get certain items, earn PP, or even challenge one the many Pscychopaths (Bosses) of the game. Oh, here's a word of advice. If you are not properly equiped, these well scipted wako-baskets can be pretty tough. Well, does this game sound pretty difficult to you yet? Well get this, you also timed through out the duration of the game. Like I said, Dead Rising takes place over the course of 3 days, or 72 hours. Basically, for every 90 (or so) seconds that goes by in the real world, 10 minutes go by in game. Which brings up something I didn't mention. There are a slew of different endings you can get in this game. So the replay is incredibly high. In nut shell, you play Dead Rising in a bunch of different ways. Go on an all out zombie killing spree, find as many survivers as possible, or stick to the story.
-THE BAD-
Yes, this game is in need of some improvement. Remember when I said saving people comes at a terrible price? Well it's true, because, to put it in a nut shell, their really, really stupid. Sometimes they won't follow you, they'll engage in combat with other zombies (even when they're totally unarmed), and their all a bunch of whiners. Also the save system could have been a lot better. You can only save in the Security Room or in the seriously scatted bathrooms across the mall. Also you can only save one game file. In order to have another file for someone else, you have to create a whole other Xbox 360 profile, and that can take up some space on your MU/Hardrive. Sometimes the inventory can be frustrating, mainly for firearms. If you want more shot-gun ammo, you need to put another whole shot-gun in you inventory, instead of having spare ammo for it. Shooting or throwing projectiles might get a few pissed. If you played Resident Evil 4, aiming is basically the same here in Dead Rising. You can't move when your aiming, basically. Plus, did I mention that the survivors are retards?
-Dead Rising 2?-
Like I said, this game has a lot different endings. But when you get the true ending, it blatantly sets up for a sequel. If Capcom does make a DR2 (hopefully), I hope that it has multiplayer, a lot more weapons, character creation, item customization, and survivors with a great IQ.
-Summary-
All in all, Dead Rising is a great game, in need of some improvement. Don't worry, a lot of great games need at least some bit of improvment, this just happens to be one of them. Before I forget, this game isn't meant to scare you. Dead Rising is no where close to a horror game. It would probably be considered scary to old people and babies. The game is light on horror but heavy in survival. If you're into zombies and have a 360, stop reading this pointless review and get this game now. I mean it! Do it! Although if you're not into zombies rent it or think about buying. I'm glad I did.
[-NOTE TO PARENTS-]
This is probably the goriest game ever made. Heads popping off/exploding, disembowelment, and more. There's use alcohol and some strong language. Keep this game as far away as you can from your 5-12 year-olds.
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video-games_xbox
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Sleek Shooter. Crysis 2 is a sleek game. Beautiful environments, deep game play with tons of customization. The environment is also detailed. I've played a lot of xbox games, and Crysis 2 feels and looks like a next-gen game you can play today.
First, the single player campaign: for a FPS, Crysis 2's campaign is long. It took about twice as long to play through Crysis (10hrs) as it did to play through Black Ops (5hrs). Your futuristic armor (nano-suit) is capable of leaping high, running fast, and a very cool stealth mode. You can dramatically customize how you play Crysis with these abilities. The first time through, I was so enthralled with the stealth mode, that I found myself sneaking and breaking necks even when I could have won a fire fight. The second play through, I worked on speed and gunplay. These features place Crysis 2 in a category apart from the other great console shooters (Call of Duty; Battlefield Bad Company). While there is a sense of "super human-ness" in the nano-suit, it is always tempered by a feeling of realism in the game. You are powerful, but not ridiculously so.
Next, the multiplayer: the multiplay modes are pretty standard. Team battles, capture the flag mode, etc. Unfortunately, there is no co-op campaign. The online community is robust, and your nano-suit's abilities let you play a number of different ways. A lot of people out there are will be using stealth. I have only really begun to play the multiplayer, but there are some cool perks that you can unlock as you gain experience. I can see playing many hours on this multiplayer. But other than the particulars of the nano-suit, the multiplayer is very similar to Black Ops or Bad Company 2.
Finally, Crysis 2 overall is a great game. When it comes to graphics, game mechanics, and the amount of time you can play, Crysis 2 is a great value for your gaming dollar. The graphics are unbelievably sleek. After Crysis 2, I think you will hold other games to higher standard.
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video-games_xbox
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Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary review
Pros: Story
Gameplay
Graphics
Cons: Gets repetitive (in second half of game)
The game drags, and most missions are too long in length
Vehicle controls were hard to control and use, also inaccurate (such as scorpion tank and warthog)
Now before I get into this review, I'll say that I never played the original version of Combat Evolved. I just never got the chance to, so when the time came I picked up anniversary for 360. In ways it was very good and at times it wasn't so good at all.
Story: 3.8/4
It made sense, the story was simple but classic. I think the strongest in the series just because of its originality. I don't really need to go into detail about this.
Gameplay: 3.7/4
Gameplay is the strongest part in the whole game (besides the story) and it was really fun such as the guns and vehicles. They were cool to use, especially guns like the pistol, assault rifle, sniper rifle, etc. covenant weapons. All guns were pretty well balanced even though there weren't as many. And the way you me lee with the pistol is pretty badass when master chief flips the gun afterwards. Even though the pistol is a bit overpowered but whatever I guess. But the gameplay was great, taking down enemies is always fun. Grenades were well balanced also.
Graphics: 3.5/4
Not too bad, overall good. The areas looked great and a lot of scenery in some missions. Especially indoor areas as well as outdoors, pretty good in the remake.
Controls: 3/4
So, as chief when not in vehicle will be a 4/4 because it's so easy to use. But controls with vehicles were too hard to use and move around the way you wanted it to go. And especially the inaccuracy from the scorpion and warthog, it just wasn't good and got annoying at times. I'm glad they improved this in future halo games. And what's up with a warthog not being able to blow up after being hit many times? Oh well I guess was just curious about that. Ghosts and banshees weren't so easy to control either.
Lasting appeal: 2/4
While the game lasted a very good amount of time, I was just annoyed that it took way too long to beat each mission. Even on a not so hard difficulty. Maybe the first 2 missions weren't so bad, but afterwards it can at least take you 40-45 minutes just to beat a mission on normal difficulty. But the second half of the game was just not so fun. (I'll get more into that on my final complaint).
So my biggest complaint about the game, is that it drags on for too long. Definitely in the second half, and yes there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. And the flood, I didn't think it was a necessary second enemy type to bring into the game. Just sticking with the covenant would've made things a lot better. But they took it too far with the repetitive layouts and just too much flood to fight, I just started complaining around "The Library." And so on afterwards just from how tedious and repetitive it was. Let me make this clear, I love this game. It was very fun to play, but like I said there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. And in the second half, I found it more annoying and repetitive with the flood rather than fun like the first half of the game was.
So that's my reviews of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. It's a very good game, besides the flaws that I listed. But I highly suggest you get a copy if you're a Halo fan, I guarantee you'll like it.
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video-games_xbox
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DECENT CONTROLLER. Read here for "compatibility" functions. Alright so I purchased one of these (and I've purchased a couple other HORI) controllers. I'm going to keep this basic and in point with what's relevant to its functionality, and then review the cosmetics.
Analog Sticks:
The analogs for this controller have a VERY very good sensitivity range. From the analogs straight center upright to slightly moving the analogs all the way right-left/up-down at a steady thumb speed the progression of crosshair movement (in Battlefield 4 with game sensitivity at 50%) increased the crosshairs movement speed from 0 to full turn appropriately. So... it appears they have correctly implemented analog sensitivities. It does move you in game at the value of the analogs angles (depending on the games allowance of movement). As a warning, "Control Freeks" will NOT fit the top of the analogs on "this" controller.
The controllers "Sensitivity" Switch:
The controller has a Vertical "Sensitivity Toggle Switch" located center mass of the controller. There are three settings. From top to bottom the settings are "Least sensitive, Normal sensitive, Most sensitive". These settings are relevant to the analog sticks only. After multiple tests on all three settings I was not able to see ANY difference on ANY of these settings. Having each choice selected did not appear to change anything. So either the sensitivity changes from this are so small you don't notice them, or the switch does not function. I've purchased several other controllers from this company, and every controller I've purchased has similar sensitivity options so I'm placing my bet on that the switch works, but the changes when selected aren't big enough to notice. So don't expect this option to make that big a difference.
Buttons and triggers and bumpers:
Left and Right analog stick presses revealed a "Double Click" sound when pressing them. So when pressed a slight "click" occurred before a second click registered activation. I'm not sure if this was their intention but it should be ONE click guys. It won't affect my gameplay, but that's me. Pressing of the analogs registers in gameplay fine.
Y B X A all function normally, if anything the buttons have little resistance when pressed. I prefer that as a preference.
LB, RB, LT, RT:
You may notice in the photos for this controller there is little to no distance in height for these. That means that reaction time for activation should be less. Which means this is not a controller meant for racing games that rely on trigger range. So don't buy this for racing games unless you don't care about a vehicles speed control. Pressing these is just like pressing a button. So for FPS games there is instantaneous reaction time when pressed. I prefer this since I play FPS games.
Other:
-The "Crystal" effect in the photos are of course exaggerated. Once plugged in the lights are on within the controller. There is no switch to turn them off, if there's a combination of button presses on the controller to turn them off I haven't seen it.
-The controller is VERY light, and the material is a hard smooth plastic. The angle of the sides when gripped will maybe place the controller in an odd angle in your hands if you're someone who grips down on a controller. For me the controller needs to rest in my hands to have proper angle on the analog sticks.
OVERALL:
Analogs 8/10
Triggers and Bumpers 8/10
Buttons 10/10
Analog Sensitivity Switch 1/10
Controller Weight/Design 5/10
Cosmetics 4/10
Recommendations:
Not for racing games
Not for Control Freeks
Ok for FPS
Ok for 3rd person shooters
OK for rubber/silicon analog grips
I update reviews when/if the product shows differences in functionality.
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video-games_xbox
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Better late than never . I know I'm late to the Infinite train but I guess late is better than never. I've played Bioshock 1 & 2 and absolutely loved them , as a matter of fact they are some of my favorite games . Infinite is no different and does nothing but add to the facinating world that is Bioshock while giving me another view of this wonderous world , this time of course in the clouds :)
Story : Just like Bioshock 1 & 2 the story is deliciously dark and twisted and gives nothing away until the very end . The story keeps you pulled in tight making you play just a little bit more every time you play just to see what might happen next. I can promise you this , you will never see nor guess whats going to happen until the very end when it smacks you in the face. DO NOT , watch videos and spoilers on Youtube if you have never played this game , don't ruin it for yourself .
Gameplay : If you have played Bioshock 1 & 2 you will know what to expect here , the game machanics have been untouched and you will feel right at home with this game . The only difference is the environment you play this time, the sky instead of the ocean. The enemies are different here especially what takes the place of the Big Daddy's and that would be the Handy Men.. They are big and powerful like the Big Daddy but a bit more agile and a bit faster . Even with the different enemy types this game never loses the Bioshock feel at any point in this game.
Graphics : This is one of the trully special things about the Bioshock games. The only way to really appreciate the entire game is to stop and look around at all the detail and all the art of the game , from Bioshock 1 & 2 to Infinite the art and detail are hands down some of the absolute best there is even with the current gen Xbox One out and about now .
Like I said earlier I am late to the Infinite party but late is better than never and I am so glad I decided to pick this game up. with the release of the Xbox One , I like may of others found myself letting my 360 collect dust and playing my Xbox One exclusively. Now that I have had it a while and the new has worn off, I found myself wanting to play some games that I missed out on and this game was a must play. I am now going to dive into the DLC ( down loadable content ) for this game and happily extend my play through of this wonderful game and can only hope that we see another Bioshock in the new generation of consoles.
Solid 5 out of 5
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video-games_xbox
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A Little Change Can Be Good. I'm on my 3rd playthrough of the game, and let me tell you it is worth it.
***POSSIBLE SPOILER***
You start out defending your ship from an unexpected attack of an unknown enemy. After you die and are brought back the true game begins.
***END SPOILER***
Importing
The game does a great job of keeping track of what you did in the first one, if you import a Shepard. It even lets you remake your character at the beginning, that way new and old players have the same opportunity. The only gripe I have with the import system is that if you import a character who finished ME2 into a new game you don't keep everything like you did in the previous game. You do get to pick a bonus power and get 10 points to max it (or add to any other class powers)at the beginning of the game as well as most if not all of your armor choices, but you only get to keep the Heavy weapons and some of the other weapons that you found in the previous playthrough. I'm not saying that having some of those you don't find until near the end of the first disc are not useful at the beginning. In fact, if you got them at the beginning it would be even better. Instead, after the tutorial mission you are thrown into a mission with just a couple basic weapons. It is after this point that you get the rest of the weapons and any import awards you might have earned.
Replay Value
It would have been nice to only have to get the things you missed the first time around instead of having to buy all the upgrades and do all of the research again. Adding to the replay frustration is the low level cap of 30, reached easily during the first playthrough. This makes replaying it with an existing character pretty pointless because the 25% bonus to XP is wasted, though starting a new game with a new character or an imported one from ME1 takes advantage of that. They should have done what they did in the first game, where you can only reach the highest level if you do a replay. This would have made it more appealing to use the same character on a higher difficulty. As it is, you start with very little and the enemies are scaled up from the beginning. Truly, I died in the tutorial mission a few times on Insanity. Let me tell you, Insanity is well named. If you want the ultimate challenge, it is there for you.
Minigames
There are 3 mini games that can be tedious but not so much that they ruin the game. Hacking is done on computers and other digital devices, you match up little boxes of text that scroll by with the one at the top of the screen. You get 3 chances to match wrong and if you scroll over a red box you go back one step. Bypassing is done on things like safes and doors, it is like a memory game. You run the cursor over every dot and then try to match two of them up. Doors can usually be tried again if you mess up, safes are one try only. The mini game that is used the most often is the resource gathering one. You fly to various planets in the system you land in without a fuel cost, but you have to buy fuel to go between systems in the same cluster. In each system, you use a little targeting reticle to run around the surface of each planet and launch probes when the indicator shows there is something to find. Of course you have to buy the probes too. There are upgrades to make all of the mini games a little easier that you can either buy or find during the course of the game.
Gameplay (AKA You've Got Your FPS In My RPG)
It was a great day when, in ME1, I finally got the armor that would keep me alive longer and the weapon upgrades that made it so I could fire without overheating every few seconds. That is not the case in ME2. All of the weapons, except the Heavy ones that have their own ammo supply (found in boxes), use thermal clips in the style of the FPS where you find ammo on the ground. The armor is a piecemeal affair that consists of whatever you buy or find. Each piece can help you by adding to things like health and shields or, in a few cases, increasing damage from weapons or powers. The most useful additions to your protection or damage come in the form of upgrades. This uses the resources found while probing planets, though some of them can be bought at the various planetary ports you visit. The enemies have vastly improved AI over the previous game, they use cover to their advantage and may even move to avoid an incoming projectile. The AI improves even more as the difficulty increases, at Insanity the enemies will hunt you down behind your cover or stand on higher ground to shoot you over the top of the area you thought you were safe in. Add this to the fact that enemies that are one or two shot kills on Casual take a lot more than that on Insanity and you can see that you really have to work for the victory at such a high difficulty.
The Story
The story continues from where the first game left off and it assumes you chose the darker ending if you start a fresh game without an ME1 character. The dialogue near the beginning covers some of what happened, and there are codex entries for much of the ME1 story, but players who never played the first one might be confused. As you play, you find out that every character has their own past and they ask if you will help them resolve these issues so that they can focus on the mission. Doing so give you a new uniform for them and access to a new power they can use in battles. Though these back stories don't relate to the mission as a whole, they do round out the characters as people. DLC that is available allows Shepard to come to grips with his own past and adds more characters to get to know. There is even one DLC that adds a vehicle for those of you who missed the Mako, this one flies and is a lot easier to use though only for the 5 missions it goes with.
In Conclusion
If you are looking for an FPS with a little bit of story, go for Gears of War. If you are looking for an excellent RPG that has borrowed some FPS elements, this is the game for you.
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video-games_xbox
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Great while it was working. But. I've been playing with this for about a month and it's very solid. I gave it only 4 stars because 1) when you turn the wheel the gears feel crunchy; 2) when you set the steering radius to 750 it doesn't stay that way. You have to set it every time you play; 3) the up and down buttons don't work in the paining menu; 4) there's no footrest for your left foot; and 5) I should be able to unplug the cable connecting the steering to the XBox from the back of the steering wheel. But they have split the cable and put the plug down near the XBox. Not very convenient. I don't know why people complain about the covering on the steering wheel. It's just like what you find in a real racing car. The paddle shifters feel solid and work well. The whole steering unit feels solid. The feedback is realistic. You have to let go of the wheel if you crash into something solid or it'll bash your thumbs! This is also realistic. The platform for the pedals is much wider and better than the previous version. And I really like the way you can adjust the pressure on the pedals. Much better than the previous set up. Definitely not a cheap setup but a lot of fun for the bucks.
UPDATE: Jan. 11/15 Bad news: The pedals stopped working during the Christmas holidays. Paid $50 for a computer tech to try to figure out what the problem is but he couldn't. Contacted Madcatz and they promised to look into it if I send it back to them. Now I'm just waiting for instructions from them to send it back. ALSO: I got a 3 month pass to XBox Live from my son for Christmas worth $25. That's when the brakes stopped working... So this was probably just a waste of his money.
UPDATE: Jan. 15/15 Madcatz informed me that the most likely reason my pedals aren't working any more is probably because of a problem with the "brain" inside the steering unit. So they sent me a shipping label for Purolator, to send just the steering unit back to them. I sent it off this afternoon. Nice! I didn't have to pay the shipping.
UPDATE: Feb. 06/15 I e-mailed Madcatz asking them what's going on. They informed me that the steering unit I had sent by Purolator can't be located by them. I contacted Purolator and they gave me a tracking number and even the name of the person who signed for the receipt at Madcatz.
UPDATE: Feb 15/15. I'ts now Feb. 15 and I have't had any messages from Madcatz about what's happening with my stuff. So I e-mailed them again. And wait some more.
UPDATE: Feb. 27. I phoned them 2 weeks ago. They're sorry. But it's now 6 weeks since I sent the steering motor back to Madcatz. Still no replacement received. This is very s***ty service!
Update: March 4. Today Purolator dropped off a whole new set up from Madcatz, steering wheel and pedals. I guess that means the problem was in the pedals. I'm just relieved that they honored their warranty.
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video-games_xbox
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Great game that is a step away from traditional Star Wars. First off, I would like to say that I've never been a fan of the Star Wars series. I am a self proclaimed nerd/geek; I enjoy reading up on technology and I've built my own desktop. I've read the first four books in the Dune series and I'm captivated by the idea of the Force and lightsabers in Star Wars, but the franchise as a whole isn't really my cup of tea. This game, though, is more to my liking. I'm not a big fan of hack 'n slash games because most of them have really, really, really bad storylines, but this game has good points from both aspects.
First off, the story. I don't know every detail of the Star Wars franchise, but the story for the game fits well into the six movies in my opinion. I won't ruin much for you, but you start off playing as Darth Vader for the first pseudo-level which fits pretty well into the character development. When Darth Vader finds the main protagonist on Kashyyk, he makes the child his apprentice and trains him on the dark side of the force. Personally, I would give the storline a 3.5 or 4 stars because... well, it fills in a "plothole" that doesn't really exist in the movies. The story itself though, works and fits with the overall storyline so it's not detrimental to the franchise in any sense, it augments the already beloved franchise. My only real complaint is the lack of any of the characters in the Force Unleashed in episode 4, 5, and 6 despite them being so... "important". I didn't play the Force Unleashed 2, so maybe they all get killed off or something, but that's just me. The overall story for this game though isn't very... "deep". I didn't buy this game several times for the story and I don't really recall any part of the story as "particularly captivating", but that makes it sound bad. Just take this away from this whole paragraph: The story is decent and it explains certain things about the original storyline. Overall it provides incentives for the missions that you do and reasoning for the decisions of certain characters in the main storyline.
