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Bugs, Glitches, and Heartache. +1 Month and still no patch.
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Review for the XBOX 360 version of the game.
I've loved Bioware's games. Dragon Age Origins is one of my favorite games. My first play through took 60 hours and when I finished, I promptly restarted the game. The story and the conflict were engaging. The characters were unique and likable. All-in-all DA:O was a delightful throwback to games like Baldur's Gate. I can't recall many games in recent memory that hooked me as fast.
However, here I am, debating on whether or not I will ever play through Dragon Age 2 again. This game needed at least another year or two of development. It's either the result of rushed development, tight resources, or laziness.
First the Good: The graphics on the XBOX 360 version are an improvement over DA:O. The animations are improved. The soundtrack is better. The button pressing combat creates a hack-n-slash experience with mixed results. However, it does provide a more interactive experience than DA:O where you tapped a button and then watched as your character began engaging the enemy. Although, I imagine PC users will likely be ticked by this change.
The story has some amazing moments. Whoever wrote the Qunari pieces in the second act should get a raise. Those scenes were all gripping and amazingly done. Also a few of your party members really stand out. The characters "Varric" and "Merill" are great and their dialogue is very well done.
The Bad: Good graphics don't mean anything if you see the same maps and the same textures throughout the entire game. By the end of the first act, I had grown tired of Kirkwall. I had seen everything. Every cave, every mansion, every beach rely on the exact same underlying map. So the cave is always the same. It always looks the same. Bioware changes things up by blocking where you can go on the map, but 1/3 of the way through the game and I found I had seen everything. This just feels lazy. Maybe they ran out of time or resources or perhaps they were constrained by the limits of the DVD format. I don't know and I don't care. This sucks. 30-45 hours of the same thing.. over and over and over.....
The story details a political conflict. It's a political conflict that I don't want any part of because there is obviously no winner. There is no "good" or "bad" decision. Just shades of gray. No blight, just politics. I'm not rushing towards a great conclusion. I'm rushing into a Greek tragedy! Characters behave irrationally. Only thing I knew for certain was whatever decision I made, I'd pay for it later. Beyond that, your choices don't matter. You have the same boss fights regardless of which side you ultimately pick. It doesn't make story sense. I thought my choices would determine who the ultimate baddie would be, but no, you end up fighting both sides regardless of what you do. It feels forced. I played as a mage. The game centers around the conflict between mages and templars, but most templars didn't even seem to notice the fact my character was a mage.
Then there are bugs. One character's quest became bugged. It was a bug that revealed the ending of her quest chain, thus spoiling the story. I went online and found that many other people have experienced the same thing. A problem even more noteworthy if you have engaged in a "romance" with said character.
A few other bugs my friends and I have noticed:
* No achievements for DA2 Exiled Prince DLC. That's 5 achievements for 130 gamer points that currently do not work.
* Final boss fight glitches. Character remains stunned and villain is finished off by NPCs.
* You can't finish quests in the third act. NPCs fail to engage when you approach.
* Targeting problems with mages.
* Monsters in various boss fights fail to appear, but still damage player and NPCS.
* Game crashes when loading an area often resulting in a corrupted save file.
* Game triggers that are supposed to reference decisions from DA:O, Golemns of Amgarak, and Witch Hunt fail to work.
The game allows you to import your save from DA:O. For the most part, it doesn't matter. You get an extra side quest or get a forced cameo. Your choices don't impact much of anything. However, on a few occasions where the game could reference my decisions, I discovered that DA2 got my decisions wrong. I didn't spare the Architect!
On normal difficulty and higher, battles go on too long. My characters always feel woefully underpowered. Monsters will seize on one character (almost always the rogue). At this point you run said character around for a bit waiting for monsters to engage someone else. It's stupid, but one of the only things I've found to work in some of the tougher fights. Party members ignore commands. There's a cool down on potions and an increased cool down on healing spells.
I seriously could go on, but I'll spare you. I'm not alone in my complaints. Several of my friends pre-ordered as well. We've had group chat sessions that have turned into something of a Dragon Age 2 therapy session. Honestly, I'm hurt. I loved DA:O.
I pre-ordered this game and I won't make that mistake again. I'll wait for reviews for Mass Effect 3 and any subsequent DA game. | video-games_xbox |
Video Game History (Whether we like it or not. To be rather honest, I was not one of the many people who hurried to their local Gamestop to reserve Halo 2. And I was not one of the loyal x-boxers standing in line on November 8, eagerly awaiting the first moments of the next day. In fact, before November 9, I didn't even own an X-box. But after all the talk, and with me being the first person shooter fan I am, I decided to take the plunge, and purchase an X-box, and the limited edition of Halo 2 on November 9. I must say, although at first stung with hints of buyers remorse, I have been extremely pleased with this purchase. Although the single player campaign did leave much to be desired, the multiplayer is the real reason this game is a must-have. You can host lanparties with up to 16 people by hooking up x-boxes, and x-box live allows you to connect with players from all over the globe for a little fragging fun.
Though, like I said before, there are some negative things to be said about the single player campaign. First, allow me to assure you, the story mode of this game is fun, engaging, and hard to put down. The problem is, longevity. I finally know what its like to be a woman whose husband can't pleasure her in bed because of his longevity problems, that is the feeling I had after Halo 2. The games story is just plain...good. But at the very end, you are waiting for another level to load, and credits start rolling over the screen. Now, I can understand the need for a company to keep people waiting for the next installment of a game, but this is ridiculous, I mean, Halo 3 isn't even on the slate.
The Multiplayer is a wonderfull thing, with enough modes, quick options, and maps to keep you and your friends busy for a while. There are several different variations of capture the flag, and Blood Gulch is back under a new name. Just a few gripes concerning multiplayer. Where are the bots? Games like Unreal, Perfect dark, and many others made bots a standard for multiplayer, but for some reason (X-Box live) bungie left bots out of the eqation in Halo 2. Could there be some kind of...message they are trying to send behind this? (X-box live) Is there something we are supposed to be doing if we can't play the multiplayer by ourselves when our friends aren't around? (X-box live) wait...could they be trying to push X-box live on us?! Maybe, I don't want to be cynical or anything...(Believe me, that is DEFFINETLY it) But in all seriousness, Halo 2 is really, trully a solid game all around, maybe some of the hype was a bit much, but for the most part, the development team at the heart of this project deserve all of the attention. If you have an X-box, this is a great title to grab for the holiday season, but I wouldnt suggest buying one just for this game, unless you are a hard core first person shooter fan.
Pros:
Amazing Multiplayer
Good Story
Good graphics, and nice physics
Challenging difficullty modes
X-Box Live
Cons:
Abrupt ending
No bots in multiplayer mode! | video-games_xbox |
Strikkly Forr De Kill ;l. i absolutely Loved this game for the Original XBOX. the past installments have always been Interesting to me..but None of them got it Right like this one does. though it does have a FEW issues...none of them will spoil your experience of this game.
Pros:
-EXCELLENT graphics, really pushes the box to its limits.
-EXCELLENT Level Developement. i LOVED the Christmas Party level..as well as the Mardi Gras and Las Vegas levels. very well detailed and Perfect for Killing and escaping unnoticed.
-holds an INSANE amount of CPU on screen at one time and doesnt Slow Down or Crash the Xbox.
-all the hiding, sneaking, killing without being seen, its all there and is more Fun than ever.
-excellent AI...the Best iv seen in any Game. on the Hardest Level, there is NO MAP..which i found ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to beat this game. i don't see how ANYONE could POSSIBLY beat this game without a Map that shows u where all your enemies are..the A.I. is just too Realistic for that.
Cons:
-the switching of the Outfits is still Wayy too fast, almost instant. it should take a few Seconds for him to UNDRESS and then DRESS into a new outfit...and not Instantly switch..
-sometimes, the guards Notice you out of the blue. you may have just Killed someone and have changed outfits..and be standing next to a guard on a different Floor..but all of a sudden, he will ATTACK you..when a second ago, he was just standing there.
-i couldn't drop Items from my Itenorary. i usually just wanted the Silenced Pistol with me..but they MAKE you carry the surrenge and the Wire..which i NEVER used. it would have been nice to be Rid of them from my arsenal.
-the Targets never Differenciate their Actions. which means if youv already PLAYED through a Level before...you know EXACTLY where the target will be and when..takes away DRAMATICALLY from the replay value.
-no Online mode...how FUNN would it have been to not only go after another player via xbox Live...but see who could take out a Target faster.
Overall, i suggest anyone with an Xbox ATLEAST rent this game or get it used from Gamestop and try it out. after its beaten, you can play around with the levels here and there..but it IS repetative after u beat it. i would like to see them make another game with Online Multiplayer...or atleast take THE LAS VEGAS level and make an Online level for it.
iLL . | video-games_xbox |
Absolutely Perfect. I'm a big gamer, have been playing since my Nintendo 64 back when I was a little kid. These two games are absolutely amazing, I could go on and on about unique, engaging, and amazing the game play, environment, story lines, characters, and other things are in the games. I'll combine both reviews, since both are very similar.
What I loved:
- Morality, this is what sets Bioshock apart from other shooters in my opinion, you have a choice when it comes to certain aspects, will you do what benefits your life but is so wrong, or will you be a savior doing what is right, but it makes it harder on you? What you do has big time effects on the whole game, so pick what you stand for. It really makes you think beyond mindlessly blasting away. It is emotionally gripping, heartbreaking, beautiful, and incredibly happy in just one instance.
- The environment and the idea of an underwater utopia gone wrong is so freaking unique, I don't know where these people come up with this stuff! The steampunk-esque environment that has really started to fall apart is beautiful, you get a sense of what was, what is, and what is becoming of rapture.
- The storyline is......heart breaking, emotionally charged, morally driven, and just incredible. The way it develops, the twists and turns, and the outcomes are incredible.
- The gameplay is some of the funnest I've ever experienced. The thought of being able to shoot electricity, flames, insects, tornadoes, ect. out of your hands and they blast off someones head with a shotgun is SO FUN! Also, using an industrial strenght drill to dismember people in 2 is the most fun I've had destroying enemies in any game. It's an absolute blast.
- It is very challenging at times, but doable. The most I got stuck on something was in 1 and it was for 2 days, but it is a very doable game on medium, pretty difficult on hard.
- The characters, ESPECIALLY in 2, are so easy to love and hate in instances, they are truly memorable.
- The music, I don't know what it is about 40s - 60s era music that makes games of this genre work like in Fallout, but it works so well and really adds to the atmosphere.
- The atmosphere, all of that combined just makes for an absolutely incredible atmosphere that is addictive and unrelenting until you've beaten the game and found out what happened.
What I hated:
- Haha got you, nothing was note worthily bad.
I give the original a 9.8 out of 10, and Bioshock 2 a 10 and is my new favorite game campaign, it almost had me in tears at time. Bioshock Infinite, here I come! | video-games_xbox |
Street Fighter IV - great fighting game, best for new 09'ers and old-skoolers. Street Fighter IV is a great game, with a huge learning curve, and plenty of new tricks that will satisfy the old-skool players lookin' for some fresh moves, and with enough of a solid SF foundation to please any fighting-game fanatic. They've added things like revenge meter, which builds as you get hit, allowing you to pull out an Ultra combo (to have a fighting chance to get back). Focus Attacks help you to cancel combos or moves and follow them up with other combos or Ultra combos, etc. Also absorbs 1 attack, which can definitely help mix up the fighting style alot for each individual.
The great thing about this game is its variety of characters, bringing in a slew of new guys (Abel, Gouken, El Fuerte, C. Viper, Rufus) and re-introducing some SSF2 turbo guys or Alpha 3 chars (Fei Long, Gen, Rose, Dan, Sakura, Akuma etc)
Only drawback with this game is that with the good balance of some once-weaker characters, some have gotten really strong, and others are struggling to be a threat. Namely, some characters like Ryu, Rufus, Sagat, Balrog have it ridiculously easy to link Ultras to, while others suffer to even get an Ultra out that will do nearly as much damage (Guile, Vega, etc).
The good thing is there is still much to learn about this game, and over time some lesser known characters are becoming more popular when people find ways to use their strengths to their fullest. So we have yet to see if this game will reach a better balance, and there is tons of new tricks i'm certain have not yet been discovered.
Great fighting game, 3D-ish in a 2D plane, beautiful graphics, visuals and combos are funny and look great...Music soundtrack is fine, japanese voices are good, but some of the Engl voice-overs are crappy. Some are great though. If you like Street Fighter and are afraid it will take too long to adjust, don't sweat it...most old skool SF players found it relatively easy to return to this game and do well.
IF you're new to fighting games, this game is easy enough for beginners to get a good grip of the style and do well too. | video-games_xbox |
a giant patch of a game for 2k11. i actually liked 2k11, but then again i was mixing up pitches in that game too. this year's addition rewards you for that. if your pitcher loves the cut fastball, if he gets dinged with it, his rating will go down. or if he K's with a heater, the rating will go up with that specific batter. this adds a little chess game.
Hitting has improved. gone are all the grounders, and in comes pop-flys. this will increase your out total. the physics are slight but much welcome. i hit a cutter and it swerved out of play. so better batting physics. i think homers will be more challenging in this game, but that is cool. last year i was dinging 3 homers a game, and i had to up my AI to 70 and CPU hitters still didn't crack it out as much as i did. hopefully, that trend will continue. i want realism.
the rest is the same as last year. still can't sub my pitcher between innings, have to wait until he is on the mound before making the switch. irratating. ballpark music manager has not improved from last year.
will this game offer enough strategy and realism to last an entire 162 games season, before boredom and predictability creep in? not sure, but the initial response is somewhat promising.
graphics are improved modestly. night games now have shiny batter helmets, and i am told the day games blast you in sun light. one cool thing is the throwing system. it was intuitevly in last years game, but this year, more precise throwers have bigger windows. that add another element to drafting and signinng players. one cool experience i had was an error by my shortstop. i could almost feel the ball bouncing off the top of the glove, causing him to have a fielding error. that was alright. all in all, it is what they said it is, and now it is up to you to decide if it is worth the 60 bucks, being really a patch for last years game. you make the call.
****update*****
after playing almost 10 full games, i can commment a bit better. the AI is improved. on a bunt, they don't automatically throw to first base. i was playing a game in which the AI had a runner on third, and decided to lay down a bunt, with the runner running at home. it surprised me, i made the out at the plate, but i thought to myself, if the AI batter would have connected on said bunt, it would have been an awesome move. so AI much more aggressive. speaking of bunts, no longer just a process of laying the stick down, now you have to guide it to the pitched ball. outfielders, and infielders dive for the hit ball much more. i have noticed games are a lot closer, and "manager" strategy comes into play much more. i have had neat experiences with 2k12, so i am upping my overall rating from 3 to 4 stars. play ball! | video-games_xbox |
A very underrated game. I don't really why this game got so-so marks across the board. Last night I got this game in the mail from the Microsoft Store and over the course of 2 hours I really had a blast with it. I got a taste of every sport except for tennis so far so I'll update my review once I have had a chance to spend some more time with the game.
Addressing some of the negative reviews for particular sports:
Wave racing - this is actually pretty easy once you grasp the concept of not going full throttle on turns. Ever try to play Forza 5 without using the brakes? Why do you think this would be different? Ease off the gas on turns and wake racing becomes cakewalk.
Soccer - I watched some of the review videos it was apparent that that people couldn't grasp the concept that you actually have to pay attention to what foot the ball is on and how you move your foot for passes - controlling the direction of the pass using either inside, front or outside of your foot. For shots it's about timing in addition to foot/head awareness, but I didn't start the game expecting high scores, after all - real 90 minute soccer matches often end with only a point on the board. For blocking shots it's really easy to do, as long as you have the space to make lateral movements across your room in front of your Kinect.
Rock Climbing - very easy to get into, my only gripe was that I didn't have the ceiling space to fully extend my arms over my head so your mileage may vary. I was able to mitigate this by using jumps more often.
Target shooting - all about timing and positioning. Some reviews complained about skull and sequence targets, but if they weren't in the game you could just flair your arm across the whole board without thinking and win every time. This way, at least you have to think about how you move to score high.
Bowling - I did manage a couple strikes and spares in my first go, just need to learn the movement for strikes to master this mode. Found it a bit tedious to have to go through 10 sets.
Story - for the bits that I went through, I actually got psyched up for the events. I have played most of the real sports in real life on real teams so it was refreshing for me. If you were never into sports, I could see how the story might not be your cup of tea. Update (4/10/14): It seems that after you unlock everything the story mode continues, but the game expects you to level up your game modes if you expect to progress with flying colors. Leveling up is easy, and you get plenty of experience points for winning or losing. You even get some experience if you totally quit. However if you don't want to try to ace every story mission, you can simply quit the event and the story will progress as if you won. I had to dashboard quit my game because I didn't realize it would do this, because I wanted to ace the missions.
Update (4/10/14): Tennis - I suffered from the same drawbacks as I had with Rock Climbing -> I didn't have the space to get my Kinect to properly recognize me. To make this game mode work I had to temporarily rearrange my furniture by pushing my couch out of the way. After doing all that I was easily scoring left and right and often getting aces on my first try.
Also, I keep seeing on reviews with discussion on monetary values of games. The one thing to keep in mind is that the intro price for console games has pretty much remained at $60 since 2005. If you were to adjust the 2014 dollars for inflation, the intro prices for game would actually be $49. So overall games have gone down in price over time because the price has been fixed for almost a decade. But regardless, if you can't afford the games, why are you gaming? | video-games_xbox |
Not quite phenominal cosmic power, but a heck of a lot of fun. I didn't want to camp out in the cold for this (or any) system, so I got up early and stood in line at Target instead, and happened to get there early enough to learn that this store had wisely withheld information about how many units they actually had from the crowd that camped out to give everyone else a shot at the console. I managed to get a core unit, I was hoping for a premium console, but oh well. I went to best buy to pick up most of the things I was missing out on getting only the core system, and hooked it up to my TV.
To my surprise I learned my HDTV had only been running in 480P the last several years, and it cannot do 720P, instead it jumps right to 1080I, but here's what makes the 360 so great, it's the only device in my home which can utilize my TV's 1080I capabilities, and to a great result. Aliasing is nearly a thing of the past, and that alone makes this new console worthwhile. Playing games in true high definition is awe inspiring, but to be honest I was still expecting more from this next gen system.
The 360 reminds me of the Dreamcast, full of excellent and wonderful games, already, (I have 6 so far and each are a blast) but it feels underpowered in comparison to forthcoming competing systems (PS3 in particular). I was disappointed with character models, and textures in Perfect Dark Zero, as well as the lack of polygons used in Kameo. Quake 4 features some amazing texture maps, but the characters still, look like they're built out of boxes sloppily stacked together, its nothing on what Metal Gear Solid 4 looks like for PS3. That doesn't mean this system isn't a good investment, only that the graphics (aside from being in HD wide screen) are only a marginal improvement over the original Xbox so far. I'm sure that better looking games will be available soon. Again I must emphasize that despite the disappointment in graphics the games are a blast.
Generally I get one, maybe two games for a console at launch (handhelds are a different story, I generally grab more since I have more time for handhelds of late) and the reason for this is simply because of time constraints as well as a generally poor selection of games available. The PS2, in example, launched with a huge collection of generally abysmal games. XBox itself (Halo aside for Halo fans) wasn't much better, and I thought GameCube was doing well with 3 games at launch I picked up... here I picked up 5, and went back for a sixth, and each one is fantastic! The reviews for the remaining games that I have not gotten have also been very good, unlike PSP which had a list of games that were generally bad and rated accordingly. At any rate, this has become the best launch line up ever simply because the games are so much fun. I'm eager to see what else M$ has up their sleeves for the rest of the line up. The only weakness in the launch line up is the over abundance of first person shooters, and the lack of RPGs does make for limited variety in the line up thus far, one I hope MS will move to correct quickly.
Some may be disenchanted from not being able to get one at launch, but rest assured there should be plenty of systems to go around this holiday season as new allotments are released weekly. M$ should have planned better for the launch event than they did, but regardless don't go over Ebay to get one. It'll probably be like the Nintendo DS where the initial batch sells out quickly, but regular shipments of new systems will keep coming rendering Ebay and other price gougers out of business for the season.
Backward compatibility does have some issues, what few Xbox games are backward compatible often have technical issues rendering them unplayable. Out of my own collection of "compatible" titles only DOA 3 seems to work without serious problems. I hope M$ moves to correct that quickly as I am eager to free up some space on my shelf by eliminating the original Xbox, but still have too many un-played Xbox titles to do so.
The main thing is that over all X360 does not disappoints, it has a great controller, awesome High Definition capabilities, and great online play. There are some issues to clean up, backward compatibility needs to be refined, expanded and improved, more variety of games, and better use of the technology than what the launch line ups did. These issues aside prepare for an awesome gamming experience. Don't miss out! | video-games_xbox |
dissapointing, yet still a fun game. alright the game every xbox/halo fan has been waiting for. thought is it worth the "hype" and coverage given? the answer to that is no. overall the game delivers an awesome fps shooter experience, the gameplay is near perfect with minor AI issues as well as cinematic glitches which are noticable to the true gamer but will not hinder your experience. though the biggest dissapointment maybe the play time and story. At times you may want to just skip the story all together as it laggs on about some covenent commander you don't care about because you just want to pwn endless amounts of enemies as the master chief. The lackluster of an ending leaves you wondering where the next few levels were, what was bungie thinking. so here it goes...
Pros: dual wielding--gives new life to the term, it looks cool, it works great and is generally fun.
the visuals are stunning: shadows look amazing, along w/ bump mapping gives a realistic look to all the surfaces and characters.
enemy/allies ai: improved over the original. can now become the gunner/ instead of drive and let the newb ai do the shooting.
MULTIPLAYER: really bungie could have just made this an xbox live only game, as this is where the game shines, there is so much mayhem going on that it just never gets old.
Cons: horrible story, characters leave no impressions what so ever. you'll find yourself asking why do i care then hit a button just so you can go kill master 5000 on everything that makes the reticle go red.
vehicles to slow: the tank now moves at a snails pace, making some of the levels where the tank is the best weapon to use long and slow. though the boost is a cool, note.. only offered on a few of the vehicles.
Play time: i've now beatin the game twice since 11/9 once on normal and then on heroic (working on legendary). it takes roughly 7-10 hours to beat the game given your skill level.
overall the game is worth purchase. once you finish the single player campaign before dinner head on over to xbox live and let the fragging begin, by far the best console/online shooter. not perfect by any means, and thanks to the hype monster many may find it dissapointing. here's hoping halo 3-- if it exist can out do halo and its expansion. | video-games_xbox |
Marvel fanboys will weep with joy. I played X-men: Legends for the Playstation 2 and, although I liked the idea of playing with four players at once, the actual game play left a lot to be desired. There were a couple of problems, not the least of which was that four characters on the screen were difficult to keep track of or even see. When the camera was hovering a thousand feet up, attractive graphics became irrelevant--everybody looked like ants. Also, you couldn't play the cool characters right away but had to earn them, which made the game frustrating.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance (MUA) fixes all those problems. You start out playing the characters you WANT to play: Spider-Man, Wolverine, Doctor Strange, Deadpool, the works. The cooler characters you have to earn, but they're worth earning: Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider, Blade, Daredevil, Black Panther and even Nick Fury. My team of choice was Doctor Strange, Blade, Ghost Rider, and Deadpool. Pick your team of four heroes and you're off!
Your team is assembled to beat bad guys at the behest of SHIELD Agent Nick Fury, he of the eye patch and white gloves. Then you proceed to battle an array of villains led by Doctor Doom, from Mephisto to Loki, Galactus to esoteric bad guys like Dragonman. Just about everyone in the Marvel universe is in this game.
The game play is standard: shoot things, slash things, and blow things up. In turn, various minions will do their best to knock you out, leaving the hero unconscious for a period of time until he recovers. There were a few times I ran through the game with just one hero left, like when Ghost Rider took on an entire legion of Skrull warriors and Galactus droids, tossing them off cliffs with his chains. Man, that was fun...but I digress.
Although most of the time you can't zoom in on the characters, you get a much better perspective of them when you handle the upgrades. The upgrade system is intricate, detailing everything from the powers the heroes use to the gadgets they pick up to the outfits they wear. This is especially good, because folks accustomed to the movie version of Blade will be horrified to see what his original costumes looked like in the comic (hint: think green). That said, the costumes actually matter, and you slowly unlock costumes throughout the game that will appeal to fans that know the characters from the comics (Doctor Strange's alternate costumes are friggin' weird).
MUA gets a lot of things right. The powers are evocative of the comic, from Ghost Rider's vengeance stare to Doctor Strange's magical bolts, to Blade's shotgun, katana, and pistol. The hero voices perfectly match their characters. Blade SOUNDS like Wesley Snipes. Doctor Strange sounds like the way I've always imagined him. Ghost Rider is suitably gravelly. And Deadpool...well I've never imagined Deadpool speaking but it fits.
The boards are interesting and interactive. Most fun is Arcade, sort of a Joker for the Marvel universe, complete with funhouse and old-style games like Pong and Pitfall that you have to play (I imagine kids are scratching their heads...). The boss fights show off the detail of the characters, as they involve button-mashing sequences as opposed to straightforward combat. This makes for a cinematic climax to every end battle.