Now, for gameplay. You're a "dark jedi" technically: a sith. So you don't have any of those "good side tendencies"; You have force lightning, a ruthless demeanor, and the habit of killing everything. I hate it when you play other Star Wars games and you can't get any of the "really cool" abilities because they're all "dark side" oriented; why MUST lightsaber throw be a dark-jedi ability in Knights of the Old Republc? More importantly, why is it so worthless in that game? More to the point, one thing that has always kind of disappointed me about Star Wars games is that enemies somehow survive several lightsaber slashes to their torso, which isn't exactly in tune with the idea of jedi battles to begin with (hot plasma and all). In this game, most enemies die with one or two hits, which I like. Instead of trying to kill you with several strong guys that somehow survive several lightsaber thrusts to the face, you're forced to fight a myriad of stormtroopers and various battlefield soldiers to make your way to the final boss (think Dynasty Warrior). Some enemies are more resilient to your attacks though, which just makes sense; it'll be weird if a rancor died from one lightsaber throw. Likewise, boss battles are quite epic and all of them end with a button pressing sequence. I don't really know what it's called, but basically when the boss has low hp, there's an onscreen queue for you to follow a sequence of "Press X, Press Y, Press B, Do this movement" (think killing Medusa/Ares in God of War). Despite sounding a bit "off", I like it; It gives boss fights an epic ending that isn't exactly in tune with the movies. In the movies, usually someone's arm gets slashed off or they gets electrocuted; in The Force Unleashed, the protagonist slams the boss around and hurls giant rocks into the victim's face, he even grinds one guy's face into a burning laser barrier at one point - freakin' ruthless.
My absolute FAVORITE thing about this game is the use of the force. First off, Darth Vader recognizes the protagonist's Force Attunement even when he was just a child. Heck, as a child, the protagonist literally sneaks up to Darth Vader and force pulls his lightsaber out of his hand. OUT OF HIS HAND! DARTH VADER'S HAND! Think of how strong he can be! And I felt like the developers really exploited this idea. As you're walking down a mostly empty corridor, a bunch of stormtroopers will appear and shoot you. What do you do? Run up to them and lightsaber 'em you say? No no no! It's MUCH more fun to force grip one and slam him into a wall! The mechanic is smoothly done, PLUS it's funny as crap! You truly get a sense that the protagonist is oddly attuned to the force AND it makes sense!
Another aspect that I liked about this game is that you, as a sith warrior/jedi/whateveritis in training, are not invincible. Stormtroopers aren't just magically inadequate with a gun; they actually hit you and you can die that way quite easily. I would say if you stand in one place, roughly half of the blaster shots aimed at you will hit. To mitigate the annoyance of dying ungloriously from stormtroopers, each time you kill an enemy, you regain some HP via green floating health orbs that automatically flies to you. What this creates is a chaotic battlezone environment where you're constantly damaged by various explosions and etc, but you don't die in a stupid matter unless you're just bad at being a badass. Also, there's blocking and on the harder difficulties, it's rather imperative that you actually block. Is there 10 machine gunners shooting you repeatedly? Just block and your character will automatically rebound a certain percentage of the rounds back at the shooter. If you don't, during certain missions where the game just happens to have a buttload of machine gunners everywhere, your high and mighty jedi/sith/whateverheis will die rather quickly.
There are stuff that annoyed me, though. For one, the load screens are actually quite tedious. I mean to go from game -> character upgrades menu -> force power upgrades menu is two different load screens and there are load screens to go in reverse too. I know there's the whole "kids these days are so impatient" thing people keep on saying, but it's just something that was a bit tedious, not a deal breaker. Also, certain enemies have attack patterns that are actually pretty... "cheap". One example is the robot things in the second mission; they use these spears and their attacks are timed perfectly so that when you get hit, you get knocked down, and by the time you get back up, they hit you again with another attack and knock you down again (effectively stun locking you). Also, the camera is pretty atrocious in some fights. The hardest boss fight in the whole game in my opinion was the second boss fight because the camera would follow the main character around while the boss was shooting giant, exploding debris at you. What I mean is that you couldn't SEE where the debris were coming from because the camera was following your character around as you were dodging the stuff (which means the camera was moving around a lot for that fight and it was hard to see the boss). What I ended up doing for that was just double jumping and then dashing in the air several times and hoping for the best.
Lastly, the game has a lot of replay value in my personal oppinion. I bought the game when it originally came out (for PS2 I believe), again when it came out for xbox, and again when it came out for xbox 360 platinum edition because the force grip is so freakin' KEWL! Seriously, imagine yourself walk down the hallway and some enemies appear. With a flick of your wrist, those enemies are now smashed through the window. Plus there are several secret items and mission objectives for every level in the game so you have several incentives to re-do missions. I just got my friend to play it on my xbox 360 and he likes it; it's challenging enough to prevent button mashing and the gameplay is fair enough that a certain amount of skill is all you require (meaning you don't have to look up how to beat certain bosses online because the fight is so confusing). I would highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys a fairly fun hack 'n slash game that doesn't have an atrocious storyline (God of War 3, I'm looking at you!), unique abilities, a decent replayability, and lets you play as an authentic jedi/sith/whateverheis warrior. One thing that might be a bit of a bother for some people is that there are no "classes" in this game, no jedi consulars or sentinels; just the sith/jedi warrior. Personally, this game is like a better version of God of War one and if that's what you want, but with a slice of the Jedi pie mixed in, then this game is perfect.
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video-games_xbox
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A Little More Addition with a Lot More Disappointment. Here's my advice: Before you buy a game please check out reviews ANYWHERE before getting it. I made that mistake when I got this game. Overall, when I had gotten Rumble Roses XX it seemed like it was going to be something promising with its new modes but quite honestly where they opened the doors to new features, they've done a pretty lazy job on it.
The first thing you will definitely want to try out is the Create-A-Wrestler mode where you can make your own character from a variety of different options: hair color, make-up, and yes... you can pick between TWO different costumes. After playing professional wrestling games with personas you actually see on television like WWE, there have been moments in those games where it just seemed like they squeezed it out and some things were disappointing. If you put Rumble Roses XX in the pro-wrestling game genre it would make those other lame looking games gold. Yes, the customization is THAT bad. When morphing your wrestler's form, you can only change three things: B-W-H. You cannot change facial structure or even push their height past 5'9" (because women taller than that is absurd!) There may have been only 5-6 different hairstyles all you can change between 3-4 different hair colors on. The costumes you can only change the color on as well.
After just an hour playing this game, I realized one thing: I was gipped. When playing a match, it feels like this is not a pro-wrestling game but just a fighting game guised as one. The controls are less responsive than a comatose person. As part of the game, you can fill up your opponent's "embarrassment" meter when you constantly land attacks on them and you keep countering theirs. The problem: They can do the same back, and they do it a bit TOO well. I've tried countering many times and I got a low percentage of success. If I attack the CPU, then they miraculously counter every move I make. It's just like guessing at a Scantron True / False section while locking horns with someone who has the answers written on their palm.
I would tell you about the other modes this game has which I bet are a blunder. The unlockables are probably not even worth it. You can't beat your opponent unless you survive to the 10 minute time limit.
If you want to give this game a shot, then by all means RENT it. Do not buy it and expect something that'll tear off the roof.
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video-games_xbox
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For $60 I expect more...much more. Save your money and pass on this game and here's why...
THE CAMPAIGN
There are several issues with the gameplay in the campaign. First, are the movie sequences which are used extensively throughout the game to tie scenes together. I could have done with less of watching movies and more play time.
Second, this game is heavily scripted. What I mean by that is you have to follow the path, go in order and wait for "prompts" from the game. Several times the game wouldn't progress because I wasn't in exactly the right position. Also, when achieving a checkpoint and moving on I had to wait for the AI characters to go first, before I could go to the next area. Very annoying.
Third, for most gamers who like first person shooters this game is more like an appetizer than a main course. It took me 4 hours to play through the campaign on hard...the first time.
Fourth, there is no co-op campaign mode.
THE MULTIPLAYER
There are several issues with the multiplayer as well. First, the objectives were difficult to follow and the map layout wasn't very clear. I had no idea where to go most of the time because the map was useless.
Second, you have limited options on where to spawn. Unlike BC2 where you have a squad and can spawn on squad mates, this game gives you an option of spawning on your base (away from the action) or on the front lines. When you spawn on the front lines you are placed with a random group of team mates and more often than not I was gunned down before I could figure out where I was.
Third, the classes of players leave something to be desired. You can be a rifleman, spec ops or a sniper. However, when it comes down to it you are all basically an assault class with different weapons. There are no medics. There are very few vehicles. I couldn't figure out where to get ammo unless I picked up someone's weapon.
Fourth, the lack of destructible terrain makes this multiplayer game lack realism.
Fifth, the weapons you start with are mediocre and the upgrades don't really seem to be that much of an improvement. I was also disappointed to see that the multiplayer gameplay was different from the campaign. For example, in the campaign you can peek out to take shots from behind cover. This option is lacking in the multiplayer. Overall, the multiplayer felt like a poorly designed arcade version of a FPS.
Ultimately, this game lacks content, and repeat play. Save your money and a better featured FPS like BC2.
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video-games_xbox
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BioShock: Great Story in an Excellent game. BioShock is a first-person shooter by 2K Games that innovates in both story and game play. The game is set in the underwater city of Rapture which is a supposed utopia that has fallen into disrepair. The player takes on the role of a newcomer to this city who must navigate its hazards while simultaneously trying to unravel what happened to the city. The game could almost be said to have two separate narratives taking place at once. The narrative the player is most directly involved with is the story of the main character Jack as he tries to evade the splicers and other dangers and escape Rapture. But there is also the story of Rapture's history, its founding and downfall. The story of the player is told by your interactions with other characters and the choices that you make as a player, but the story of Rapture is told very differently. Rapture's story is told through audio logs that the player finds that reveal small bits of Rapture's past through others accounts. You also learn about Rapture as you explore more of the world and see what has happened to it. For instance, in one area of the game, Neptune's Bounty, you can find the body of someone who has been tortured to death. By listening to the audio log near the body you learn that one of the two rival factions in pre-downfall rapture did this and that it was one of the events to spark an all out conflict. It is through small events and evidence such as this that you learn about Rapture's descent from the utopia it strived to be when founded. The story of this game is one of its greatest strengths and is an interesting story with a few major plot twists to surprise the player. While the story is the great, this doesn't mean that gameplay suffers. Rather, BioShock has a combat system that is unique and leads to a very entertaining experience. The player is introduced to both a variety of weapons as well as plasmids and tonics. Plasmids give the player unique powers such as the ability to set enemies on fire or telekinesis. Tonics are passive abilities that alter the player character from simply increasing damage resistance to allowing invisibility. These elements combine to allow the player to customize their character to approach combat however they want. You can make your character a tank and wade in guns blazing, or sneak around and rely on melee combat. BioShock as a whole provides a great gameplay experience and story. Therefore I would rate it as a full five out of five stars.
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video-games_xbox
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Big Learning Curve, Big Reward. Before I start this review I want it to be known that I have been a long time player of the THQ UFC games and I loved them like they were my children.
Presentation/Visuals: First thing that will catch your eye when you play this game is the visuals and the presentation. Holy moly this game is beautiful and it really gives you the feeling as if your in the UFC actually fighting.
Content: One thing I really love about this game is the sheer about of fighters in this game. I don't know the exact number but there are easily over 50 fighters, the cool things all the big name fighters you know and love look great and also do signature things they do in real life! Like Anderson Silva always having his hands down! lol. Online is great and what I really like is the whole idea of earning different belts based on your progression through online fights. They also have a tournament mode and you can win championships and everyone online will see that! Have no fear my single player lovers their is a mode called ultimate fighter mode and it is awesome! Basically it takes you through the process of being a no name back yard mma fighter to a STUD.
Gameplay: This is where this game really shines! Literally everything you see in a paperview fight you can do in this game! There is one problem of course. Since you can do almost everything the control scheme can be a bit tricky at first and even more tricky if you're used to the thq games but honestly once you get it down you really feel like the fighter. No more playing as Jon Jones, no instead you are Jon Jones!
Verdict: There are many negative reviews but just from a single glance I can tell you why. Two reasons. First most people are skipping tutorial and thinking they can automatically kick ass and fortunately that's not possible! This game takes serious skill to dominate at! Second people are trying to compare this game to the THQ games and of course when you love something and something else is different you will automatically hate it. So listen, ignore the haters. If you like UFC and like games like fight night or NBA2k where you gotta put in some time to be good at, BUY THIS GAME!
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video-games_xbox
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Casual' is too difficult even for RPG veteran. Overall, I found this game disappointing. This review is after 17 hours of gameplay at Casual difficulty with a rogue character. In my opinion, few RPGs are worth playing twice just to encounter the same story with a different class of character. Dragon Age: Origins is a RPG that isn't worth the amount of toil and restarts required to encounter the story once. I am simply stunned that a game at Casual difficulty has humiliated a veteran gamer repeatedly. I have been playing video games since the Atari 2600, and RPGs since Secret of Mana on the SNES.
I agree with other reviewers on the game's merits:
- Good music and dialog
- Interesting conversations between party members
- Decent graphics
- Complete world with deep background
I strongly dislike several old school features which make the game a tedious trial-and-error process to play.
- Every fight is difficult, and you can't level up to make new areas any easier. It is difficult to tell how powerful enemies are, and they level up with you. In about half the fights, at least one party member got killed and develops a crippling injury. This consumes injury kits or forces a dull trip back to base camp to automatically cure the injury. Characters suck down healing potions like Gatorade because they all get severely wounded in fights with common grunts. My tank character is routinely killed despite being programmed to take a healing potion at half health. You will be spending more money on healing potions than on armor and weapons. Your party is outnumbered in most fights. I never considered old-school difficulty much fun, and I typically turn a game off after a party wipe. In the first 10-15 hours of gameplay, I repeated some encounters up to five times to succeed because my party was wiped out. Different tactics did not help me succeed. I simply consumed a lot more offensive poisons and defensive curing items to get through the encounter no matter what the cost. I'd leave some encounters with no potions left. In most RPGs, those tactics are only necessary for boss fights.
- No respawns of grunt enemies. There is not much point in leveling up by grinding through routine enemies, but after areas are cleared they are devoid of life. If gaining one more level allows you to add a point to a critical skill before a boss encounter, you can't earn it readily. Side quests are just about as tough as the main story line encounters. I suffered party wipe-outs while trying to discover which of four side quests could be completed without dying. I value the option to grind through grunts to make all story-line encounters easier. Dragon Age does not allow that option.
- Only three characters can accompany your party, and those left behind gain no experience. These alternative characters become useless quickly, or severe liabilities if you try to adopt them into your party later. Unless you replay the game, you'll probably never get to learn what they can do for you. I prefer to try a lot of options as I play a game thoroughly, so I find this design choice very handicapping.
- The skill trees are diverse, but you can't cover enough of them with four characters readily. I played as a rogue, and you can't get skills to cover poisons, traps, lock-picking, backstabbing, and stealth without leveling up tremendously. Since all the fights are tough, that's a long painful road before you start to feel like a competent thief. You can't re-allocate points later if you make a poor decision along the way. I currently feel that I need to restart the game rather than endure the mess of a character I have evolved.
I read through many Amazon reviews of Dragon Age and I did not often encounter the keywords which normally tip me off to an incompatible game: DIFFICULT. OLD SCHOOL. INFLEXIBLE. Out of 20 games I have played on the XBox 360, Dragon Age has been the most difficult and most unpleasant. My top three games were much different RPGs: Oblivion, Mass Effect, and Mass Effect 2. I'd recommend replaying those options.
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video-games_xbox
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Great in Simulation mode. I purchased this game last year, and after playing a few missions, I noticed it was to easy, boring. Landing a plane should not be this easy, its just pushing controls down, up, right, left, it does not feel like a plane at all, at least not on my PS3. Landing a plane, a WW2 air machine should be at least a bit challenging, landing on a moving aircraft should be hard.
I got boring just in the first missions, and did not played the game again for months. Then this year I picked this game again but set the settings in Simulation mode. This is a completely different game. I even look at the game different, I start to really love it in particular because its something you can play over and over again, its never going to be the same on each game.
I played hours and hours in this mode, I could not stop, just the first 3 missions, which are very basic flight instructions, landing on the aircraft is nearly impossible without taking speed, wind and other factors into account. It can be done if everything is fine, I can do it now, but its very hard. And it should be, this are old WW2 planes. It was suicidal to land on a moving ship. Only the best pilots could do it. I think this is more or less true today as well.
The game is so much different, its very, very fun now. No radars, not on screen things, you actually need to look left and right and use the cookpit to watch speed, etc. This makes the game play different. The plane feels now like a real plane, wind affects it and I noticed that you can fade out. Things I did never noticed in the simplified mode either. The plane actually shakes in the air, in the simplified mode, you put it on a specific point and it will stay like that without change. Each plane feels different in simulation mode, some spin out of control easier, some are slower, some are fun to fly, I really feel the wind and speed of each airplane in this mode, I think it has all the realistic things that the other modes do not have.
Now, why this game suggests "simplified" mode as default I don't know, because it ruins the experience. I did read that some Xbox users say its hard, even in that mode, and I think it has to do something with the controller because at least in the PS3 its very boring in that mode.
I would suspect the "Real" mode is the normal mode and I suggest to use that mode for new players, because you have on screen indications like radar, engine, etc, to help you out. I tried to search online what is exactly the difference between Real mode and Simulation mode, besides that there are no indicators on the screen and you fly just by eye, I really want to know if there is any difference between this modes, because at least in Simulation mode the game is very hard and this makes its very fun since you feel each plane, now watching something crazy you did on the air, is not something you are going to do twice. Even replays are fun in this mode, for the simple reason that doing some spins require knowledge of the plane, speed, wind, altitude, etc.
So if the game is boring or to easy, I suggest to change the mode. Even start playing the single missions like that, otherwise you are ruined the experience by beating the game without even having fun.
I thing the Simplified mode is there for casual gamers or kids, because the game is just that in that mode, a simple boring game. Im a casual gamer, but if I put a game where im supposed to fly a WW2 airplane, I want the game to give me that experience as best as it can.
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video-games_xbox
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NFL Videogames Need Competitive Developers. The National Football League (Pete Rozell, et al) has cultivated a national passion for professional football that has reached unbelievable proportions that are witnessed in the hundreds of thousands fantasy football leagues world wide. But for videogamers, we got sold down the river! Now that MADDEN is the only game in town (since buying exclusive NFL rights) those of us who l-o-v-e football have begun to h-a-t-e football on video games. ESPN was on the right track: halftime highlights, exciting commentators, drafting, stadium music, etc. (Why can't EA sports figure this out?) With the technology in hardware and video capability there is NO reason that our only option is to put down $60 bucks on a $400 console to play crappy, third-rate football. The graphics are all over the place - anything but smooth. (Didn't you guys test this stuff?) It's insane to play your career as a tackle and see the game that way (what were you smokin'?) When you create a player (which all videogamers love to do) you have very limited control. Why isn't there an offseason draft, etc? (Didn't you guys notice that half the planet is involved with fantasy football and that the most fun is the actual drafting?) After all I have invested in music why can't I play it in this game? RECOMMENDATION: Don't buy this product. If you already have a football game (from any previous vendor or year) it works better than this - and you save sixty bucks. SUMMARY: It's pretty obvious we're being set up. We all know the technology is available and there are plenty of skilled developers, right? So, I think the process goes like this: 1) monopolize a sector of the gaming industry, 2) give them crappy products, 3) let them complain about the crappy product, 4) remarket a revised product with all the bells and whistles - and double the price. I realy wish the NFL would allow other developers to use their brand/logo/name, etc - so we could enjoy football the way the true spirit of the NFL would have wanted us to.