There are some things that are still a little silly. While it's great that you can bash and smash nearly everything, from walls to sculptures to machinery, sometimes that simply doesn't make sense. Our heroes begin on a SHIELD helicarrier that's about to crash, and they gain coinage by...smashing everything on the ship. Isn't that exactly the opposite of what they're supposed to be doing?
But that's a minor quibble. The game has oodles of replayability, as you search for collectible action figures (I found all of the Daredevil ones, but not the Black Panther), find special mission discs that let you play out scenes from each heroes past, and even develop your team's powers. GO TEAM VENTURE!
I haven't played multiplayer, but you can play against an opponent or with up to four of your buddies. That just sounds like a lot of fun. Even the computer-controlled characters are not complete morons, which is a refreshing change for this sort of game.
Everything that makes the Marvel comics universe great is here in obsessive levels of detail. I enjoyed the game so much that I played it to completion and then some. I can only hope that the next game will allow you to carry over your saved characters. It's enough to make a Marvel fanboy weep with joy. | video-games_xbox |
Fantasy Dogmatist's Manifesto. Witcher 2 is fairly unique, in that it is a richly realized fantasy role-playing game, and yet it does not let you create your own character. For this reason, and because of slightly substandard gameplay, Witcher 2 is at best a 4 out of 5 star game, or perhaps an 8.5 / 10. Furthermore, it would appear that CDProjekts cynical insistence on imposing Geralt on us was not a one or two time mistake, but one slated to recur in Witcher 3, making this a topical issue for anyone concerned with the fantasy genre.
Regarding the issue of character design, it is necessary to discuss the game that influenced almost every RPG video game-- Dungeons & Dragons-- and the definition of role-playing itself.
A role-playing game could be taken to mean any game where you pretend to be someone else. By that definition, just about any game besides a puzzle or card game is a role-playing game.
A minority of the D&D crowd circa 1st and 2nd edition (i.e. the 70s through 90s) felt that the true badge of honor for a role-player was to tackle a role wholly at odds with the role-player's personality. If you are a plump shut-in but can play a charismatic bard with aplomb, you are a true role-player.
Nonetheless, Dungeons & Dragons did not become a cultural phenomenon by forcing people into impromptu karaoke sessions. People fell in love with it because it allowed them to create their idealized alter-ego. I could insert a Joseph Campbell or Carl Jung quote here at the risk of sounding pedantic.
To this day, you can still encounter guys at conventions who will spend half the game haggling over a piece of rope. Because on the character sheet it says his fighter is cheap. But overall, the forces of good won the day and most modern con-goers are considerate enough not to dominate your game that way. People use outlandish voices and gesticulate wildly, but they also enjoy throwing the bones (dice, duh) and gambling their characters life in a never-ending succession of interesting tactical situations.
By the time the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons arrived at the turn of the millennium, hack & slash was no longer a pejorative description. In fact, the new tactical rules almost demanded that the game be played with miniatures on a battlemat. After a while, the old-school play a bard and haggle over rope people started to seem like prophets who were just too ahead of their time to be understood. To be sure, they were radicals, not to mention immensely annoying. But in the 21st century it was becoming clear that an insidious force was beginning to corrupt the game, and we might have been saved had there been more of those if you are a bard we are going to make you sing role-players to counteract it.
The problem is that the pendulum swung a little too far in the direction of mechanics over playing a role.
The Dungeons & Dragons game was bought by Wizards of the Coast in 1997 using the latters cash from their massively popular surprise hit Magic: The Gathering. Wizards, now also banking off their game Pokmon, sold out to Hasbro in 1999. Hasbro, of course, is a megacorporation (i.e. an entity whose ultimate concern lies with satisfying its shareholders).
It was pure nerdiness that first produced the fluff vs. crunch dichotomy referenced so often in issues of Dragon Magazine at the time, but I can't help but to think of it as a form of corporate double speak. Fluff meant an article or other qualitative content about the setting and its characters, e.g. a story about how Elminster the Mage has a thing for dark elves. Crunch meant stats and rules. Incidentally, the powers that be were quick to push Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 in 2003, and then a terribly premature 4th edition in 2008. Peter Adkison, founder of Wizards, admitted in 2004 that "[Wizards] had a strong economic incentive for publishing a new edition; sales for any product line tend to spike when a new edition comes out, assuming the new edition is an improvement over the first.
What did these new editions mean for players? Well, to get up to speed with these new, purportedly improved editions-- packed full of crunch as they wereyou had to buy yet another stack of expensive hardback books. It was hard for gamers not to perceive this as a blatant cash-grab by the game's corporate masters. Worse, the edition changes made it harder to play the game and had the effect of wrecking gaming groups. Its hard enough to clear off everyones schedule for a game; now we have to get everyone to agree on which edition to play. Ironically, the only thing enduring between edition changes was the derisively-termed fluff.
I met Adkison at GenCon in Indianapolis, subsequent to his leaving WotC but while he was still active in running the convention. He seems like a good guy, maybe even a hero to gamers. I just wish he could have done some damage control when Hasbro took over.
The breakneck speed with which new editions came out during the WotC / Hasbro era was motivated by cash. At this point in human history, anyone with a modicum of self-consciousness should be vigilant of the deleterious effects corporate meddling and opportunism has on the quality of our entertainment.
Like the rampant edition changes in D&D (we now stand at the brink of 5th edition), CDProjekt REDs insistence on making us playing Geralt can be explained by money and cynical opportunism. I know the game is ostensibly based on a novel by Andrzej Sapkowski. Have any of you read those novels?
Dragon Age 2, the most criminally under-rated RPG of our time-- albeit one in which you must adjust the difficulty setting to hard (but that goes for most RPGs)-- provided the perfect solution to the problem of balancing story vs. letting the player create his or her own character. Just spring the cash for two different voice actors for the main character (male and female), and let the player pick the first name of the character. Voil!! Problem solved. In the case of Witcher, the non-player characters in the game would refer to our protagonist by the nickname The White Wolf. Excepting hair color, everything else about the character could be left up to the player, including the characters name.
Alas, CD Projekts money-grubbing isn't about being too cheap to hire an alternate voice actor for a female White Wolf. The company wants to sell as many units as it can, and apparently it believes having an iconic character like Geralt is the way to impress itself on the popular consciousness and make itself a household name. Besides delivering a grievous insult to our intelligence, it would appear that CD Projekt is oblivious to the success of a little game called Skyrim.
I am good friends with at least seven or eight Skyrim fanatics. On the other hand, I know only two other people who have tried Witcher 2 (both of whom fall into the Skyrim fanatic category), and both of those people told me they got bored with the game quickly.
My other issue with Witcher 2 is its gameplay.
Unlike tabletop D&D, where the rules really do come second to the lore, it is mandatory that a video game have good gameplay. Witcher 2's combat is okay, but not great. After you get comfortable with the mechanics, my recommendation is to turn the difficulty up to Hard so as to make the combat more engaging and meaningful.
The larger problem is that annoying fetch quests dominate the main story line and must be completed in order to advance. I got so bored running back and forth across a river village that it took me months of Earth-time to get through the stage. Later, the same thing happened in a dwarven village. When I finally got past the dwarven village and into some old ruins, I put the game down. I just couldn't stomach another round of busy work. I am sure I will try to complete the game sometime, but Id rather grind my Hardcore character in Diablo 3. At least I gave the Diablo character a name so it feels like she is mine. By the same token, what played like a boring fetch quest as Geralt might have played like THE EUPHORIC EXALTATION OF MY EGO!!!... had it only been my own character.
I struggle with calling Witcher 2 a role-playing game for reasons I have already pontificated on. Conceive it as an action game with role-playing elements. Witcher 2 gets stars and points because it has some beautiful graphics, best-in-class rocks and mountains, and moments of sheer brutal brilliance in the story and characterizations. It contributes a new take on dwarven architecture and also on elven outcasts in a way that complements the mythology of realms like Tamriel and Thedas. I would like to give every gritty swords & sorcery game with photorealistic graphics an automatic 5 stars. But that would not do justice to games like Skyrim or Dragon's Dogma or Dark Souls or even Dragon Age 2, which blow Witcher 2 out of the water in terms of gameplay and immersion. | video-games_xbox |
Well, this game let you fight and move around. That's about all though. I am so glad I rented this. I think I paid like 9 dollars to rent it. I think that was a rip off for this game. Please allow me to tell you why. First let me say that the graphics are great. I'm not one of those people that really care about the way a game looks though. I mean I guess I like a good looking game. But I will judge a game on the fun it brings me.
You start this game with a cut scene telling you what's going on. I still have no clue. I watched the full cut scenes and I have not a clue. Anyway the controls are good. Jumping, running and fighting feel tight and easy to learn. The camera though will get you. I had to jump on a pole at one point and the camera kept doing a half circle. Stopping me from seeing the point that I needed. This has not happened that much.
You can hit the L1 button if you need help on a level. Doing so gives you a special vision that turns everything red. The place you must go, or the objects you must destroy to get somewhere are in blue. This really helps make things a little better. Not that you will need this. The game is pretty easy. I'm the guy that can never figure any games out. Yet this was a breeze for me. You can also upgrade your weapon. You go to the menu and go to either your sword or your ninjutsu and you can add points that you collect in battle to upgrade your weapons. This could have been done a little better. It's upgrading in the simplest form. You can customize your character. Meaning you can change the colors of the items he uses. Again, so much more could have been done here.
Then the restart thing. At times in the game you will be asked to hit buttons to make thing happen. Be it left stick up, down , B , Y , X or A. If you don't do this within like 2 seconds you have to restart the entire sequence. This didn't bother me at first. Then I would have done like 10 things right and miss one. The game makes you restart the entire thing. I probably spent more time doing things like that than I did actually playing. Not everyone will get annoyed by this. But some of you will. It is good kind of. I mean at least they let you restart at the beginning of the thing you need to do, and you don;'t have to restart the level.
Speaking of the levels. Well let me say that one thing really bothered me. No save points. I did not have any option to save my game. If I had to do something I had to leave me xbox on while I did it. Hello electric bill! That was really annoying. I don't think they self save either. You just play a level until you beat the boss. Then it saves.
You can hit the L1 button if you need help on a level. Doing so gives you a special vision that turns everything red. The place you must go, or the objects you must destroy to get somewhere are in blue. This really helps make things a little better. Not that you will need this. The game is pretty easy. I'm the guy that can never figure any games out. Yet this was a breeze for me. You can also upgrade your weapon. You go to the menu and go to either your sword or your ninjutsu and you can add points that you collect in battle to upgrade your weapons. This could have been done a little better. It's upgrading in the simplest form. You can customize your character. Meaning you can change the colors of the items he uses. Again, so much more could have been done here.
I found the game kind of boring. I mean you basically run through each level with nothing going on. Firstly you have nobody to talk to. Sometime someone will talk to you and tell you what's going on. I couldn't hear a word they said though. Not sure if it was the music or the fact that I was trying not to get killed and couldn't pay attention. Then all the game has you do is run through levels and kill. I know it's a hack and slash. But at least give me a little something extra. It gets old fast.
Basically this feels like an arcade game. And a bad one at that. While the graphics and controls would get like a 4 out of 5, there are so many other things in the game that are bad. Or that leave you wanting more. You get the feeling that you're playing a demo and not a fully finished copy. So anyone looking to play this game. I would say rent it first. If not you may regret it. | video-games_xbox |
Who says the 360's hurting for quality RPG's. Maybe if you discount <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Oblivion/dp/B000TG72PG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Oblivion</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Mass-Effect/dp/B000OLXX86/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Mass Effect</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tales-of-Vesperia/dp/B0015HZLVA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tales of Vesperia</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Enchanted-Arms/dp/B000HGMH12/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Enchanted Arms</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Eternal-Sonata/dp/B000PC4FYK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Eternal Sonata</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Operation-Darkness/dp/B0013TLQH8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Operation Darkness</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Spectral-Force-3/dp/B00122OBH8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Spectral Force 3</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Lost-Odyssey/dp/B000ZJVDA2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Lost Odyssey</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Blue-Dragon/dp/B000QW9D14/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Blue Dragon</a>, and the upcoming coup-de-grace "Final Fantasy XIII" along with the rest. Yet I keep reading that Microsoft isn't offering enough quality RPG's. So I ask you this, mainstream gaming media: how many quality RPG's are out there for the Wii and Playstation 3? ........Damn right. Xbox 360 is currently your one-shop stop for every non-portable piece of role-playing hotness there is. So why won't anybody but the fans admit it? Alrighty then, on to the game. I racked my brain for weeks trying to decide between "Infinite Undiscovery" and "Tales of Vesperia". The reviews all came up Tales, but I loved what I'd read about IU so I took a chance, just like I did when I bought the horribly-reviewed but highly enjoyable "Operation Darkness". My verdict? I'll never trust a professional game reviewer again. I still plan on getting TOV and I'm sure it's great, but the luke-warm reviews for this title are uncalled for. It's immensely fun, full of brilliant characters and character moments, charming humor, secrets, and awesome combat. If you long for a real-time JRPG without overly-cartoony graphics that will give you some things you've never really seen before in this type of game, pick this up ASAP.
Picture this: Your reluctant hero Kappel (you), his archer girlfriend Aya, and the huge fire-breathing horned bear she keeps as a pet, Gustav are exploring an area along with a party of four other characters who are working entirely independently of you. You come to the top of a ridge and see your pals engaging a group of foes. Your archer fires an arrow above the fray which then rains damaging sparks onto the enemis, surprising them and panicking the littler ones. Meanwhile, you've climbed on top of the bear and together you both go charging down the hill, aiming straight for the big red ogre currently knocking your friends around like bowling pins. The force of your impact throws you off of Gustav's back onto the gorund but deals big damage to the ogre, who is now engaging your furry friend head-to-head. You pick yourself up and unleash a devastating combo of kicks into the ogre's back. He turns and stops your assault with a palm strike as he lifts his massive club with his other arm. You parry just as he attempts to crush you and leave him stunned just as the rest of your companions finish mopping up the rest of the baddies. All seven of you unleash a devastating combo adding up to dozens of consecutive hits as the lifeless ogre falls to the ground. Wonder what's around the next corner?
As you can see, combat in this game is exciting to say the least. There is a grand total of 18 very unique characters that can be spread out over as many as three independent parties as any given time. The parties are sometimes fighting side-by-side and sometimes only meet in passing. Each non- player controlled grouping is graded and rewarded based on their effectiveness so one would think you should choose your arrangements wisely. Unfortunately, the rating always seems to come out "C" regardless of what you do. Sloppy. Some characters prefer to be grouped together, such as Aya and her pet Gustav or the magical twins (*cough*PalomandPorom*cough*) Rico and Rucha, and perform better when they are. Each character also has sets of quirks that you are able to discover. For example, sexy magic-user Michelle is terrified of flying creatures. This can cause her to flee in panic and ignore your orders, leaving you without a healer for a while. Other characters are afraid of the dark, but ninja girl Komachi actually prefers it. This is a cool twist.
Each character usually does a great job fighting on their own, but you can "connect" with them at any time and command them to use their powers as you see fit. Rico, for example can talk to and control animals which makes him handy in some places to get info and even items from some furry friends or for turning foe to friend in battle. Rucha, on the other hand, can summon a small dragon to fight by your side. Each character has their own skills that come in handy both in and out of battle. As I said before, the game is full of charm and the cast is outstanding. Hours can and should be spent exploring the ins-and-outs of their different skills and relationships with each other. I just wish you were given more time with them.
"Infinite Undiscovery" isn't perfect, though, as fun as it is. It is very short (under 40 hours) for an RPG with so much depth. A lot of it isn't given any room to breathe and as a result, you will likely miss out on a lot. Also, the first act is a nightmare. Don't buy the game and then shake your fist in anger at me because of the cruddy game you just bought half an hour in. I suspect this is the cause of the lackluster reviews. As soon as you start, you're treated to bunch of fully-animated but annoyingly silent cutscenes every few steps. No voiceover. This is no longer acceptable. If you want to convey the information without any voice-acting, do it without making me sit through a cutscene. After very little combat, you're given a boss battle......that you don't get to fight. You're instructed to run from an invincible ogre. Yay? So after this lame sequence the game drops you into a forest so dark you can't see a thing. Even your mini-map is blurred. Headache-inducing. Then to top it off, the ogre comes back so you now have to run away and do so without being able to see where the hell you're going. THEN rather than letting you actually PLAY the game at this point, you're forced to carry a girl (no fighting allowed) and run away from a flying fire-breathing dragon whose every breath knocks you down so you have to wait seconds for Cappell to get back up so you can continue running to you-don't-really-know-where until more fire knocks you down. But once you get where it is you're going, your troubles are over. The game rocks, the silent cutscenes are mostly replaced with full voiceovers, and your band of rebels begins to grow. The save system has "old-school" written all over it. This is not a compliment. The story is cliche-ridden at times, but it is a JRPG so that's expected. Also, I REALLY wish you could control the other characters. They are so cool and so much fun to fight beside that I wanted to play as them myself. There are some characters that you aren't allowed to put into your personal party which bugs me as well. The characters themselves are all memorable and you gain a genuine affection for them as the game progresses, but again there just isn't enough time for you to spend with them and even less for those who cannot join your party. A lot more polish and a larger world would have made this game an all-time great.
"Infinite Undiscovery" may not measure up to the best of the best, but it's the most fun I've has with a current-gen Japanese RPG yet. The character humor is often more then clever and really offsets any cliches. There are some very frustrating challenges in store so keep gamefaqs.com handy. In fact, don't think the game is over just because you finished it. There's a much harder challenge to be found within the game. The story itself is actually pretty cool and refreshingly simple, leaving the action to carry the biggest load until the endgame. Smart move. Just like with "Valkyrie Profile" (an all-time favorite of mine) Tri-Ace has made RPG combat a true joy and thrown in some cool little secrets for you to stumble upon along the way -usually in the form of more character development. I really wish they'd put more into the multi-party system. That was one of my favorite -but sadly underdeveloped- aspects of the game. Squaresoft was always my favorite RPG factory (Enix's "Seventh Saga": also awesome in it's day) so color me thrilled that Square-Enix -after much hesitation- has decided to back the Xbox 360. This is a great start, but I hope they put more effort into the upcoming <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Last-Remnant/dp/B001CMJAP6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Last Remnant</a>
4 1/2 stars rounded down for giving me 4 discs worth of characters and innovation on a 2-disc story. | video-games_xbox |
little rough, but worth it. I don't understand why people are giving this game a bad review. Yes, its massive, its a co-op game with over 10,000 people. This game may lag a little on slower connections, but considering how many players there are, it is very fast. Yes it will take some time to finally get it to work, and it may be problematic, but I solved that by reporting the problem to Trion. it was fixed in a few minutes. (Xbox 360; Also, installing it to the system as a copy helps a lot.)
Graphics- they are not halo 4 at all, but they aren't that bad at all. It runs reasonably fast, and that's with good graphics and 100+ people running around you.
Storyline- There isn't a bad story here, but it still isn't the greatest. The story and drama is coming in Syfy's new TV series "Defiance". The game simply catches the scale. Also, events that happen in the show effect the game.
Gameplay- Very easy to control. It's very fun when playing with some other people. If you don't, its completely harder, and isn't as much fun. This game is a third-person shooter. Also, players on PC, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 will all be able to fight together on the same server. There are 4 main abilities in game that really help in game (cloak is awesome). There are a ton of weapons with awesome effects. You can also mod your weapons for awesome effects. Also, there is a random event called an "arkfall". in one, you fight a ton of baddies for some special loot.
Multiplayer- This game does contain pvp. Its called a shadow war. In one, you go to a place in the world and fight the enemy team. you never leave the game, and there is no loading screen while you wait. Also, you can play other modes in the same way, but shadow war is bigger.
Overall- at least a 4/5. Others are probably rating this game harsh because they just can't figure out how to work it. It really varies on your connection. But if you like massive games, it will be super epic.
Warning- when you begin, it will say you timed out randomly while you are in a loading screen. to avoid that, wait till you see your person on screen (character selection screen), then try. it works a little better.
My opinion- This is a must get, for it will change and improve as the TV series progresses. Also, its just plain fun.
PS- This "Earth" is terraformed, which means that it looks nothing like earth. You can also play as a species of alien. | video-games_xbox |
Limbo Review (lonelyglow. Most gamists have strong opinions when it comes to Limbo. Or should anyway, there's miles of subtext to traverse here, but even if thinking and reflecting isn't really your bag- Limbo is a unique and inspired debut any way you look at it. But lets get the 'givens' out of the way before delving further.
Limbo is a 2D "trial and death" puzzle platformer rendered in black and white. I'll elaborate on this later. You are provided no context for anything you experience in the game, so when you wake up alone as a small boy in a forest at game-start, the strange art style and ambient industrial soundscape instantly and persistently unnerve you, coalescing into a vague, menacing ever-presence. I was entranced from the instant the title screen appeared to the ending credits, my real life now seeming schmaltzy in contrast.
If you followed the title you'll know that PS users were finally treated to it a freaking' year later than the Box- but better a year late to the party than not show up at all.. isn't that a saying? Well it holds true here in any case. I have to say, considering I might have been deprived such a moving experience in attempts to boost Microsoft console sales, (console exclusives drive sales for consoles, Limbo could have been XBOX exclusive) I am mildly disturbed.
As mentioned earlier, Limbo is a trial and death game. This discription was coined by dev PlayDead and describes the gameplay brilliantly, as it's core challenge is finding the only survivable way through the puzzles and *Spoiler Alert* there are hundreds of wrong ways through, which will culminate as a death.
Be forewarned, you will likely have difficulty with the first several puzzles as the logic employed by the developers is suitably alien, and this is nothing to get riled over. Just use a light touch and try to read your surroundings, many times you'll find the solution hidden in plainsight- just experiment a bit and learn from deaths, and you'll be Limboing in no time. Bam! It should be noted, employing these principles is a much more natural experience than reading about them, so don't let my sub-par journistry concern you, you'll do fine.
Limbo is not a perfect game, to wit- the pacing is screwy. Puzzles don't seamlessly ascend in difficulty and ingenuity a la Portal 2, and the breathless Super Meat Boy-esque (saw jumpings abound!) final third of the game feels out of place and uninspired given the dark meditative puzzles of the beginning portion, which has you using dead bodies to disarm traps, using said traps to rip spiders legs off one by one, etc. I would have loved to see the logical conclusion of these puzzles carried throughout a larger portion of the game, and Playdead themselves admit there is an imbalance, which they attribute to time constraints.
Considering such a widely observed flaw harms the experience in such a minor way is a testament to how frickin' good the game is. But screw opining, this game transcends menial reviews and all the diverging interpretations of the game the internet can conjure. Gaming has had me on the edge of my seat for a little too long. Limbo, to me, has become the metronome for solemn introspection, to sit back, think, and be fully invested in the game is a miraculous and unique achievement. Do yourself a solid and experience this game.
Score: 92/100
[...] | video-games_xbox |
Great game with little else to be desired. I had my doubts about playing this game, but actually have been hooked on playing it since buying it. This game boasts a massive 50+ characters, which is by far the largest Tekken roster to date. Here's my breakdown of the pros & cons:
Pros:
* Customization has been greatly improved. In the past Tekken games, you could customize characters, but had to purchase the same items that were different colors. This game allows you to purchase an item & change the color. This also includes hair as well. There are also plenty of customization items to choose from. The weapons this time, that you can add to your character's attire can also be used on opponents like the nail bat or road sign.
* You can store up to 10 different customized characters per character. For example, You can have 10 different customized versions of Yoshimitsu, 10 different versions of Paul Phoenix, 10 different versions of Nina Williams, etc. This doesn't include the standard attire that the character has.
* Great stage design. Most of the stages have a break away floor, break away balcony, or a break away wall which allows you to play in a different area of the stage.
* The game allows you to choose either playing with two characters as a "tag team" or solo.
* Playing Ghost Mode is a good way to earn in game money.
* The soundtrack can be totally customized. In the Tekken Tunes mode, you can decide which song is played in different stages, screens, & on the main selection screen. On Xbox Live, you can also download Music from the previous Tekken games to use as well.
Cons:
* While the endings of arcade mode are entertaining, there is no story mode.
* Some of the characters in the customization mode have access to cartain items, that other characters don't have access to. For example, some characters can be fitted with horns, but many others can't.
* There should be a solo only mode bringing back the one-on-one experience.
* In Team Mode rather than forcing the CPU to have the same number of team members as the player, they should be customized separately. For example, if a player selects to have 4 players on his team, allow him to change the total number of players on the CPU's team to be different. This would allow you to play 1 on 8, 8 on 1, or 4 on 5, etc.
This game is a must have for Tekken fans. If you haven't picked it up yet, you're missing out. | video-games_xbox |
Great buttons and sticks on this 3rd Party Controler. Update: Though I really like the design of this controller, it simply did not last. The left joystick has started flaking out and when you move it just a bit it registered much more than it should (validated this with the slow turn checker). It now jumps around in menus and such so I had to stop using it. I have only had it for 7 months so thats not that good. I had to drop the review score because if this. A controller should last at least a year. The MS ones certainly do. So, if they fix whatever makes the sticks wear out, its still a very good controller but it just does not compare to the MS ones in longevity.