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video-games_xbox
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If you dip a turd in bronze... it's still a turd. Funny thing: I was at a Gamestop the day this game came out and I was very tempted to purchase a copy. My lovely lady advised otherwise and for once the crack of the whip was a good thing. I rented the game and played about three hours into it before giving up all hope. The graphics were beautiful, but that should go without saying -If you're going to delay a game for months upon months to tweak it, and then ask 50 bucks for it, it had better look nice and purdy. So whoopty-hey on the gorgeous animations. Software designers have no excuse for not raising the bar graphic-wise with all the computer technology they now have at their disposal.
The gameplay is linear and stagnant. - "Fight these three brown ninjas! Here comes a white ninja! - Fight this monster, oh wait, more ninjas!!" About the only rewarding feeling while playing the game was getting to run up walls and flip over people onto ledges etc. But you can't have fun flipping around all day long because that damn "random ninja generator" is cranked to 11, and wave after wave of generic ninjas will keep attacking you as you play. - So you can't enjoy the wall hopping without having to participate in Ninja Gaiden's stale fighting system. (Maybe they should have done a Ninja Olympics game??)
**There is no ragdoll and the ninja's, when killed, die in about the same three or four poses. This makes for very monotonous gameplay. They attack the same way, and then they die the same way. Zzz. (Ps - The camera/view system is bearable at best. - Which is funny, because the game constantly emphasizes how a true ninja must be extremely observant and adept at looking around. - You'll spend a great deal of time wrestling with compromising camera angles.)**
The bosses, as I'm sure you've heard, are ridiculously hard. But not in a fun advanced AI sense, where you feel the joy of battle... No, I'm afraid not at all. The bosses are hard in the sense that they know what you are about to do before you do it, and constantly thwart your every attempt to attack them. To defeat the bosses, you have to waste about 6 or 7 tries finding out what moves not to do, and what pattern it's okay to attack in. To me, that's not a fun challenge.. that's more of a math equation done with an Xbox controller instead of a calculator. Tecmo thinks it's funny to waste our time ;)
To end on a good note I must say that the story is solid. And of course, the character artwork and animation is beautiful and fluid. Very fun to watch. (Sorry Tecmo, I just ran out of compliments.)
If you're a hardcore fan of the original games, hey, buy it. - You're bound to make it fun for yourself. But if it was the hype train that brought you here, I would advise that you rent this one before buying it. - Metaphorically, this game is a shiny new Corvette with my craptacular 4 cylinder Ford engine powering it. Savy?
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video-games_xbox
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VERSATILE 5.1Channel Sound for Xbox 360. I shopped and priced around extensively, and the Pioneer HTIB system was the clear choice to add on to my Xbox 360. First, and foremost, this is a well designed "compact" home theater system that goes very well with a 360. It's color scheme blends right in with the Microsoft game sytem. Pioneer got all the details right, even down to the XBOX-like "univeral" remote control.
The nearest competitor to Pioneer's HTS-GS1 is the Spherex 51000 HTIB 5.1 Channel surround system, also license by Microsoft specifically for the Xbox 360. In a head to head comparison, to me, the Pioneer integrates best, mainly because it "looks" like it belongs with the Xbox and also has more user friendly system controls and by far is more flexible to set up whether used with the Xbox or not. I cannot comment on differences in terms of purely audio performance, but the Spherex is only rated for 300 watts total output. The latter may not be a fair comparison - read on for more on this.
These two systems are currently selling in retail stores close to the same price point (around $200). Since there introduction, both have been deeply discounted from original list price of $499. Overall, I feel the HTS-GS1 offers the most bang for the buck.
The surround speakers are uniquely and cleverly designed. The front and rear speaker are actually "stackable" which allows a front surround stage 5 channel sound speaker placement arrangement. This stacking feature is not possible on Spherex system with its omni surround satellite speakers which must have free air space above each speaker to work properly.
Front speaker stacking is an extremely useful feature for the non-purist audiophile. It lends itself to a much faster and simpler system set up, eliminating need for long(er) - hard to disguise - routing of speaker wires to the back of your listening room area. However, this diminishes the full effectiveness of a surround sound system, yet in the case of the HS-GS1, I did not find it overly detracting from the system's "virtual" surround or front-only sound stage experience. Furthermore, I appreciate having a CHOICE in satellite speaker placement and opted to go this route for obvious advantages offered in eliminating the hassle of locating and mounting separate rear speakers and wiring complications.
The surround sound "effects" are still quite evident in this front only arrangement, because the unique stackable left and right double decker speakers can be rotated independently rotated to aim them in different dirrections. This design does an adequate job of simulating a four corner surround sound, if not fully "immersive" listening experience.
I may eventually take the additional time to separate and relocate the rear satellite speaker to the back of my listening area. Pioneer provides plenty of speaker wire for that purpose if so desired. But for now, I am enjoying the system in the front surround mode only, and saved at least another couple of hours of tedious installation work routing the rear speaker wires far away from the audio amplifier (subwoofer) origination connections.
One thing that the average consumer should know is that most comparable HTIB systems are "hyped" in terms of their true (<1% THD) audio output power rating per channel per the FTC. In actuality this Pioneer system has a total of 155 watts output power; 25W each for the four satelites, 30W for the somewhat larger size center speaker and only 25W for the subwoofer. Nevertheless, this is more than enough power for a small to medium size room and if you crank up the volume you can be prepared to damage your eardrums.
The audio amplifier built into the bottom of the subwoofer enclosure has four audio inputs, 3 digital (2 of which are for TOSLINK fiber optic cable ready inputs and 1 coaxial input), plus one tradional (wire pair) of analog audio inputs. Pioneer, generously, includes a fiber optic cable but no other audio input cables. For 5.1 channel sound decoders, such as built-in to Xbox 360, or sometimes passively outputed from a HDTV, this cable comes in handy. (Don't forget to remove the protective dust covers on both ends of this cable before attaching to your Xbox 360 (or other output device) to the digital audio input on the back of the single enclosure, 5.1 channel audio amplifier - AM/FM stereo receiver -subwoofer. The latter has a built-in power supply and AC line cord is included with the product.
All five, individual (supplied) speaker wires are color coded to make a do-it-yourself installation that much easier to get right the first time, although bare wire attachments are still need to be properly connect the back of each standalone speaker. Unlike other HTIB system, that are permanently pre-wired, Pioneer uses standard "quick-connect" speaker wire color coded connectors to further aid in ease of installation. The subwoofer has a short pre-wired "jumper" on the back panel to quick connect to the amplifier.
As I said the remote control for this system is especially well suited for Xbox 360, TV, and home theater integration. It supports all three! In addition to buttons for controlling the 5.1 channel audio sound, it also has another set of buttons to operate the Xbox 360 and optional HD-DVD player, Media Center PC, and also can be programmed to support most TVs.
The remote buttons dedicated to 360 control are segregated, and stylized to closely mimic the same buttons on Xbox 360 game controller as well as Microsoft's (sold separately) Universal Media Remote. On the down side, unfortunately the remote is not backlighted and none of the buttons glow in the dark when pressed. However, the Xbox Guide button is raised and larger than all the others, and the green, red, blue, yellow, color coded button that correspond to game controllers A-B-X-Y buttons, all in one row, are easy to use.
The remote control operates a nicely designed system controller with a digital readout display, with its own set of basic control buttons. Btw, a big disadvantage with the competing Spherex system is that it can ONLY be operated by remote control; undoubtedly a cost cutting tradeoff.
The bottom line, this Pioneer system is a very high quality product that WILL EXCEED the average electronic consumers expectations, and therefore is worth every penny of the purchase price.
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video-games_xbox
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The Quality of the Master Chief Collection Realy Shows how much 343 Is there for the Halo Community. Amazing Game! 343 really delivered with the content, there's over a $400 dollar value on this disk if you bought all other halos face value and their DLC's.
-Campaign is everything you could ask for, 60fps really does it wonders and the playlist function is a great addition
-not to mention all the tons of added bonuses onto halo 2 anniversary, like terminals and skulls, the cut-scenes blew me
away.
-Multiplayer is not working correctly at the moment, but 343 has released a statement saying it will be fixed Nov 13th which they have done smoothly before in the past with halo 4. Its not much to worry about, just launch hiccups. Everyone out there worried about the multiplayer and party system, you don't need to fret. 343 is amazing when it comes to taking care of their games and everything is going to be fine.
-Also, if anyone is upset by the playlist selection, 343 changes them every couple of weeks, there will be plenty of variety for everyone
-Don't forget about Forge and Custom games! I have spent alot of time on forge, and I can tell you the additions they have made to halo 2 anniversary forge mode are the best we've ever seen. There's going to be PHENOMENAL custom games because of this, mainly bigger maps, map interaction(like buttons and triggers) and ALOT more content. The game also has halo 3 and halo 4 forge too, so original custom games and game specific custom games can be made! (like halo 3 with the chopper and foundry objects)
-However I haven't scene a file sharing system like in halo reach and halo 4 with the "most downloaded" tab. If this isn't added into the game that would be a huge let down, but there still is plenty of resources outside of the game, like reddit, forge hub, youtube etc. that supply a way forgers to get their maps out there.
-And finally, all the extra content and unlockables is a HUGE plus. Things like:
-Name plates
-Avatars
-All the halo emblems (and new ones)
-4000 gamer score in achievements
-All the halo 3 and 4 armor (all though you cant mix and match the individual pieces, like change the head and shoulders
which is a bummer)
-Halo Nightfall
-Extra terminals and skull uses across halo 2 and new skulls for the other halo campaigns
-halo 5 beta
In conclusion: I gave this game 5 stars just because of the sheer quality and quantity it has going for it. 343 really put their heart into this one and it shows. They could of easily chopped it up into pieces and sold them as over priced DLC. The multiplayer is great too (at least when you can find a match) but when you do play and hook up correctly, its an absolute blast for every halo fan. But more importantly, looking down the road, this game is going to offer hundreds of thousands of people hundreds upon hundreds of hours in gameplay for a very long time to come. There is just so much to do! Halo Master Chief Collection tailors to all fans of the halo franchise and I believe is going to be one of the best bundles this year, definitely the best bundle to come to the xbox one, and there is no doubt in my mind once the multiplayer is up and running this game will be flawless.
Feel free to message me if you have any individual questions or discrepancies about this game, I am more than willing to help any current or potential halo fans :)
Also I DO NOT work for microsoft or 343, Im just an enthusiastic fan that has thoroughly looked over this bundle to see if its worth all of our time and money (which, in my opinion, definitively is)
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video-games_xbox
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Be Tolerant of its Issues. Two Worlds 2 is a sword and magic RPG game along the lines of Oblivion. Your character is fighting through enemies and surmounting obstacles to save his entrapped sister.
Be warned when you start playing that you need to overcome a hurdle for the first hour or two. You could easily be turned off from playing by the atrocious cut scenes, wooden voice acting, and incredibly bizarre character animations. Cloaks float around as if they are snakes, even with the character standing still. NPC arm movements while they talk are laugh out loud funny. The women, of course, wear the skimpiest outfits one could imagine. And for much of the time the sky is so blindingly white that it glows.
But hang in there. Accept that the dialogue often feels like it was cut-and-paste either from Star Wars, from Lord of the Rings, or both at the same time. Pretend that the hand movements during the cut scenes are some sort of a comedy skit. Look at those as minor side traits of the core adventuring game.
Over time you come to immerse yourself in the main gameplay. You ignore the radiation-white sky and enjoy the detail in the various world you visit. Someone put effort into designing the locations in a way that feels organic. Ignore the Keanu Reeves Matrix no-emotion delivery of the lines and instead watch some of the action sequences involving sword swings. I've studied medieval swordfighting for several years and some of these sequences are quite sweet. Of course others are a bit silly, but you can't have everything.
The game has some features which other games could really learn from. You can set up three equipment sets and toggle between them with one button click. So you can set up your "fighter outfit" and your "archer outfit" and pop between them depending on the enemies before you.
If you're the patient type who likes to really immerse himself in a game world, there are intriguing books to read that provide background on the characters and storylines.
So if you're expecting perfection, this definitely isn't the game to play. Clearly the developers had a number of flaws that they should have fixed before they released this. A NPC will say "take this bow" while holding out an empty hand. Bodies will clip into walls. And yet the game has a lot to offer. I suggest plowing through those first few hours and getting into the meat of the game. Get into the spell system and the leveling system. That's when you'll see if the game's main mechanics will keep you hooked for the multi hours of gameplay that it offers.
We paid for this game with our own funds in order to do this review.
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video-games_xbox
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One hollow and empty gaming expierence. Not what I was expecting. They spruced up the graphics very well. Some tracks invoke that empty feeling that I'll touch on in a bit. Like racing through ghost towns.
The sound is about on par with number 1, which is another good thing. The novelty of real time radio has defenitely wore off by this time but it's just as good as GTA's.
Something also on par is the games AI, which is absolutely unexcusable given the games development time. The way they can spin you out by nudging you seems worse this time around. It also features rubber band catch up and robot driving lines. No one expects this to be perfect, but it could of been much, much better. The AI still usually as one group way in back and one way in front. These were more forgivable during xbox's launch, but now that they still haven't gone away it makes them much more noticable this time around.
The career is really dumbed down because of the new kudos tokens give you 0 motivation to go for plantinum since you'll get enough kudos for the best cars in each class you'll race. Also you now don't have to worry about earning a certain amount of Kudos AND finishing in a certain spot. In part one, you were forced to go for the gold because the kudos bonus would just barely get you over the top, and that's if you didn't screw up. The cone design is uninspired, but that could be due to the new driving model. After completing the game here's the killer: the handiling is for pansies. I compared my best replays from PGR1 and PGR2, and played PGR1 right after 2, and the control in 2 lets you make perfect runs because you can usually counter oversteer, overacceleration, over brake, whatever without going out of control and still get through cones. In part one if you could misjudge every now and then, but it felt like a battle to keep the car in your control and any one silly thing would take you out the race. The scoring system is on a higher scale, which makes no sense at all. But there are enough good tracks to go around. The races don't have that keep you up to 1 am intensity of Midnight club 2 or PGR1. Those games require undivided attention and practice, this is present in only a handful of PGR2 races. Everything is there, but I don't like racing for the hell of it. It isn't worth the time to go through the plethora of modes, because almost all of them are sheer eye candy. Difficuly and weird pacing can destroy the greatest masterpieces...this game reminds me of the wind waker...I shouldn't be ahead on the final race of the game by 30 seconds after spinning out twice. Where's the reward in that? And certain tracks really start to repeat as you make your way through the game in a way it doesn't make sense. Your at the second to last class, and your racing in a race from the third class and it's like what the hell and next race the track is from the sixth class. There is no logic involved the that at all.
Xbox Live play is great if you find the game fun, which I really did not. Downloading the ghosts further proves my point, this game is lighter, more accesible game than the first one. If you like games like Ninja Gaiden, pick up the first one in a heartbeat. If the pace and difficulty in WW didn't bother you, you should feel right at home here. If you have little racing expirience this gen, you may have the time of your life with this game. But I think the system has many better choices out there.
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video-games_xbox
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The Mixed Bag of Halo: Reach. The massive promotion and anticipation of Halo: Reach was only half deserved in my opinion. Here is a list about the game and what comes in this edition:
Good:
1) Game play will always be different (AI will change tactics and not always repeat actions every play-through)
2) Sangheili (Elites) are as strong as in the books, Lekgolo (Hunters) are tough like in books too.
3) You can customize your SPARTAN armor for ANY game mode, even campaign
4) Damage (to player by AI) from weapons/melee varies on where hit, grazes do less melee damage while direct hits do massive damage
5) Armor powers take time to master, but can change the battle in a minute. And the AI have some abilities too!
6) Halsey's Journal is worth it, packed with all sorts of goodies
Bad:
1) Plot shreds the book Halo: Fall of Reach, that is a black mark in my world
2) These are supposed to be SPARTAN-IIs, not IIIs. Goes against book Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, another black mark from me
3) (Minor issue) Elites can barely touch you with their weapons and you die
4) (Minor issue) Jackals are 10 times harder to hit behind shields than in previous games, almost right but made a little too hard
5) The Skirmishers are not a fun addition, they are like Kig-Yar (Jackals) on meth and when equipped with small arm shields can block bullets to their legs by holding their arms to their heads
6) Multiplayer Sangheili armor cannot be customized, why?
7) Menus changed substantially and require some time to learn
8) Some new weapons seem to exist only to annoy players while others are perfect additions
Neutral:
1) Aliens speak in own language, cool effect but takes away from some of the fun of hearing a Sangheili say "Ouch" when you punch him.
2) Game get too caught up in the "We are walking dead, when do we die?" feeling, no Epic Finale
3) A Sangheili can survive a grenade stick (and Spartan Laser) on higher difficulties? That's not right
4) You don't get time to really know and like your teammates before they start getting killed off
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video-games_xbox
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Marvel Ultimate Alliance is worth the buy. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance tells the struggle of a large group of various Marvel super heroes that have come together as they chase and battle both highly recognized and fairly unknown enemies in an attempt to foil Dr. Doom's ultimate plan for world domination: to steal the god Odin's powers and use them for evil.
If you ever played X-Men: Legends then you'll get the right idea for this game. You pick a group of up to 4 mutants from a pool of about 25 heroes that include the X-Men, Avengers, and run around a level meleeing enemies or blasting them with projectiles, collecting S.H.I.E.L.D credits which are used to help level up your skills and make your outfit stronger (there are 4 costumes for each character you can unlock and some of them are pretty cool while others are dumb), solving small puzzles, playing mini-games that require you to press a certain button that pops up on screen, and collecting items. The items you collect can be used to enhance your character such as adding strength or focus, unlock bonus levels called "Comic Missions" where you play as a certain character in a situation that resembles a comic that character was in, unlock concept art, and unlock loading screens. Additionally there are bonus objectives such as saving data from a computer, rescuing Odin, and others that will give you both experience points and will affect your ending. So pay attention to the objectives.
Also when you meet certain criteria such as finding 5 action figures or beating all the Comic Missions you can unlock hidden characters like Daredevil, Black Panther or Silver Surfer. While in-game you can find Ghost Rider, Dr. Strange, Nick Fury & Blade.
Oh I forgot to mention that in each "safe zone" such as Stark Towers there are these trivia computers that give you free experience points for each question you answer right about the Marvel universe... and trust me its not really all that easy for newbie comic readers once you get into the higher levels.
The high replay value stems from the amount of things to collect, the leveling up of each character, finding the hidden characters and it's online abilities. Thats right - you and 3 others can play through the entire campaign working together or go into "Arcade" mode and compete for the highest score for that level. Its pretty fun and rather interesting to see where others are at in the game when they need help and set up a co-op server.
The best part of this game, in my opinion, was when you're in MurderWorld and you have to play a version of the old Atari version of the original Pitfall. Easily one of the best reasons to play Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
The X-Box 360 achievements are easy to earn in this game for the most part. It really just requires you to play through the game to get most of them but then there are a few like unlocking heroes or throwing enemies off ledges or performing finishing moves.. trust me, they are easy.
Graphically speaking, Ultimate Alliance is so-so. The levels are nicely detailed and the character models of the super heroes and villians look great but when you go up close to other characters they look blocky and muddled. Glactus looked deisel.
But no game comes without flaws. For starters the sound effects fade in and out during cutscenes. For example you'll see an explosion but won't hear anything. Secondly, a good majority of the dialouge is in text boxes without voices (dont get me wrong, sometimes they talk but not all the time). Secondly, your allies AI is just bad - you can command them to be on the defensive or offensive but no matter what you tell them to do they will still run after enemies and get their faces pounded. The worst example of this is in the Comic Missions where you have to protect someone cause if they die then the mission ends but all they do is run into harms way. Finally, the camera can sometimes just randomly change spots which can be quite awkward and frustrating at times.