There is a lot of negative feedback on this new controller but most of the negativity is due to the fact that the reviewers expected it to work much like the standard controller. The shape of the triggers bothers them, the shorter throw buttons bother them, etc. I will say that it takes a bit to get used to, but some people (like myself) will really like the differences that this controller has to offer. Also, many of the reviews are for the premium version with the variable tension and a lot of people don't like that feature because it makes the sticks (at higher stiffness settings) more spongy. I did not think I wanted the variable tension either so I opted for the base model. I would have liked to have the back-lit buttons but it turns out, I like the standard sticks just fine. They are already longer throw than the standard, so I find I also don't need the FPS freaks on these either.
Why I like it....
Re-mappable Bumpers: I have mapped the stick-click to the extra bumper. I have always hated using the thumb stick click for most functions in games. Its just unconformable to me. With the onza. You can also map A/B/X/Y to either button as well as start/select and bumpers. Although it would have been better if you could also map the d-pad and not be Left/Right side limited (you can only map left stick click to the left side for example) it does open up a number of possibilities. And for game that let you chose different mappings you can fix quite a few of those games where you just don't like the one button. That is of course if you like the idea of two-bumpers. Takes a bit getting used to but I do like it better than using the click-stick buttons so that is a definite plus.
Stick Movement: I like the feel of the sticks better on this controller. It feels a bit smoother and less jerky then the Xbox sticks. The tension seems a bit lighter but it still has a definite spring back to center that feels right. I even used the FPS Freeks on the sticks to extend them and they still had a nice feel.
Fast Action Buttons: These are quite different from the standard controller. They have a very short throw and fast but light click response. Not at all mush like the 360s. However, I though the Xbox 360 buttons were pressure sensitive (the original Xbox were) which is why they were mushy but apparently this is not the case. That explains why I can't think of a game since MGS2 on the original Xbox that used pressure sensitivity anyway. So, I found with these buttons I was navigating quicker and able to hit the buttons much faster with less fatigue.
The 4-Button D-Pad: The D-Pad is ok for many game that use it for weapon select or just use 4 directions but if a game does use it as an 8-way pad its a bit rough. However, most shooters only use it for weapon select and even games that use it with 8 selections (like oblivion) I could not use all 8 directions with the standard pad either. So, I pretty much prefer the Onza d-pad. But I am sure for some games (fighting games) it may not be good. But I don't play those so for me, the d-pad is also a plus. The d-pad buttons are also in a true up/down direction unlike the standard controller which points sort of toe-in. The idea is that when you move you thumb its moving in an arch so up should be a bit to the left but I prefer a 100% straight up/down direction relative to the controller and not the arch of my thumb.
Things that could be better...
Why not wireless?: I don't mind the wire too much but its a shame that MS seems to not license out the wireless tech to 3rd party control makes (or its too expensive). Its nice to have to have batteries for at least on controller but its hard to get used to after using wireless for 5 years.
Full button remap: There are a number of odd limits on the L/R side buttons must map only to the same side. It would be better if you could map them anywhere. Being able to map all 4 bumpers would also be nice. Being able to map the d-pad too. Basically fully re-mappable 4 bumpers would be just one step better.
Triggers: These are not as comfortable as the standard triggers. I like the lighter throw on the triggers and I like that they extend out a bit more but because the extended part is thin and just a tab, it makes the trigger feel cheap and a bit uncomfortable. Also, they are curved up a bit and this tends to push you trigger finger towards the top where its a bit crowded with the two bumper buttons. Basically, the trigger should feel like a single well-rounded trigger, not a trigger with a nub on the end. But this is by no means a deal-breaker. The triggers are good, just not as good as they could be.
Rumble: Rumble feel was not as good as standard controller. Better rumble with maybe a bit heavier weights would give it a better feel.
Enclosure: The plastic feels a bit cheap on the basic model. Maybe just a bit too thin and light.
Conclusion
I really like the base model. For 39$ its a very nice 3rd party controller with some extra features. If you don't like the extra bumbers you could just map the standard bumpers to both and you would still have a very nice controller. Its generally has a lighter pressure feel and is more responsive on all fronts (buttons, triggers, and sticks) and the dpad is certainly no worse. From what I hear, most people don't adjust the tension up on the pro-version so you may want to just go with the base model. Also, if you like to use the FPS Freeks definitely go with the base model because they don't fit well on the pro model. I really like this 3rd party stick and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a controller with a lighter more responsive feel than the original. | video-games_xbox |
Worth the 45 Bucks. Not many games am I willing to shell out 50 bucks to buy. I decided to go against my better judgement, and buy it because it had a pretty good reputation . . .
IT ROCKS!!
I was a little nervous about it being in the old west because that wasn't something that sounded that interesting for a videogame. Believe me, I take it all back. It only takes 10-15 minutes from when you start until you're sucked in for good.
Not gonna lie: I'm not the best when it comes to some video games, and I'll admit that I may agree with others: The game can be a bit easy at times (Just warning those hardcore gamers who may say "Psh, way too easy!"). But there are so many things to do, and they are all so much fun thing to do that, in my opinion, who cares if it's a little easy.
Clearing up some issues I read from others:
Someone said that "It takes forevor to ride from town to town". Yes, this may sometimes be true, but you can hire a stagecoach for a small fee, OR set up camp in the wilderness and say "Travel to ________" for FREE! I prefer to ride from town to town because you may stumble into a group of deer you can hunt for money to purchase a new weapon or horse, or you may find an opportunity to help strangers to gain Fame and/or Honor.
Things to do:
Go on main missions, hunt, become a bounty hunter to bring back criminals (Dead or Alive! The choice is yours!), go on stranger side missions, help those in need on your way from town to town, Patrol the MacFarlane Ranch at night to stop any cattle thiefs/rustlers, be a cowboy (herd cattle), play a game of horseshoes/blackjack/poker/mumblypeg, go to the saloon for a drink (and walk out so drunk you can't stop falling), jump on a moving train and kill the "driver", look for treasure, clear out a gang headquarter, JUST PLAIN EXPLORE!! Over time you'll find what side hobbies you like, and do them to take a break from the storyline. I, personally, like to do a main mission or two, then do some stuff on the side to keep things different.
1 thing that is truly great: The scenery. Nothing beats riding around during sunrise or sunset when the sky is a mixture of purple, orange, and red. It's just great.
I really hope this review helped you make a decision about whether or not you'll purchase the game. Make sure you click yes if it did. ;) Happy travels | video-games_xbox |
Horrible Game! The Programmers Should be Pimp Slapped. This game has two of the worst flaws any game can possibley have : Horrible controls AND Horrible Camera angles. If the controls suck and the cameras suck then guess what? You cant play the game! Even if you are a diehard Buffy fan you will not enjoy this game. A game can have cool graphics, concepts, etc. but if you don't have fun playing it who cares? To top it off this game doesn't have good graphics, original concepts or even decent voice acting. Half the characters voices are not even provided by the original actors and with the exception of the girl who voices Buffy they are all absolutely horrible!
Another reviewer actually defended this game by saying players should stop comparing it to the previous Buffy game because it is not the same game. That is ridiculous because what people loved about the first game were the super tight controls, responsive fight system and awesome camera control!!! Qualities gamers want in EVERY game! Thats why they are saying the first game is so much better. You will honestly spend half your time getting beat in the back of the head by an enemy who you never saw coming even if you were trying to swing your camera around to check around you while you swing and kick at the empty air in front of you and connect with nothing, even if you are an experienced gamer! Another reason that it is perfectly fair to compare this to the previous Buffy game is because they rely on so many of the conventions from the first game with no innovation. Same vampires, same zombies, same sewers, except instead of improving they have actually taken a step back! The inventory system sucks (it was awesome in the first game) and the blocking button has been moved from the easily accessible shoulder button to the impossible to reach white button! AAARRGGG! Before you could easily grab an enemy and throw them in any direction you wanted. Not anymore! You will probably actually be able to grab your enemy one out of every ten times, the rest you will either grab air (even if your enemy is right in front of you) or do nothing while you are beaten to a pulp. And if on the off chance you do grab you enemy only god knows where he'll go flying, but it probably won't be on the spike your trying to throw him on. This game is an embarrassment and everyone who worked on it should never be allowed to work on another game again. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!!!!!! | video-games_xbox |
Preferred Forza 2 over this big heap pile of hunk of junk. Before you douse me in diesel fuel and set me on fire, let me say that I adored the 1st Forza and loved the 2nd one which was why I rented this one to see if it was really that much better. I had to clear most of my hard drive to just be able to experience the game in its full entirety which was a bit disappointing but I was sure it was going to be well worth it. It wasn't and for my loss I removed my Forza 2 data because I was certain I was gonna replace that with this 3rd installment (which won't be happening...ever).
Pros
-Slightly improved graphics.
-Cock-pit view added.
-More tracks + More cars.
-Retains everything (except for the multiplayer)that made Forza 2 stand out from the rest of the competition.
-Smooth Frame-Rate / No lagg issues whatsoever for a game this magnitude.
Cons
-Eats a whole lot of hard drive space.
-Multiplayer is way below par from the previous version.
-Generic cock-pit view when compared to other competitive racing titles.
-Retains everything (except for the multiplayer)that made Forza 2 stand out from the ... (Wait... Its the same game but worst).
-Unnecessary Replay added.
-Unnecessary Driver Assists added.
-Rollovers sequences seemed to be a last minute add-on as they're visually poorly executed in animation.
Overall
I have just as much fun playing this game in single player mode as I do while playing Forza 2 in single player mode but when it comes to Multiplayer, Forza 2 is clearly better. The attention to car customization seemed to be the primarily focus in this game while racing seemed to be a distant seconded. (Don't know if the developers intended for it to be that way). Most of the enhancements in this game could have easily just have been DLC but I guess that would've just been bad profiting and not good for marketing sales. I'm very disappointed with the developers of Turn 10 as how they've took a wrong turn for the worst with this post-awesome franchise.
Bottom line.
Get (or stick with) Forza 2 over this, as it is typically the same game minus some of the improved graphics and many undesirle automobiles. Forza 2 is also a lot cheaper and a whole lot funner in Multiplayer so its pretty much a win-win situation.
(ZZZzzpt!)Just zipped up my flame suit. Alright, now let me have it. (Just try to keep the comments within a PG-13 limit as we all know amazon is a peaceful family site). | video-games_xbox |
A very good system. Yet it has it's flaws in the early going
Pros:
-Top of the line graphics(I mean games with Razor sharp graphics and wonderous backrounds to stun the gaming world)
-excellent sound
-Best used on a HDTV(Which my friend has, but I don't)
Nice launch games:Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, Dead or Alive 4, Call of Duty 2,(This set would have been the whole enchalaida if Halo 3 came out as a launch title)
-Online is a strong portion of this system(Especially since it starts you off with a silver membership)
-So far it's got a nice amount of shooting, fighting, racing, and sports games for a system that just recently started
-It's gonna be getting some more RPGs later on(While I usally perfer Magna Carta, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest on the Playstation console, it's showing that Microsoft is definitly serious for this system to appeal to RPG gamers, which the Xbox didn't really do so good at
-Definitly the stronget console out there.....for now
Cons:
-The sports games are not all that I hoped to be(Madden NFL 2006, and NBA Live 2006(Which was nearly stripped of alot of element that made it good) Suprisingly 2K6 was everything I expected it to be)
-I waited 24 days after Christmas to get this(Man Microsoft, despite getting billions of dallors from their computer projects obviously didn't understand the videogames sight of supply and demand)
-Some games aren't taking full advantage of the Xbox 360's graphics(Gun is a excellent example)
-After hearing news the 360s were overheating, I now have a paranoia that leaving my 360 on for over 45 minutes will toast it.(I love the system, but I hate that kind of paranoia. This makes me think the Xbox 360 wasn't ready to push the envelope this early just to beat PS3 to the punch.)
-Halo 3 comming out in the fall?(Come the fudge on Microsoft, the first Halo was a freaking launch title for the Xbox)
Xbox 360 is the begining of the next generation of video games, but the fact that Microsoft is only caring about it's beloved 360, is almost as if its like telling previous Xbox owners to move up, or be left in the rain. It feels like they're toatlly abandoning it, and only putting multi-console games on it(That's sad, cuz when the PS2 came out Sony still put out exclusive games on the PSX, like Final Fantasy IX, Syphon Filter 3, Fear Effect 2, and a bit more) I just wish Microsoft could be that way so regular Xbox users could play good games to tide them until they're ready to move up. Anyway, don't get me wrong, this still is a very good system and all, it's just the negletion that I hate. It's hard to find this system for the $400 that it was priced, unless you reserved it, but when it becomes common, I definitly recomend it for those who love all systems and the Xbox.
Peace | video-games_xbox |
Same Game Formula, now with Fusion Preservatives. Im a big fan of this series, i've stuck with it since the beginning and played all the different iterations of this game formula and it still holds up, but its appeal is starting to wane. This is basically the same game repackaged with a different plot and an added feature called "Fusions" which allow you to combine each hero's powers together for some serious beat down. There are less heroes to choose from this time around but i feel like the 24 they included are more polished and better represent the powers of the characters from the comics. To be honest i was sold as soon as i found out Gambit was a playable character, its about flippin time!
I guess i'll get the gripes out of the way so here goes. One thing i hate about this game is the completely asinine character unlock codes and pre-order Juggernaut nonsense, all it does is piss people off. I picked up this Xbox version with the Hulk code included inside, it makes you start the game and enter some ridiculous direction pad code to unlock the hulk....what the hell is the point in that?? Whats even worse is the people that wanted to wait to find out if this game was worth a shizzle before buying it are penalized because they didn't pre-order it, so no flippin Juggernaut for you. As of now you can download a Juggernaut teaser that allows you to play with people that did pre-order so that they can rub it in your face that you didn't pre-order. WTF?!? The camera can be annoying at times, sometimes completely blocking your view and occasionally your character will just get stuck, which makes no sense to me. It makes me wonder if they even play test these games anymore.
Now gripes aside, this MUA2 just plain delivers the goods. The graphics are improved, noticeable as soon as you start, with the exception of wolverine his mask just doesn't look right. The powers and abilties are better represented this time around and with the destructive environments you will feel the differences in each character, i mean storm is actually powerful this time around and Iron Man's weapons actually kill enemies instead of just looking cool. What really surprised me is the introduction of the fusion powers, its just plain good ole fashioned fun trying out each different hero combination just to see what will happen, for example Iron Man will fire a beam out of his hands while Captain America will deflect it with his shield vaporizing anything in between them, its just fun to watch.
I can't say im a big fan of the civil war storyline as it limits what heroes you are able to add to your team depending on whether you choose pro-registration or anti-reg. Overall i feel MUA2 is a fairly solid title, if it didn't have the fusion power feature it wouldn't be worth your time really as its basically a rehash of every game in the series before it including the Xmen Legend series. | video-games_xbox |
Resident Average. The reviews of Resident Evil's latest release seem to be to either extreme - love it or hate it. I assume that has a lot to do with die hard RE fans chiming in. I can understand some of the praise and certainly some of the criticism of this game. I've played every RE title from the very first entry until this one, and for the most part, liked them all. However, that's not to say that each one didn't have it's own flaws. Resident Evil 1 thru 3 were great games, but the long load times from one room to the next, the bad camera angles, clunky controls and very questionable voice acting were definitely negatives. However, those negatives didn't stop them from being classics. RE: Code Veronica was insanely, frustratingly difficult, but still a great game. Resident Evil 4, my personal favorite, was one of the best installments to date, but still didn't have the best control set up and the inventory system was tedious. RE: 5 was a very good game, even if you had to put up with an idiotic AI partner. RE: 6, while not the greatest game ever, did make some improvements over previous installments. The controls, for one. I've read some reviews that criticized the controls, stating that they were similar to that of Gears of War. Well, what's wrong with that?? GOW games had great controls! I've read a lot of complaints about the real-time button mashing and how there is way too much of it. Well, to those people I say you probably didn't get too far along in the game. It does start of with multiple real-time button mashing moments, but later in the game they are scaled back and really only used primarily as instruments to shake of attacking enemies. The invenotry system is more fluid - no more trying to "Tetris" your equipment into a suitcase. The voice acting is decent (actually an improvement over past RE games). The story is true to the franchise and is decent, although not the groudbreaking storyline I was expecting. I will add that you should really play the game on a higher difficulty level to maximize the fun. On lower difficulty, it's much too easy - you can pretty much melee zombies to death, while rarely pulling the trigger of your gun. The bottom line is that, while it's not the best game ever played - and maybe not even the best of the franchise - it's also not the worst. It's a decent game. A little diappointing, maybe, what with all the hype surrounding it prior to it's release. However, the fanboys that are trashing it as the worst game ever are simply out of their minds. Would I recommend spending $60.00 on this game? Not so much. But when it drops to about $40.00, it's absolutely worth a purchase. And if you've had the displeasure of playing the game that is TRULY the worst in the franchise - Operation Raccoon City - RE: 6 will be a breath of fresh air! In summation, don't believe the hype - positive or negative. It's a good game - not a terrible or great one. If you're a true Resident Evil fan such as myself, you should derive some enjoyment from this game.
PROS
- Improved controller layout over previous installments
- Improved partner AI
- Improved inventory system
- Better voice acting
- Looks nice graphically
- A decent challenge if played on the right difficulty level
- It isn't Operation: Raccoon City
CONS
- The game seems a little contrived. Not a whole lot sneaks up on you
- WAY too easy on lower difficulties. You can pretty much fight your way through zombies with hand to hand combat
- Doesn't meet the high expectations of hardcore Resident Evil fans
Overall score: 8/10 | video-games_xbox |
An Awesome Game Since Marvel Ultimate Alliance. It's a very fun and interesting game. The only major flaws I find are:
The flying system can be quite annoying if you're trying to win all the flying races. Some characters seem to be able to fly faster or smoother than others. The rest seems to be pure luck, timing, and maneuverability.
Some of the characters were either completely pointless once you unlock them like Mastermind or powered-down in the game like Emma Frost.
They were missing characters such as Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision and Ultron (though they might save them for the sequel around the time of Avengers: Age of Ultron). But other choices could have been the Enchantress, the Executioner, Red She-Hulk/Betty Ross, Moondragon and more.
Other characters were given questionable qualities like Black Cat who isn't as acrobatic as Black Widow or Elektra in this game and having an almost useless grappling hook that doesn't even let her swing like Spider-Man (like it does in the comics).
Also it seemed ridiculous for symbiote Spider-Man to be limited to DLC and not in the main game since it's his second most popular look aside from his classic look. Plus, while I know the Guardians of the Galaxy film came out long after this game was released, it would have been nice to get the film versions of their film costumes as DLC at some point (especially their initial individual looks and later red jumpsuits as a team).
Also some characters have full flight like Thor and Iron Man while others can only hover and gradually descend such as Jean Grey, Storm and Magneto. While I can understand Jean having only the ability to hover, Storm not being able to fly as high and fast as Thor is laughable given they both can control the weather (one can argue its because, while hovering, Storm can put out fires, but she can already throw tornadoes that do the EXCACT SAME THING, smh). | video-games_xbox |
NBA 2k15 vs 2k14 for Xbox 360. I logged a lot of hours playing myCareer on 2k14 (playing through a few seasons without simulating) and grew tired of a few things in gameplay that drove me to seek an upgrade. After playing through a third of a season (25 or so games), I am much happier with the gameplay in 2k15 due to these improvements:
Jumping is much improved in this game. When you jump for a rebound or to block a shot, 2k15 is much better at reacting to the situation. There were dozens of times in 2k14 that I would jump for a rebound and my character would jump stupidly and completely miss the ball. Rebounding was a very frustrating aspect for me because of how many times I would be robbed of a rebound because the jumping animation often caused my character to move away from the ball rather than towards it, even when I was in great position for it. The same occurred for blocking shots. Characters are much better at reacting to movements of the ball and players when jumping and responding appropriately, rather than flailing through the air.
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. In 2k14, it seemed your player wanted to just give the ball to the other team. Teammates run into you, you run into teammates, opposing players run into you. Fumble, fumble, fumble. 2k15 did a much better job at making this aspect tighter. You are much less likely to turn the ball over when teammates run into you stupidly (gotta love AI) or you run into them. There are still a lot of BS moments but most turnovers now come from the opposing team actually attempting steals or you making bad passes when your teammates all of a sudden run away at the random start of a play. Overall, 2k15 improved the player's ability to remain in control of the ball and not fumble it away any time you brush up against someone.
Steals. In 2k14, your character had this magic ability to forget what to do after poking the ball away or tipping a pass. Watching your character pick his nose for 3 seconds before being able to grab the ball was perhaps the most ridiculous gameplay flop in the game. Either that or the ability for players to shoot over the backboard from nearly out of bounds and drain 75% of those shots (which remains in 2k15). In 2k15, your player no longer twiddles his thumbs after causing a loose ball. Steals and transition offense is 100x better. Your player reacts quickly and appropriately to a steal attempt.
Other notable changes include lots of new animations for shots and lay-ups, making it more realistic when you draw contact when going up for shots. Furthermore, the AI is more stubborn defensively, making it harder to simply brush by opponents like you could in 2k14. You have to be much more careful driving down the floor right along the out of bounds line because the opponent AI will bump you and you will often go out of bounds. Pray for a foul call, but be warned. More contact makes it more challenging to beat the AI opponent off the drive and cuts out some cheese.
The terrible jumping and stealing animations in 2k14 and butterfingers turnovers drove me to try out 2k15, and I am much more satisfied with the gameplay in 2k15 on last gen due to these changes. I also enjoy the look of 2k15 when it comes to the teammate grade display, and like not having the King James His Royal Highness introduction play every time starting up the game.
As an athlete and player of 2k14, I much appreciate the gameplay changes in 2k15 that make it more realistic and less cheesy and aggravating than its predecessor. MyCareer on last gen still has the Rookie Showcase and is very, very similar to 2k14. When comparing 2k15, to 2k16, I have read that 2k16 caps MyPlayer attributes much lower than 2k15, making your player unable to achieve the same ratings as top players at each position.
I highly recommend 2k15 over 2k14 on last gen consoles due to these gameplay improvements. If you do not care about these changes, then stick to 2k14 or upgrade to a next gen console. 2k15 is NOT a "Carbon copy" of 2k14. Though very similar, there are several improvements that have proved to make my purchase worthwhile. I am very satisfied with this purchase. I will update if something changes.
Edit: The shot-timer is much more difficult to hit excellent timing, but when you do it guarantees you drain the shot. I am still unsure exactly how I feel about this, but the change doesn't bother me much. | video-games_xbox |
A Game You Should NOT Pass Up. *The following is a review from the user's 17 year old son*
My first game was Burnout 3: Takedown on the PS2. I was in love. Never got bored and couldn't stop playing. Then I moved to Most Wanted and kept with the Need for Speed games. I admit it, I'm a racing fanatic. I know what I like and don't like when it comes to racers. I first saw the trailer for Burnout Paradise in a restaurant before 2008. I was so excited for it. I forgot the release date so I never got the game when it came out. However, I got in on Valentine's day that year. I guess you could consider it a consolidation prize for not having a girlfriend lol. The second I started up the Hunter Cavalry's engine, I was in love.
Burnout is always known for it's crashes, destruction, and fast paced fun. Paradise is all of this and more. Reinventing the formula is sure a risky decision. Great care must be taken in order to satisfy the consumer. With a game that took over 3 years to make, I can't see anything wrong with the game. It has everything you would want in a Burnout game. A huge city that has hundreds of different tracks. All events in the game have no barriers, leaving you to decide the route. This may seem difficult at first, but just like remembering the maps in Call of Duty or Halo, you'll learn to remember the map of Paradise City subconsciously. Boost has also changed, but for the better. There are three types, Speed, Stunt, and Agression. You earn Speed by filling up the bar then use it all in one go. Pull it off with some near misses and oncoming and you get a "Burnout!", filling up the bar again for more boost. Stunt is earned by everything, jumping, oncoming, near missing, any stunt. Agression is earned by taking down opponents. This is perfect for Road Rage, Marked Man, or going online. Just like in the series, Paradise provides plenty of vehicles to use, over 36 different cars, also add the cars you win by completing Burning Routes, so that makes 75. Oh, don't forget the DLC cars which makes around 130 cars.
Paradise city is huge. Over 250 miles of terrain to drive. Collectibles are everywhere. Billboards, Super Jumps, and Smash Gates can be found all throughout the city, allowing plenty of replay value. Online is the height of the game. Single player is a ton of fun, but Freeburn Online is where Paradise City really lights up. There are plenty of things to do in the game. Complete online challenges, do events like Stunt Run and Marked Man. Not to mention showing off to your friends and going to places like the Airfield and Quarry, which is a blast with 7 other people in the room.
Criterion Games has proven to be like Bungie, dedicated so much to their franchise that they're willing to put their do crazy things for bettering the game. They're done so much to increase the playability of the final product. Not only did they add a restart feature, Criterion has also added great, unique vehicles not available in the full game, like the Legendary Cars pack, which gives the player famous cars like the DeLorean and the General Lee, and the Boost Special cars that give the player a car that has all three boosts and another car that has unlimited boost. Vehicles aren't the only thing added. Cops and Robbers, a game focused on teamwork, has also been added, giving the player 33 cop cars for 800 MS points, and Big Surf Island, a new area and their flagship DLC that has been remade 3 times before final development! That is serious dedication to making sure the product is worth the money.