Overall, Ultimate Alliance is definitley a game worth owning because there is so much to do, its fun playing as and facing a wide variety of Marvel characters, it lengthy, not TOO hard, and it's online capabilities is fun. Not to mention there are quite a few endings pending on the bonus objectives you complete. I give it an 8.4 for everyone.
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video-games_xbox
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Mediocrity's Patron Saint. I don't write many reviews, but Dark Void definitely is the hardest one so far.
The reason why I don't review games all the time (on websites that is) is because I'm picky. The game I'm reviewing had better either be astonishingly good or bad, and if that's accomplished, I'll write a review only if the game isn't cluttered with a million other reviews (or sometimes just for the fact that I'm too lazy). However, I feel as if I should write a review of Dark Void to challenge myself and probably finally get an actual opinion on the game.
Yes I played it, and yes I beat it, but I still just can't bring myself to say what sort of quality the game illustrates. It sure isn't a good game, but I'm still conflicted to say if it's either okay or bad. I'll try and figure it out over the course of me writing this, and hopefully, you reading it. So grab your snorkel and Speedo and let's dive into Dark Void! ("WAIT YOU FORGOT YOUR...!" -sploosh-)
Dark Void has you playing as WWII pilot Will who's voiced by... oh Christ, Nolan freaking North (AKA Nathan Drake: Uncharted, Desmond: Assassin's Creed, the dude from Shadow Complex, The [NEW] Prince of Persia, and soon to be a billion other roles). Just by finding out the voice actor of Will, it should be pretty clear as what kind of character he is. If you guessed "grizzled, smug, wise-cracking, generically handsome, white guy with a lousy haircut", then go get yourself a well deserved meatball foot long. I wouldn't mind Nolan North being in so many games, if he didn't portray the same friggin' character in every single one. Tommy Lee Jones can get away with portraying the same character because he does it well and it fits him. But when ever Nolan voices a main protagonist, that character becomes almost completely unlikable the moment it completes its first sentence.
Coincidentally, that's exactly what happened to every other character in the game. They're all so bland, clichd, and uninteresting you'd think they were taken straight from the set of 24. I'm not even going to go into detailed descriptions of them or even the story. Because if you've ever played a game or a seen a movie about a bunch of dudes droping into a pocket dimension controlled by some evil force, Dark Void will come across as a collaboration of every tired clich that particular sub-genre has created.
"But hey, tons games of have had less than stellar stories but still manage to be awesome in the long run (see Dead Rising, Painkiller, San Andreas, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., etc.), after all, the whole point of a game is to play it!"
I couldn't agree more, Previous Sentence, but the problem is Dark Void doesn't handle the whole "game" aspect well either.
Unless if you've been following the hype train or looking at the box art, the main selling point of Dark Void is the fact that you get to fly around in a jet pack. With it, you can you blast through some really pretty levels at mach 10, engage in dog fights, hijack enemy saucers, and take cover under and over ledges and platforms. But for some reason the game seems to forget about those features in favor of making the player boringly run 'n' gun on foot the first few hours and so forth (even the final stage is an endless trudge through dozens of narrow corridors) instead of just letting us "Rocketeer" the whole shebang, which honestly would've made for a MUCH better game. Still, when Dark Void finally coughed up the jet pack after the first two and a half hours of repetitive third person shooting, it was extremely gratifying.
The controls were fluid, the level of scale was huge, and you got to fight lots of flying saucers and giant robots. It was fun, infact, it was really fun! But sadly, the fun factor started slightly fading away after the next few levels. Dark Void makes the same mistake Madworld and Red Faction: Guerilla made by introducing a cool gameplay innovation but not really doing anything with it and having said gameplay innovation become mind numbingly repetitive:
-You shoot down enemy ships (or steal them through an over done quick time event).
-You take cover and shoot at some dudes on the ground.
-You smash a computer.
-You kill an even bigger dude.
-The process repeats
After demanding the jet pack after almost three hours of monotonous gameplay and finding out that the jet pack levels weren't really all that good is like waiting for grandma to finally serve Thanksgiving dinner after hours of playing fifty-two pick up and finding out that the meal tastes like something you'd get from a drive thru. It's definitely eatable, but missing all of the panache and quality that makes it special and memorable.
Actually, come to think of it, there is something special about Dark Void...
It's perhaps the most truly mediocre game of all time.
It doesn't have the kind of Halo or Final Fantasy mediocrity that's actually a weak disguise for its stagnating pretentiousness. Nor the kind of Brtal Legend/Uncharted mediocrity where the cool story/gameplay makes up for the bland gameplay/story. Dark Void is the kind of mediocrity where everything about it is so blisteringly okay it just can't be good or bad. The story may be clichd and bland, but yet it's not bad enough to not want to know what happens next. The gameplay may be repetitive and stale, but it's all functional, virtually glitch free, and can actually be exhilarating at times. At certain moments, I even found myself wanting to stop playing the game but yet I couldn't make myself do so. It was almost like I was in some kind of gaming purgatory.
Dark Void is the game EA always wanted to make (sadly Capcom beat them to the punch). It's a game so bland, mediocre, clichd, and so outright okay, it stands a perfectly balanced high wire act between good and bad games. Just that little factoid alone should make you in some small way intrigued enough to try it out. I would go as far to say borrow it or rent it. What ever you do, aVoid buying it.
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video-games_xbox
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Party Play is the New Standard. I own about every Guitar Hero and Rock Band Game, and this one makes a huge leap forward. If you like playing these games in a party setting, or if you have kids who get frustrated by failing (or are constantly wanting to change instruments), then you are going to LOVE GH5's party play.
Essentially, the game starts up playing a random song from the game. Hit start for the main menu, or just hit the yellow button on your guitar or drum controller to just start playing that song. The game will randomly cycle through all the songs in the game (plus what you've downloaded and imported - more on importing songs later), and any player can join in at any time by hitting the yellow button. That person then selects their difficulty level and their note "highway" is added to the game (everyone already playing has their highway shift over to accomodate the newcomer). Also gone is the restriction on only one person playing "guitar" (in the past, only one guitar and one bass player allowed). Now you can have three guitarists, three bassists, three drummers, or any combination thereof (as well as multiple singers, too).
One of the best parts of party play is that when you hit pause on your controller, it only pauses YOUR higway (and the game picks up your music track and plays it while your game is paused). Everyone else keeps jamming while you get a drink, answer the phone, go to the bathroom, adjust your strap, pick up that dropped drumstick, etc. When you get back, you just hop back in. You can also change your difficulty mid-song, and you can select your own playlist in party play mode. If you have small kids or newbies who like to jam, but haven't mastered the game yet, party play is NO FAIL. Also returning from GH World Tour is the beginner difficulty level which, on guitar, has no colored notes, just the strum bar. Party Play is the new gold standard of music games.
The rest of the game plays just like World Tour or Smash Hits, and the included music is good, but that's up to your personal taste.
So why only four stars? While GH5 allows you to import songs from your previously purchased GH games like Metallica, World Tour, Smash Hits and Band Hero, unfortunately you can only import some (not even most) songs from these games (except Band Hero, where you get a majority of the songs). Worse, you don't get some of the best songs from WT and SH. The GH folks need to fix this right away. There's no excuse for the poor percentage of transferrable songs. Fortunately, almost all of your downloads for GHWT are playable here (no Hendrix). The one bright spot is that 61 of the 65 tracks on Band Hero are exportable to GH5. Let's hope that one day all these tracks will work on GH5 and newer games.
All in all, this game is a great improvement in the genre and unless you always play alone, you'll love it.
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video-games_xbox
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Tried and true but nothing new... STILL. Edit: 5/24/2010 Finally picked up the US retail version of this game and, surprise surprise, its still a 3/5 game. I don't care much for critics, but its amusing that it received 62.25% from 28 reviews on GameRankings as of this edit (thats 3/5 for those that have trouble with math). The "fixes" and all the other promised clean-ups are nearly non-existent. All the games faults still remain - BUT it still holds its 4/5 for fun, I haven't changed the original review at all, because its dead on.
Everything in this game, from its graphics to its controls to its voice-acting, is outdated. However it still looks and plays decent enough. It is a classic quest based RPG - similar to Morrowind or Oblivion. If you liked those games - that is to say if you like running around killing some stuff, talking to some people, doing some random tedious tasks and leveling up skills - you would most likely enjoy Risen.
Graphics: Solid but old. Not up to par with current titles but some vistas still look very nice. Although some of the character models can look a bit "clunky".
Sound: Music and effects are normal. The voice-acting can be down-right horrible at times, but its normal for the most part.
Interface/Controls: Risen takes a hit here. The interface is bland and there are practically no settings such as brightness or sensitivity. The maps and inventory menus are a pain and not well thought out. The controls leave a lot to be desired. They feel unfinished and slow, sometimes frustrating in hard fights. This is easily Risen's weakest point.
Gameplay: I actually enjoy grinding quests that split off from a main story line. There is a nice variety of play. You might be killing something, collecting something, solving a dispute or a murder mystery. However, there is little intuition involved and most quests just involve going to the right spot and talking to everyone involved. Whether you're talking with your sword or your words depends on the quest.
Conclusion: A lot of blame could be based on this being a poor port from the PC, but despite the technical issues the game is still just normal. Watch a review or two on youtube or gametrailers. If you've enjoyed similar titles and you want a game to fill in the time between blockbuster hits - Risen is for you. All others I suggest you rent this one first.
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video-games_xbox
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more than you'd expect. let me start by saying that i've played this game a lot. i've unlocked every weapon, accessory, etc. i've done every verse of every chapter, found every bird, unlocked all achievements, beaten all the secret/extra content. the cap on the recorded playtime of a save file is 99 hours 59 minutes and i hit that on my first save file a long time ago. what i'm getting at is that i've seen everything this game has to offer :p
genre:
3rd person action game with a scoring/grading system
this game is for:
fans of the genre looking for something fun, or people wanting to give the genre a try. this game is great for a beginner. also of note, getting all of the achievements/trophies is required for some of the unlocks so it's expected that anyone could get them all without much trouble. so if getting 1000 gamerscore or a plat trophy is something that you like doing, this game is worth picking up.
this game is not for:
kids...or people that might try to take it seriously.
pros:
huge range of difficulty! a ton of content. gameplay is flashy and fun to watch. aside from a few game-breaking techniques/equipment, this game is skill based (making for satisfying gameplay). easily one of the best action games around in my opinion. clear game mechanics make it easy for the player to understand what skilled gameplay should be like, making the progression from casual to serious a natural one.
cons:
a weak story (it's a prologue at best). mood - though many will find the over-the-top action and anything but subtle sexuality quite amusing, it does turn some people away before they'd give the game a fair shake. controller abuse - if you want to milk as many points as possible from combo finishers, you're going to have to mash buttons or rotate the stick a lot (depending on the animation). all too easy - while the game's difficulty is quite scalable, the scoring system is very forgiving which allows non-perfect gameplay to turn out decent scores. while cool for the casual player, it leaves something to be desired for the hardcore...
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video-games_xbox
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Best RPG on a console. I never liked Role Playing Games until I started playing Morrowind on Xbox. Sure, it was difficult to get into, and the combat isn't as intuitive as Halo's, but the world is so immersive and the quests so enjoyable that the game has drawn me in.
The graphics are great, especially the water and sky, which look better than their counterparts in Halo. The people look a bit strange, not as realistic as faces in Halo, and the buildings occasionally strike me as looking as though they are drawn. However, I guess you can't have everything: this is the xbox, not a high-end PC, and whilst Morrowind on xbox can't hold a candle to what a Pentium4 can do, it's still better than other consoles.
The action is good, because unlike the Final Fantasy games you actually get to swing your weapon. If you cause damage to your opponent then you see a little - not much - blood come out, which is indicative of the fact that you're actually causing some harm. This is way better than having a little bar over someone's head that shows their health. That said, the combat isn't fantastic, and it seems a little jerky at times. I guess you have to reconcile yourself to the fact that this is an RPG and you can't expect the action to be brilliant.
There are mountains of quests to complete during the course of the game, and you can join several guilds at once and work your way up through the hierarchy to eventually become someone important. Or you can train your character in the arts of combat and then go on a killing spree around Vvardenfell.
Another reviewer said that it will take 3 months to get anywhere with Morrowind. Not so. If you bother to read some tips and hints on the internet you can find ways to level up your character very quickly. One reason why some people find it initially difficult to get into Morrowind is that they choose a weak character and find that their character moves too slow, has no money, and is incapable of killing anyone. For these people - usually people who prefer action games, like me - it is better to choose a character such as an Orc, who is physically stronger than others, and then buy some good armour and weapons from the tradehouse in Seyda Neen. At first, it is difficult to kill anyone who has a weapon, so it's best to concentrate on stealing and selling items in order to purchase training so that you can level up your character and get stronger.
You also need to pick useful minor and major attributes, and ones which are easy to level up. Acrobatics can be levelled up by just jumping constantly, while Mercantile can be levelled up by haggling with shopkeepers and Axe, Longsword, Heavy Armour, Medium Armour, Unarmoured etc, can be levelled up by getting into plenty of fights.
Overall, this game becomes more and more enjoyable the more familiar you become with your surroundings. Once you get your speed level up high, you character literally zooms around, and when you get your acrobatics levels up you can jump across rivers instead of using bridges.
Every time I play Morrowind I wear my headphones and turn the lights off, and this just makes the game so much more atmospheric and enjoyable, particularly during thunderstorms. The rain effect is very good, particularly the effect of rain falling on water. Excellent.
I have had the game for a month now and have played it for about 50 hours. This game froze up on me ONCE, and it was with a particular character, so I just deleted that save and the problem hasn't reoccurred. Most likely, you'll get hundreds of hours of gameplay out of this game before it starts crashing, and then you can sell it secondhand so you will get your money's worth.
I recommend buying Morrowind because it is simply the second most entertaining game on Xbox, behind Halo.
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video-games_xbox
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Awesome Game, Despite Some Flaws and Fanboy Outcry. (Purchased on Steam, 54 hours played as of this review)
4.5/5
Supreme Commander 2 is not a perfect game by any means, but is a massive improvement over the original. The original game was plagued by some issues that made it hard to approach. Among these issues are the ridiculous system requirements (bad optimization). SupCom 2 looks better and runs better than the original. I'm using an AMD FX-4100 with a GeForce GTX 550Ti (far from top-of-the-line, but should be more than enough for a game from 2007) and Supreme Commander 2 runs perfectly on max settings with 16Q anti-aliasing and 16 anisotropic filtering. SC:FA slows down on even medium settings. But that is just a look under the hood of the game.
I will address common complaints of this game, since so many people seem to hate it for silly reasons.
Graphics:
I've seen complaints of "bad graphics," but it simply isn't true. I talked with some people about what they meant, and the only ones who could elaborate said it looked "like anime or toys." I can see the anime complaint on the cut scenes, but toys? Maybe the Illuminate units look a little cartoon-like, but the game looks wonderful. On my 21.5" 1920x1080 display, on max settings, this game is eye candy.
Scale:
Scale was a big appeal in the original, but it was honestly overkill. If I have to spend 5-10 minutes just moving my units to the enemy base, I'm not having any fun. 90% of a match on the original consisted of managing your base and watching your units march across the map. This wasn't fun; it was stupid (my opinion, take it or leave it). The reduced scale didn't ruin anything, but it also made the game more approachable, and I am far from being a casual gamer.
Research tree:
The tier system of the original game was just bad. Tier 2 units replaced tier 1 units entirely, and tier 3 replaced tier 2. Not to mention, upgrading to the next tier level was a chore. While the research tree is flawed, it is fundamentally better than tiers. Had the developer merely balanced it better and added more gameplay functions to compliment it, it would have been a perfect system. Nonetheless, I prefer it to the tier system of the original game, as units don't become obsolete.
My suggestions for how the tree could be improved:
- General balance improvements.
- Add a linear progress bar below the tree that fills up as points are spent in any tab of the primary tree. Move necessary upgrades and unlocks to it, so EVERYONE gets them just by researching in general. These would include resource income bonuses, anti-nukes, and overall build speed / cost reductions. Perhaps some other things would fit in here. In this way, everyone has access to essentials while also having the freedom to pursue specific niche units and abilities.
- Remove the instant upgrade to active units via research. Add a refit button to units so they must become stationary and disable weapons for a period of time to upgrade with newly researched tech. The more research you have unlocked without doing a refit, the longer it takes. Also add this button to factories themselves, to automatically upgrade all units within a set radius in half the time a field refit would take. In this way, you could no longer turn the balance of a fight by spamming research.
No adjacency bonuses:
These were implemented poorly in the original, but could have been a good idea with some basic redesigning. I'd rather them be gone entirely than thrown into the game in the same state of the original.
Less Unit Types:
There are plenty of unit types, and better yet, they all remain viable throughout the match. (just throwing out random numbers) Why have 50 units and have 40 of them be obsolete when you can have 20 and have them all be useful?
Illuminate unit names:
A legitimate complaint. I hate the names of the units. They are gag-inducing.
Now, like I said, this game is far from perfect. A lot of good features were removed for the sequel. I don't understand why some of them were removed. These include:
- Queued building ETAs. So useful, if not always accurate.
- The streaming resource output. There is no reason I should have to wait until a structure's resources are all collected before I begin construction.
- Build templates.
- Probably some others I can't recall at the moment.
Issues with the game:
- No "base is under attack" warning. As annoying as these are in StarCraft, I'll be damned if I don't know my base is under attack. In SupCom2, I sometimes find the back of my base has been invaded and I've been crippled because nobody knows how to report an attack to the commanding officer. Thanks guys.
- Faction imbalance. UEF is particularly crazy with their overpowered turtle tactics.
- Little mod support.
- Beacons in multiplayer don't make a noise or easily noticed visual effect. Voice chat is almost required.
In summary, this is a seriously underrated title, but maybe could have been better, but what game doesn't have room for improvement? It is a great game for anyone other than the die-hard Forged Alliance fanboy who can't accept that his game was flawed. Supreme Commander 2 is more approachable, but is far from being "dumbed down" as so many claim. It is a very entertaining game. Don't let the angry fans of the original convince you otherwise; try the demo.
For the record, I enjoy the original game as well. I just prefer 2.
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video-games_xbox
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Solid Xbox with slight room for improvment. For those that were wondering about a 'special edition' xbox, take it from me- This would be my second console of a special edition and my 3rd xbox - by far, the best one yet to invest in.
Two factors made me get this one:
1- It's a JASPER; whats that?? Its the smaller cpu chips on the motherboard of the console. This results in a cooler xbox, and thus a longer lifespan and less power usage. The Red Ring of Death (RROD) issues should not be seen here for a long time. this also runs smoother, takes less power, and makes less noise.
2- When I looked at this deal and compared it to the elite, this is what I came to conclusion: For $300, The elite for $100 less than this version, but is missing one controller and the game MW2. Because the game is $60 currently and a controller is $40, that makes up the difference in price. What you gain is a larger hard drive for free (250gb vs 120gb).
If you do not want the game and have no need for a second controller, stick to the elite, but by all means, get this xbox if you want the game and a second controller- best bang-for-your-buck.
Now the downside: No HD cable. It sucks, but last special edition xbox's were the Resident Evil and the Halo3 xbox had them included:
Resident evil came with:
# Limited Edition Red Xbox 360 Elite System
# 120GB hard drive
# Xbox 360 Headset (black, wired)
# Resident Evil 5 game
# Red Wireless Controller
# HDTV-ready component HD AV cable
# HDMI cable
# Ethernet cable
# Token card that allows you to download Super Street Fighter ll Turbo HD Remix AND exclusive Resident Evil Premium Theme via Xbox Live
Halo3 verison came with:
* Halo 3 Special Edition Console
* Halo 3 Special Edition Wireless Controller
* Halo 3 Special Edition 20GB Hard Drive
* Halo 3 Special Edition Wired Headset
* Halo 3 Special Edition Gamer Pics and Theme (Exclusive download via Xbox LIVE)
* Component HD AV Cable
* Ethernet Cable
* HDMI Port
* Play & Charge Kit
* Xbox LIVE Silver Membership
* One-month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership
Both special editions came with an HD cable to hook up with, while the new MW2 version does not. Halo version was another 'almost hit', lacking the game Halo3. The RE version was better, but had only one controller- not a big deal.