Burnout Paradise doesn't have the same mechanics that the others had, but is that truly a bad thing? "If it ain't broke, don't fit it". Burnout was never broken, but Paradise isn't a way to "fix" anything. Criterion added on to it. This is easily the best Burnout game of the series because it takes risk while the buyer gets the reward. This is the most fun I've ever had on a racing game. I've played it for 3 years and continue to play it. It's not a bad game. It's one of the best, and it's truly worth my time and effort explaining why it is so great. Please do yourself a favor the purchase this great product today. | video-games_xbox |
Dumbed down RTS, but surprisingly fun. Executive Summary:
The controlls are VERY intuitive. All of your favorite Halo chars are in this, but they don't just make a Real Time Strategy (RTS) with Halo characters to sell the game, like the Star Wars franchise has been well known for. Quite to the contrary, this is definitely a RTS that can stand on its own merit. I would recommend to anyone that the best way to get an idea if you like the game is to download the free demo off of XBOX live. Play the "Skirmish" mode. The Demo does not have online play, but it should be very clear to you in a game or two if this is something you will like.
The one major drawback is base building. For those who enjoy creating unique bases, defenses, etc. this game will definitely not be for you as all bases are given cookie cutter slots in static pre-defined areas. That said, the game is very diverse, and there isn't one "Whoever builds this first and mass produces them." wins character/class. Also, each side does have "God mode" abilities. By that I mean "Super Ray Beam of death from above that are unstoppable" that can do major damage. Over all, I have a lot of fun playing, just as long as I don't expect it to contend with a computer RTS. It is what it is, a console RTS, and if you except that before you buy it...you will like it.
Full Review:
Halo Wars has all the tell tale signs of "Lets try to sell this product based on the brand name alone, and don't worry about the game play." ala Starwars (with a few exceptions) for the past 15 years. I'm pleased to say that is definitely not the case here. I'm sure some Halo purists will disagree with me after purchasing the game, realizing it's not a First Person Shooter (FPS), (EDIT 3/4/09: I see this has already happened) and giving it one star in disgust. This is a Real Time Strategy game and real time strategy games are not in the slightest bit like first person shooter games...I suggest if you don't know what a RTS is, that you Wikipedia it. RTS games have long been my favorite, and the king of all RTS games in my opinion was Age of Empires 2 (AOE2). AOE2 is available only for the computer. I think that the best way to review Halo Wars is to go over the 7 aspects of the best RTS I have played and compare.
1) AOE2: There were no "God like" abilities. IE, the Nukes in Command and Conquer, the Plasma cannons, etc. In other words, anything that does major damage that is completely unstoppable. I feel this detracts from the strategy concept of the game, when you can just blow away an entire base without even stepping foot in it. I'm sure some people will disagree with my take on this, and that is fine.
Halo Wars: There are the "God like" abilities in this. One of them is preventable, the other is completely unpreventable and is absolutely game changing once at the highest tech tree tier. I'm sure some people love these parts of RTS's as they are often on the box specifically stating that they exist.
2) AOE2: There was not one "Make this/Mass produce this and you win" class. Everything had balances and counter balances. If you made a lot of Char X, I will just make Char Y at half the cost, and destroy them.
Halo Wars: Is very much like this, every class has an opposite class designed to kill it. This keeps the game strategy filled, and not an arms race.
3) AOE2: Base Building was unique, fun, and 100% customizable. From building three levels of walls for the enemy to get past, to making defensive towers everywhere and anywhere you could predict an invasion. It was 100% up to you on what your base looked like.
Halo Wars: The bases are cookie cutter and completely uncustomizable. They are also in predefined locations. You are given 4 slots for defensive turrets and 8 slots to put your bases buildings on, all huddled together. This is far and away the weak part of the game and the reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. That said, on a console, it does seem to fit and make the game much more manageable, however the inability to really create your own base and the bases being in static, not dynamic, locations will turn a lot of the RTS purists off (As if an RTS purist would even consider an RTS on a console in the first place, so this might be a moot point).
(EDIT 3/7/09) Let me say you can choose what you want in those 8 slots (IE, something that makes resources, something that makes troops, something that makes aircraft's, etc). There is no limit or minimum requirement to what you have to have on a base. This is the only, very limited, form of customization in your bases.
4) AOE2: Very easy to setup/find online play with seemingly unlimited opponents.
Halo Wars: Absolutely it does, and the never ending stream of people on Xbox live make this a spectacular online experience. Of course you'll run into the people that quit just as you get the upper hand, but once some leagues start getting set up, expect this to change.
5) AOE2 had a type of gameplay called Regicide, IE, whoever kills the other team's king first wins.
Halo Wars: One side does have a "Leader" that is exceptionally powerful, and can be individually upgraded and you can only have one of these. However, after it is killed, you can replace it nearly instantly for almost no resources, thus taking the "Protect the leader" element away.
6) AOE2: Resources could be controlled and fought over, however, just because someone was able to get more of resource X, doesn't mean that you couldn't compensate by getting more of resource Y.
Halo Wars: All resource gathering is done by creating buildings in your cookie cutter base that creates them. There are also some seemingly out of place small amounts of "in the wild" resources (There is only one type of resource in Halo called..."Resources", not 2-4 like most RTS's IE: Gold/Stone/Food/Wood, etc.). However, it is such a small amount, that other than the first 5 minutes of the game they are useless, and during the first 5 minutes they are almost usless and glaringly out of place in this games dynamics. Perhaps at some point in the game's development they had a use, but in the final version you are left to wonder why it was included.
7) AOE2: Teching up was fun and it was a constant important decision of making troops vs. upgrading troops' abilities.
Halo Wars: While each tech tree is much smaller than AOE2, the same principles of army vs. tech is there. The upgrades are unit specific, and there is no general "upgrade" that makes all units better. This makes it also important to tech and build as efficiently as possible.
From what little I have played of the non-skirmish mode/IE story mode, it was boring, unimaginative, and clearly the gameplay was an afterthought and a bridge inbetween the cut scenes. People who want to follow the Halo story line might like it (might), but people who want to just have fun will find it slow paced and boring. It does have good cut scenes, so if you are the kind of person who enjoys being tortured for 30 minutes to see a 2-3 minute cut-scene that tells you more about the story line, then you may like it...other than the story line element, I would expect most people to be extremely disappointed in it.
Bottom Line:
If an RTS HAS to have a good/unique base building structure for you to like it, this game will 100% disappoint you and stay away from it. If you are expecting Halo Wars to be anything like Halo 1, 2, or 3, stay FAR away from it as the only similarities are the characters, and not the game play. However, if you want a nice "Pick up and play" RTS that will have tons of online competetion and great game play (for a console) then you'll definitely enjoy this game.
If you have any other questions about this game before purchase, please leave a comment and I'll answer to the best of my abilities. (And yes, I know AOE2 and Halo Wars were made by the same (now defunct) game studio.) | video-games_xbox |
This is how you make a comic book based game. MINOR SPOILERS
I was initially skeptical about this game when I saw the trailers but they hardly do it justice. But after playing the demo and than playing through the whole game, I'm struggling for just the right thing to say about this game.
I have never ever played a game that seemed to so thoroughly translate the essence of a literary/comic character into a game as well as this game does. It it's a staple in Batman's arsenal of tricks or gadgets, likely it's in this game. Sorry, no Bat-Shark Repellent though. ;) No driving the batmobile either, but that part didn't bother me.
It feels like you might be playing through the sequel to the film 'The Dark Knight' in many respects. The subject matter is very mature and while the Joker is insanely making his jokes there is little-to-no camp or idiocy to be found elsewhere in the game. The situation is treated as seriously as it would be were this the world you occupied and this actually happened and it set the tone for the game perfectly.
The game plays very nicely and my only complaints about the controls were minor ones in that I wish you could jump freely and fire the bat-line during a normal fall. Otherwise the controls and the combat system are excellent and I think deserve enormous praise.
The ability to counter attacks made by your opponents is so incredibly well done (if slightly overpowered) that it really makes you feel like you are in a Batman movie where he can take on 10 guys at once and do incredibly neat moves to take them down. Never have 3 buttons (4 if you like to toss in the batarang to keep combos going) been so amazingly used in a combat system.
The reliance on stealth to achieve a lot of the missions was also a welcome change, even if you could brute force your way through 95% of the non-boss encounters if you so chose. There are plenty of straight fist fights but many opportunities for the Batman to sneak up and knock someone out in a stealth move. I just wish they'd have let you drag their body since other guards WILL take notice, even if the Joker isn't calling it out over the PA system to boot.
The detective vision was also a nice addition and I think at times became a bit of a crutch, but in a game with an environment this size it was a necessity.
The story kept me wanting to play for hours past the logical time to go to sleep and I was sad to see the finale come. I won't say I enjoyed EVERY single minute of it because I did feel that the Scarecrow and Killer Croc parts felt out of place in the game. The former feeling like Super Mario Bros. on PCP and the latter feeling like something they put in to rob you of an actual chance to fight one of the more challenging characters Batman has in his rogues gallery, maybe because they had no real good idea of how Batman would beat someone like him. Both of these were minor gripes though and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the game much at all.
A lot of people will be disappointed that not every single member of the rogues gallery has a part in the game, which I was of mixed emotions on myself. It would have been very nice to have the chance to square off against a few of the more 'name' villains but I can see with the space limitations of the island and the story they wanted to tell, having someone like Mr. Freeze or Penguin just there to have them there would have felt somewhat out of character and at worst tacked on. The villains they chose worked extremely well for the story they wanted to tell thankfully.
I won't say it's perfect because I did have some minor minor issues with some of it, but this definitely got a 5 star rating from me because it gave me a game with an excellent (if not overly complicated plot) plot, great characters to work within said plot, wonderful atmosphere and a wonderful set of controls to play it out. Best 60+ bucks I've spent in a very long time on an XBOX 360 game. :)
(I just wish Batman would start packing his damn gear accordingly and not call in air drops or quick batcave visits when he realizes he needs something ;) ) | video-games_xbox |
The Metal, the Bad, and the Ugly. I had a lot of mixed emotions after finishing the main "quest" for Brutal Legend. I've been a fan of Double Fine's work for years, and Brutal Legend both shattered my expectations and at the same time left me disappointed.
The game does deliver the promise of its Metal theme. I'm not much of metal fan, but the characters, settings, weapons, music all came together very well, and those aspects are some of the best I've seen in games. There is a lot of detail put into each one of these, and it was a refresher to see something new, something with characters that are not always so serious or robotic, and where every spot in the world I wanted to get out and see around me. The kind of character and tone this game had is what made it worth playing.
While I believed the game to be sort of a brawler action from its first scenes, it quickly turns into a repetitive real time strategy game. The game is essentially battles followed by escort missions followed by more battles, and none of them are unique enough to feel engaging. I liked some of the ideas that Double Fine was trying to go for, but I quickly realized that it was a journey with less than perfect controls, unbalanced gameplay elements, and repetitive moments. The game also had side missions that are just few of the same missions duplicated all across the world map, and they have nothing to do with the main quest or the world. A lot of these side missions made me cringe a bit because it very much felt like neglected filler content. This was surprising since so much unique attention was put into everything else in the game.
The story was also a little thin. While I could get past through the imperfect gameplay through the game's awesome world, the story is what left me wanting more. It felt like it was rushed in, and almost like it was cast aside. This is nothing like the Double Fine's creative director's portfolio (Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island), where the story left you satisfied when the game ended, and the story is what drove the player to go further. In the case for Brutal Legend, it was mostly about the world and perhaps the hope that the story would get more interesting as it went along.
I have not played the multiplayer yet, and not too sure if I want to. Nevertheless, with its flawed gameplay and its flawless world, this mixed bag of a game was worth playing. And I can't wait to see what the Double Fine team makes next! Hopefully they've learned a lot of lessons after completing this game. | video-games_xbox |
Garbage. 100% Garbage. Buying this game makes me want to slap myself. After playing Black Ops and seeing how horrible that game was, I thought I would give the Call of Duty franchise one more opportunity to impress me. Oh boy, what a mistake I made... Anyway, the rest of this review is from my review posted on another website. Just wanted to introduce the garbage that I will be reviewing today.
Anything below this line was copy/pasted from my previous review:
I got the game in the mail. I popped the disc into my 360, and got some Cool Ranch Doritos from downstairs, along with a tall glass of ice cold water. I sat down to play some MW3. The very first screen I see is the same exact screen that MW2 presented me with... A selection between Spec Ops, Multiplayer, or the Campaign. I went straight into some TDM because that was the game mode that I have always enjoyed the most.
Anyway, after a few rounds, I really struggled to continue playing. For one, the maps are absolutely horrible. I started in the map Bakara or whatever it was called, and I instantly felt that the map was too cramped. After a few more maps, I noticed that they were extremely cramped too, unlike the majority of CoD4 or MW2 maps. This meant only one thing. Corner campers. And my god are there a lot of them. In my 3rd game 75% of the time I was killed was by someone sitting in a corner trying to blend into the map, waiting for me to run and kill me. I thought Kill Confirmed (the game mode) would fix this so I tried it out. Boy, was I wrong. People camped even more than in TDM. Basically what they did was kill you while camping and let the tag stay on the floor. Then someone from your teem tries to pick the tag up, and they get mowed down. When there are like 4 tags on the ground, he picks them up and find a new spot to camp. Ground War was no different. People camping in corners waiting for you to run by and kill you.
I found the guns in the game to be absolute garbage as well. Not only do your guns start out extremely underpowered, but you need to work to level them up. I don't know about you, but I dislike this. Why does it take me 7 shots to kill someone when they can kill me with 2? That's not all. The guns just feel like rebranded guns from MW2 with new sounds. There was this one gun that looked like the FAMAS... And guess what, it was a three round burst gun just like the FAMAS. Hell, I bet IW copy and pasted the FAMAS script with a new sound and called it a new gun. Took them like 2-3 minutes to make a decal, and then done.
Graphics... Not much to say here. They look the same as MW2's graphics. And CoD4's. You would think that after 4 years they would improve them. No, that's unacceptable, because that requires extra work, and extra work is un-American. I'm only kidding, but seriously? The graphics really need to get updated. They look worse than BC2's graphics on low at 800x600 on the PC.
I don't think I have ever wanted to stop playing a game more before in my life. I tried to like it, I really did, but the game to me was a lot worse than CoD4 and MW2. It was even worse than Black Ops. Yeah. I went there.
Okay, that was the end of my review that I copy/pasted from my old review. To wrap it up, this game is 100% garbage. I don't know how people continue to play this garbage. It's the same boring game CoD4 and MW2 presented you with, only they made it much, MUCH worse. If I ever want to play CoD again, I will buy MW2, not this garbage. What a waste of money. If I could have returned it to Amazon after I opened the sealed game I would have, even for a restocking fee. | video-games_xbox |
fun gameplay, poor execution. having played the x-men legends games and the first ultimate alliance i gotta admit i don't know what to think about this game. the levels are well done and much more fun with replay than the earlier games. the story is pretty well done. i really like the change to most people's power sets it's a great streamline and the interface is much more freindly this time around.
however, this game needs more polish, it coulda really beneifited from a few more months in the oven. you have 4 powers with each character instead of the 6 or so you had before and no more ultimate attacks. which mean all your characters are going to play pretty much exactly the same as everyone elses. i liked that depending on how you specked him, hawkeye had two very distinct play styles in ultimate alliance 1. now everyone has one path to follow. though they brought back character atributes instead of costume bonuses which to me is a big plus. however the alternate costumes (one per character) are pretty lame. aside from thor we never really use anyone's alternate.
the other thing that becomes painfully evident after a short time playing is that the new developers know relativley little about comic books. storm has no unique dialogue with black panther(her husband), and the character roster is composed almost entirely of people they thought would be "cool" to throw in rather than apropriate. gambit got chunked in due to that awful movie and he's always sucked in these games they have never done him in a way that really makes him usable. jean grey? dead, dead for a long long long long time. they have your basic players here, the fantastic four, the avengers, but aside from the major characters the roster is pretty weak. when faces with an oportunity to throw some fresh faces into the game they used none. the young avengers played a major role in civil war, and we get patriot involved in a few cut scenes and one boss battle. the thunderbolts consisted of the majority of the pro-registration soldiers and we have 3 of them to use in the last 2 levels.
the storyline here is ok, but they lost all the nuiances of civil war, rather than trying to make it anykind of a grey area or put some positive spin on registration they basically boil it down to obeying the law or doing what's right. which is a shame.
also the trick to this game is that once you've completed it, you can replay on legendary difficulty, but with the level cap firmly lodged at 60 you will always be underpowered in this game. in ultimate alliance 1 my characters became strong enough where my friend and i ran the whole game with just 2 characters. in this one having beat it three times i still occasionally have my whole team wiped out for no reason.
the fusions are a fun little addition but after the initial "aww cool" wears off, most of them are pretty generic and not that great. the ultimate attacks were a better system in all honesty, more than once have i found myself with only one character left in my team and no way to revive the others because i need 2 people to do a fusion attack. | video-games_xbox |
The Invisible Shot. Sniper Elite for the Xbox is a third-person tactical simulation. This is not an arcade shooter like "Halo", where you can go in with guns blazing, nor are you equipped with an absurd weapons payload or body shield. Getting hit by a few shots will certainly kill you. Sniper Elite tries to simulate the actions of a sniper in the WWII era and does an amazing job! Your primary weapon is a sniper rifle, your secondary weapon is a silenced pistol, a few hand grenades, trip wires, rocks and few bandages to heal your wounds. Stealth and patience is very important in this game, you must avoid being seen or heard by enemies. If the enemies hear something suspicious they will investigate the sound and search the area, if the enemy sees you, they will come in groups and try to flank you or flush you out with heavy gunfire and even toss a grenade at you.
The physics of the game are kind of realistic and take many factors into consideration which affect your aiming and probabilty of getting an accurate shot. You have to be aware of wind, gravity (bullet drop), weather conditions and your character's own heart beat. Most of the the times you you will be crawling on the ground in the prone position, but your character has the ability to crouch, run and walk. The levels are very open (free-form) and allow you to improvise to create a plan of attack. Most of your shots are a one shot kill if you hit your targets in critical areas of the body; anywhere on the head, neck and torso- one shot will bring instant death to the enemy and cause the camera to switch to a slow-mo bullet cam as it follows it's path and hit the target with gruesome detail.
You will see a spurts of blood, pieces of brain splatter and even a bit of flesh chipped off! Because of the blood and gore, this game is for adults only; not for children.
You also have the ability to search enemy dead bodies to aquire weapons or ammunition, you can then pick up dead bodies and move them to another location to hide them. If you leave a dead body in plain view, the enemy patrols might spot it and go on alert level. You can make a sniper's nest by setting a trip wire to close your area off or even toss a piece of rock to distract the enemy, while you shoot them in the back or sprint to a new location. My only complaint about this game is that the graphics are rather grainny and blocky, which in effect makes it look like a first generation game. But my overall experience of Sniper Elite, is excellent and really hope they bring a sequel!
Pros:
+open ended levels
+excellent controls
+excellent sound effects
+excellent A.I.
+excellent music
+excellent weaponry
+excellent stealth strategies
+realistic physics
+blood and gore
+bullet camera
+search dead bodies
+multiplayer/xbox live
Cons:
-weak graphics
-a few linear levels | video-games_xbox |
A MOST triumphant edition to the Rock Band genre. Being somewhat of a Guitar Hero/Rock Band enthusiast I consider myself well seasoned in the musical button mashing realm of games. Now, I did hold off from purchasing this title right out of the gate... I was a little burned out from years of jamming so I took some time off... However, recently my friendly neighbor has challenged me to see who can reach 10,000 achievement points first on Xbox... Well, knowing that I can like, totally rake in the points with my eyes half shut playing these type of games I decided to score the Lego Rock Band game in order to obtain some quick achievement points. Let me tell you, I HAD A BLAST! Yes, a complete blast playing this game. Personally, I really enjoyed most of the songs on here and found myself, like.. totally into it, man.. (even had a few songs bring tears to my eyes) Now, I was able to jam through the entire game on Expert, 5 starring most of the songs along the way... but that's just me... and I can do that on all the guitar games. So I wouldn't say this game was particularly too easy or anything... it felt about right to me. Okay, I had a ton-O-fun buying stuff for my Lego dudes... I outfitted them with all the get ups and doo dads... decorated my pad... my office... explored.. yeah, it was like excellent fun and time well spent. I believe you will enjoy the graphics as they are very cool and very well drawn.
The game never felt like it was wearing on me or wearing me out... The play felt fast and fresh throughout the entire story (and what a very cool and excellent story it is to be a part of!)
If you're even the most casual of Guitar Hero/Rock Band players, I say go out and get this title for your collection. I believe you will enjoy it! I thank God for excellent and triumphant games such as Lego Rock Band. Thanks God! (Spoken while pointing both index fingers toward Heaven). | video-games_xbox |
if only other shooters had cloak mode like crysis 2 does. i usually don't play games like this where you verse ppl and aliens, but i bought it at the time i was waiting for mw3 and bf3 and others to come out (like 3-5 months prior before those games hit)... i needed a real good shooter and the clerk reccommended this one. took a chance on it, i know crytek's rep and i know to expect good graphics. i never played the first one (didn't have the specs for it), but i'm glad i picked this game up, cuz i loved it. took me about 2 days to beat (the other reviewer who said campaign mode is about 11 hours, he's right. took me about 12 hours to beat. but that's only cuz the game hit a glitch on the 5th level, and i couldn't get it to load to resume, so i had to repeat a level before it. sucks, but i did it anyways. smooth sailing after that.)
the one feature i really enjoyed in this game is cloak mode. you turn invisible in the game, but you lose energy with your movements and shooting, so it doesn't stay forever, but so long as you're behind cover and protect yourself pretty well, you could pretty much be undetected thru out a whole level in cloak so long as you take a second to refill your energy and turn it back on. you get enhanced armor mode too, but i hardly had any use for it. you also get nanovision which is kinda like thermal vision reading heat signatures... only used this a couple times on real dark levels, but it was kinda an inconvenience to me like armor mode.
i pretty much just used cloak mode the whole game. i love being able to go thru a whole level cloaked and just stealth killing the enemy in the game. that feature is awesome. makes the game alot easier too if you can do that. also nice to cloak if you're surrounded by enemies and you just want to go thru them if you don't feel like having a long firefight.
that cloak mode makes this game very convenient and easy. i wish the modern warfare series had this feature. if you're a COD player or red faction: armageddon type gamer, i think you will enjoy this game.
i didn't play it on multiplayer, so i don't know about that.
elsewise, a real great game and glad i bought it. | video-games_xbox |
Red Dead Redemption? Yes. When Red Dead Redemption came out I wasn't very interested, it looked like GTA in western times to me. Well that was an incredible mistake but one I am glad I made, why? Well you see, I do not have Xbox LIVE and therefore I can not get any DLC for any game I own and since the Game of the Year Edition comes with all the DLC already there it just made it that more great for me! The reason I finally bought the game was because it came with Undead Nightmare and I LOVE zombies, I could have bought the DLC alone but I decided the actual game wouldn't hurt since the DLC might be pretty short.
The Story:
The story for Red Dead Redemption blew me away John Marston (The main character) is an excellent and well made character who seems to always be in the middle of the right or wrong path. He is sent to hunt down his old gang members from when he was an outlaw in exchange for his family that the government has kidnapped. While it may sound simple at first you will soon see that it is nothing close to being easy. I expected the story to bore me, believing that the game would be more focused about sandbox environment and free roam rather than the story, boy was I wrong! This is now my favorite game, John Marston is a wonderful character that I absolutely love, I know I didn't touch much on the story but I am trying to be as spoiler free as possible.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is awesome, I also had a "meh" expectation for the gameplay because it takes place in the west so I thought I'd be using a gun or two but once again I was wrong. There are so many different weapons they all feel different in their own way, the options of weaponry let you have the option of choosing how to approach certain situations for example, you may go into an area with your guns blazing and just take an all out offensive on your enemy or you can lasso them and bring them back to the town to face what they have done. There is also some knives and throwing weapons that can be used for stealth attacks, though I didn't really seem to go into that part of the gameplay much since your usually out in the open and the general enemy would be a tad difficult to stealth kill.
Visuals/Audio:
The game looks amazing, each area has it's own unique look and there isn't a sudden abrupt change, as you move from one area to the next you'll notice the land slowly becoming more similar to the next area, the animals in the game (that you have the option of hunting and skinning so you can make a few bucks) are so much fun and there are so many animals to see and/or hunt. Some may be docile and flee while others may be aggressive and attack you, some animals will even pretend to flee and return when you have your back turned or with a group and attack you. Lets get to sound, now.. Usually I don't pay much mind to the sound, it's there but there is never anything that pops out to me personally. But this game has an amazing soundtrack, and even the sound effects of certain actions are awesome! The voice actors are incredible, the animals are realistic and the music just pulls it all together in a beautiful looking game.