In the end, having the game and two controllers for me was the way to go; If you want the HD cable, you need to buy it, but otherwise, this is the console to get today (11/20/09) vs the Elite xbox.
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video-games_xbox
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High school boiled down. It's rare that a developer goes from make a adult game about crime with very adult themes. To making a game about a high school kid who moves to a school for child delinquents and socially challenged kids, but in a lot of ways Bully is like a GTA. For example Bully is a giant open world with stuff to collect, bike races to do, arcade games to play, and much more to just kind of find. The mission structure is very similar to GTA, you do a bunch of work for one of the factions;like the jocks or the nerds, and the more the more you do work for one faction it can effect your standing with others. Which in turn can effect the way some of the people treat you at school. The combat is very similar but instead of machine guns and rocket launches. Your playing with slingshots and stink bombs.
There are also a lot of things that are different about Bully that really makes it feel like your in high school it feel very structured, but that's not a bad thing at all. Like you have classes two times a day everyday until you pass the highest level of that class, and of you don't go the prefects or any adult of authority. All the classes have there own perks like one of the classes shows you where all the collectables, and unlike the protagonists in GTA jimmy is 15 and needs his sleep so if your out past 2 you just pass out on the spot which can make some night missions feel a little too time restrictive.
The story starts you out in a car ride with you and your mom and what seems to be your new stepdad. They then drop you off in the front of Bullyworth academy where you meet the principle and some of the teacher, but the fun starts to come in when you go to your dorm room and meet your new friend Gary, who is a sociopath, i don't know how else to put it. You soon start to become manipulated by him, and you two soon go your separate ways and you start to see less and less of him. You then start to do work for the other factions of the school. Playing Bully it kind of puts you back and makes you think about your time in high school, I know the archetypes aren't as plain and simple as they are in Bully but it does a great job of boiling a lot of the high school experience down to a 20 hour game.
Then there are a few technical issues with bully I didn't really have too many other then the game crash on me a couple of times, and that just sucks after that happened for the first time a started saving much more frequently. I can't really say definitely how the game will turn out for you, but it didn't seem to bad. From my experience with it.
Over all the game is well made but parts of it just seem kind of repetitive and broken;overall though I think it's a great game.
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video-games_xbox
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SQUEEDLY BAMBLY FEEDLY MEEDLY MOWWWWWWW!: A Review (And Guitar Solo) From a Traditional Music Gaming Fanatic. Been a fan of the music gaming genre since I saw my first Dance Dance Revolution (Naoki FTW) machine at an arcade in 2002 and became even more enthralled when a friend of mine introduced me to the first Guitar Hero when I first attended graduate school in 2006. I loved pretending that I had some music talent, which I don't unless swiping a credit card to get front-row tickets to Boston counts as "talent," by jamming away to my favorite tunes by Poison, The Vapors, Queen, and so forth with my buddies when we should've been studying. Problem was that the genre got flooded with Guitar Hero and Rock Band installments and several other unique attempts from the Nintendo Wii. Most notably of the over-saturation of the music gaming market was Power Gig: Rise of the Six String, a game that claimed to be able to teach how to play the guitar by using an actual electric guitar. It was a novel idea being backed heavily by Kid Rock (as if that means anything) and several other relatively well-known artists so I gave that one a try and hated it as it was an expensive version of Guitar Hero with a cheap guitar peripheral and a lackluster track list (John Mayer, nuff' said).
After that, I gave up on the genre. That was 2009.
Fast forward to this past year or so where Ubisoft has attempted to revive the genre with the original Rocksmith. Now, I have not played the original but they must have done well enough to attempt a sequel, hence the 2014 addition since Ubisoft didn't want to adhere to the Grand Theft Auto school of sequel naming by calling it "2" or something starting with the letters "R" and "E," separated by a colon. As such, I cannot comment on any improvements from the original but, after playing the 2014 version for a few days with my repurposed Power Gig controller, which actually works with it, I believe that a great game has been made to revive the genre.
The first thing that caught my eye on "RS14" is the lack of any story or campaign mode. Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Power Gig all had some kind of asinine campaign mode with dumb storytelling (although I loved the characters from the first two Guitar Hero games) that most gamers skipped just to get to the song. RS14 does nothing of the sort. Come to think of it, upon going through all the menus and gaming modes, this game is nothing but a teaching tool for hopeful guitar fanatics like myself. This is good as it forces the user to stay focused and learning how to play and not be distracted by gimmicky stories derivative of We Are Spinal Tap or School of Rock.
To add onto this, RS14 has not one mode of learning but several. One of the most annoying elements in any game is if they force you to start at the lowest difficulty setting or a crapton of tutorials that you'd rather skip over. RS14 allows you to start at a level of your choosing and that will appeal to more intermediate guitar players so they won't have to trudge through the n00bcak3 levels. There are dozens upon dozens of tutorials at various levels to teach many things I did not know about playing the guitar like slides, bends, and not sucking.
However, despite the ease of use and very user-friendly interface, I lack the necessary dexterity to play the guitar but it was still fun to try the other modes. My personal favorite is the non-stop jamming session that allows you to improv alongside simulated band members. I think I had more fun attempting Joe Satriani's "Snatch Boogie," which probably sounded more like Top Gun than actually playing but, then again, I have the musical ability of a sea sponge living at the bottom of the ocean. Truth be told, I really stink at this and spiraled downward into absurdity by rage quitting once or twice and, after my third rage quit, decided to play something really off the wall that sounded more like something Mister Torgue would play in Borderlands 2 (Which is the reference in the title if anyone actually caught that!) than actual music.
However, this didn't defeat the whole purpose of the game as my buddies seemed to have no problem learning the basics while I attempted to figure out how to hold the guitar. They caught on quick, thanks to the comprehensive and ease of use tutorials and it didn't take long for us to start a sing-a-long when they actually starting playing the track list.
Now, the track list is a big of a marvel for two reasons.
1: They include "Peace of Mind" by Boston, which is my favorite band and will always get my two thumbs pointing vertically upward.
2: In an age when almost all of the really good songs, sans anything good by Led Zeppelin, have already been used at least once, it's hard to create a decent track list that isn't overdone or feels like the leftovers *cough*Power Gig*cough*.
Good songs from good bands like Def Leppard, The Kinks, Kiss, Queen and, about flipping time, Ratt's Round and Round! I feel as though Glam Rock has been grossly overlooked as I can't find a game that has done anything by Autograph, Dokken, or Firehouse! And they don't use obscure songs either but the good stuff. The track list is half the battle as I won't get into a game unless it's a song I wanna play and, with RS14 being nothing but a tutorial game, I don't have to trudge through the stupid stuff to get to my favorite songs!
All in all, RS14 is a refreshing revitalization on the music gaming genre when franchises like Guitar Hero and Rock Band almost drove it into the ground permanently. I don't see a big revival coming up anytime soon, but this is a darn good start!
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video-games_xbox
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One of the most intense & fun games out there. Sam "Serious" Stone takes up arms against an unseen maniacal genius named Mental's army of living monsters & freaks through a huge variety of levels.
Short, sweet, and to the point is the story of Serious Sam for the X-Box. But what is the game like? Through a first person perspective you run around collecting a huge chunk of weapons including (but certainly not limited to) rocket launchers, shotguns, and flamethrowers and fending off hordes after hordes of millions of enemies at a time..
..no really, I'm not kidding. Serious Sam is one of the most, pardon the pun, seriously intense games I have ever played. You will ALWAYS be on the run, and just like the video game Black, always have your guns firing away. Just when you think the action is over, a health box appears, and as you grab it - ROAR! More monsters to blow away. Although this may seem repetitive, the sheer amount of action and intensity will keep even the most "elitist gamers" entertained. Since this X-Box release allows a co-op mode, you and a buddy can team up against Mental or (if you want) blow each other away in humorus yet bloody ways.
Although action and destruction is Serious Sam's main points, the game doesn't have a "serious" tone at all. In fact, the game is pretty goofy both in Sam's dialouge, some sound effects, and cut scenes. I mean at one point you just finished putting a major dent in Mental's forces in some ice world to get your grubby hands on some orb.. you walk in and the orb is gone! All of a sudden you walk outside and there is a skeleton-horse sleigh waiting for you. All of a sudden you hear a hip-hop version of the song "Jingle all the Way" and then you see Serious Sam riding in the sleigh wearing a Santa Klaus outfit.
Graphically speaking, this X-box video game looks truley beautiful with vibrant jungles, dark caves, vast white sanded deserts with gigantic pyramids, etc. The monsters look menacing, goofy, and at times, absolutley huge. The guns look great, and the lighting effects look even better.
Ontop of that, the music helps to add to the atmosphere. Most of the time its straight heavy metal music, but at times it could be like Middle Eastern tunes or something like that. The guns sound BRUTAL, and deliver a very satisfying punch to your target.
Serious Sam is a pretty long game not only because your gunfights will last a half hour each time, but because there are a lot of stages to cover. Despite being a basic straight forward game, you're looking at a good 10-15 hour game if you decide to take a few breaks sooner or later.
To end this review, all I have to say is: if you're a fan of FPS or want a fast moving, action packed experience with some laughs sprinkled ontop then go out and buy Serious Sam.
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video-games_xbox
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Homage to "The Fast and The Furious. This has to be the best racing game out there currently. The scenery for this game is fantastic in that you see taco stands, nightclubs, civilian traffic and pedestrian traffic throughout the city. This game even has a Cruise Mode to permit you to drive through the city and test out new rides in different weather conditions and foot traffic. The addition of motorbikes is the primary reason that I got this game since I have one myself (a Yamaha). The game, from what I've heard, also has some Ducati's (or copycats thereof) and Suzuki's (I think). Driving a motorbike is totally different than handling a car in this game in that you have advantages and disadvantages over a car. I personally favor the motorbike over the cars for its speed, control and the cutting ability, but you have to give yourself some ride time to adjust how to control the motorbike correctly. The voice-acting in this game is okay but not incredible. In the game itself, you do meet different main characters and each has their own way of driving. Some drive recklessly and some drive by the book, but each seek not to lose their rides to you. They also talk smack to you while you are driving. The controls for each of the cars are also excellent; they are arcade-like, I admit, but at least you aren't spinning out every time you make a turn (e.g., Driving Emotion Type-S or AutoModellista). The controls in of themselves closely imitate Gran Turismo's controls, tight and responsive. The cars in of themselves pay homage to the movie "The Fast and the Furious" and its sequel. From the stunts you can perform such as riding on 2 wheels to flying over other cars during the race to the rides you can obtain. You even get increasingly better cars with more NOS!
Admittedly, there are a few faults such as a Random Track generator, and that the rides you obtain can't be modified with aftermarket parts such as intake valves and addition of NOS tanks. Also, you are limited in the people that you choose and the races; for example, you may choose to participate in one race from one person one time and another race from another person another time and then return to the first person. Additionally, you can't bet anything other than your car per se.
Other than that, it's a great game. I have yet to play online, but I heard it's a blast. I'll be trying it online within a week or so...
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video-games_xbox
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Dark, difficult, spoilers. I plated Dead Space 1 and 2 and enjoyed them greatly. I managed to beat them both at the most difficult setting after learning where to stand, etc. at normal. The game concept and features are still as good as anything going. However, I really had trouble with 3. The extreme darkness makes it very difficult to see (especially when the darker, stronger necromorphs arevattacking) and I also have trouble hearing/reading subtitles while fighting for my life. So my first fights are usually to find out how to kill the bad guys. The Drill, for instance is easy once you know the yellow fuse is its weak spot. I started playing at normal and had to go to "casual" soon. I really had a problem with the original creature you had to stimulate nerve endings on. The dark NMs are easy to see at a distance, but when they sneak in the cage with you they really gum up your fight strategy. If you fight in a dead end tunnel, they seem to come up from behind. My final straw was the snow beast/spider. For a change, it was clear what to do, but when I tried to apply torque, the game jerked my vision to the monster prematurely, so I watched him break free instead of his death throes. Because there are inexhaustible I was able to repeatedly get him secured, but he would break free every time. I repeated action at least twelve times, getting to the torque wheels as soon as when the harpoons flew but the sequence was crank, be jerked away, crank again be jerked away, crank, watch the beast free himself. He should have died from the 20+ harpoons, much less being pulled apart. I know that there are 10 year olds who eat this game up, but I would suggest that older Retirees wait to spend their money until the price goes down. Certainly don't buy the premium version like I did. Meanwhile, I will replay Borderlands 2 ( a 5 star game) and wait for Bioshock Infinite to come out.
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video-games_xbox
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ZOE HD Collection: A classic retold on Xbox 360. Zone of the Enders HD Collection for the Xbox360 is an amazing remastered videogame. Hideo Kojima graced us with a compelling storyline and galactic conflict. By going against the trope of pre-teen mech suited pilots and damsels in distress. The English-language dubbing of the cohesive dialogue between pilots Artificial intelligence units and other red shirt characters is entertaining to hear after all of these years. The creative and otherworldly designs of the mechas or aptly named Orbital Frames allows gamers to delve deeper into the mythos. Subtle improvements, like Dolby 5.0 sound, HD graphics and solid controls aid the game's funfactor.
While the game's instruction manual lacks much depth.
Implementation and Design (3/5)
The first game teaches you how to play through in-game tutorial. A feature that I think was well designed and implemented. The classic reluctant hero and bloodthirsty tyrant trope works well for the story. This was a foray into the psyche of a war beleaguered bystander and his struggle against the horrors of war. The post-cataclysm environmental stage design was ahead of its time. Orbital frames are sleek, fast, yet still posess massively destructive components. You will be reminded of their ferocity by screams of besieged innocents, and unseen colonists on the planetary civilization of Mars. Your fight for liberation will traverse the cosmos. Albeit with rather lonely looking loading screens in between scripted dialogue and combat manuvers.
Enough of the angst ridden story. Here's the rundown- Achievement support 5/5
I for one am appreciative of the Achievement support, and I am ready to take on the challenge of hopefully completing the game from start to finish. Trying to get all of the achievements in the first game is going to take some doing.
Difficulty: 5/5 This can be a punishing game to some and a breeze to others. Try it on Normal to earn as many achievements at your leisure. Pattern memorization and timed responses are your friends.
Bonuses 3/5: Konami also kept the 2-player split-screen Versus Mode which unlocks after you compet the first game. I have yet to enjoy it. It would been nice to have a behnd the scenes DVD style option. Because in this case I feel like you get the game, and not much else. I think there is an art gallery somewhere.
Enjoyment. (4/5)
Team ZOE really had something with this game, the visuals, character development, voiceovers, and musical score may show it's age. However, the experience that results from re-living the White-knuckle battles, to level up Jehuty in zero gravity, the camaraderie, loss and the ethical dilemmas that harden both battle scarred heroes, heroines and villainous veterans aren't to be missed.
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner certainly lives up to the hype surrounding it's predecessor. With a maturation in visuals, feel, and sound. I haven't quite played it it yet though. So suffice to say, I am a bit biased towards it. I can share that Kojima Productions really gave the mech pilots something to enjoy, during the early PS2 era, and that it's worth another look. Two great games for the price of one, can't be beat. Thank you Kojima Productions and Konami fans for demanding that this galactic epic to be preserved for future generations.
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video-games_xbox
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Good system- poor lineup. First off, the XBOX 360 is an excellent system with great potential, considering it's hardware capabilities and it's the closest thing to one of the current-gen systems as the casual gamer is going to get, thus has reason to be in high demand. However, the one thing that brings the 360 down is it's current selsction of games. No matter how amazing the hardware capabilities of a system are, there's no point in getting one if the games are no good. Not that all it's titles are bad, but they certianly don't merit the spending of $300 for them. The XBOX released with Halo (an original hit series, and my personal favorite game of all time), the GameCube released with two sequals to N64 hits (Super Smash Bros Melee and Star Wars Rogue Squadren 2), and the PS2 had a wide range of release titles that appealed to most audiances. Looking back on these systems make the XBOX 360's current library seem extreamly underwhelming. Currently, the most popular title on the 360 is Call of Duty 2 , which says a lot as it is neither an original series nor a system exclusive (it is also available for the PC). The other popular titles are current-gen releases that have been ported to the 360 and given a graphical makeover (such as Burnout Revenge and Need for Speed Most Wanted). The others are at least original games, few of which are very reveloutionary or even very good (Chromehounds, Over-G Fighters, Full Auto, ect). To top it off, only about half of these games have graphics that are truely ahead of the times. Simply, once the excitment of having the next-gen system and awe at the graphics it can produce wears off, I found myself wanting more from the games I was playing on it. I'm not saying one shouldn't consider getting this system at all, but I do think that you should think about waiting untill the holidays when a fresh new lineup of games will (hopefully) come rolling around (and with any luck the system's price may have dropped). Still, it's a great system, and if there are games on it that you are particularily interested in, you can't go wrong.
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video-games_xbox
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Fun as long as you don't play the computer. What can be said about Monopoly that hasn't already been said? The defacto capitalist board game has been a staple of American households for 75 years. In my lifetime, I've probably bought this game about 6 different times in several different variations.
Monopoly Streets is a nice addition to the franchise. It makes it considerably more fun and slightly less tedious than actually using the physical board game. Where it shines is as a multiplayer game. Where it fails is as a single player experience.
The game allows for custom rules which are always a good thing. There are several pre-made rule sets, but I've always been a fan of the Free Parking payday. Thankfully you can make this and many other modifications to make the game more interesting or just run faster. Though it's worth noting that despite this, Monopoly is still a lengthy game. I personally haven't tried the fast game variants, but unless you have at least an hour to burn, don't bother starting this one up.
One thing that I find really disturbing, which is more of a trend in the game industry is the micro transactions needed to unlock additional game content. By this I mean it's becoming commonplace to sell the consumer half a game and expect them to spend real money through the online marketplace to get the rest of the game. While playing the game you earn some monopoly credits which can be used to unlock some tokens and game boards. But the best ones are not so easily unlocked. You will literally have to pay real money to play on some boards or buy specific tokens like the cannon or the horse. The most expensive real money item is a board called Stratosphere City. It costs 560 Microsoft points which is about $8. By the time you buy all the downloadable content (DLC), you will have almost paid $60 for this $40 game. While this is a trend in the industry, I have noticed it more in EA products, which is who made this version of Monopoly.
The game comes with 2 Monopoly "Street" game boards. Moving around these boards is really neat. You can watch friend and local avatars walking around these boards which make it more interesting. When you buy property or build on property you see various animations depicting your purchase which definitely makes this game more appealing than the standard board game. The financial progress of the players is tracked by corporate headquarters located in the center of the map. The more total worth you have, the taller your headquarters becomes. That's an interesting way of keeping track of how much you're beating the other players by. However, if you turn off the move animations, it seems to disable viewing the HQ's grow or shrink. If you want to get through the game faster, turning off those animations will definitely speed things up a bit. You can unlock one additional "Street" style board (previously mentioned), and that's all there is for interactive boards. All others are just bland flat cardboard style boards with varying themes. Given the nature of this game, I wish they would have made every board style into an interactive Monopoly "Street" game board. At this time, the game isn't more than about 2-3 months old. So perhaps they intend on releasing more "Street" boards into the marketplace. But you know they won't be free.