DLC:
The reason I bought the game.. Well, I will admit that the DLC is very fun but I am very glad I didn't purchase it alone because I would have missed out on such an amazing story in the main game and the DLC did in fact feel very short (To me anyway) There are also DLC costume and weapon packs that are already in the game, so that was fun too but I'll focus more on Undead Nightmare here. The zombies are.. Well.. Zombies! I was so pleased to find out that only fire or a head shot could kill them, shooting them in the arm, chest, leg, or anywhere besides the head will not kill them! Isn't that awesome?! I actually found myself not really using guns because it was so much fun to get close up and smack them on the side of the head with a tomahawk. The story is good, not as good as the main one. What sticks out in this is definitely the gameplay, not only do you get to fight zombies but you also get new weapons that you can't get in the main game! Also the animals can become undead which I found to be a nice touch, an added bonus to having animals becoming undead is that your horse can become undead also! My horse was killed by a small horde of zombies and once I whistled it returned to me looking like it had been dead and chewed on. The Undead horse has unlimited stamina but is also a bit more difficult to control as it sometimes will try to steer in its own direction rather than yours. There are also a few mythical creatures in the game that I will let you find out about for yourself.
Pros:
Gameplay, story, visuals and audio is great!
DLC comes free already in the game so you don't need Xbox LIVE
Free Roam + Sandbox environment, what's not to love?
Cons:
Minor bugs and glitches
There is a Multiplayer aspect of the game but I wasn't able to even play it because it requires Xbox LIVE, so keep that in mind.
Now I don't want to scare anyone from this product, it is indeed awesome but personally I had a game freeze a few times, they were NOT often and only happened about three or four times and my game or console was not harmed by it in anyway.
Overall:
If you like westerns, free roam, huge areas for gameplay or anything like that, BUY THIS NOW. It is a great game and in my opinion it is well worth the price since you don't need internet access to get the DLC.
P.S. This is my first review, I apologize if I wasn't very good, I tried my best and just wanted to let everyone know how much I LOVE this game! Have fun! | video-games_xbox |
Quite possibly the worst game in existence. Before I start this review I want to say a few things. I am a LONG time gamer, I have lots of love for all genres especially JRPGs and I am fairly lenient on games. I try to find enjoyment in games that are simply un-enjoyable or have many issues. However I am sorry to say that Fable: The Lost Chapter brings a new definition to the term "Garbage." It is simply the worst game I have ever played in my entire life. Now I will tell you why:
Story - It blows. It is very disjointed and is hardly enjoyable. It is your very basic story about your family being killed and rising to become a hero to beat the evil. Nothing more, and nothing less. I'm fine with that, but the way the story presents itself is dreadful.
Voice Acting - Atrocious Crap. A 5 year old child could bring more emotion to characters than the people who did this. It is unbelievable in every sense of the word. The characters seems lifeless and the voice actors are annoying.
Music - Nothing memorable at all. I know you don't have Nobuo Uem, or Tsuyoshi Sekito but damn not one good track at all?
Gameplay - It's bad. You will essentially be button mashing the entire game with the exception of occasionally healing yourself or casting a lame animation spell. The good/bad system in the game is flawed beyond belief. I know that if you commit bad deeds you should be punished but this game FORCES you to be a good guy or else you will have to pay massive amounts of money which is simply impossible. The entire system is unnecessary if you can't choose.
Technical Issues - Loads of them. There is pop-in, screen tearing, freezing, and many other various glitches in the game. My favorite game of the current generation is bug ridden as well (The Last Remnant) but at least it had good VA, Story, Gameplay, and AMAZING music.
I know this is coming off as a HUGE rant and I don't mean to offend any of the Fable fans. However I was just extremely disappointed with this game after hearing just glowing impressions from them. I am just ashamed that I spent 12 dollars on this and I bought the 2nd one as well which I am just horrified to open.
I'm sorry Peter M, but if your other games are as bad as this one I will have to agree with your comment about you never making a good game. If you like WRPGs I would recommend that you borrow this from a friend or rent it first so you don't take a leap of faith like I did.
Rating 1/5 Abysmal | video-games_xbox |
once agin, great graphics and presentation, crap gameplay. When i first started playing 2005 i really enjyed it and thought what an improvement it was from the rest of the series, but the more and more I played it, i realised that basically the game patterns are exactly the same in every game you play.
crap things about fifa 2005
1) every computer team plays the same way, ie attacks the same way and don't use different tactics from other teams
2)it is way too hard to get a long range shot or free kick on target. (ive played 15 games in career mode and still haven't scored from a direct free kick or from a shot outside the 12yd box)
3) when you do get a shot on target, the goalies are way too good and generally pull off pysically impossible saves. this is even the case with keepers that are suposedly crap
4)when taking penalties, you only have three options, left, right, or middle, this means the keeper has a 33.3333% chance of saving a penalty..... ridiculous!!!
5)I find i score all my goals the same way, ie headers from a cross. Plus the strikers score all the goals rather than midfielders and defenders chipping in.
6) you cant change the home stadiums for your team in career mode, this means that EA choses a stadium for a team who's real stadium isint in the game, and most of the time it is way off what this teams stadium is really like.
7)apart from the faces of the most famous players, there are only about 8 different ones players have. this means apart from the famous guys, all players pretty much look the same
8)controls are completely unresponsive, just like in previous fifa games
9)ai defenders back off an attacking plyer until he gets near the goal, this means you very rarely can score counter attack goals as defenders hardly ever get up field.
10)there is no clear noticable difference in the ability of players, ie defenders are as fast as attackers etc
11)Fifa euro 2004 was actually quite good, why didn't fifa just take the improvements from that game and chuck them into fifa 2004 rather than rehashing fifa 2004?
i could go on forever about how bad the gameplay is in this game
but there are things that keep me playing this game
1) ace graphics
2)Licsenced kits
3) cool presentation
4) i love the whole managemnent part of career mode, even if playing the actuall game is really frustrating and repetitive.
5) most important of all, Pro Evolution soccer isint out on xbox yet, so ive gotta play something!
a word of advice to ea sports, stop spending all your budget on presentation and advertising , and actually try to create something that resembles the most beautiful game in the world!!!!. | video-games_xbox |
I want a refund. First, before all the fanboys start shredding me, let me say that I'm an AVID FAN of the other members in the GTA series. Yes, the visuals are stunning, and the music playlist is quite extensive (although not nearly as good as playlists past for whatever reason). The gameplay is nothing like previous GTA. The newer more realistic physics are cool, but why the hell do I have to fall on the ground every time I throw a molotov cocktail and get hit with some back draft? Before, you would get hurt of course, but you could at least run it off, you weren't forced to fall to the ground and more often than not, roll in the flames that set you on fire in the first place. Make sense? Who would roll into the flames? Also, there's some things that I liked to be unbelievable, like the weapon switch time, not so realistic in the past. And why can't I throw a grenade without having to lock onto someone, if you do so, he throws it behind himself. ????!!!!! Behind himself? What???? Why????? And WTF happend to being able to pop in a cheat on the fly, (if thats your thing and i know people who do that) now you have to have a phone and you have to go through menus to get to it? And the thing with the cheats was, when you didn't want to deal with the cops, you punched in your little lower wanted cheat anywhere anytime no matter what was happening and you were in the clear. Now if you 're accessing the friggin phone and you get shot, you have to start back over again at the beginning with pulling up the phone and the menu. Why?? What for?? the point of the cheats was to cheat. And as much as i like the great expansion on Liberty City, I don't recognize any of it. I feel like its lost some of the things that make it memorable. There is NOTHING that rings a bell. Except for, of course, some of the restaurants, shops, product placements, things like that. But really, it feels more like Resident Evil 4 minus the zombies. and its just not as fun. If I could return it I would. Give me III, Vice City, San Andreas, etc. any day. | video-games_xbox |
Improved in every which way. At first I was hesitant to purchase this game after the disappointment that Fuel was, but after a couple of races I was completely hooked for many hours! Whether you are looking for solid single player game, or swapping paint in multiple online matches, then this off road adrenaline rush is for you! First off the graphics are amazingly better than the first Dirt; I was very impressed with the overall presentation of this game. There are practically no frame rate issues, with smooth textures, and a fluid camera movement to top off this wonderfully entertaining sequel. The user friendly navigation menu sets a good tone from the get go, whereas you placed inside your very own RV that you use to travel throughout all the locations you race in the world. You select your own Dirt tour, choose online matches, view stats, and watch extras all within the RV. You can also step outside to view cars and trucks you have purchased, or wish to purchase. You also can view news and change options outside. There are plenty of liveries to unlock and customize you rides with, they also gave you the option of horns, dashboard toys, and windshield decoration such as: Dice, Shoes, hanging avatars...
The in-game play is very much improved, but something to note is that this is not a fully simulated racer. If you cup of tea is games like Forza and GT, then this title will pretty much be hit or miss. But if you enjoyed previous titles like Grid or even Fuel, then you will think this is Codemasters best work to date. The physics of the game are on point, with full damage, and rewind time setting to take you back to the track after you completely totally one of your rides. All the colors pop in this game and nothing is better than watching a replay on a track that you flew through without taking on any damage. The camera work that is delivered in replays make them very entertaining to watch, and the inside view when racing makes it even sweeter. The AI racers are aggressive and will not lay down for you to just overtake, be prepared for a lot of bumping and rubbing in these races, but that definitely adds to the fun factor.
If you are a follow of X games, then you will enjoy that many pro racers lent their voices for the game. You will make a lot of friends along your way to becoming a recognizable face in the sport. You will find your self going head to head with racers like Dave Mirra, a lot of fun hearing them tell you to watch it after you give them a good hit from behind!
All and all this is pretty much a 4-5 star game, with high replay value, and a solid online feature; I believe this game is well worth the $60.00 it is priced at. You will find yourself playing this game for many hours, not just for the actually play, but also watching the majority of instant replays that follow after you completed a race. Good job Codemasters, thank you for putting out another title that puts you back in my good graces. | video-games_xbox |
It is a slight improvement, but there is still alot I would like to see. Madden NFL 25. Sounds great doesn't it? It makes EA sound... ahead of their time, or such. Or so they think. Making this big a deal over a 25th anniversary really makes you wonder about what exactly they have their minds set on. Naming your game "25" edition, and placing Barry Sanders on the cover? This game is not different enough from last years game to imply all of the hypes. I will admit they have made some subtle improvements, but as the last game of this generation of consoles that they will actually spend time on; mmmmmmmm... It isn't enough.
Now for the positive...
People who have decided not to make the switch to an xBox one or Ps4 will not want to play this same game into Madden 15, Madden 16, and so on. I played Madden 13 on the Ps3 and very briefly on the 360, and, once you play it enough, you will notice that Madden 25 is smoother in gameplay and more easy to keep playing for the entire football season. Madden 13 was the drop off for many fans who no longer buy from EA any more for one reason; the removal of Franchise Mode. It stunned me too. I am one of those offline hermits who only plays the occasional exhibition but mainly franchise. I mean, it is the only game mode in any sports game that is closest to real life! Who wants to be a single player and just play one position all the time without control of your team (trades, season games, etc.). There were so many Franchise fans that Madden sales probably dropped by 50% for this edition. EA retorted that the new "Connected Careers" was better than Franchise. Well, it obviously wasn't; now they have already changed it to being called "Connected Franchise." I think we know why. BUT WAIT! I suggest that all those offline Franchise fans can mosey on back into Madden 25. With a little bit of twisting, Connected Franchise can be almost exactly like the old Franchise mode! Select Connected Franchise, choose "offline," pick "COACH," select the coach of the NFL team you want to control. Their you have it. Your team; to play and control the seasons, manage rosters and injuries, have a fantasy draft if you prefer, run your off-season routine (contract negotiations, free agent signing, the draft), and more. I also like the addition of coach and team XP. Points earned from performance to boost your coach and player attributes. I'm very glad that they actually put something like this together. But when it comes to playing a game on Connected franchise, I have just one gripe. I play with the MINNESOTA Vikings. Keep this in mind. On the first game of the season (first week in September) they introduce the game as being played in 2 degree Fahrenheit temperatures and snow covered ground. Now in Minnesota we have a dome, so it doesn't effect the game at all. But 2 degrees and snow? In September? In Minnesota, early September temperatures are in the low to mid 70's. As the season progresses, let's say, week 14, it gets crazy. This would be near December. Playing another home game in Minnesota the temperature is 57 Fahrenheit. In real life, we would be in the teens AND their can be snow. I hope that they would consider this issue for service, cause it is just a little off-putting.
Gameplay improvements and suggestions...
Madden 13 had tolerable gameplay once you got used to the players flopping and convulsing all thanks to the all-great Infinity Engine. This claims that you will never again see the play happen twice! Through the first game on Madden 13 I notice the same tackling animations introduced in roughly Madden 08! But that isn't the problem; they were fewer, and the same 4 or 5 animations happened play to play. What's goin on? Now this new engine is based on momentum, they say. I got over it and tried to enjoy the game. In Madden 25 this was, more-or-less, fixed. I am seeing a lot more momentum based collisions and less on field seizures. Though I still don't like to see players sandwiched laying almost on the ground but not yet down. This really doesn't in real life either. Now you do see pile-ups and sandwiches, but the runner is called down by forward progress. In Madden, everyone is laying their waiting for the whistle to be blown. Of course, the progress made in this department far outweighs these minor complaints. Overall, the polish on the Infinity Engine really makes the game alot smoother. Despite these improvements in the tackling system, I still notice plenty straight-on collisions where a Safety wraps up a HB and sends him flying backwards. This, you just never see in the NFL.
The problem I will discuss next has been an issue in madden since the beginning. I'm sure everyone has noticed over the years that the CPU secondary and yours ALWAYS drop easy interceptions. Most of this happens because the DB gets a sudden speed burst and jumps right in front of the pass. Fortunately, he almost always drops it, but you just don't like to see that. It makes ME feel guilty of making a bad pass and being at the mercy of the defense. Now this can be allowed on "All-Madden" gameplay but I'm a casual gamer and play on "Pro." Now from a defensive standpoint, you yourself get lucky with these type of plays. You can wipe your brow in relief for not giving up a 70-yard TD, but it just doesn't happen in the NFL. It can't! If you have a good Safety or Cornerback, you want to see them diving to break up a play. Coming from the other view, you want them pick it off when they can! Maybe 80 percent of easily had picks just fall harmlessly to the ground. Come on! You want to make that QB pay for making a GENUINELY bad throw!
Now, let's talk replays. In contrast to the last 2 years, the automatic, post-play replays in this edition of Madden are horrible. They show approximately the last 4 seconds of any given play while succeeding to cut out the best part of the play that everyone wants to see again. Maddens 12 and 13 did not have this problem. But for some reason this titles replays are just plain sub-par. For example; you just made an awesome kick return touchdown. The instant replay that follows shows the last 20 yards of your run to the end zone. It skips those great jukes and spins used to elude the defenders and get into the open field. Another example; you just made the greatest 60-yard hail-mary pass TD in the history of the NFL! You are rewarded by a replay of your WR standing in the end zone, alone, looking bored and dazed. I hope they fix this. I really haven't seen a good quality replay on Madden 25, outside of booth reviews and challenges. Which brings me to the problem with reviews. On any challenge, whether it be "feet in bounds" or "was it a fumble?" the result will pretty much always be the same. "The call on the field is upheld." It has nothing to do with what happened on the field whatsoever. It doesn't matter if he was clearly down, or if both of his feet were out of bounds. The call isn't even remotely connected to the play that happened. It is quite different with booth reviews, though. Usually, they will get it right; but that's if they call for a review when it's actually needed. My suggestion is just save your challenges. Let the play go, because it isn't worth losing a timeout over.
This pretty much concludes my review. They have improved the game, maybe enough to play for a couple years (for some people). But I would get this to replace Madden 13, if I had to do it all over again. I hope this helped and thank you for reading. | video-games_xbox |
Great Fun, Violent, but Short. The Chronicles of Riddick : Escape From Butcher Bay lets fans of Pitch Black and The Chronicles Of Riddick expand the storyline. This takes place before those two movies - and you're fighting your way out of prison.
First, let's point out the MATURE rating and that this involves very nasty prison fighting. Parents who are buying this for young teens who enjoy the relatively mild movies might be in for a shock. Please keep in mind that the game was made and is rated for a mature audience. They did that for a reason.
Now, if you're a mature game player who doesn't mind blood and violence, you're in for a treat. Vin Diesel may not be a hallowed Shakespearian actor, but he does have his great moments, and his acting and voice work on this game are dead on. His nuances and movements translate extremely well into the gameplay. You really do feel like you're taking part in a "new movie". I find this much more satisfying than to replay scenes in an existing movie, when you know what is going to happen. By making this a prequel, you actually care about what is happening and wonder what's going to go on next. The plot does get you intrigued.
The gameplay is what you'd probably expect from an "escape from prison" type of a game - sneaking around, killing off enemies, solving puzzles to get past this door or that obstacle. Riddick can of course see in the dark, which gives some fun new twists on the usual progress of the game. The graphics are really quite nice, so your peering and sneaking don't involve trying to figure out which pixel is supposed to represent a light switch.
On the downside, they didn't develop out a long, complex storyline here. You can probably finish the game in a weekend if you spend the time playing it. With all the games out there for the same price that you can play for months and months, it seems a bit odd that a modern gamemaker would put out a game that is this short. Once they have the "hard work" done - designing the interface, designing the models for the characters - then creating new levels and dialogue is really very easy. If they'd spent another month or so on fleshing out the game, it would have been superb.
Maybe next time? | video-games_xbox |
Slimmed Down Compared to Most Special Editions, but Worth the Investment if You Definitely Want the Season Pass. Note: I won't discuss the game itself as many other reviews will already have that covered - this review just explains the Atlas Pro's distinguishing features so that you can decide if the price is worth it for you. That said, Sledgehammer has done a very good job of picking the best multiplayer features of COD and other franchises and building on that. Fear not - this is much more BLOPSII than it is Ghosts. The campaign is familiar COD - story-driven shooting-gallery-on-rails stuff with some bombastic cutaways and semi-interactive climaxes.
The Atlas Pro edition of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare marks a change from recent overgrown premium releases in that it avoids the physical add-ins that had been veering toward pricey toy gimmicks in favor of content that really adds to the in-game experience.
You can immediately tell that this is the case because the box is relatively small - about the size of two game cases side-by-side. The package is contained in a cardboard slipcase that's not particularly distinguishing to look at, sporting a copy of the steelbook's cover art on the front and standard selling points and legalese on the back. There is a subtle reflective glossiness to the slipcase that looks nice, but no embossing. Inside are a steelbook case for the game and digital codes and a book of concept art and game lore. That's all - no toy helicopters or night-vision goggles or RC jeeps.
The steelbook is very nicely rendered in a white powder coat with a front-and-back view of an Atlas Armored Security Trooper. It's a very detailed illustration, although not a compelling action scene. Inside the steelbook, all of the digital content is compiled into just two codes: one for in-game add-ons and a second one for the DLC season pass. This is great if you had planned to keep all of it because it makes it quick and easy to redeem (you can also you the Q-code feature if you have the Kinect); however, it also makes it impossible to pick apart DLC to sell aftermarket, so be aware if you were planning on subsidizing the cost of the game that way. The in-game content includes additional weapons, exoskeleton and helmet, and supply drops. Similar to the same concept in Battlefield 4 or a Madden Ultimate Team pack, these drops contain a random assortment of customizations and bonuses to use throughout the game. There is also a digital version of the game's soundtrack and a bonus map based on the "Pipeline" multiplayer map from COD 4. The second code is the DLC season pass, which allows you to redeem a year's worth of bonus maps and other content through four releases starting in January, 2015.
The artbook is organized as a employee manual for Atlas Corporation, the private military security outfit at the heart of COD:AW's storyline. It contains interesting backstory, timelines, and explanation of weapon and exoskeleton capabilities, including Q-codes throughout that you can use to access more in-depth content on the web. It's a surprisingly nice touch for a franchise that doesn't often rely on such story detail. The pages are substantial and the print quality high; however, due to the size of the package, the book is small and the tight binding makes it somewhat challenging to flip through and read.
The Atlas Pro retails at $120, which breaks down to $60 for the game itself, $50 for the season pass, and $10 for the artbook and digital content. If you are committed to the franchise and willing to overlook last year's disappointing installment, it's a no-brainer investment. There is a standard Atlas edition that removes the season pass if you want to take a wait-and-see approach to how you feel about the game. | video-games_xbox |
Decent game, but not for children. As a fan of different first person shooter and strategy type games and that OF WWII dramas such as 'Band of Brothers' and other excellent reviews from gaming websites, it appeared that the game 'Brothers In Arms' was a no-brainer must have.
While it does indeed satisfy intense gaming styles and the cold, gritty feeling of war as opposed to other games, 'Brothers In Arms' has some great ideas but also a fair share of shortcomings.
From the get-go, this game is clearly styled after the mini-series 'Band of Brothers', for it mimics many of the cut scenes, look, sound, and even introductions to episodes even down to the introspective narration of your games alter ego, Matt Baker. Definitely the designers of Gearbox Games were huge fans of the series, and this translates fairly well.
The game is definitely a good combination of intense combat and strategy. Gung-ho button mashing and assaulting the enemy in any given mission map assures instant death. While you can do missions at your own pace, the ability to 'pause' the game for what the designers term as 'situational awareness'' can help, but not always. This feature will allow you to get an overhead view of the 'seen' battlefield to make some tactical decisions which is definitely helpful to keep you and your artificially controlled squad mates alive.
There is also a fair amount of mixed missions and objectives (albeit only 10), so it's not the same get from point A to point B and kill as many Germans as possible. You may have to blow up a strategic point, or clear a field, or infiltrate enemy barracks, to hooking up with stranded or lost squad mates.
There are 4 difficulty levels, and completing each mission unlocks 'extra content' based on the mission difficulty. While some of the un-lockable content is interesting, cheat codes and extra weapons are only obtained on harder levels. Easy settings unlocks historical content which while interesting adds no substantive value to gameplay and is easily forgotten.
There is a fair measure of explicit cursing. Like real life war, your squad mates tend to have profane mouths and in any given mission you'll wanna make sure children are not present.
The graphics are good, but not excellent. There is some synching issues with spoken words and facial expressions and mouth movements of the AI characters. Sometimes they move a bit stiff and seem un-natural.
Sound is great, especially in surround sound. The only musical scores you hear are in mission loads and completions, otherwise it bullets flying and shouting's.
Game control does take sometime getting used to. Even though you can remap the X-Box control settings, the default ones seem more complex than I am accustomed to on similar games. Some frustrating moments for me occurred when it seem intuitive hand control is not what 'it should be'. Also camera control in 'situational awareness' mode can also be confusing and not as smooth as it should be. This has proven to be slightly more difficult to master than I would expect as well.
I think the most frustrating thing is that the environments are not 100% interactive. Why are there doors on homes or farm gates that can never be opened? Why can I climb on the back of a tank, but can't crawl over or jump over a 3 foot wall? Why can I use a building or tree for cover and jump in a fox hole, but can't walk through a small hedge. Environment inconsistencies like this make the gamer puzzled. I see many ways to get to an objective, just to realize when I try something, I can't crawl, or squeeze in a gap between buildings that is much wider than my body. And why can't I loot fallen Germans for their grenades, but I can pick up their rifle?
But don't let these negative comments detract you. It is indeed intense. It does have realism in certain areas and you do feel as a part of a team and quickly care about your AI controlled squad mates...they do have personalities and quickly are become likeable. Your learn to care if they get hurt. | video-games_xbox |
Beautiful, gory, short, and a bit repetitive. For starters, put it on the hardest difficulty mode. You'll do just fine. This game is a polished gem, the graphics, the music, the tone, all amazing. The biggest down side is the length. Even on the most difficult mode (dying probably 8-9 times total), it takes about 8 hours to get through. It is not an open world, it's extremely linear, "kill guys and move to next area". There are some interesting mechanics that break up the melee carnage, at certain stages you set up formations, or hold down an area using a giant crossbow, etc. After sufficiently weakening an enemy you can engage a QTE (quick time event) to get a reward, either more XP, health, a boost to your special attack meter, etc. Pretty simplistic, use the X and Y buttons when prompted by color. You can also just kill them without engaging in a QTE. The combat flows really well, and is reminiscent of Batman, with 2 noteworthy distinctions. 1- You use the X button to attack with your sword, the Y button to use your shield (either as an attack, or to break the guard of a blocking enemy), the A button to counter (and the game does NOT give you a heads up like Batman does!), and the B button to evade an uncounterable attack (the game does give you a heads up with this). Traditionally in games, the Y button was to counter, and at times I'd over think it and swing my shield instead of blocking, really frustrating. 2- the game is much less forgiving than Batman in regards to timing. Every single hit is judged based on your timing, the second you make contact you need to launch your next strike to adequately combo and get a good rating. Accidentally hitting counter instead of evade means you're gonna get hit, you can't make a correction. But if by the end of the 8 hours campaign you'll have the timing down sufficiently and be getting great ratings on all your strikes. And then the game is over. There are a few collectables sprinkled throughout, but not worth replaying. I bought it used and then returned it in a few days. All and all, a lot of fun. Great showcase for the Xbox One's power. But it's ultimately a rental | video-games_xbox |
Seriously, EA. For a while now, my friends and I have been Madden fanatics. One of the most enjoyable things about the game was creating a Co-Op franchise, and as a team we would play through Franchise Mode. It was a fun way to play the game; hang out, have a few beers, and as a team we would play our way through season after season. With the release of Madden 13 coming out, we were pretty excited, and like all other Madden fans, we were ready to make the jump from one Madden to the next. We started the game up, adjusted all of the settings, customized the difficulty (very hard settings), and were ready to begin. When the 'select team' screen popped up, we noticed that there was only one controller available.....?........ok..........let's try that again. So, we backed out to the main menu, reloaded the save point, etc. and tried again. Still, only one controller showed. I checked to see if my controller was even turned on, and surely, it was. My friend and I sat there in disbelief, 'knowing' that this must be a mistake; surely, they would not remove co-op from franchise mode in a Madden game, right? We googled what could be wrong with the game, and sure enough, we soon discovered that EA f***ed up big time. They removed co-op!!!! Are you kidding me!?!? It turns out that they wanted to present this game for one type of audience only and that is the online gamers. You can do co-op together, but only online. In other words, EA would like all of your friends to buy the game so they can sell more copies. Such a shame. From what I have read online, there a TONS of people out there who enjoyed the game for the sole purpose of co-op franchise mode, and EA decided to remove it. Not all of us gamers like to isolate ourselves in mom's basement and only communicate with 'friends' via headset. Playing a co-op franchise mode in Madden with 3 or friends (present) was a blast, and EA stripped that away from such gamers. Sorry EA, but I won't be playing this game anytime soon; actually, I don't think I will play it all. Why water down a game that was perfectly fine??? One step forward and three steps back, I guess. On a final note, to those who are fans of Franchise Mode, Fantasy Draft, and of course, Co-Op Franchise with friends, then I wouldn't waste my time with this Madden. Thanks a lot, EA. | video-games_xbox |
Blackwater. S#^+. I'm still only in Blackwater. A man is forced by the government to accept a difficult task . A powerful man, who was formerly a popular leader but is now considered a criminal, must be eliminated. Getting close to the target will require a long, arduous expedition to a highly fortified compound. The government must not be connected in any way to the mission. Sound familiar?
No, the target's name is not Kurtz in Red Dead Redemption. But it might as well be. Rockstar has once again taken inspiration from a masterpiece of cinema. In the same way that the Grand Theft Auto series is strongly linked to works by Singleton, Scorsese, De Palma, and Kurosawa, Red Dead Redemption pays homage to Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now.
On the surface, RDR appears to be based on classic Westerns. The game is set in the American frontier at the beginning of the 20th century. There are plenty of references to films directed by John Ford, Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, and Sam Peckinpah. The driving forces behind the game's narrative, however, are questions about duty versus honor, confrontations with enemies who may not truly be opposed to what your character represents, and most importantly, the achievement of spiritual redemption by completing a psychologically harrowing journey. Western films often address these themes as well, of course, but without any ambiguity or ambivalence. It's always crystal clear who is good, who is evil, and what is right and what is wrong in these films. In contrast, RDR and AN deliberately obscure their moral viewpoint on the actions of their characters.
Anybody familiar with Apocalypse Now will recognize that many aspects of RDR's story are directly analogous to events in AN. While the characters and motivations of John Marston and Final Boss (no spoilers here) are never as fully developed as those of Captain Willard and Colonel Kurtz--due to both Rockstar's avoidance of Metal Gear Solid-length cutscenes and the limitations of the videogame medium--all of AN's key plot points are present in the game. There's even a minor reference to the sniper execution scene in Full Metal Jacket that helps reinforce RDR's connections to AN. All of this adds up to a rich and compelling story arc, especially considering RDR is a videogame.
Story and influences aside, the bigger question is whether or not Red Dead Redemption is fun to play. The answer is YES. The graphics, especially the environmental effects, are outstanding. There's a good chance you will find yourself just sitting on a horse admiring a spectacular sunset or taking in the dramatic view from a mesa or hilltop and not doing anything else. The controls are easy to learn and quickly become intuitive. Finally, as is the norm with Rockstar, the game's world is gigantic and full of missions, mini-games, and random encounters. A few minor things feel a bit unfinished, such as some missions that involve long journeys without characters saying anything, or unrefined (it's left to the player to figure out how the inventory management system works while playing) but there aren't any glaring flaws overall.
The highlight of the DLC in the Game of the Year Edition is Undead Nightmare. Imagine Resident Evil set in the RDR universe...but with the trademark Rockstar mix of violence, gore, and humor. Make sure you play the main game first; many of the characters make, er, *interesting* reappearances.
Well worth picking up, especially with all the DLC now included on disc. | video-games_xbox |
Best Money Spent. I was a fan of the Turtle Beach products for the longest time. I had the X41's for a few years until I got a 50in plasma and could no longer use the X41's due to frequency issues. That's another story and does not have a happy ending.
I spent a lot of time shopping around looking for a wired headset. Wireless has its benefits and is the "new thing"; however, for best quality, you can't go wrong in having a few wires to ensure quality. I love the shooter games both campaign and multiplayer (Gears/Call of Duty...etc.) and there is nothing like hearing footsteps soon enough that you can turn and prepare to melee!
That said, I talked to many stores and to the younger employees and asked questions. I asked specific enough questions that only gamers would know how to answer and compared all the products.
My questions/research led me to buy these. I never used this brand before; but, I would forever recommend them!
I have been using them for a little over a month now and have never been happier. A few specs to review for you:
(Bought for Xbox 360 - Works for other platforms as well though)
1. Setup upon getting home
A little confusing since I had not played with wires around my entertainment center in a while. I like for things to look neat and as many wires as possible to remain hidden so it took a while...45 min max approx? Yes, there are a few wires but the end result is VERY worth it. Just as true home theater has many wires running around your living room, you should expect some with true surround headset! This isn't simulated surround; hence, more than one speaker in your headset. You'll have a few wires running across the floor while you play.
All in all, easy setup just a little time. Directions very easy to follow
2. Speakers (Customization
I recommend some split screen/solo game play to fix the sound adjustments to your liking. If you just love the explosions right there in your eardrum you can max the boost or minimize just the same. I want to know who's behind me so I turn the rear speaker up and the same for left/right/front speakers.
Best thing...play co-op (Black Ops = combat training) and have your friend a little ways away fire a few rounds. Adjust the speakers, then turn 45 degrees or so and adjust accordingly.
In short, take the time to seriously adjust these speaker to your liking!!! This headset will be your most treasured item or your worst nightmare depending on the time you put in to customizing them exactly how you like!!!! I can't stress this enough!!!
3. Chat Quality (Mic/Voice Quality)
The mic takes a little getting used to depending on how much you use it. People either talk on team deathmatches/co op games, or they just don't. I like to work with people so I was worried about this part. As for me, and what my friends say, there is no problem at all with them understanding me and my understanding them. You can control how loud you want them to be so that you can understand both team chat and an enemy coming around the corner.
I personally love the mic and how it is sturdy feeling and how it can be flexible enough to curve just so around my jawbone right next to my mouth. No problem at all with my voice being heard online. I was very impressed actually!!
4. Comfort
I wear glasses and so there's going to be discomfort after a while. That's no matter what headset I buy, so, I am going to write this from both perspectives. They stay comfortable longer if I wear the headset farther towards the back of my head...which felt weird at first but I got used to it quick. The headset come with bother cloth and leather ear cushions (spelling?) depending on what you want. The leather is more comfortable if you wear glasses (depending on what kind...mine=wire)
Overall, personally, they are even more comfortable that turtle beach probably because the ear cushions are "oversized" (in a good comfortable way) to accommodate the True Surround Sound.
I am sorry this was such a long review. I am very VERY pleased with my buy!! I know we all hate those Black Ops players who seem to kill us before we even go around a corner...well, now I am one of them! I hear you coming before you even respawn. More than likely, now I am that guy!! | video-games_xbox |
Orange box is Golden. The Orange Box (TOB) hits every gaming geeks nail on the head. TOB title game is the critically acclaimed game of the year Half Life 2. The TOB also includes Half Life 2 expansions Episodes 1 and 2. On top of this impeccable set of games there is also Portal and Team Fortress 2. Half Life 2 is a first person shooter full of puzzles, action and deep story telling. Portal is a complex puzzle driven game whose game play style and graphics are modeled after HL2. Team Fortress 2 (TF2) is an online balanced multiplayer only shooter. TF2 graphics reminded me of Disney smash hit movie The Incredibles (Think CGI animation if you missed The Incredibles and shame on you if you did it's a flawless family title). Big difference is this isn't a Disney game it's a action shooter so there will be blood, killing and plenty of dismemberment.
Half-Life 2(Did I mention Game of the year but I should also mention GOTY 2004):5/5
Half-Life 2 is everything a first person shooter (FPS) should be with vivid graphics, compelling story, believable characters plus acting and rocking game play. The pace is always switching from tense to frantic to creepy. Most importantly is that Half-Life 2 (HL2) manages to never become stale by incessantly switching up its game play. One second all you have is a crow bar used to bash in fascist Combine soldiers and the next your speed racing on a river boat craft getting shot at. This first person shooter uses the usual tricks of starting you out with no weapons leaving you to accrue an arsenal over several levels. That's a FPS standard tactic but HL2 goes outside the box by not just adding several fun and inventive weapons which they do do plus so much more. For example they insert exhilarating vehicle sequences, they've created AI that takes cover and tries to out flank you, Your charged with solving multitudes of well thought out and rewarding puzzels and you'll fight a wide array baddies ranging from the futuristic military state Combine soldiers, several mutant monsters to large Combine military vehicles that are all itching to take you down along with many other unexpected baddies that I won't ruin here. In HL2 you play Gordon Freeman the lead character from Half Life 1 who was the scientist that managed to escape from the Black Messa research facility accident. This accident has lead to the chaotic world that you must now survive in. Half Life 2 is a FPS only title that uses the now old school set up where you can carry about a dozen weapons at once. Since your lone wolfing it a lot I never once complained at how much fire power I could hold at once or felt it took away from my gaming experience.
Possibly Half-Life most enduring features are its engrossing world that at times totally consumes you with it. You play in future Earth that's been totally changed by Black Messa accident. Technology has in some ways advanced tremendously while society as a whole is on the verge of an apocalypse. By playing Freeman your immediately thrown into a world that's either run by the Combine an insidious military state regime or plagued by alien mutant zombies. This leaves you to lead the resistance (complied of both human and aliens) in a revolution from the combine. HL2 most inventive design comes from its use of a physics engine that allows for realistic gravity for both you and your surrounding objects. While a piece of wood might float on water rocks will sink straight to the bottom. While hurling a harmless pop can at foes does nothing a fridge is sure to crush anyone in its path. One of it's most original features is a Gravity gun you obtain that allows Freeman to pick up and throw objects such as a Refrigerator. On top of HL2 world feeling real the characters you're surrounded with are well written and believable. HL2 also has a high octane musical score that helps set the mood whether its heart pumping, eerie or just plan exciting. Only after all of HL2 story twists, adrenalin action and creepy backdrops are completed can you really understand why this was GOTY by over 40 different gaming media outlets.
HL2 Episode 1 (Classic HL2 not much new on the table):4/5 Alyx Vance was a major character in HL2. After the events of HL2 your thrust with her to escape from the Combine run City 17. The adventures you experience in Episode one offer very little that HL2 didn't already throw at you save the fact that Alyx becomes your side kick for almost the majority of your escape. Freeman will again start out having lost all his weapons. Damn how does that keep happening? Other than a few new baddies Episode 1 is simply a straight expansion from HL2. I still enjoyed Episode one but it lost points from me for not incorporation HL2 best feature of constant originality. That being said The end battles in Episode 1 we're enjoyable.
HL2 Episode 2 (Fresh, gripping and well written): 5/5 Now that you've escaped City 17 you and Alyx must fight your way to the White Forest resistance base. Episode 2 outclasses Episode 1 in originality, story and action. While episode 2 is still using classic HL2 engine you'll face several new baddies and receive one new weapon for your arsenal. There's several well added cinematic action sequence that usually involve Alyx's dog (who is a large AI one eyed robot that's first seen in HL2). The battles leading up to the finale are blood pumping and brilliant. The final battle was one of the most grueling of the whole series. It's a real grind to complete and a thrill ride all the way through. Episode 2 ends but in classic HL2 fashion it closes with a grand canyon size cliff hanger. If you enjoyed HL2 as much as me you'll be chomping at the bit for HL3 which hopefully is another Game of the year title.
Portal (It's no piece of cake): 4/5 Portal begins with you being a trapped test subject in a bizarre research faculty. You're prompted by a robotic voice on where to begin solving your way to hopefully freedom. The robotic voice acts as your only verbal companion during Portal's methodically escalating live action brain teasers. Portal's unique in that it gives a dual portal gun which you can fire on two different setting one being to create an entrance and another being for an exit. Portal quickly goes from hard to lethal while your only voice companion goes from helpful to psychotic. Portal will catch you off guard with its well placed humor, dark moods and fantastically designed 19 levels. It's fun addition to the TOB and while it steals from HL2 engine systems Portal is unique in a variety of ways.
Team Fortress 2 (very balanced multiplayer only gaming): 4/5 team fortress is really fun multiplayer gaming. It's basic combat red team vs. blue team. Each map has a locked in special objective like capture the intelligence or capture the position. There's several characters and they compliant certain means of attack whether heavy on defense, offense, speed or stealth. For example you can choose from the scout (very fast, weak health, shot gun, pistol, baseball bat), The sniper (sniper rifle, machine gun and knife), The heavy (chain gun, fist, shot gun, very tough and slow), Pyro (flame thrower, shot gun, axe), Engineer (Shot gun, pistol, wrench and ability to create portals, turrets, and supply stations), Demo, (sticky bomb gun, rpg, melee weapon),Medic (saw, healing gun thingy, dart gun and special limited invincibility for you and one teamate once you've gotten a full charge from the healing gun thingy) Solider (Shot gun, Rocket launcher, shovel, pistol) and lastly my favorite the spy (revolver, knife ,weak health, special limited invisibility cloak and ability to mask self in opponents colored suit and ability to sabotage engineer constructions). The spy loses his enemy mask after attacking but his knife is a one hit kill from behind. I live for knifing heavy's in the back. TF2 is different from other online games because it's object based and not kill based. You can respawn a hundred different times into what ever character you want too. Plus you can kill a hundred different characters yet never win. TF2 gave me a sense of team work I rarely find in other online games. Each skin has pre set voice commands that add a sense of humor to this already fun shooter. Games are clocked so if no winner is claimed there's a bonus round where your given only one life to duke it out with. This last man or team standing round is really fun because it gives you a sense of mortality that you don't feel during regular game play. These little touches add to how balanced and fun TF2 is to play. Basically TF2 is another nice bonus to already great package wrapped in orange and placed in a box.
Last take: I'm not a fan of playing games over again but Half Life 2 & Portal offer commentary gaming where you can replay these games and search out commentary bubbles click and hear what the development team has to say. Half Life 2 is one of the few games I've played twice and enjoyed it both times. Team Fortress 2 to me is like chess it never gets old. | video-games_xbox |
What? Average Customer Review = 3 Stars. There is only one word to describe NFL Street and that is... AWESOME! I don't know how this game has gotten a rating of only 3 stars on XBox when it is clear that it is superior to the rest. This game has bend the rules a little bit and for the good. It is just not fun running and passing when you can run and pass with STYLE. I personally am not a fan of NFL games but this is THE exception. Its not just football, it's a whole lot more.
Gameplay-
As you may know I love this game, I play it a lot and it does not look like I'm going to be putting it down any time soon. Well this is how it goes... You play football and at the same time you rack up points, the more points you get the faster you earn a "Game Breaker". If you are wondering... A game breaker is when your team gets unlimited Turbo and if you are on offence you are likely to leave everyone in your dust, and almost guaranteed a touch down. If on defense you are also almost guaranteed a turn over on downs or fumbles. Well back to game play, there a lot of cool moves you can pull off when you are running. Like spin around your opponent, plow threw him, and sooo much more. This is useful to rack up points and earn that game breaker or simply just to lock good while running for the touch down. This is were in my opinion NFL Street shines the most.
Graphics-
I have no idea how another person said that the graphics were "cheasy". I don't know if he is looking at the same game I am looking at, but they are definitely not cheesy. They are extremely good, the players look like the real life guys, there are no skips or lag. In fact I thought they were the best, because even the fields are done very well and some-what interactive. Like for instance in a junk yard you can fall on some wooden boxes and they will brake, in the beach there is a big volleyball that you can hit and it will react and bounce away also some surf boards you can hit and will fall down. So to me the graphics are just perfect.
Sound-
I regularly don't pay attention to the sound on games, but in NFL Street how can you not? The crashes sound good and I guess a little exaggerated but that does not necessarily make it a bad thing. Also everyone talks trash to each other, my favorite quote for now is "If I got a dime for every yard you just ran, I would be broke... dead broke." And when you are playing there are some nice beats on the background so sound is great as well. Plus on XBox you can listen to your own tracks/songs on the menu screens.
Bottom line If you like football and are looking for a little more, buy this. If you don't like football rent it and I'm almost certain you will like it, I did and like I said I'm not a fan of NFL my self. But if you are a hardcore simulator fan DO NOT BUY IT, it is not about simulation its about having fun and soo much more! | video-games_xbox |
Great overall controller, but please read if you use Nyko rechargeable battery packs. When I first received this product I knew it wouldn't be that much different from the other controllers Microsoft has put out, just that the D-Pad can transform to your preference. While I see a lot of users saying there isn't much of a difference, there is some truth to it but I notice some subtle differences. It is true that the D-Pad does share movement with the disc the D-Pad is built on, however raising it still makes it easier to input the correct direction into the D-Pad. Wouldn't say it was that more significant, but overtime you should get use to it and notice an improvement.
Another thing about the controller was the feel, the texture. I was not digging the matte finish at first being so use to the glossy finish Microsoft has been putting out for years. It took me awhile to get use to this aspect, I can definitely say that its something that will grow on you. The tiny nubs on top of the analog sticks themselves are replaced with a circular grove. I for one, like this change and find it more desirable for gaming.
Now for the main reason on why I am writing this review is because I own a Nyko charging station with two Nyko battery packs. The battery packs fit fine with the older Xbox controller (white) and the newer black glossy ones that were introduced with the slim Xbox. But trying to fit them in the newer controller design seemed liked I was really trying to cram it in there, so it would stretch a bit. Granted it will fit in there but recently over time I noticed cracks at the base of where the battery sits inside the controller. When I go to set down the controller it will disconnect on me and the cracks are very noticeable. While it is still playable, it is still a nagging reminder that I may need to go back to the older controllers.
Overall, nice controller if you are in the market of a new one and don't mind the price tag, you do get a play and charge kit as well. But if you own third party battery packs, keep in mind that they may be prone to cracking the battery case on the controller. If this doesn't apply to you, I'd recommend it whole heartedly. Otherwise I'd suggest opting for the glossy black controllers introduced with the slim, they are cheaper and you'd get the same use from it. | video-games_xbox |
Far more fun than I thought it would be. I have avoided violent, sandbox games because I don't like the thought of shooting law enforcement (even in games ... yeah, whatever), and I just never understood the desire for people to play "the bad guy". Call it my own moral and ethical compass or something. But I decided to throw caution into the wind and actually buy one of these games. Considering how popular they are, they must be doing something right.
I was amazed at how much fun and expansive "Saints Row 2" is.
When I first started playing it, I walked/drove around for hours just marveling at the attention to detail in the buildings, landscape, and activity that went on around me. Even sidewalks that you would have zero chance of seeing under normal circumstances, hidden behind derelict buildings, can have small details like gang symbols painted on them. The attention to detail in Stilwater is just amazing!
I'm the kind of person who has to play a game to the utter completion when possible. When playing fantasy RPG games like "Neverwinter Nights", I hate leaving side-quests unfinished. I hate having incomplete maps. If I'm playing a game, I want to experience the whole game. "Saints Row 2" has such a huge amount of side material to play that I anticipate at least 80 hours of gameplay from running around, exploring, and performing side quests, before I consider it to be done to my satisfaction. Getting 80 hours from any kind of game is utterly unheard of! I've already played for over 24 hours, having done a large number of side quests and activities, and I'm only at 20% completion!
What really helped me to overcome the "playing the bad guy" issue is that Volition loaded the game with just utter silliness. They clearly made the smart move in removing some of the realism to add humor and goofy playability. Whether the humor comes from the outrageous commercials on the radio or the sheer toilet humor (pun intended) in spraying sewage all over the place, there is a ton of off-the-wall humor and irreverent activities in this game. Even being able to just wave "hello" to passers by and have them respond adds another bit of over-the-top silliness. Here you are trying to take over the city, having just ruthlessly killed rival gang members, but wave "Hi" to a person walking down the street and they respond like you're the friendliest person on each. It's one of those stupid, subtle bits of humor that had me chuckling not because it was genuinely funny but because of its absurdity.
I share the frustration with other reviewers that cars, people, or objects have a tendency to disappear once they are out of your view. There have been many times where a car that is wanted at the chop shop would pass me, and by the time I turn around to try to carjack it it's gone. Other times I'm just so frustrated with running that I turn around to steal the car in the parking lot that I just ran past. The car's not there any more. This happens often and can be incredibly annoying. This game should be fixed so that there is a certain radius around your character where all items or people stay where they are until they are completely out of that radius.
The only real WTF moment was when I saw that the "streaking" game utilized censorship over the character's nether-regions. Once again, the American need to act Puritanical shows itself. Blood, violence, swearing, running over people with the car, mowing them down with a machine gun, killing law enforcement -- hey, no problem! But show a certain part of the body and suddenly it's "NO, NO, NO!! We can't show that! Blowing people's heads off is fantastic! Go for it! But don't expect us to show a nipple! We have to censor that!" { face palm } Volition, either we're mature enough to handle the whole package or we're not! Pick one! Don't treat us like adults and use the "M" rating for cover when it comes to violence, then hide in cowardice and treat us like children who need to be shielded when it comes to nudity!
Regardless, I was shocked at how much fun this game is. The violence is cartoonish more than anything else; the gameplay can be fast and furious; hidden items and quests abound; there are lots of absurd humorous bits; and the number of side quests and activities can keep you occupied for dozens and dozen of hours.
Buy it. Once the absurdity of the gameplay and the scope of what you can do in Stilwater kick in, the fun factor takes over and you could end up spending a lot more time with it than you thought. | video-games_xbox |
A solid 3-star game. I usually wait until there are a few reviews out for a game before I buy it, but I was so intrigued by the concept of Turning Point: Fall of Liberty that I thought I would take a chance. Having just come off great games like Call of Duty 4, Assassin's creed, Bioshock, Mass Effect (you get the idea..) ... I was fairly disappointed by how unintuitive the controls of this game are. They aren't the worst, by far, but certainly felt sloppy in light of other better games I have recently played. The control sensitivity is too low on "medium" and felt much better on "high" except when I went to aim with "Iron Sights" then medium was better, constantly changing got annoying though, so I decided to melee exclusively (see below) Moreover, the graphics are cartoony, the checkpoints are few and far between, and the weapons... this takes me into a second paragraph.
Combat: Explain this to me: Nazi bad guy with sub machine gun is perfectly accurate at 1000ft. I manage to take him down with the only good weapon in the game (bolt action rifle) and when I get his machine gun, I can't hit a guy 30ft away. I don't get that. Regardless other than rifles, the weapons aren't even worth it. I found myself running up to guys for melee combat instead of wasting my time shooting them. Of course, I have to wait for the enemy to finish whatever animation he is in before the melee prompt appears, but it was far more effective than shooting. I found myself quite irritated by the combat.
Other things that annoy me are the dumbing down of vehicles battles. Enemy tank, no problem there is a rocket launcher conveniently stowed around the corner. Boat? Ohh... another rocket launcher... blimp? Same. I did not come across one combat encounter with an enemy vehicle that didn't either drive off in a hurry, or didn't blow up with a couple well aimed rockets. It was all very formulaic. To wrap it up, the game sacrificed game play for story, and is overall at best a 3 star game.