As a human to human game experience this is a very fun game. Don't bother playing single player. The AI is vicious, even on easy. I played an easy AI yesterday and it took close to 200 moves to win. Basically the game cheats terribly. I know that might sound like I'm a sore loser, but I assure you, I am not a pushover when it comes to Monopoly. The reason why I accuse the game of cheating is that I would acquire every property on a side, do a full build, and it would take that AI about 8-10 times around the board before landing on those properties. Statistically they always have a 50% of landing on that property, and yet they conveniently missed them time after time. This really takes the fun out of the game. I wish there were a means to force game honesty by using real dice and entering those values into the game. It would add steps to a game, but it would most likely make the game shorter since it wouldn't conveniently be missing specific properties. It's worth noting that the AI I played last night was so hard to take down, I kept having to build my wealth, then buy properties from that AI at obscene prices, then build the properties all the way up. Even as I began to acquire all the properties it still seemed unreasonable how often the player missed landing on those properties. And as if to prove my point that the game managed to inexplicably avoid these hazards, I was not able to eventually win until I had actually bought every single property in the game and build every single hotel that the bank had to offer. I am truly terrified to find out how hardcore the medium and hard AI's are. Basically, don't bother. Just play real people locally and online.
Something to consider, the characters the game offers are very annoying and repetitive in their dialogue. I had several moments where I struggled to resist the urge to throw my controller at my TV. You can turn off voiceovers, and I highly recommend that. It's the only way to save your sanity.
Ending thoughts. I'd give it 7 out of 10. It's still Monopoly, and that's always fun. It's nice to have a computer quickly perform transactions which would otherwise involve handling physical Monopoly money, and depending on your game rules, a calculator. Avoid playing the computer players unless you're a masochist. It's worth $40, but I doubt I'll spend any more money to unlock boards and tokens which should have been included in the game.
[EDIT] I did buy the Stratosphere City map, and I don't recommend it. The cars on that map make the Jetson car sound, and it becomes maddening in a very short time. Turning down the sound effects helps, but also hinders audio you'd prefer to hear.
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video-games_xbox
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read this first. the first thing i do is look up controllers on the Internet, and find one i like. then i read reviews about it to decide if i should buy it. seeing the reviews that its not good for modern warfare, black-ops, etc didn't sway my decision either way. bought the blue one ( have 360 totally modified with lights, etc ) this will match my system perfectly. got it at a local store, got home and the first thing i did was put in modern warfare 2, plugged it in..... connected first time. started playing modern warefare 2, and it's more precise than the original controller!!!!! can't speak on the total durability ( if it will still work years from now) but as for me it works awesome for black-ops, modern warefare 2, gta, and games like those.
also notice someone else say it works on pc. here is some advice for those who might try and use this on both pc and 360. if you use it on 360, and then use it on pc, then use it again on 360, you might or might not have problems. the pc and 360 are different. if you want to use it on both, find an old broken wired guitar, and take the end piece off. put the wired guitar end piece on the after glow, and use the small afterglow end piece when you connect to pc. the wired guitar end piece will extend the length of the afterglow controller 8 feet!!!!!!
also notice someone else say about usb extender cables. i do not recommend using usb extender cables on the 360 with anything, usb extender cables are made for use on a pc. (webcam. etc) not 360. but thats just my opinion. the cord on the afterglow is about 3 feet longer than most wired controllers, etc. so its long enough to reach even for the hardcore gamer.
will buy three more of the blue ones to complete my system. clear case with blue lights, blue fan duct, led lights shining down on game disk. ( can see game spinning through case). if you want a good controller for the price, this is it!
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video-games_xbox
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A Fighting Game For The Ages. I was one of the fortunate ones who did not purchase the original Marvel vs. Capcom. I am not a typical fighting game player, and I have only owned maybe a dozen in my 20 years of gaming. However, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom, I believe, is one of the best and most accessible fighting games I have ever played. The controls are not too difficult, and the learning curve is not very steep. However, even once you have 'mastered' some of the combos for different characters, you will still find yourself losing on occasion - there's enough of a challenge to keep you coming back. Galactus, as others have noted, is a super-cheap end boss, but beating him is one of the most rewarding feelings I have had after stomping an end-game boss (ever!).
The ensemble of selectable characters is great, and the game includes bios, rated stats, and 3D models for each character, which I think is a cool touch. You can find out when each character made his or her first appearance and learn more about them...I never played Devil May Cry, but liked Dante and Trish in this game. The graphics are very good, and although I have been playing since the days of Atari 2600 (my uncle owned it), I feel like I don't need better graphics in my fighting games. They're a little cartoon-like, but the colors are bright, and there was not any lag on my 360 while playing it. Some of the combos are just plain awesome to watch being pulled off, and certain teams are much more effective than others.
I had no problem playing the game (bugs, glitches, etc.) and 6 weeks later, I still thoroughly enjoy playing this with friends and family. I can't comment on Xbox Live because I don't play online, so I honestly am not sure how cool that is. In my book, though, I have never had more fun fighting with Marvel characters than this game, except maybe using skins to recreate Marvel heroes in Freedom Force (for the PC) years ago ;o)
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video-games_xbox
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Almost Perfect. "Tomb Raider: Underworld" (TRU from now on) is easily Crystal Dynamics best effort since they took over the TR series from Core Design. It's obvious that the designers have been listening to the fans, and they addressed nearly all of the complaints that people had about their previous attempts.
Here's what they improved:
1. Level design.
Their first attempt, "Tomb Raider: Legend" had extremely linear levels, allowing for practically no exploration. This flew in the face of everything TR was supposed to be about. They improved on this with their second game, "TR: Anniversary," but that was a remake of the original TR game. TRU is the first time that Crystal Dynamics has created their own, original, open levels. They're not quite as open as, say, the levels in TR3, but even on those occasions when you are merely progressing along a predetermined path, the world just feels more open because of its clever design and the massive scale of it all (remember how big St. Francis' Folly in TR1 felt when you first played it back in the late 90s? Well, that's NOTHING compared to enormity of some areas you'll discover in TRU! There's a level towards the end of the game where you have to scale a rotating tower, and the massive scale of it is awe-inspiring. It really adds to the sense of vulnerability you'll feel.)
2. Combat
One of the common complaints about "Legend" was that you seemed to be in a firefight with a ton of mercs every few seconds. TRU scales back the combat drastically, returning the focus to exploring, platforming and puzzle solving, with just enough combat to keep you from ever getting too relaxed. And, if you find the combat too easy (or too difficult), you can adjust the amount of damaged Lara does to her enemies (and the amount of damage that enemies do to Lara.) There are separate sliders that you can move to tailor the gameplay to your preference.
3. Zip & Alistair
These two characters were a mixed blessing in Legend. They helped provide Lara with more personality by constantly chatting with her as she explored, but they also ruined the sense of isolation, and their comments often got a bit tedious (not to mention the fact that they sometimes told you how to solve puzzles when you'd rather figure it out on your own.) In TRU, they no longer to chat with Lara as she explores. They're still in the game, and they show up in cutscenes, but they don't intefere with the adventure. Instead, Lara now has a camcorder, and at key points in certain levels, she'll film certain things and comment on them. It's a good compromise-- she still has a personality and we still get some background info on what we're exploring, but the sense of isolation that people enjoyed so much in the original games is back. Also, if you do find that you need a hint, you can ask Lara what to do. Her first response will be somewhat vague, but it might be enough. If you're still stuck, ask her again, and she'll be more specific. This is a very effective way to implement a hint system.
4. The Grapple
The grappling hook that Lara used in Legend and Anniversary is back, but it's implemented better this time around. Just like in Anniversary, Lara can use her grappling hook to run along walls, pull objects, etc. but the designers smartly avoided forcing you to use the grappling hook in situations where it's more frustrating than fun. In Anniversary, for example, there were certain wall runs that were only difficult because you were constantly battling with the controls to get Lara to do what you wanted. In TRU, the designers realized what works and doesn't work, and they seem to have kept this in mind (mostly) when designing levels. You'll still need to do wall runs, but because of the way they're set up, they're more often fun than frustrating.
5. Boss Battles (or the lack thereof...)
There are no boss battles in TRU. This could be seen as a con to some people, but I see it as an improvement. TR games, for me, are not fighting games, and always found boss battles to be more of a roadblock than entertainment. Also, unlike in Anniversary, you're never forced to pull off the tricky adrenaline headshots. If you want to do them, fine, have fun. But if you'd rather just shoot away until your enemy is dead, that's fine too.
6. Lara's moves
Lara finally feels like the character she was always meant to be because her move set has been expanded to give her more flexibility than ever. If you're hanging from a cliff, and a swarm of bats flies towards you, you know longer have to hitch yourself up to solid ground before you can start shooting at them. Just hang on with one hand and shoot with the other. There are plenty of other little new moves like this that really make the game flow better than ever, and all of the moves were motion-captured by an actual gymnast, so it feels more believable than it ever did in previous games.
7. Locales
After the first two TR games, the series started including more and more levels that took place in very non-TR-like locations, such as big cities, hi-tech towers, military bases, Paris streets, etc. TRU really brings the focus back to what TR was originally about-- exploring ancient ruins. There are a couple of levels that take place on a ship, but other than that, it's all classic TR environments.
But, as I said in the title of this review, the game is "ALMOST" perfect, meaning not everything is as it should be.
The biggest problem is that in spite of how massive the levels are, it really won't take you very long to complete this game. Now, this is partly due to the fact that Lara simply moves faster than she did in the old games, so getting from point A to point B takes less time. It's also due to the fact that you're rarely left running around aimlessly in circles trying to figure out what to do next, as you often did in the old games. These are both good things, and if these were the only reasons the game took less time to complete, I couldn't fault it at all. But the truth is, there simply aren't enough levels. There are a small handful of massive levels, and a few mini levels in between. What's feels really cheap, though, is that some of the mini levels are actually repeated! (WARNING: If you want to be completely spoiler free, skip the rest of this paragraph) For example, there's a level that takes place on a ship near the start of the game (actually, it's just a small part of the enormous first level.) It's fun the first time around. But towards the end of the game, you have to replay it, and it's pretty much identical, with only the enemies being in different places. Similarly, there's a prologue level that takes place in Croft Manor. Later in the game, you replay the EXACT same sequence. This is a cheap way to pad an already fairly short game.
Another complaint-- The game starts out a bit weak. The opening level (after the short prologue level) starts you off in a somewhat disorienting underwater sequence. It looks impressive, but it's not as much fun as it should be. And once you finally get inside, the level still doesn't make a great impression. Not to say it's bad, but it just seems a bit bland compared to the great stuff that comes later. All I can say is, stick with it and you'll be rewarded.
Some people have complained about the camera being uncooperative, so I feel I should mention it here. Honestly, I haven't had any major trouble with it. There are times when you won't be able to see something that you're supposed to jump to, but the game works around this by giving you visual clues. If you suspect that you might be able to jump safely in a certain direction, try pointing in that direction. Lara will prepare herself for the jump if it's do-able. If there isn't a safe way to jump in that direction, she'll either shake her head, or just do nothing. So although you can't always see everything, just pay attention to Lara's reactions, and you'll be fine. This is actually an improvement over previous games, where you often had to take blind leaps of faith with no indication from Lara about whether or not you'd be safe.
One other very minor complaint-- The story. It's not that the story is bad at all, and it certainly has some great moments that'll stick with you, but the villains are too rarely seen, to the point where it's easy to forget about them. Legend, I feel, did a better job of keeping the main villain central in the plot. In TRU, you'll see the villains near the start of the game, and then they pretty much go away entirely until the end.
Still, all things considered, TRU is a great game, and now that it's cheaper, its short gameplay isn't really such a factor. If you value quality over quantity, you can't go wrong with this one.
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video-games_xbox
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For the detective in all of us, Rockstar delivers once again. Be honest: At some point of your lifetime, you always wanted to be a detective. If you still have that feeling inside, then this is definitely a must buy for you. If you have played Grand Theft Auto before, then you are already set to go as the game uses pretty much the same controls and mechanics scheme from previous GTA games. Unlike many gaming companies, Rockstar has figured it out: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. True, they are still trying to make us forget that they have released a table tennis game in 2006, but this title alone makes up for it big time. One thing I must mention is that you get three disks in Xbox360 version. My suggestion is to install all three on your hard drive before diving in to make the game run smoother, save some time and to take the pressure off your Xbox, not to mention make it much quieter. As it will probably take you around half-hour to install the disks, use that time to flip through the game's manual.
***Graphics***
For the first time, Rockstar introduces us to MotionScan technology, which translates into excellent facial animations from characters. I have been playing video games since the 80s and I have never seen anything quite like this. At this point, I'm not even sure how much more life-like can these animations get. MotionScan plays a huge role here, but more of that later on(See "Gameplay.") Other than that, graphics fit very well with the 1940s theme and the noire-style filming, which is not too colorful, but just right to give you that 1940s nostalgic feel. In fact, if you are feeling very nostalgic, you can go all the way by going to options menu and make the game black-and-white entirely.
***Sound***
The sound mechanics are very well done as well and music changes based on what you are currently doing in the game. If looking for clues, you get a soft tune in the background. If you start chasing someone, a more dramatic tune kicks in. Also, whenever you are driving in a car, you can hear some vintage songs and news being played on the radio(Another beloved GTA feature.)
***Gameplay***
As mentioned earlier, if you have already played Grand Theft Auto on 360 in the past, you have already been briefed on most of the mechanics in the controls department. The overall gameplay consists of multiple parts and is very-well organized. You start off as a rookie cop as you are trying to make a name for yourself and move up in the ranks. As soon as you pick a case, there are multiple parts to sift through. You start off examining a crime scene and start searching for clues. It is not as tedious as it sounds because when you are near a clue, a soft tone will be subtly played in the background to give you a hint that you are near something interesting. If this sounds too easy for you, feel free to turn that feature off in the options menu. Not all clues will be valuable. Some clues are "dummy clues" and will be irrelevant to you in the case(pack of cigarettes or empty beer bottle with no fingerprints, for example.)
As soon as you collected some clues, you move on to questions and locating people of interest. As you question them, this is where the MotionScan technology comes into play. You must carefully listen and look at their facial expressions at the time to figure out if they are telling you the truth or not. You pretty much use your common sense, instincts and evidence you collected to see if they are telling the truth or not. For example if they tell you that there were no gun shots at a crime scene and you have found empty shell casings, you can use that to accuse them of lying.
Accidentally accusing someone of lying when they are not will make the person of interest very angry and uncooperative or going along with a liar will also point your case into the wrong direction. The genius part of this game is that you only game one save slot, which automatically auto-saves after pretty much every move you make. This way you cannot cheat yourself and reload the game immediately after making a wrong decision. If you do not like the outcome of the case or if you wish to take another path to see how it plays out, you have the option of replaying the case later on.
As you level up, you earn intuition points, which can help you in the game big time. If you decide to use your points during investigation, it will show you all the clues on the map. If you decide to use it in the interrogation, you have a couple of choices here, which will remind you of that show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." You can either remove one wrong answer(truth, lie or doubt) or "Ask the Community" which will tell you which is the most popular answer amongst the Xbox live community. You only have a few intuition points to spare, so use them wisely!
If the story line alone doesn't satisfy your appetite, there are many side quests and collectibles to be found: Random street crimes, discovering vehicles and locating landmarks just to name a few. Also there are detective suits to collect as well, where each will give you a different benefit throughout your adventure. Also caution to parents: This game contains violence(fist fights and gun fights,) gruesome crime scenes(poking through a dead body,) and strong language(not just your average F-words, but racial slurs as well.) Rockstar has certainly hit yet another jackpot with the release of LA Noire, which will probably translate into a sequel in the future.
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video-games_xbox
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Not difficult, just rushed and poorly designed. Let's clear something up before I begin: before you cry "Hurricane Pack," let me remind you that the main selling point of a console system is "What you see is what you get." Console games are supposed to be complete out of the box and not require a patch to fix their playability issues, but Ninja Gaiden proves with the advent of a viable console online system, the age of complete and bug-free titles is beginning to crumble. With that in mind, this review is for the game you get when you buy Ninja Gaiden, the game you play out of the box, without spending time and money on Xbox Live downloading and installing update patches.
Back when I actually owned an Xbox, I didn't buy this game out of fear that Tecmo's penchant for grotesque exageration and overhyping of their games would shine through with yet another lackluster title selling millions of copies to their horde of mind-numbed fans. After electing to borrow and try it from an acquaintance, let me tell you, Tecmo delivered above and beyond my expectations!
Ninja Gaiden starts out simple enough, with a tutorial-style set of levels familiarizing one with the admittedly intuitive battle system. After a brief series of fights, the difficulty is ramped up a notch and bosses start showing up and giving the player a run for his/her money. The first seven levels of Ninja Gaiden are some of the most fun I've had with an action-adventure title since the old beat-em-ups on the SNES. However, a crucial turning point occurs, and the game spirals downward into mediocrity, taking the newly-committed player on a voyage into the Hades of awful gaming. What is this ubiquitous event, you ask? The level 7 boss.
This boss, already annoying enough, is exacerbated by the fact that if you leave the circular arena whilst fighting her, the much hyped camera goes from genius to special-ed; at some points, after she knocks you out of the circular arena, the camera freaks out and zooms right in on her crotch as she pummels your poor ninja into oblivion. Perhaps the auto-crotch view is really fan-service from Tecmo for its greasy consumer minions who purchased Dead or Alive X-Treme Beach Volleyball.
From this point on until the end of the game, the camera becomes just about the most unbearable thing ever designed and makes the game feel closer to pulling teeth than a polished beat-em-up. The fun never stops, as we eventually hack, slash and break our controllers through an underwater level with probably the worst physics ever designed (mash A to move forward and hump the wall, turn and mash A to hump the wall again, look up down and around and mash A to hump the wall some more, drown and repeat) all the way to the final battles.
If you can tolerate having a professional wrestling match with the in-game camera up to the last 3 levels or so, the quality takes a slight turn upward (saving this game from a 1 star rating) and culminates in one of the cheesiest end-game cinematics of all time; I laughed and cursed endlessly as our faithful ninja turned into a bird and flew away, which negates the entire purpose of almost every level in this game, including and especialy the swimming level. If this character could fly as a bird, why in the world did we have to suffer humping walls and drowning in the process and wrestling with an unruly camera for hours? Tecmo strikes again.
I've thoroughly complained about the camera, which ruins this game's chances of being the stuff of legends and anything more than a "play once-through if you can and then use the disc as a coaster" sort of game. In reality, this game does actually have some good points. The battle system is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it, and by the end of the game you'll be busting out 350 hit combos and racking up obscene amounts of money to buy more equipment and thus rack up even more 350 hit combos.
The difficulty is vastly overhyped, and the game took me scarcely 15 hours to finish, even going around and trying to get extras and bonuses and spending time racking up cash to get weapons, as well as getting lost from the camera's unruliness. It's not a long game, nor is it a difficult one, and for anyone who is a veteran and has the stamina to suffer poor design, it's not too bad when you get to the end.
Would I recommend you buy it? Not necessarily. It has some strong points, and if you're a diehard X-Box fan, it might not bother you so much since you're already probably a Tecmo apologist and can forgive the disingenuousness of requiring one to PATCH a console game to make it playable.
Otherwise, you would do well to avoid it and try something else. Even XBox has plenty of higher quality action/adventure titles--such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time or the Otogi series--and should you want to cross platforms over to the evil PS2 land, try God of War.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
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video-games_xbox
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Not a fan of the XBOX, but it is a good deal for the . Honestly I am not a huge of the Xbox One itself, If this was only a review of the console I would probably give it 2 stars. I was always an XBOX person. I was any early adopter of the 360, and absolutely loved it! In fact I was so happy with my 360 I never had to buy a PS3. However, when the Xbox One was first announced by Microsoft, it seemed to me that they were trying to force us into a future that we weren't ready for and was entirely unwanted by 90% of the gaming community. The fact that it "Wouldn't work unless you were online, needed a Kinect to function, installed games from disc onto hard drive making it impossible to sell used" was all very disconcerting to me.... Upon seeing this I like many longtime Xbox fans took great offense to this, and made a sort of vow that until Microsoft, and XBOX, changed their ways. Soon after Microsoft did recount their statements, and removed almost all of those "features".