Edit 3/2/08: There weren't many multi-player games going on, but I managed to play a few. What I found was, the levels were boring. You get to pick your weapon each time you spawn, but they are as bad in multi-player as they are in the single player campaign. Except that the other players can't use them effectively either. Stick with Call of Duty Multi-player which is a lot of fun. | video-games_xbox |
Absolutely horrible excuse for a zombie game. I love Zombies. Movies, games, comic books and more. I know zombies. And yes, I did play the multiplayer. Ok, first off, the single player is several hours in length with randomely-dispersed enemies of varying types (of which there is an enourmous number of 6 species), and high-speed run-and-gun gameplay. That's about all there is to it. Run, shoot randomly and kill a number of average zombies with one shot, using a whopping eight different weapons (including the Shotgun, the Auto-Shotgun, the Uzi, the Assault Rifle, the Sniper Rifle, the Pistol, and two grenade types). The weapons are really all the same- just shoot randomly in the general direction of the zombies and (even if your crosshair isn't aiming at the zombies), your bullets will still curve and hone onto your targets somehow. This makes the shooting rediculously mindless- just unload generally at them, and the bullets will kill (even if the shot is an obvious miss). The BB spread pattern of the Shotgun is not a cluster, but rather a VERY long line, so shooting it in the general direction of any zombies killes just about everything. No strategy EVER, just shoot in the general direction, then reload. Not to mention, it is by far the most linear game I've ever played; in fact, most of the game is quite literally a long hallway. Even the hardest difficulty setting will allow a medium-skilled player like myself to beat it in four to five hours. After I became bored with the easy single-player in one sitting, I decided to try out the multiplayer, which I had previously heard was the best part of the experience. Remember when I said I beat the singleplayer, and wanted to try the multiplayer becaus I was bored? Well guess what! The multiplayer IS THE SINGLEPLAYER, just with four of the zombies being helpless players on the other side of your ultra-powerful weapons. Four real players doesn't do alot of good in a horde of zombies which are just as tough as they are. one or two shots, and the truly pathetic real-player enemy zombies are dead. Then I became the zombie, and the "extensive strategic gameplay" amounted to the only "strategic" thing you can do as a zombie, which is hide around a corner, and wait for the humans to walk out, then you attack, do a very minimal amount of damage, then get shot, and try it all over again. What a waste. The multiplayer is really almost identical to the singleplayer in practically every aspect. In every battle, unload as fast as you can, then reload in the same direstion, and this works every time. "Just Unload" should be the name of the game, or "Left 4 Boredom" or more like "Left 4 the Trashman". Not even worth renting, but if you don't trust me, then at least do yourself a favor and rent it first. | video-games_xbox |
Here there be epics. I'm pretty much addicted to Metal Gear and have been for years, so I thought I'd give a try at doing a review. You should know what you are getting here, I will make this review pretty simple based on the games themselves and the HD revamps.
Sons of Liberty
Pros: The new HD version is incredibly smooth, the simple uniformity of the graphics has always been one of the endearing factors that makes Metal Gear so special and they've never looked better. This game still packs and intense stealth challenge with intense boss fights all wrapped together by an interesting story that is part Die Hard, part sci-fi, part anime, part completely bizarre while at the same time retaining a campy atmosphere as not to take itself too seriously (but wait a second). You will not get through this game quickly unless you've played it 10 times over, there is plenty here to play and master, this game is still the toughest of the series especially on a higher difficulty setting. Overall a satisfying classic.
Cons: First off game play, I wish they would have given this HD remake the Subsistence treatment and given you a traveling 360 camera angle! This game is mostly tight hallways and corners, the overhead view just flat out sucks at times, while at other times creates unique scenes and gameplay tension, which are lost at times in Snake Eater with the new camera feature, still though. Next the conversion from PS2 to XBOX360 really took away from the controls as many have noted, Sony's PS controllers were made for Metal Gear, here all the fine touches are lost and shooting SUCKS in both games with the loss of the sensitive fire button, also the gun is lowered after every shot, sorta BS. Finally to the story, I still do not like Raiden and think the voice acting and cheesy drama can be overbearing at times. Kojima has shown he has a fine hand for subtly, I always wished the melodrama was a bit toned down, I mean damn, Otacon really hams it up at one point, 5 times in a row in separate never ending cut scenes of Full House level tragedy. The actual parts where are fighting enemies and the scenes of confrontation are great, the ending of this game makes very little sense, but I'll give it a pass, it's good enough and it was still early on in the newer series.
Snake Eater:
Pros: Still the best game of the series, mind bogglingly huge, thorough, many challenges and possibilities to be explored here. This game looks absolutely great with its HD make over, every screen is smooth and fast where the PS2 almost collapsed under the weight of the graphics, small details far in the distance of the forest are finely detailed. You are never more absorbed into the gameplay and in control of a character than when you are playing as Big Boss, the game at times feels as if you're playing with advanced robotic action figures in a crazy military sci-fi remake of Ninja Scroll. Indeed this game centers around 7-8 intense boss battles that all pay homage to everything from classic anime to spaghetti westerns, they will have you frustrated and on the edge of your seat and eventually tossing your control to the ground and storming off to cool down. The music is fantastic, the story has a fine balance emotional depth and total camp. Just great!
Cons: Man, Snake is SLOW, and it's probably realistic hauling over a ton of weapons, ammo, food, 10 changes of clothes around, but man, fight The Fury, your worst enemy is your own slow ass. I don't really have much to complain about this game other than I wish they'd make another Metal Gear on level with this one, and The Phantom Pain looks like it might be the one. I would say the voice acting if far better in this one, the game has a fun B movie vibe to it so the cheesy dialogue works in its favor this time around where it's just awkward and embarrassing in Sons of Liberty. Of course the speeches go on way too long at the end, I wish Kojima would realize you can say more with a little, this game has a great story and massive character arc. You really do feel Snake's bitterness at the end of the game, but I'll be damned if the game doesn't do its best to be overtly obvious and hamfisted at every opportunity. The shooting can be frustrating but it's not a deal breaker, I still think PS2 controllers are superior for playing these games.
Peacewalker: I'll say it, I haven't gotten far enough into this game but I don't really like it, I am a bit confused on how to advance my weapons and it seems very tedious. This seems like something for people who just want more Metal Gear, I am trying but the simplified controls and dumbed down AI are marring the experience. I love the style and think the voice acting is really great, I am actually playing this one for the story. I can't really judge this one other than its not grabbing me like the others.
Classic Metal Gear 1 & 2: Is what it is, one is a very old video game and two is a better version of it, I enjoy them but haven't gotten too far into the game play, they seem impossible without a players guide, and if you're just playing by manual then what is the point?
Just wanted to throw in my opinions on this Metal Gear Solid collection. Honestly this series is the only games I really play, I check other titles out, after playing Metal Gear everything else seems so half assed especially in the control department. I enjoyed Ground Zeroes despite being way too short and cannot wait for The Phantom Pain as I hope it takes us back to the intense woodland warfare of Snake Eater. | video-games_xbox |
A VERY feminine dance game. This review is for Just Dance 3 for the XBOX 360 Kinect.
Many moons ago I was a freestyle dancer - breaks, pop, robot, liquid, etc. Moves needed to be fluid and unique for a great impression and to win any dance battles.
This principle is not part of this game. I understand that it is for a more universal market, but wow. I can give this game no more than three stars, and even that pains me to assign.
Pros:
- Unique appearance - all "Coaches" are an odd bright white skin tone, except when in a costume. It looks cartoon-like and there are interesting graphical effects in the background of each song.
- The dance types vary wildly across songs. Obviously I favored the ones which were more in my style (Apache, Da Funk) but overall there was decent variety.
- Just watching the "Coaches" can be entertaining.
- Additional modes are available for objective variety. For example, if you just want to work out.
Cons:
- If you are a straight male, you will find yourself feeling very awkward prancing like a fairy. I am convinced that the choreographer of most of these songs is a cheerleader. A vast majority of the choreography is very, very feminine with the exception of "Apache."
- The songs provide a little hint at the bottom as to what move is coming up next. If you are not familiar with a particular song's dance routine, there is absolutely no way you can know what is coming up next. There are points where the "Coach" just does something random (and unannounced) and is sometimes impossible for most people - like the freestyle ending of "Party Anthem."
- The tracking system seems to be way off at times. As a dancer, I know I'm executing certain moves to the T, but it will give me a poor rating randomly. If you already dislike the dance routine for making you use Jazz hands or shake your hips like a girly girl, this is very frustrating.
- Some additional modes are a waste of programming effort, such as the "mashups" where random "Coaches" appear and do a dance move from another song, throughout one song. The moves do not look good to the music and is very poorly transitioned.
Overall, if you're looking for a good laugh with a bunch of people, this is it. If you're looking for a serious dance game where you'll actually learn something of technical worth, look elsewhere. The music selection can only carry a game so far. | video-games_xbox |
Beautiful, whimsical, timeless, and euphoric in a very RARE fashion. It is hard to believe that nearly a decade has passed since RARE released a proper sequel to the Banjo Kazooie series. And if one thing has become apparent, it's that we've come quite far since the days of traditional Mario-influenced platforming. Originally conceptualized as an updated remake of the first game in the series (with a few modest tweaks), Banjo "3" quickly evolved into what would become an innovative shift in the way the team looked at the platform genre. And the changes, I'll have you know, are not only avant-garde, but also completely successful and utterly brilliant in execution.
The premise and cast of characters are more likely to grab a laugh than to sell you on any sense of epic scale or heroic bellicosity. And appropriately so considering the source material. After defeating their arch nemesis Gruntilda at the end of Banjo-Tooie, Banjo the bear and his bird sidekick Kazooie retired to a cottage on Spiral Mountain, becoming copiously fat and lazy on pizza and Xbox 360. Then one day Gruntilda`s severed head emerges nastily from a pile of rocks, confronting Banjo and his feathery pal with a seemingly unsolvable quandary (considering quite literally the sheer girth of our furry hero). Conveniently Banjo and his nemesis are approached by L.O.G (Lord Of Games), who is basically a floating green television screen with some kind of cape/drapery arrangement. He allegedly created all games - yes, even Grabbed by the Ghoulies. Anyway, L.O.G proposes a set of time-contingent events to take place in 6 worlds of his own authoring. Upon agreeing to L.O.G's proposal, Banjo is returned to his former fitness, and stripped of the classic move sets found in the previous two games. Apparently those are out-dated, so Kazooie is given a wrench with special telekinetic abilities, and we're off! Yeah, it's silly, but it's just RARE's humorous excuse to change up the formula and lead you to the core of this experience - the innovative gameplay design.
American McGee's Scrapland explored in a limited fashion vehicle customization in a vein similar to Nuts & Bolts. Players could purchase blueprints for ships and upgrade/trick out various aspects of their craft. But where that game barely scratched the surface of vehicle customization in an open world, Nuts & Bolts gives players an unparalleled degree of control over how their vehicle looks, moves, and handles by providing hundreds of unique unlockable parts, all utilized at the behest of the creator. Mumbo's Garage is the place you will visit when you want to build, paint, save and load vehicles, trade with fellow players over Xbox Live, or test out your creation. The Test-O-Track lets players try out their latest modifications to see if physics are on the side of their design theory - often with rather hilarious results. In the workshop you will find your basic frame parts that provide shape and support for vital components. Vitals include the basics like wheels, engines, fuel tubes, propellers, wings, floatation devices, and more. As with any design modification, going into your garage and changing something means that you must weigh and balance the effects that extra (or lesser) heft will have on your vehicle.
As you progress through the game, you will unlock a menagerie of gadgets, weapons, and components that can be attached to your vehicles. Some things, like the egg or laser guns, are of a more obvious use than something like a self-destruct ball. But, if you're an inventive type, maybe you'll take that self-destructing bomb thingy and strategically utilize it to get that extra edge in some of the more absurd challenges.
The game is completely physics based, so it emphasizes the dynamics of good design, meaning you can't be sloppy or your chance at obtaining a jiggy will be seriously endangered. Countless times I've gone back to the drawing board on all of my designs, honing different aspects of the handling and performance for the perfect balance that will ensure my victory. As you can probably imagine, the gameplay has its moments of severe frustration as you - the architect - must constantly study and try to decipher exactly why your designs just aren't banking the jiggies. I've never sworn so much at an E rated game! That is not to say that personal skill isn't involved here. On the contrary, sloppy play style will serve just as much to your detriment as any lemon blueprint. But all the same, much of the game will be spent in Mumbo's Garage, tweaking, testing, and contemplating. The upside is that, not only is it fun to tinker around, but when you finally realize that self-indulgent wonder craft of your dreams, you always get this wonderful sense of accomplishment, as the hard work you put into the game ultimately determines the fun you will get out of it. While true of most any title, in this case, the majority of enjoyment is dependent on the person behind the controller, not too dissimilar from a game like Little Big Planet.
The downside is...well, there isn't much of one, since you either like to tweak and customize, or you don't. And for those that don't, Banjo Team has thrown in a ton of purchasable blueprints for use in the game's various time based challenges. The design concept of Nuts & Bolts is based off of the theory that there are three different types of gamers who will play this game. The first is children, who will simply use the pre-built variety until they learn the necessary skills to craft their own. The second group are the "casual" players who will build vehicles, complete as much of the game as possible, and collect some of the parts. The third group are the "hardcore", who will unlock everything, seek trophies, and look for top rankings on the leader boards. For the most part I think the game's design is conducive to this theory. However, Nuts & Bolts is probably less than the sum of its parts, if only because of the perfected fusion, the wonderful synergy of gameplay elements. Not taking advantage of the experience as a whole seems a shame to me, but coming from someone who would fall into the "hardcore" player group, that's probably my limited perspective talking. Indeed, the game may be totally satisfactory to the younger crowd just based off of what's offered on the surface. But for those able and willing to dig deeper, you will be richly rewarded for your efforts. Besides, after giving a thorough tour of the game's feature set to my mother; it seems the broad appeal design might just click with the wider gaming population.
As you go about collecting and banking jiggies, numbered doors open up, allowing you to complete challenges in segmented "Acts." Once you collect enough jiggies, Mumbo rewards you with parts, and L.O.G gives you a special globe to be placed on its corresponding plinth - therefore opening another of the 6 worlds. The challenges contained within each Act can vary from fetch quests, to races, to sumo matches, to speed challenges, and more. Many of the events are variants of each other, but you will sometimes come across some more unique and, well...odd challenges. In one Nutty Acres challenge, I was tasked with transporting Klungo's giant egg to a volcano, dropping it in - cooking it - and then rushing it back to him as fast as possible for top scores.
For all the talk of leaving its N64 roots, Banjo Nuts & Bolts sure has a lot of platform/adventure activities. Each world is filled to the brim with little nooks and crannies. Whether walking or swimming, Banjo will find many secrets hidden, waiting for discovery. The swimming mechanic is a bit to get used to at first (you have to hold A down and direct with the left thumbstick) but when you do, you will find all sorts of neat little easter eggs. In a totally X-Files moment I even found a group of aliens, adults and children, lying quiet and still in pods. One nice feature in the adventure portions of the gameplay is that you are given a camera with which to take and store photos (optionally uploading them to Banjo-Kazooie.com for sharing and even competition). It sort of reminded me of the element used in Michel Ancel's Beyond Good & Evil. It's a lesser, more simple implementation, but works wonderfully for storing the more notable memories of your adventures.
The game is essentially hub based, with doors opening up as you bank more and more jiggies. However, if you're anything like me, you will spend hours in Showdown Town just collecting musical notes and walking tight ropes. The game actually gives you an incentive to explore since you can even find hidden "free" jiggies and spend your hard searched for notes on vehicle parts and blueprints, which are available from Humba. Once you obtain a jiggy or amass a group of jiggies, you will be required to visit the Jig-O-Vend units that are planted throughout Showdown Town. Each world has its own vendor so you'll need to do a bit of collection traveling in the event that you've completed challenges in multiple worlds without visiting the corresponding jiggy dispensers before entering separate worlds. It's also worth noting that you can upgrade Banjo's attributes if you're willing to fork over the notes. I found the speed and strength upgrades worth the cost in currency considering the amount of on-foot travel I did. Useful depending upon your play style, but by no means a bear necessity. Still, I must say that it would have been nice to see a more extensive upgrade system for our furry buddy. Maybe the team is saving up for a sequel?
The controls will take a bit of practice if you want precision, but everything feels extremely responsive and well mapped out. Instead of a traditional double tap, pressing and holding A makes Banjo jump higher. Banjo also interacts well with his environment, intuitively grabbing onto ledges to avoid a bad fall. Actually though, from my experience it appears impossible to actually die in the game. Your health is represented by a honeycomb on the HUD. Your honeycomb is always replenishing over time, eliminating the need for collecting little honeycombs. And because of Banjo's constantly replenishing honeycomb, suffering even a big fall won`t do much unless you`re in the middle of a challenge, in which case you forfeit. And if you do manage to, like, drown him or something really nasty, Kazooie will pop out of her blue pack and literally slap Banjo back to full honeycomb safety. I showed it to my mom and she burst out laughing. It's a child friendly design call, but the charm never gets old. Some criticism has been levied against the game for doing away with the classic move sets found in previous Banjo installments, but there are actually a few moves that Kazooie can perform with her wrench. It does indeed retain the feel of a platformer despite being limited in comparison to games of the conventional mold.
I have praised Nuts & Bolts for its vehicle creator, and it deserves the credit for being easy-to-use and deep. However, my main complaint is that frame parts, the stuff that is responsible for the core shape of your vehicles, are not varied enough. There are a lot of blocks and corners and wedges, but I would have liked to have seen more variety in the appearances and combination possibilities. While you can create any Star Wars vehicle imaginable, you are limited to a degree on the aesthetic side of things. Yes, you can add a coat of paint, mixing and matching if you wish, but I think there is a lot more to explore as far as variety and possibilities go. To Banjo Team's credit, it is a fine line to tread, considering that what players design has to stay within the confines of the established art style. And if anything, I can just imagine the inevitably massive host of tweaks and additions that will be made if this game gets a much deserved follow up.
While there is probably a lot more to say about the gameplay in respect to depth and details, the last dynamic that I would like to mention is the competitive side of the game. Every challenge in the game is time based, and if you're good at building vehicles and have the skill to drive them to victory, you might just end up on the leader boards. I've managed to place in the Top 40 in a few separate events, but even that takes a fair amount of time and commitment as you learn the challenge and exploit every second-shaving opportunity. If you check out the Top 20 you can even view how the best in the world did it. Watching the best excel just spurs you on to make better vehicles and become a better player. I've not played a game this addictive in the competitive sense since Halo 2. You can also play on Xbox Live, both in pre-built competitions where it's all skill based, or the deeper custom vehicle events. But finding myself on Banjo-Kazooie.com tracking the leader boards is something I never thought I'd be doing. If you want it to, the game really involves you in the communal experience whether you're going head-to-head directly or just looking for top honours on the boards.
Overall, the gameplay in Banjo Nuts & Bolts is a refreshing mixture of elements that not only satisfies those who fancy themselves the completist architect extraordinaire, but also forges new territory in what I hope will be a brave new world of evolved platform gaming.
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is one of, if not the best looking game on the Xbox 360 currently. So often videogames are polarized to one side or the other. Either they're praised for their technical brilliance, or lauded for their art design. Thankfully that trend does not apply to Nuts & Bolts, as Banjo Team has crafted a ginormous world full of vibrant charm, while at the same time taking full advantage of the latest graphical bells & whistles like specular highlights, parallax maps, next-gen polygon counts, and yes, RARE's famous fur (vertex) shading. The result is a game world that you could eat like candy!
As I noted in the gameplay section of my review, the game is split up into 6 worlds (excluding Showdown Town) each with their own unique magic and splendor. As an example, Banjo Land features all sorts of clever little (and BIG) set pieces. You'll see a giant ocean liner, statues, igloos, underwater alcoves, and various other goodies. Since a significant portion of the game involves aquatic travel, it is appropriate that the water looks, moves, and reacts as you'd expect it to. There's nothing like cutting through the waves in your own personal-built jet boat; taking in the pure and serene qualities of the expanse.
Though there is one area of concern that I must address concerning the graphics. The slowdown can be a minor annoyance in one instance, and an all-out gameplay interruption in another. It's the most frustrating thing in the world when you're just getting into your groove on a challenge you've worked really really hard on, only to have the game drop to 10 frames, throwing you off your game for the few precious seconds that would make the difference on the leader board. That said, supreme beauty of this rare kind does sometimes force a developer to forgo the ideal of a locked framerate, and in this case, I do make limited concession, but it must be noted nevertheless. While painstakingly modeling every nook and cranny in total high-res glory can take a century, RARE didn't neglect to add the cute little details that only they have executed so well over the years. Details like water splashing on the camera after a big dive or sharp turn, or the day/night cycle (which adds a starry storybook charm) give the world a resonant vitality that brings all of the magic and wonderment to the fore with a distinct elegance.
The animation is top quality in every sense of the word. Banjo himself looks great in action, with every little detail imaginable being incorporated into his moveset. He walks, jogs, runs, jumps, balances, flips, and swims, all in degrees of necessity or preference. He even has an animation set for the times he is in idle stance. Sometimes he'll flex his arms or shake after a swim. And (as previously mentioned) on the very rare occasion that Banjo drowns or is otherwise knocked unconscious, Kazooie hilariously pops out of the blue backpack and smacks him back to health! Alongside Banjo and his sidekick Kazooie, the entire game world is brimming with expressive and often gut-busting animation. In fact, Creative Director Gregg Mayles is always finding little touches that were incorporated totally unbeknownst to him by various members of the team. And that's just how they make their games.
Indeed, where some other next-gen offerings don't hold up under the scrutiny of more discerning eyes, this game is rife with small, less obvious (but wholly appreciated) details that serve to round out the visual experience - and then some! Once again RARE proves that it's all in the details. A total cotton candy spectacle. Shameless, RARE. Absolutely shameless.
RARE is well known for its quirky and vibrant soundtracks, and Nuts & Bolts is no exception to the oddball antics of the studio's wonderfully creative music team. No, it's not Katamari crazy, but it has a care-free whimsicality to it that provides a nice contrast to the glut of sci-fi/fps clich scores currently hogging the shelves. That said, there are some darker, more menacing moments in the game that do provide opportunity for stirring, sometimes haunted musical flourishes. Each world has its very own unique loop, offering variety that some blockbusters curiously lack. There's no main theme that plays ad nauseam until you break down and import your own tracks. No. We can be thankful that RARE gives us all ample reason to crank up the volume and take in the layered and expertly crafted musicality of each and every unique world.
Sound effects are one of the high points in the sound department. This is one of those games where, for most every surface, there is a corresponding sound. So when Banjo jumps off a hill onto a plane of grass, it sounds as though he is hitting earth (or in some cases, wet earth!). This isn't a big deal, since any self-respecting team knows to include the obvious details. But I think we can all be thankful and appreciate the fact that Banjo has a different footstep sound for each foot, as opposed to the dreaded "one footstep sound" that sadly still curses some games. The sound design is so committed that, if you listen carefully, you'll hear Banjo's little grunts, moans, and strains as you go about your sometimes strenuous platforming business. He even gurgles while swimming and takes deep breaths as a result of exhaustion. Yeah, some gamers might not notice these little things, but this is the difference between "rushed" and `polished down to the last.' It is the amalgamate of little things that make the game shine so brilliantly. Vehicle noises are totally cartoony and fun, aswell. And sound differentiates contingent to a vehicle's individual design, easing fears that the great variety could have caused a dichotomy of sameness due to the game's vast array of creation variables.
The game features no voice acting in the traditional sense. Instead, Nuts & Bolts employs all manner of gibberish to tell the story and entertain players. While "proper" voice acting is so often missing in games, in Banjo it is hardly missed. In fact, I think it is a testament to the hard work and dedication of smart and funny producers at RARE that they can so effectively convey each dialogue scene by using simple intonation and inflection, without any need for traditional voice acting at all. This aspect of the sound design is fitting, and conducive to the style of humour Leigh Loveday and the team are going for with the series. In Banjo's case, little grunts, squeaks, and demented cackles say it all.
For RARE, it's been a long road to redemption in the eyes of seemingly many gamers. For me, it's a continuation of the consistency and endurance of this company in that they continue to make the products that they want to make. And because they are so talented, and so funny, and so passionate about what they do, it manifests into these magical experiences that can only be delivered by studios like RAREWARE. In a game like Banjo, you get the sense that there's a synergy of vital energetic forces at play. It's a whimsical, magical, and hopefully transcendentally universal experience that evokes nothing less than the epitome of pure wanderlust. When you get to the heart of what gaming is and what it began as, you realize that this is the culmination of every key milestone that bestowed upon us all the classic, historical experiences that would later fuel the nostalgic memories of our youth. This is one of those experiences. Bravo. | video-games_xbox |
I'm Commander "Bess" Shepard and this is the second part of my war with the Reapers. After Mass Effect 1's success, Bioware had a tough task in making a second part that would follow every actions that the players took, but also a convincing story that still had believable characters, awesome acting, excellent production design values, and an improvement over some of the first game gameplay weaknesses.
So after two and a quarter years of work, they released their work and I think it is a great job.
In this second part of the Shepard story, my Commander "Bess" Shepard dies at the hand of the Collectors, until Cerberus, a pro-human rights organization, resuscitates her, giving her a stronger and more dangerous body tn she did, and offers her a position among their crew. So as she fights the Collectors on a new and stronger space ship, while still trying to prove the Reapers' existence, Commander Shepard has to recruit her former and new comrades for her mission, rekindle or have a new romance, and reconsider life after being dead for two years.
Visually the game is sharper than ever. The character designs are awesome, and the models look closer to reality than before. As usual, you can either play a male of female Shepard,, use your Mass Effect 1 saved game to import your Shepard's actions into the second game, but you can also customize your character's face, since Shepard has died, and either give his former or new powers (ex: going from Soldier to Engineer). Even though you can decide to keep your former powers, what's awesome is that you can decide to add an extra power that one of your teammates employs, even if his work has nothing to do with yours. You just have to complete his personal quest and you can get his powers if you succeed in getting his loyalty. And you better consider it an important asset because the more loyalty you receive from your mates, the more chance you will have to find them still alive after the final mission.