The damage was done though, and I still decided to get a PS4, I was not disappointing with my decision. I ended up in a bad situation though and was forced to sell my PS4. After getting myself back on my feet I decided to buy another game console. Surprisingly, "mostly to me, as like I said, I was originally a HUGE XBOX FAN" I decided to get another PS4! I only had this PS4 for a few months before I again hit hard times and ended up selling it. After what seemed like ages I decided to get another console. This time though my need for Halo grew to strong, and I took the plunge on the XBOX ONE. BIG MISTAKE!!!! Everything about it seemed inferior to my PS4, the menu screen was confusing, it seemed slow, it was much bulkier, and it still required being hooked to the internet at least once. The only positive I could see in it was the HDMI IN port that allowed me to hook my Direct TV directly to the XBOX. I got used to everything after a while, but I still wish I had got another PS4. The only reason I am giving this bundle 3 Stars is the fact that it IS a good deal. I just hate the product it came with!
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video-games_xbox
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A good foundation for great improvement in a second game. If you aren't a patient person, this game is not for you. Now, that's not to say the game is slow, because it's not. But there are true flaws in this game that you need to accept before you can really enjoy this game. So let me lay it out:
The Good:
-Strong story, with characters that feel real (within reason, I'm looking at you, SIE. And you, Brayko). The story is complex, and actually makes you think.
-The gameplay mechanics wise, is pretty bad. Glitching, clipping, getting stuck in floors or in walls, the cover system...but what I mean is the way it works in terms of the story. What the gameplay does do is make most situations very tense, and make you wonder might be happening next. AND, unlike a game I liken this to (Mass Effect), I loved the ability to be able to play through using stealth. The option is always on the table, and I liked that.
-Your choices matter. Now, your choices matter in Mass Effect, but nowhere near the way they matter in Alpha Protocol. And I'm glad AP didn't limit the types of choices you get to make. Because there are a number of big choices you get to make, along with more simple ones. The one drawback to this system is the conversation system. Sometimes the choices they give you aren't clear. For instance, at the end, one of the choices is "Betrayal." What does that mean? Am I going to betray someone? Or am I going to talk about being betrayed? Along with that drawback is is the timer. It's both good and bad. It adds a dynamic feel to conversations you have, however, sometimes a character you are talking to is talking, and the timer starts, and you don't know what they are going to finish their sentence with, so how can you make a conversation choice that quick? I like the timer, but I think it could be improved slightly to allow you to at least digest what someone is saying before replying.
-Being able to upgrade weapons and gadgets is nice.
-The different ways you can play through the game. There are a lot of contacts and alliances possible in the game, but only a set number of missions and ways you can interact with these people. What that means is that you don't have time to court everyone. If you spread yourself too thin you'll end up with no real allies.
-No morality bar. We have all played those games where are "Goodness" or "Badness" is tracked. This game does not, and I love it. There is no right and no wrong, only the choices you make -- just like in real life. It's refreshing.
The Bad:
-Weapons. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but Alpha Protocol seems to rely on a skill/chance system when firing weapons is concerned. If you ever played Morrowind, you know how frustrating it can be when you're right in front of someone trying to slash them with a sword and you are hitting nothing but air. In that same way you can be right in front of someone firing your weapon and you'll miss. It's aggravating.
-The mini games. See longer reviews for just how frustrating these can be. My advice to anyone who hasn't played it is just to invest in the sabotage skill and use overclock a lot. It will ease some frustrations.
-Out of place exaggeration. Why the game works for me is because it feels grounded, like it's something that could actually happen. But then they throw a character like SIE at you (Russian commando warrior woman who marches around in camo pants and a very revealing top. Really? That's the way a hardened mercenary dresses? Really, a completely unarmored and skinny Russian mob boss is the most difficult boss battle? It just makes no sense.
-Your safehouse computers. Yep, I'm complaining about this -- If you have played the game, you saw the sweet setup in all of the safehouses. However, it's completely illogical. The servers powering your ONE computer you are using looks like they could run 200-400 computers at fast speeds. I'm not kidding, there are like 15 servers for one computer. Now, I understand the need for encryption and redundancy defenses and what not. But seriously, 15 servers? It's a minor point, but when I saw it I was like...WAT.
Conclusion: If you have the patience for a good story (which is becoming an all-too-rare-commodity these days at the expense of clunky gameplay and frustrating mini-games, don't pass this game up. With the number of ways possible to play through this game, it's definitely one of the few games in recent memory I can recommend even at about $53. I intentionally left out any mention of graphics in my review, because the game is immersive enough that you don't really notice it. Yes, sometimes they show close-ups that really show how awful the textures look up close...but in truth, if graphics are that important to you, you aren't someone who is going to like this game anyways. Anyone gone back and played Goldeneye on the N64 lately? Fantastic game, but these days it looks like you're wearing a pear of foggy glasses, the graphics are so simple. It's the game that matters, not the graphics so much.
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video-games_xbox
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Finally found a set i am happy with. Update 7-25-2017
Ok, so after all the previous stuff I am still happy with them. The padding is torn on both sides now and the top is cracked but still holds together just fine. I have put in over 2700 hours using these headphones while playing the division and may be another 300 on other games. I am very surprised that they have done so well.
Review is for using with PS4
UPDATE 1-29-17
After running in circles with these guys, I finally got some satisfaction. One of the customer service reps told me it must be a broken optical cable. They sent me another and got it in 4 days. Plugged it in and it was like having new headphone that are worth the price I paid for. They really need to work on customer service though. Took numerous emails. Thanks to the last guy that knew what was wrong right away.
UPDATE 1-15-2017
stopped working back in November but was too busy to reply or return and now I'm stuck with junk. I can only control sound and chat with only the right side. I cannot separate the volumes between chat and game sounds
after numerous times with their useless customer support, I can honestly say I will no longer support or buy the new ls40. The customer support is almost laughable if you were not so frustrated. They continue to repeat each step like you are an idiot, even though you tell them you did each step...and they just continue to repeat the cycle so you never get an answer. Lucid Sound, you and your products lost another customer.
GARBAGE....COMPLETE GARBAGE
*8/13/2016 Update*
Have been using everyday now, turns on and off now with no problems. Very Very happy with these!
ok, had been very skeptical about buying these. I have gone thru multiple headset in the last month, hudu or something like that wireless, battery fired no charge, xberia just low sound and short cord, then went with ps4 wireless, battery was fried when I get it, then went with turtle beach stealth 500 p, fit too tight.
Right out box I charged till the blue light stayed on. plugged in dongle and went to pair it up. Headset would not turn on. Held button for 1 sec, heard a loud pop, then now power, held the power button again,nada. no power. Me being stubborn I continued to try to figure out what I was doing wrong. I even sent a email to the support email .Then for some reason I just kept pushing the power button for one second multiple time and it powered up. Re calibrated both by pushing that tiny button. Now its working like a champ.
The sound is perfect, actually have to turn it down while playing division. They are a tad bit heavy but they a comfortable. I have asked multiple people that I play online with how the mic sounds, all have said great.
I am still having the problem from time to time with the powering on button. Not sure what I'm doing wrong but each time if I mess with it powers up after a few seconds . I can deal what that. Pretty happy with them. Only thing that concerned me was I reached out to the support department the first night and still have not heard back from them. Hopefully this is not a defect that goes south for me
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video-games_xbox
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Xbox Rules. Let me start off by saying that this is an excellent product. I've been playing Xbox consoles for all of my life, and this is my first Xbox One. I am highly satisfied. That being said, I'll break it down into more detail for those interested.
The set up for the console is not bad at all. The power brick is now inside the console, so the only manual setup you have to do is plugging the system into the wall and into the TV. Two cables, both included, and you're done. Very, very simple. Starting up the Xbox is not a quick process. There's system updating, controller updating, and other setup things that the console has to do before you can actually play. If you are expecting this to be a plug in and play, you're not going to have a good time. If you are aware of the time this takes and are prepared for it, you'll be fine. I knew of this and planned ahead so that I wasn't wasting time. You do want to be sitting near the console to start the next update once the last one is finish. Games are another story, as the big games can sometimes take all night to install, but again, if you're informed and prepared, it is no big deal.
System Set Up Grade: 100%
Physically, this console is very small. It's not super bulky and boxy compared to the regular Xbox One. It has a very clean matte white finish with a few black accents. The power button lights up when turned with a white light. This version DOES NOT come with a vertical stand, so if you don't wish to lay it down horizontal, you will need to purchase a stand separately. The eject button for discs as well as the power button are physical buttons, meaning you have to press them in for their purpose to function. This is great compared to if the buttons were touch sensitive and you would be able to accidently hit a button by brushing up against it. It is quite slim, and very nice looking. The white especially stands out against black TV's, stands, and other black consoles.
Physical features grade: 100%
Controller:
The Xbox One controller has been minorly upgraded, including textured grip and a longer wireless distance. The texture is just enough to give you an extra grip on the controller without being too much or irritating. You don't even notice it unless you're paying attention to it, but unlike the old Xbox One controller, it doesn't get greasy and slippery. The controller is black and white to match the console and looks very nice. All buttons are responsive and easy to push, and the controller is very comfortable to hold in the hand. It has a 3.5 mm headphone jack and works well with any headphones. It gives you all the sound from the console and the games straight through your favorite headphones that are plugged right into your controller. The 'X' power/home screen button lights up when on, and turns off when the controller is off. The batteries tend to run out quick, so I recommend purchasing some recharable double a's to save some money.
Overall, this is a great system. There is a wide variety of games to choose from for all ages, and there's easy to use parental controls to restrict your children from certain aspects of gaming. This specific system is 500 GB and perfect for a casual gamer. If you are more hardcore and are wanting to download a lot of games, you'll want to opt for a bigger size. Games like Call of Duty and Halo can get close to 100 GB, so check the size of the games before purchasing and downloading to make sure you have the space. You can also purchase an external hard drive if you decide later on that you want more storage.
Xbox One S 500 GB Overall Grade: 100%
This product gets an A from me. :)
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video-games_xbox
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Excellent End to a Great Series. For those who don't have much time to read this:
I would highly recommend this game. And if you are a fan of the series, you really should play this game. The level design is great, writing has improved, gameplay is relatively unchanged (good if you like it, and bad if you don't), and the ending is a satisfying conclusion to an overall great series.
More in-depth review here:
I have been a fan of the 'Gears of War' series since the first game was released, so I'll try to be as unbiased as possible. When I heard that 'Gears 3' was coming out, I was really excited to play it...but I never bought it (something about never having enough cash lying around or free time to play). I never heard any reviews about the game one way or another, so it was never on the top of my list of games to play. Well, a few weeks ago, I saw 'Gears 3' for sale on Amazon (only $15!) and that excitement to play came back. Still without sufficient time to immerse myself in the game, I figured it would be a project for me, play a level every night or so when I have some spare time...nothing ever seems to go as planned.
I started to play this game and I couldn't stop. I loved everything about it. From the tutorial level (which takes place in a dream of Marcus Fenix) until the very end, I was taken aback by the beauty of the level design. I think this game does a good job of showing what the war has done to the planet. You get to see a lot more of the environment, and in some cases, the developers even seem to be showing off what they have done (I would too, they did a really good job with the art here).
One problem a lot of people have with the series is the writing. Still not as good of a script as other games, like the 'Mass Effect' series, 'Gears 3' still shows improvement over the previous games in the series. There were moments in the game which really make you connect with the characters, something I thought was lacking in the previous games but is present here. By the end of the game, I could put myself in that environment and feel what it would be like to be in the position of the CoGs, something I like to see in video games because it shows the ability of the developers to use the medium to tell stories, just like movies and artwork.
The gameplay, which is what has made this series popular, remains relatively unchanged. This is definitely a good thing. I don't have much else to say about this, if you like the gameplay, you'll like it here. If not, well, at least you know what to expect.
The main reason I bought this game was because I wanted to see how everything was going to end. I've played a lot of series through to the end and a lot of them end in a completely different manner than what I would have liked to see. Considering the tone of the past games, the ending of 'Gears 3' fits perfectly. **Semi-Spoiler Alert: Skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know ANYTHING about the end of the game** Even though the ending is not the most uplifting way for the series to end, it is exactly how I would want this series to finish, which I can't say about a lot of other series.
Overall, I think the main strengths of this game are its Level Design/Artwork, Gameplay (since I am a fan of how 'Gears' does it), and Story.
For weaknesses, if I have to pick, I would say Character Development (of course the entire series had mediocre character development, so I wasn't expecting much. On the other hand, this game has better character development than the previous 2).
If you chose to buy this game, you won't be disappointed.
Oh, I forgot to mention this: the "shock value" for this series has always been the gore. This one is no different. There always seem to be new ways go around and neutralize the enemy, hence the Mature (M) ESRB rating.
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video-games_xbox
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How did they manage to screw this up. The characters look cool and their premise is even cooler. You are top black ops soldiers in the near future with cutting edge tech to assist in defeating impossible odds. Sounds great,no? Well, that is why Future Soldier could be one of the more frustrating gamer experiences in recent memory. At times you will love this game, and then there will be other times filled with fits of frustration and moments where you ask yourself," They delayed the release of this game for this?"
With a poorly laid out and redundant checkpoint system, this game is buggy in spots, and is drug down by poor design decisions, imo. First, there will be times where you hike just to get to a checkpoint...huh? You literally have to hike to points to load the next set of events. Awful. All this hiking to and from neglects the player from having a fluid and fully immersive experience. It literally feels like filler; it is called cut scenes Ubisoft; look into it. This, coupled with slow load times brings the game down and doesn't mention the fact that you can not just play the campaign online with random players.
The games graphics do suffer in spots, face animation and some of the violence in particular (guy gets shot point black in the face and in an up close sequence there is not even blood!), but when it gets going this game is real fun to play. Unfortunately, Ubisoft obviously had a budget for this game and stuck to it. This could have been the Tom Clancy line of games greatest moment, and instead is simply a potential thoroughbred with genetic defects(Ubisoft's stingy budget and shoddy workmanship). BTW, the multi-player blows. CAMP CITY. To not have a team deathmatch format, to me personally, is certifiably idiotic. Plus newbies are at the mercy of vastly better weaponry used by better/veteran players.
The gun system is very cool and it should be how all modern shooter games should handle their load out. It is much cooler to have sophisticated scopes, gas systems, etc. than quick reload or other perks in games like COD. I would much rather have a doped out gun than worrying about what fake @$$ perk I need to be using. No perks = less hacking imo. It would be obvious when someone is cheating.
My two cents:
please shooter industry, no more "Russian-centric" stories for a while please. There are plenty other despotic regimes to pick on; Pakistan, Iran, China, North Korea, most of the continent of Africa. Not every story has to be the war that ends all wars. I would love to see a game where the story is much more simplified and you are a special forces team taking out a dictator of a small island. Different "destinations" is very cool but it has been done a lot lately. If you must go that route, just tell a story about a particular unit of the armed forces and all their different "top secret missions", like a memoir. I dunno, I think this would spice up the shooter industry much more than another "cookie cutter" "Russian radicals out to takeover the world" story.
All in all, 3.5 stars out of 5.
Bottom line:
Very cool ideas get mired by inconsistent and rough game play, as well as a "been-there-done-that" storyline. For it to be as unpolished as it came off, AND be delayed as long as it was, is ridiculous. Makes you wonder if all that time was used making all those stupid checkpoint hikes. Graphics are subpar compared to where a lot of games are this day, and comes off at times like a budget game. Still worth checking out.
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video-games_xbox
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Almost perfect for this niche. I've read a whole lot of negative for this game, no real plot, gameplay problems, etc. But I have to disagree. Sure, it's very easy to run to the outbuilding on some levels and find your target or item you're looking for. Sure you can select an easy diffeculty and complain about the bad battle system-
-but that's not at all what this game's about!
This game is about trying to be a perfect ninja, a silent, unseen, killing machine that wipes out the whole level of badguys without being detected. It's about the tension of stalking a man, and the thrill of bleeding him out and slipping into the darkness in time to see his buddy return from a quick patrol or a trip to the bathroom to see his friend's inverted torso. -all the while you're laughing, while they're freaking out looking for you. Don't try to fight through the enemy like you're Dante, the battle system sucks, but then again, the stealth system in DMC sucked, -see what I'm saying?
I think there isn't another game out there that captures the idea of being a ninja, the way you have to carefully stalk your enemy and take them out in the right order, at the right times, all while doing it flawlessly and sneaking away is often times challenging. This game is part action, and part strategy, sure you could race through each level and fight like a dumb grunt, and complain the fighting sucks, or you can be a little patient, study your enemy, and eliminate them like a trained ninja would. Playing the game in this way, the game is smooth, it's challenging, it's just plain fun.
The game has good graphics, great sound, and the levels are beautifully done, and everything about the controlls are really solid, but when you try "go Dante" on the enemy, it can be a daunting task for sure. Now, to be fair, I've seen guys on YouTube destroying the enemy 1 on 1, but I'm not as good as those guys. For me this game is a solid stealth-killing game, possibly the best. It's the best Tenchu by far anyway. I recommend this game whole-heartedly, it's too much fun to create an awesome looking Ninja and then being let loose on several levels with plenty of enemies to bleed out. Maybe I'm sick, but it never gets old, this one's going to stay in my collection.
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video-games_xbox
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Haven't played Online Multiplayer this Much Since Halo 2. I will agree with others that I was a bit confused to discover there is no real modern-style Campaign mode in the game. Generallly, in all of the recent FPS (i.e. Modern Warfare etc) I usually stick to the campaign and venture online a bit when I have time. However, that wasn''t really an option since the 'Campaign' in Titanfall is really just a match with a barebones storyline behind it that's hard to follow when you're scrambling to choose your loadout and your burn cards before the next round starts in the storyline. I found it confusing that even in the campaign they have a countdown to the start of the round and you cannot even pause in-game, which makes restroom breaks a bit tricky even playing the campaign. At least buy compleing the campaign I got some familiarity with the cntrols and the matchmaking process, as well as gaining two new Titan classifications.
But the lack of a genuine campaign is made up for with the incredible online play that really draws you in. I haven't been this much into a FPS since Halo. While Halo had a slicker matchmaking system and had tons of match options going back to 2004, Titanfalls has much better gameplay because the diversity of how you can fight as a pilot or in a titan, and both have their benefits and drawbacks, but neither is ever boring. The choice of weapons and mods and tactical abilities is not as numerous as other popular shooters, but there is quality of quantity here. The visuals are very good, but not as goods as Battlefield 4.
All-in-all I think MS should have priced Titalnfall at $49.99 maybe even a bit less because you really do only get multiplayer here. But boy is it fun and different You can tell that Respawn invested heavily in the 15 maps included and all of the excellent mechanics in the game. It really is a merger of Modern Warfare with Halo, and I enjoy every moment of it.
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video-games_xbox
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AC3 took a leap of faith... and missed. Assassin's Creed 3 suffered from a number of issues.
1. The controls here are not user friendly and lead to more deaths than actual combat (for example, trying to climb a cliff or building and having Connor vault off of it to his death). On top of that tree climbing, which was originally one of the big advancements when the game was first being previewed, is horrible and not worth the effort. Combat controls are just as jumpy and more times than not I felt like I was just button mashing. Getting Connor to do what you want him to do is the biggest challenge of this game.
2. The graphics do little to help the game play along and all areas look pretty much identical to each other; you have cities and you have woods, and that is pretty much the only difference. Cities also look very flat compared to the woodland areas. The people in the game also look odd and two dimensional. Overall the best way to describe the graphics are something that you would expect to see in an x-box or playstation 2 system, not on the "newer" consoles.
3. Missions have "optional objectives" that you must complete for 100% completion of the game. They range from easy to difficult to obtain, which is a nice blend, but many are almost impossible to get due to the controls.
4. The game has a number of plot holes and ultimately feels very rushed. Connor himself is by far the worst assassin character to date, having the personality of a wet dish rag and is utterly unbearable to play as. He never truly matures as a character and maintains a naive nature about him even up to the very end of the game.
5. The ending. The entire ending feels like the developers decided that they wanted to reboot the franchise. The final two bosses of the game are lack luster; one amounts to a fist fight in which you win during a quick time event, and the final boss of the game is nothing but a chase scene, after which you are booted from the Animus to finish the game as Desmond. But there is no end. Without giving spoilers, basically it makes you feel like everything you have done in the games leading up to AC3 is worthless and looks very much like developers decided mid franchise to scrub their original ideas and reboot.
I would not recommend this game. I played it through to the end and all it did was frustrate me and make me want to rush through it. I had high hopes for it, with how well the previous games did but nothing about this was "fun". If you want to pick it up I suggest get it used or wait for the price to drop because it is by no means worth full price.
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video-games_xbox
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Great Riding Simulator. Some games are meant to be arcadey, while others are meant to give a real world experience even if it's tough to master. MotoGP falls squarely in the second area. Be prepared for some realistic motorcycle riding in this racing game.
The game provides three modes - a quick race for the patience challenged, time trials for fast challenges, and then the career mode. All tracks in the game are based on actual MotoGP tracks, and there are a good number of bikes to choose from. You get to customize the bikes as you go, with numerous tweaks and decorative touches to add.
The bikes are, of course, the entire point of a motorcycle racing game. The detail and work they put into each bike is VERY impressive. You can really see the gleam on the paint curves and the worn creases of the leather. The tracks show an equal amount of work. For as many minute components that make up each large track, there are numerous small touches that you can see if you tool around at slow speed.
The game's training program helps you learn the basics - but even this area isn't "easy". To do the curves properly, you have to handle both the bike's steering and the rider's balance, just as in real life. My boyfriend and I have done a fair amount of long distance riding, so this sort of thing becomes second nature in real life. The game is helping you learn these same skills.
On to the actual racing. You can choose from the 2005 or 2006 season if you wish. You can do practice runs on a track before you qualify, which is really nice to help you learn it. The arrows which come up are both helpful and inobtrusive. If you bump another rider, they make an angry hand gesture at you, while you wave bye-bye to them. Having the widescreen really helps see the course ahead and the riders you need to pass.
There are a number of flaws in the game. The loading screens take quite a long period of time to finish. There are occasional stutters in the game - not enough to cause trouble while playing, but it's noticeable. I wasn't overly fond of the music choices. In general, though, when you're zooming around the track at super high speed, focussing on getting that #1 spot on a hard difficulty, the things around you are a blur and all that matters is the quality of your bike. They really have done a great job with that.
I really have to question just how some of the other reviewers were spotting "no cameraman at the camera" unless they were riding at 5mph, which isn't the point of playing a racing game ... that would be like judging Super Mario poorly because the mushrooms were not properly textured ...
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video-games_xbox
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Super Dissappointed. I may have just gotten a lemon, but this headset did not work out for me at all. When I took it out of the box, the first thing I noticed was the giant, goofy plastic piece on top. It's hard to see in the picture with the green light on, but when it's on your head, it looks like a giant, goofy alien head or something. Seriously, this plastic half circle comes about 5 inches off of my head like an orbit. I know it's necessary for the structure of the headset, but it's pretty terrible looking. Definitely would not stream playing while wearing this.
The set-up process was seemingly straightforward, but it just would not work. The USB dongle lit up, the headset lit up, but no sound came out, everything showed a successful installation, but no sound. Suddenly, without making any changes, about 30 minutes into being angry at it, I hear some sound coming out of them - they're working! Decided to give them a chance. Maybe they're goofy looking, but they seem comfortable enough and the sound quality isn't terrible. However, as soon as I start talking in Teamspeak, my friends say that I sound like I'm in a fish bowl and oh-my-god what is the buzzing, make it stop.
After messing with some settings, I was able to reduce the buzzing they heard, but not eliminate it. At this point, I'd already decided to return them, but needed to finish this raid. I was replacing broken headphones, so I didn't have a backup. After maybe about an hour of use, the USB dongle starts flashing indicating that the headphones are no longer paired wirelessly. I go to the support website, follow the instructions for re-establishing the connection, and this, also, does not work.
At this point, the headset won't even turn off using the dubiously marked "Mute" button, which I guess I was supposed to instinctively know was a power button as well, because it's not marked that way. Right now, I'm trying to charge them to see if that will help, but it doesn't look like they're not charged, judging by the impossibly bright LED coming from every point on the headset.
Like I said, possibly a lemon, but I'm definitely exchanging these for something else.
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video-games_xbox
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TW13 Not Up to Par - Lost That Luv'n Feel'n. You should also read the posts from everyone complaining about TW13 under EA TW forum under tech help and feedback. Here is one of my posts that go more to the heart of the matter:
4/6/20
Playing TW 13 in Pro mode, offline, match play with the family really sucks compared to TW 11. EA - you folks have really ruined a very good game. I have spent $140 for the TW13 game and all the courses to upgrade from TW11 to TW13. After a week of playing TW13 every evening, my whole family is really disappointed in the play of the game. TW11's mechanics (and prior versions) in almost every area had a much better golf simulation experience for match play offline. When in the sand, you had to change the shot accordingly, same for rain, and deep rough, and you had a percentage gage to judge the effect. Not so with TW 13. Now everything is very much the same, no matter whether you are in the grass or sand - it is point and shoot arcade style game.
YOUR DEVELOPERS NEED TO STOP DEVELOPING AND PLAY TW11 AND THEN COMPARE THE GAME PLAY MECHANICS TO TW13. TW13 IS A HUGE STEP BACKWARDS IN MY FAMILY'S OPINION. WE LOVE THE NEW MAPS, AND A FEW OF THE ADDITIONAL FEATURES, BUT YOU MESSED WITH WHAT MADE TW11 (and prior versions) SO GOOD - THE GOLF SIMULATION MECHANICS - AND GOT THEM WRONG.
AND THE GAME IS REALLY BUGGY FOR AN XTH GENERATION ITERATION OF AN ESTABLISHED FRANCHISE (I HAVE POSTED NUMEROUS BUG REPORTS IN OTHER POSTS). IT IS LIKE YOU STARTED OVER FROM SCRATCH. MY WIFE COMMENTED LAST NIGHT THAT SHE FELT LIKE A BETA TESTER WITH ALL THE GOOFY BUGS WE SEE - AND HER FINAL COMMENT WAS, "DID THEY REALLY PLAY THIS GAME BEFORE PUTTING IT OUT THERE FOR US TO BUY?" THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN IS WHEN I WENT TO UPGRADE MY PLAYER'S SKILLS AFTER GAINING 1000 EXPERIENCE POINTS, AND THE GAME WIPED OUT MY EXPERIENCE POINTS AND GAVE ME NO ADDED SKILL LEVEL AS TO POWER!! NOW I'M MISMATCHED WITH ANOTHER MEMBER OF MY FAMILY.
. . .
Thanks for being open to constructive criticism, because that is the spirit in which I make this post.
The Moderator Responds:
While I respect your opinion, I could not disagree more. Seems the majority of the feedback so far disagrees with you as well. Sorry you do not like the game
Uncle* responds:
Although I like playing this game and in particular the swing mechanics and no more focus (screw) circle, I'd have to agree with the original poster in terms of the roughs, sand, and rain having absolutely no effect as lessening the experience. And it is full bugs, not only crashers, but easy simple visual bugs, not to mention bad design decisions. I often feel as I'm playing it that I'm beta testing it.
I've even thought that perhaps the reason rough, sand and rain have no effect is that you consciously turned off the effect to let us, the players, get use to the new swing mechanics, and you'd later release an update that turned them on. But that's just wishful thinking since in all the versions of TW that I've played as I remember it I'd see one update beyond the first update that occurs on the first day of the release.
There are a number of things in the game that I think you wasted developement time on that for the most part were fine in the previous versions. As examples I give online tournaments and scorecard/leaderboards. With the exception of the game often failing to submit a score to an online tournament, which seems to be fixed in this version, these were fine and in my opinion better in the previous versions. Really bad design decisions. I've seen a lot of people complaining about the scorecard/leaderboard stuff.
I reply:
Seems like I'm not the only one . . . I find it hard to believe you defend the mechanics of TW13 as to the matters set forth, infra, in this post. I play the game EVERY NIGHT with my family and have no vested interest in TW11 or 10 or 9. Infact, my whole family waited with baited breath for TW13 as we were a little tired of TW11 (particualarly looking for more courses). I preordered the Colletor's Edition. As soon as I received it I purchased all the course, no questions asked and happy to do it. But come on - TW13 sucks COMPARED to TW11 as to the matters I have set forth in the post.
And the bugginess of TW13 - you defend the bugginess of this thing? I have been playing games a long time - and have never seen a more buggy, established game franchise in my life. EA should be ashamed of itself for releasing TW13 with all the bugs.
By the way - I'm a 59 year old attorney - so I use "sucks" as a legal term of art : )
Uncle* responds and to which I concur:
I like the new swing mechanics and the removal of what ... calls the random landing circle and what I called the screw circle.
But not having rough, sand and rain effect play was one of many bad design decisions. And this is not finished product, again agreeing with (me), this is one of the buggest games I've ever seen.
And the moderator said: "you . . . have a point about play out of the rough and bunkers."
My concluding Thoughts:
Additionally, TW13 Collecter's Edition dropped Match Play Offline with Random Hole Selection - my family's favorite feature!!!!
So my bottomline - I'd still buy it, but EA - you should really be ashamed for putting out this trash.
EA TW13 NEEDS:
1. ALL the bugs fixed (which I'm sure you are working on). I only say this because you never fixed a major bug in TW11, even though is was pointed out to you extensively - the DLC course that would not load - yeah remember that.
2. Keep the nice swing mechanics of TW13 but integrate TW11 and prior's sand, rough, rain, feet being/hilo, effect into the swing as to both the ability of the golfer to judge the effect of the course conditions on the swing and the conditions should effect the shot distance and direction. Consider Toggling on/off TW11 (and prior) visual guaging of these conditons - then eveyone is freaking happy!!!!!!
3. Return random hole selection and include all the purchased courses into the random mix. We play this game ALL YEAR LONG AND THE RANDOM MIX IS GREAT!
4. Stop emphasizing on-line play as the all and all, and realize there are a lot of us that play offline and compete in the home with each other, and we want all the badges and coins and experience points and brownie points and widgets and bright and shiny things too!!!! Maybe institute all the brownie points for an avatar that is designated to compete online and brownie points for an avatar that can compete offline. Quite frankly, you and the rest of the world don't care about the "fairness" of the brownie point system that occurs in my home, you just want to ensure that the brownie point system that is online is fair to everyone playing online. In your quest to make a fair online brownie point system - you've ruined the offline brownie point system. Again - making a rich brownie point system for on-line and a rich brownie point system for off-line play that makes everyone happy!!
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video-games_xbox
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A game at odds with itself. You may note that I rated the game as "fun" but overall "poor". The gameplay can become a bit addictive, after a point. Once the hero becomes powerful and just doesn't stop, you can maul your way through enemies that once gave you problems. There's also a massive loot system, and you can combine simlar items to make higher-class ones. This makes for an incredible depth of customization, and a fun factor in picking your equipment, especially once you became the aforementioned death-dealing machine.
But up until you hit that mark, the game is just horrible. Heck, even after you hit it the game itself is still horrible. The story has some potential, but ultimately sounds like something that a two-year-old came up with. The hero loses his sister, searches for her, finds out she's been kidnapped, and then goes on a journey of self-discovery as he uncovers the truth behind a legend surrounding his family and the powers he and his sister share. The dialog used to deliver the story is absolutely bottom-barrel trash, and the voice acting throughout the game will make you cringe. I got to the point where I just read the dialog as quickly as I can so can skip the poor voice acting.
The map is asinine. First, it's huge, which is nice. But whoever made it basically took a giant square and ran a randomizer over it, plugging in a few numbers for "max height". Read: the game has too many hills. They're everywhere. There's no such thing as a flat plain anywhere. It's just up and down and up and down. It's like the developers never actually went outside to see if what they made makes any sense against the real world. I mean, it detailed and can be pretty at times, but the hills are just a pain. This wouldn't be a problem if not for two things:
1) it makes exploration very hard. If you take a wrong turn over a hill, you can end up sliding some stupid distance and not be able to climb back up. Because that one hill will be surrounded by dozens of others, most of which will prevent you from just hopping back up to where you left off, it can literally take 10 minutes to return to the top of it just to go the other way. This is incredibly obnoxious as you MUST explore the entire world to get the location achievements.
2) your horse is an idiot. Once you get one, you'll find that the horse randomly can't pass certain types of terrain. This is especially true of ~60% of the roads, which are bizarrely designed like very deep and broad ruts that are cut into the landscape instead of just being on top of the surface. The sides of most of these roads are so steep that the horse can't walk across them. You'll turn to leave the road to go explore some feature and the horse will get to the edge and then just stop or, more annoying, turn completely around and go the other way? You have to stop the horse, get up off of it, walk across over to where you wanted the a-hole to go, and then call it to you. You'll find that it can, in fact, make it across that spot, just not with you on it.
Speaking of the horse, it's annoying for another set of reasons:
1) it's supposed to make fighting foot soldiers easier, but it doesn't. The horse isn't very maneuverable, and the controls are just poorly done. So trying to fight enemies on foot is a pain of trying to get the horse to face the right direction and trying to get your character to swing his weapon on the right friggin' side of the horse. You also can't wield a two-handed weapon other than a bow from horse back, but you can use double-wielding from horseback. It's just weird.
2) you can pick up herbs and random objects lying on the ground and way out of reach from horseback, but you can't loot the enemy you just killed or open treasure chests from horseback. So you have to keep jumping on and off the thing every time you get in a fight.
3) the controls aren't just unintuitive, they're anti-intuitive. You have to press the up button to move forward. Normal, right? Not so when you realize that holding the button causes the horse to accelerate, and rapidly. And letting it go doens't stop the horse. Push up and let go of the controller, and the horse will keep moving forward. Neat? Kind of. But now you need to stop because some wolves are attacking you. You have to push "down" to stop. But you can only do that when the horse's movement is aligned with the screen. That is, if you've turned the camera to look to the side, you have to turn it back to face forward, THEN hit down to stop the horse. Otherwise, hitting down does something random, whether turning the horse to face toward the camera or turning it away or turning it some other random direction.
It's better to find a horse that can carry a lot of weight and just use it as a travelling treasure chest. Just park it near a transporter or in a nearby city and come back to it as you explore and find treasure you want to keep. The horse can save you a lot of travel time going between towns and cities, but only in areas where you've already killed all the enemies. And the transporter system works better anyway, and you don't want to try to be on the horse INSIDE the towns and cities because it's so unmaneuverable. I actually got my horse caught on a merchant to where the merchant's character was litteraly INSIDE my horse and neither of us could move, and I couldn't dismount because that button is the same as the talk-to-the-merchant button (poor controls). Fortunately, I was able to twist around and get free, but it took a while and was pain.
The controls are bad in every way. In combat, there's no blocking or dodging, just a "jump back". Swinging your weapon can take a while. Not that the swing is slow, but that it can literally take up to a FULL SECOND for the character to respond to the button press and swing his weapon. You can only swing a limited number of times, but that number appears to be random and situationally based and I have no idea what it is. I just know that after X-number of swings, I should just go ahead and hit the jump-back button before I get creamed. The "jump" button is also not the prototypical "A". It's "Y"? X doesn't attack, but draws your weapon. The attack button is a trigger, but if you press it while under attack and your weapon isn't drawn, you don't attack? It's like the character is telling you, "I'm getting hit and you're pressing the attack button, but my weapon's not drawn, so Ima just sit here and bleed everywhere." What the hell?
The "Power Wheel" is a nice concept, but poorly executed. Each weapon has different skills associated with it, but the skills are grouped together so that if you assign a type for one slot, you assign several different weapon-specific abilities to that slot. All you have to do is change weapons, and the slot automatically changes to that weapon's skill from the same group. It's a nice touch, BUT, when you select the power from the D-pad, it doesn't pause gameplay to bring up the actual wheel. It just changes an icon in the top left of the screen, and because of the inaccuracies of the D-pad you often get the wrong power. And once you've selected the right power, you have to then press the other shoulder trigger. This makes combat a malay of pushing the attack trigger, desperately trying to select a power from the D-pad, and pushing the power trigger. I just leave mine on my heal spell and don't bother with the others because most of them have low percentage success rates anyway. All you really need in the game is just a lot of strength and an axe weapon with high slashing and bludgeon damage, and you can run over just about everything. The powers are mostly superfluous and not very useful.
Also, the treasure system is vast. This is, at first, a boon because you get to sweep through and get more and more powerful items. However, in order to combine items to make a higher-class one, you have to have two of the exact same type. Each piece of armor has a "Set" number, and there are least 600 "sets" in the game. A set includes helmet, chest, gauntlets, leggings, and boots. That's 3000 items in armor alone. Then there's dozens of different types of shields, and at least 100 different types of weapons, and at least 9 different types of ring. There aren't that many chests or enemies in the game, which means you're not going to find a lot of the same item in the wild. Some items are very powerful, but also super rare, so in order to get those to a decently effective and high enough class you have to find them and purchase them. This can be difficult as earning gold is limited since enemies do not respawn, chests do not refill, and you can only steal from each NPC one time. My suggestion is to save up until the very end and just power up your favorite end-game end-bringer by visiting shops.
The camera is also very annoying. It's constantly recentering, but the default angle the camera centers on is mind-bogglgingly bizarre. When you're on your horse, the camera recenters to what seems to be a large angle toward the sky. But since most of the game is bizarrely hilly as I've said before, and you'll be facing down-slope most of the time, this means that most of what you care about is going to be at the very bottom of the screen. If you try to angle the camera down, it will instantly retilt back up. When you're not on your horse, the angle is different whether you're running across a semi-flat area (usually ACROSS the side of a hill rather than down it), the angle is slightly upward. But if you're running downhill, the angle changes to look at a spot about a meter in front of your character, making objects just a few meters away disappear off the top of the screen. So you have to angle the camera upward to see where you're going. You also can't just hold the camera an angle since moving the stick even slightly will always move the camera as far to one side as it will go. So you have to constantly fight the camera's recentering by tweaking the right stick in the direction you want to move the camera. The entire game. Non-stop. It. Is. Really. Annoying.
Then there's the frame rate. The camera doens't move smoothly in any sense of the word. When turning, the screen jumps by at least an entire degree at a time. Running forward is jumpy too: object don't glide by the way they do in most smooth-motion games. They jump toward and eventually past you. The motion is eye-jarring horrible. You'll want to play this game on a small a screen as you can so you don't ruin your eyes with the motion-sickness-inducing frame rate. Part of the problem with the rate is from the fact that the game seems to load up the ENTIRE WORLD into memory, rather than just a small piece. If you can get high enough on one side of the map, you can see clear to the other side of it, including cities, towers, and fortresses. Most features, like smaller towns and NPCs, will pop into sight as you get close enough. But the actual lay of the land is visible at any distance, and you can see the trees being rendered from far away. If the developer had actually put a horizon that, the game would be a lot smoother.
Finally, there's the character themselves. I don't think they hired an artist to create the wireframes. They're just atrocious. Everything. The main character's main, NPCs, Orcs, Groms, and wolves are all ugly. Wolves don't have any of the sleekness or elegance associated with real wolves, either: they all look like pug-faced pitbulls and run around like spastic poodles. Bears are hideous. The only things that look halfway decent are the skeletons, and that's only because there's no a lot to them to screw up visually.
This game is bad. It's got a lot of good ideas, but it's just poorly executed. It definitely won't thrill you, and can be very frustrating at times. The dialog sucks, the story is sub-par, and the controls are bad. It is, however, mindless and generally easy to play. If you ignore the story and spend a few hours building up your character, it be an somewhat relaxing stress-relief to sit back, turn off your brain, and just tear through enemy ranks. When the price drops below $10, it can be worth the buy to have something to do for a week or so. But don't buy this game expecting to be wowed. Because, as an actual game, it does suck and sucks hard.
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video-games_xbox
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Subsets and Splits
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