About your crew, I was glad to get my former mates back like Garrus, Joker, Tali, along with new people like Thane, Samara, Mordin, Jack, Jacob, Miranda and Wrex. Of the non-playable crew, I was glad to have Joker back, but also of having EDI, an artificial intelligence in control of the ship, but whose relation with Joker gives out hilarious situations. And of the new additions, I can say that each character, whether I used one more than the other, brings out richer scenes and incidents than in the precedent game. Not only on the field, but also on the Normandy's deck. For my romance, I was happy that they finally consider other alien relationships with humans. That gave me the occasion to have a romance with Garrus, whose reactions to this new way of life makes him say funny quotes. Among some of the characters you get to interact with, you have scenes with Cerberus's boss, the Illusive Man, voiced by Martin Sheen, who gives a perfect performance. As usual, Jennifer Hale, Mark Meer, Steve Blum, Seth Green, and all the other actors give excellent performances.
The gameplay follows the RPG s-adventure part of the game, although this time it is more action oriented. As such, no more rides for you on the Mako. You get to the location the action happens on the planet right after a loading time, and you dive right into the action and story scenes. As of your character interactions, your level explorations still allow you to find new content about the places you visit, or weapons to help you fight, but your characters now move as they speak, giving them more life to their scenes. Not only that, you can also do Paragon or Renegade actions during your dialogues. For instance, if a crew member is telling you that he wants to use a dangerous weapon on the enemy, you can, if the paragon command appears on the screen, convince him to not rely on that tactic. Of course, if the opposite happens and you want a certain rag journalist to shut up, you can do so if the Renegade symbol appears. Of your spaceship explorations, you can still find resources thanks to a probe that you launch on a specific position on the planet. But be aware that it is also useful if you need to find a proper location to a side-quest if EDI catches weird signals on the planet.
For the music and sound effects, they are still as top notch as in the first game. Playing the game with a Dolby 5.1 system is essential if you want to fully experience the game's effects. For the Dowloadable Content, it is interesting enough to use it since one of them offers you to use a Bounty Hunter, while others offer you extra quests whose consequences will follow up to the start of the final game. Whose story brought a polarizing reaction from the fans this year. | video-games_xbox |
Destiny was NOT my Destiny but I wanted it to be. Before I purchased this game I was really excited for it. I played the alpha and beta of destiny on my ps4 and my xbox one. I really weighed out my options. If you want early content then the PS4 is for you. If you want friends to actually play with, get it on xbox one.
Now I liked this game and played it for over 150 hours. My issues where the following:
- most RPGS or MMOS you can drop items. Even in Diablo I can give items to my friends. Not in Destiny. You pick it up or you run the raid and it's solely yours. I can't even send my friends an item.
- you're playing as a warlock and you get a legendary engram, it's for a titan. Really?
- your "closet " or "storage" should be bigger. There's so many icons or capes and you can play as three character which all share the SAME space.
- I have seen a few glitches as well. One I encountered was when I purchased 50 special ammo packs for an exotic weapon quest. They turned into regular ammo packs. Destiny never fixed that glitch.
- only three people can be in a party to go on a mission or only 6 into the raid. Real MMORPGS have way more in a party and even MMOFPS" have more people to play online in a match.
The story doesn't make sense. If you want to understand half of what's going on you have to log onto Bungie.net . Then you will need to click on the Grimorie cards and read any you've unlocked. Yup, go online and read about the game NOT play it and it will explain itself.
The online is like Halo . Bungie didn't become to original when It went from Halo to Destiny. There was a lot of hope and I am hoping with the DLC it revives itself. The raid was the best part but you only get one. Everyone leveled extremely fast and that was it. This game needs more content and less grinding. You'll be grinding just to fully max out guns and armor with spin metal, helium or spirit bloom from the four planets. That's the worst grind but if you have time you'll be able to max everything out fast.
The online is like any online game. Skirmish, death match, etc.
All in all, it needs that DLC because MMORPGS on your computer at more content and fast. MMOFPS" usually have a lot more people to even play with in a party. Bungie needs to release more and fast! | video-games_xbox |
NBA 2Pay14's what they shudda named it. I didn't purchase this game via Amazon, I bought it from gamestop...I took it back 2 days later...in this review I will keep it real and shoot from the hip and tell you why you should NOT waste your cash on this crap 2k put out.
First off, like a lot of people are saying, the graphics are amazing. That's the only reason I gave it 2 stars.
The game play is not all thst good. For instance, if Ur going for a quick steal attempt, the player will too often "go all out", putting you out of defensive position allowing your man to blow buy you. The new controls to dribble are stupid and it's a learning curve that honestly, I didn't even have the desire to learn it. Its difficult to get used to the controls. I rate the in-game gameplay 1 star out of 5.
The in game menus are atrocious. It's confusing and it feels like somethings missing.
You can't really do anything about controlling the rosters. You can download a current roster update..but you can't save the roster, meaning you have to keep downloading the same roster every time u want the most up to date roster.
This game is geared toward spending ACTUAL money for VIRTUAL money, which is a huge turn off. You gotta pay to play. In blacktop mode, u gotta pay for LeBron to be able to select him. 250 VC buddy. And not just LeBron, every star player in the nba. U gotta fork up sum vc to unlock them. That's ridiculous. Also, the my player crap is cheesy dialogue and it's hard as hell to play a good game and earn enuff vc points to improve your player. Bottom line. This game ain't sh** and I hope 2k15 will pick up where 2k13 abd 2k12 left off cuz ima be mad if I spent 400 on the new Xbox and the games on the 360 were more fun to play. Thats wat it all cones down to. Is nba 2k14 fun? No. It's stressful. A videogame Shud NOT be making you spend your money to enjoy the real benefits of it's game modes. despite the pretty Xbox one next gen graphics, 2k14 is a HUUUUUGE step backwards I pray to the lords thst 2k15 pulls thru and picks up the slack and is actually FUN to play cuz this sh** they call nba 2Pay14 is what they sgudda named it. | video-games_xbox |
Joining the dark side - PC gamer, now Xbox 360 gamer. I have been an avid console and PC gamer for over 2 decades, but I stopped with consoles after PS1/N64. I have been PC-only for the longest time, and I even enjoy building gaming PCs. However, a new friend convinced me to join the dark side, so I bought a Xbox 360S because I have heard numerous accolades for Xbox Live as a multiplayer gaming haven.
The Xbox 360S is very easy to install to your home theater equipment. I opted to use my 24" Asus LCD monitor, which is 1080P native and has a HDMI input. The 360S works perfectly with the display, and it feels just like playing a PC game. For audio, I did not want to go the route of a full receiver and 5.1/7.1 system. I opted to go with the Turtle Beach Ear Force X41, which hooks up to the Xbox 360S's built-in optical audio link. There is a minimal number of cables running on the back of the 360S, but the included power brick is literally the size of a brick! Could Microsoft make it even bigger?
The 360S runs quietly, and you can barely hear the single venting fan. However, the disc drive is noisy. I highly recommend you "Install" the games onto the HDD or else games like Medal of Honor will cause the disc to spin constantly, creating a buzzing noise as you are trying to concentrate.
The wireless controller is standard Xbox 360 controller fare, and for PC gamers that love first person shooters, the joysticks are difficult to get used to but after a solid week of training, practice, and running drills in "The Pit" in CoD MW2, I have gotten more used to it. However, I still feel that a mouse offers slightly better precision. With the Xbox 360 controller, there is less margin of error and more reliance on your hand-eye coordination.
The Xbox 360S does run pretty warm. The intake/case temperature would read 75F (ambient) using my IR thermometer, while the exhaust vent fan area read 140F-150F. The power consumption is MINIMAL. With my office on standby mode, the UPS reads 0.027 KW. With the Xbox 360S hardware and monitor running, it is only 0.135 KW. With my gaming PC (AMD Phenom II X3, ATI Radeon HD 4870), it is easily over .250 KW.
Overall, I should have started with the Xbox 360 much earlier because the gaming experience is significantly better than on the PC. The thing they really MUST change in the future is allow the user to play the games with a mouse and keyboard, even if it is some type of standardized mouse and keyboard.
Pros: Streamlined gaming experience, runs quiet, uses little power, easy to hook up, lots of modern features (no Blu Ray like PS3, but I don't have BD DVDs)
Cons: No way to use mouse and keyboard easily for FPS games, noisy DVD drive, no way to run the Xbox Live chat wirelessly and ditch the talk back cable.
Overall: 5/5 stars | video-games_xbox |
If you liked World Cup 2006 then you will like this. I knew when this game came out i was going to get it i just didn't know when. About a week ago i bought it for full price (first game since GTA 4 that i did that)and ive been playing it ever since. Back in 2006 i got the World Cup game and it was amazing. I loved playing it, i loved competing with international teams. So this world cup game holds a special place in my heart and heres why:
1. Amazing gameplay. Absolutely improved from anything i've played before. I've been playing FIFA since 2002 and hands down the best gameplay i have seen is in this game. The only other game that rivals it is, for obvious reasons, FIFA 2010.
2. Solid Graphics. Since this game is mainly for Next Gen. consoles you get that polished look, even though EA isn't the greatest with faces it still looks fantastic. Especially when the ball his the back of the net, it sends a shiver down my spine.
3. Excellent Presentation. When you score a hard earned goal you get the trio of replays. One in particular is a sweeping crane shot from behind the pentaly box showing you your great play developing. Everytime i see it i feel like im watching my game being broadcasted. Aside from that the menu screens for any gameplay mode are greatly enhanced since '06. Only downside of the presentation is when you get to the World Cup Finals in '06 you got this cool like flashforward cut scene where as your team is standing for the national anthem you see your team in quick cut scenes playing the game in intense moments. That was something i truley missed in this edition. Other than that the celebrations are possibly the best part.
4. Ratings. In FIFA '08 there is a USA team and they are horrible. You can never beat the best teams on your first try but in this game USA is still hanging around 4 stars/79 or 78 overall average as in '08 but suprisingly enough you can actually compete and winning is not as impossible for the US as other games...that is if you are good enough.
5. Captain Your Country. Normally i get over the whole be a pro mode pretty quick but in this game it grows on you. I've made it almost to the end of qaulifying for the tournament and my created player is really really good. He's really good because the better you play in your games the more your player improves. Started at 64 OVR now is 83 OVR in about 15 games. Earning captaincy is also well done because it takes a while to earn it but when you do you definately deserve it. I have to admit that this game mode is probably the best addition of the game.
6. Problems. My only problems with the game are small except for one. This is a huge, GIGANTIC problem. YOU CANT CREATE A PLAYER UNLESS ITS IN CAPTIAN YOUR COUNTRY MODE. Now when you do create a player in captain your country mode he will be on the National pool for the team aspect of the game but you cannot alter ratings so my guy was stuck at 64 OVR...How lame. So that really upset me but you soon get over it. The other big problem is they made crappy teams play better when they are at home. Dont get me wrong i love a CPU challenge but when i beat CUBA 5-0 in the States and then tie them 0-0 in Cuba im pretty pissed. Last but not least my other tiny problem is the same for any FIFA game ever. Whenever you are tightly defended and you want to Pass/Cross/Through Ball any of the sort you have to hit a button X,Y,B,A (obviously...) The damn computer always, and by always i mean always, ALWAYS contests the ball. They could be a few yards away and you could be flying into the box and you hit B to shoot and WTF? the ball goes out for a corner you watch the replay and you notice that the CPU player slide tackled PERFECTLY behind you and tippy toed the ball out. Other than that the game is AMAZING, its already my favorite sports game ever...that and NHL 09...and NCAA 09 lol they are all pretty good but this game is the bees knees. | video-games_xbox |
Did not live up to the hype or improve on previous fight night. I've played the previous Fight Nights and they've each made improvements upon the previous ones and built upon what was successful and implemented changes which generally made sense and felt as though they were refining their fight system. However, with Fight Night Round 4 they've changed the fight dynamics to an extent where even a Fight Night veteran is easily lost wondering what the developers intended and what is the rhythm they are looking for in the ring. They claim that style makes fights in this game but honestly there is only one style that dominates and wins and that is counter-punching after slipping or performing "perfect" blocks. On one level it makes sense as you're effectively capitalizing on your opponent's mistakes and making your own opportunities but the problem is that nothing else is really effective. You can be an aggressive fighter and successfully unload 3-4-5 punch combinations round after round but you'll somehow do less damage than someone who can pull off a half dozen counter punches. In a boxing match, if you were to catch someone in the middle of his punch and counter it with a nice power shot you'd probably would do some heavy damage but in this game anything that is parried correctly leaves you open to a punch that does 5 times damage than the same punch if you pulled it off in a normal exchange. It's pretty ridiculous to parry a jab or cross and have the chance to unload some Rocky Balboa hay-maker but that's exactly what you have in FNR4.
Overall, the developers wanted to create a game that was somehow truer to the challenges you'd face as a boxer but under the restraints and controls of a videogame. Unfortunately, it didn't really work and you're left with a game wondering what the heck they were thinking when they change the game dynamics so much. I mean the previous Fight Night was perhaps less realistic but it was still ultimately a fun video game which unfortunately FNR4 is not. I'm lucky that I never came around to buying the game until Christmas 09 when it was selling for $15-20 as opposed to paying full price when it came out because it's left a bad taste as it is and I think I'm going to hang up my gloves with the Fight Night series after this one. | video-games_xbox |
The final chapter in the Halo trilogy - Loved it. So how did I feel about the final chapter of the Halo trilogy? Honestly, I loved it.
Halo3 has created a lot of hype from two camps of people: those that praise this game like it is the be all end all of video games and those that think it is utter crap. I don't usually find myself agreeing with either camp when it comes to game reviews but I have to say that this game, while not all that and a bag of chips, is NOT the piece of trash that the nay-sayers want you to think it is. I don't know what they were thinking they were going to get out of a game honestly. Note to those crying your eyes out, hype doesn't equal promises. I felt Halo3 succeeded at being enjoyable and entertaining throughout, the mark of a good game.
Now that we have that out of the way, lets get on with the review. In typical Halo fashion there is an enjoyable and unique story here if you care to actually open your eyes and ears and get immersed in it (or you can fall back on the 'it is just another alien invasion story' if you want to take the lazy way out). The final installment has you playing the role of the Master Chief as he finishes the battle to try and save the human race from the Covenant forces, who believe firing the Halo rings will take them on their "great journey", and the Flood who basically want to eat everyone - Yum, yum. More is revealed about the forerunners, the Halo technology and the history of why the Forerunners built them and did with them. Also we get to follow some recurring characters as they fulfill their role in the scheme of things.
So, if you are familiar enough with what the game is all about lets cut to the meat of the review - game play. Halo is nothing revolutionary so there. If you are the person that has to have cutting edge and fancy gimmicks to enjoy a game you can move right along and I saved you some bucks. Halo3 plays almost exactly like the original Halo (surprise!) so you won't see any new cover system added, nor new combat moves, combos, etc. What you get with Halo3 isn't a new gaming experience so much as a completion of the trilogy (again, surprise!).
A few things have been added to the game (and the assault rifle is back, thank you very much), a new weapon here and there, an old weapon retooled and a couple new vehicles. The new vehicles perform much the same way the old ones did and accomplish similar roles so they exist for flavor more than anything else. In addition to the new weapons you can now detach the stand alone turrets (the human machine gun and the Covenant plasma-gun equivalent) and carry them around if you desire. Once detached they are affected by some balancing features in the form of limited ammunition and causing the Chief to move slower. It is a fair trade. In the form of one-use items they added portable shield walls, bubble shields and a couple other "devices". They aren't essential to game play but they are nice to have on your person.
In addition to adding things to the game they also did some tuning. Despite what some are saying the graphics are great and the scenery is much more lush and detailed. The world has a more fleshed-out feel to it and it really feels like you are in the world now, instead of just moving through a level. On the topic of level design there are some really beautiful levels that enjoyed playing through a few times. The AI has been improved some so that your companions aren't helpless now and they got a crash course in the basics of driving vehicles allowing you to focus on being a passenger or gunner if you desire. This doesn't work perfectly as you'd expect though as they are not able to read your mind and drive accordingly. The non-player charachters are also more vocal and physical compared to earlier versions and they react even more to your presence and behavior - but that is still on a limited scale. The story was touched on above but I have to say again that there really is a storyline here so let yourself go and enjoy being a part of it.
As you'd expect (given that the platform is now the 360) the controls have changed just slightly. The reload is now the upper right bumper and the left bumper cycles grenade types or reloads your dual-wield weapon. Halo3 still incorporates a great dual-wield system where both weapons are controlled independently (except for aiming of course) allowing you to choose how you want to use them in combat, instead of having both blaze away when you pull the primary fire trigger.
Multiplayer also is little changed except for the inclusion of two things: Save Films and the Forge. Save Films is just what the name says, a video file you can go back and replay in any angle/zoom/speed you want. Fun. The Forge allows you to customize multiplayer maps in case you didn't like the defaults or just want to try a change. In multiplayer you also have some currency you can spend to drop items into the game (such as vehicles, weapons, items, etc.).
In the complaint department I didn't encounter anything. Sure, I could nitpick but why? At its core Halo3 is fun the way it is. It is true to the trilogy and I think fans of the original Halo will enjoy the last one. If you expected something new then I suggest you buy something new and not a repeat title like this. I do believe the game was pushed too heavily in the pre-release propaganda (all games are) and it seemed that Halo3 would go out with a bang that would set the whole trilogy on its head and that is not the case. Halo, Halo2 and Halo3 are all basically the same game. They get prettier, the storyline gets more involved and the weapon types and vehicles fluctuate but when the dust settles they aren't really different. So if you can handle a game that you've already played before in its previous incarnations then do yourself a favor and finish the trilogy, it is worth it. If you need your games to be bigger and better with every release then I suggest passing up Halo3 and learn to stop pre-ordering games because the guys behind the counter tell you they are going to be all the rage. | video-games_xbox |
Fun gameplay, lots to do, "meh" story. Assassin's Creed has become well known in the gaming scene for its large, detailed open worlds with simple-yet-addictive button mashing gameplay. The familiar white hood returns again, this time during the American Revolutionary War. But is this year's entry in the series as memorable as previous ones?
AC 3 stars Connor, a Native American who seeks revenge on the people who have destroyed his home, while also starring Desmond Miles in the present/future. I never was a big fan of Desmond's story; I always felt it was there to "pull you out" of the meat of the game. It is better than previous games (more action based, less rambling) and has some decent twists and turns, but Connor's story is significantly less memorable than Ezio's and Altier's of the previous games. While Ezio was witty, clever, and charming, and Altier was serious but likable, Connor's dialogue is flat and boring. And with a few exceptions involving Connor's tribe being destroyed, he does little to pull the player into the game's large and incredibly detailed world (which is awesome to both play in and look at). That being said, I'm a huge fan of the game's time period, and it put a smile on my face seeing Connor interact with some of the war's significant leaders and soldiers alike.
The game's signature block-then-strike gameplay returns, and it flows better than previous games, allowing you to tackle multiple attacking foes at once. The incredibly gory takedowns also return, but are MUCH more varied, and are a treat to watch. This makes the repetitive gameplay seem less so, even if most of the weapons feel the same with different animations. The naval battles in this game are better than most FULL PIRATE games (to the point they made the fourth game into one). Anyone who buys this game and skips these are SERIOUSLY missing out, because they are probably my favorite part of the game. Other side quests involve finding random chests in the woods (boring), a deep hunting system (very fun!), and building up a small town to earn you more money later on (missed opportunity here, I felt it was shallow and a chore to do). There are a LOT of things to do in this game when the main story is done putting you to sleep. The multiplayer returns from previous games, with a few new game modes to change it up. Most of these work, and it is a fun distraction from the game's lengthy single player campaign.
Fans of the series have probably bought this one, but for people looking for a fun, open world to mess around with, Assassin's Creed 3 is a good game. | video-games_xbox |
Honest Review- Love IT. Here's another honest review:
Bought this product as used, i think that single 2 star person return it, who knows BUT... (HAPPY to let you know I'm LOVING this headset, got it for $50.. thank you! as you can tell I'm a bargain buyer haha) Anyways unlike previous headset of the xbox360 version of these, I can see many great new improvements has happen to this headset.
First things first, to be ABLE to USE these headsets- you need to do a update for them. Simply follow the instructions on your Xbox screen and MUST have internet (duh!) to update, very easy and simple.
Pros:
-Surround sound
-Can whisper and fellow players can still hear me
-adjustable mic, move closer to my mouth or away.. your choice
-adjustable headset, can make it a bit smaller or bigger. BUT not for BIG heads or SMALL heads... sucks i know, you would of known if you had own the previous headset for 360
-OMG the cord connecting to the controller is short THANK YOU skullcandy for this improvement!!!... the 360 version gave me a headache with all the cables.. very long cables i might add
-Sound quality is great for myself, but it DIFFERS from PERSON to PERSON (keep that in mind)
-NO talk back feature, great for me!
-VERY comfortable, can wear for hours of gaming
-It's NOT turtlebeach, and can't believe it's NOT butter! (ha i kid myself)
Cons:
I do admit that the buttons to make either the chat louder or the game louder is a struggle, but after owning one of these before. I figure it out quickly. Mine didn't come with instructions since I got a USED headset-easy to figure it out.
Edit 3-31-15:
After owning these for a couple of months. Theses are still the best mic I own. But I notice it does drain more of my battery life on my controller. Which is not a issue for myself since I have rechargeable batteries. My battery life without use of headset is 24 hrs and with headset it's 8-10hrs. | video-games_xbox |
Live your favorite Star Wars battles. Finally, a game that never gets old! No matter how many times you replay the same map, it's different every time. There are three gametypes in Battlefront: Historical Campaign, Galactic Conquest, and Instant Action. Historical Campaign lets you play through levels as they occurred in the movies. It's kind of interesting, but short and pretty pointless. Galactic Conquest is the best, because it allows you to choose a side (Empire, Rebel Alliance, Republic, or Seperatists) and completely conquer the galaxy. You choose planets to attack, and each planet you take over gives your troops bonuses, such as additioanl reinforcements, bacta tanks, Jedi heroes, etc. Galactic Conquest can be played over and over again without ever getting old. Instant Action simply lets you play any map as any side.
When you start a battle and select a command post to spawn from, you get to choose who you want to be from 5 possible soldier types: a regular soldier, a sharpshooter, a pilot, an anti-tank soldier, or your side's special unit. Other than the special unit which is unique for each faction, soldiers, pilots, and sharpshooters are basically equal in strength, firepower, and abilities for each side (a Rebel soldier is equal to an Imperial stormtrooper, a Republic ARC trooper is evenly matched against an Assault droid, etc.).
The units in the game are:
Soldiers (Rebel soldier, Imperial stormtrooper, Republic Clone trooper, and Seperatist Super Battle Droid): The soldier is the basic infantry unit, equipped with a blaster rifle, blaster pistol, and grenades (or in the case of the SBD, a wrist blaster, a tri-shot, and rockets). While effective aginst enemy infantry, they should not be used against enemy vehicles.
Pilots: The Rebel pilot is equipped with a spreadshot blast cannon, which is very effective at close range. Imperial pilots and Droid pilots both have grenade launchers, and the Clone pilot has DN bolt caster which fires a bolt of electricity and can be charged to do more damage. All pilots regenerate the health of the vehicle they're piloting, and the fusion cutter can be used to repair vehicles, turrets, and droids. Pilots can also give ammo and health to other soldiers on the battlefield.
Anti-tank (Rebel Vanguards, Imperial Shock Troop, Republic ARC trooper, and Seperatist Assault Droid): All anti-tank soldiers are equipped with missle launchers which are used to engage enemy vehicles or groups of soldiers, and they can set traps with their land mines.
Snipers (Rebel Marksman, Imperial Scout trooper, Republic sharpshooter, and Seperatist Droid sniper): Sniper rifles are long-range and very accurate, and can take down an enemy in one or two shots. However, they fire slowly and have small magazine capacities. They are of little use at close range. Snipers are also equipped with recon droids that can quickly explore the battlefield and call in orbital strikes.
The faction-specific units are:
Wookiee Smuggler (Rebels): The smuggler has the most hit points of any unit, and is equipped with a bowcaster that can fire single shots or can be charged up to fire multiple shots at once to cover a large area. Wookiees can also plant time bombs which are nasty little surprises for the enemy.
Dark Trooper (Empire): Dark troopers have jet packs that they can use to jump across the battlefield at great speeds. Though they use up a lot of fuel for each jump, the jet pack can come in very useful when you're surrounded and need a quick getaway. The Dark troopers blast cannon fires like a shotgun, sending five shots in random directions, which is very deadly at close range.
Jet Trooper (Republic): Like the Imperial Dark trooper, the Republic's Jet trooper is equipped with a jet pack. However, the jet trooper is able to fly rather than jump, though he moves much slower. This allows the jet trooper to "hover" and move more precisely than the Dark trooper. The EMP launcher will instantly kill a droid, but it is slow to load and you cannot carry very much ammo.
Destroyer Droid (Seperatists): This is easily my favorite unit in the entire game. The Droideka can roll into a wheel to move across the ground very quickly, and when it unfolds, it has a shield generator and powerful repeating blasters. With its shield up, it is nearly invincible. A single droideka can easily withstand an onslaught of Republic soldiers, and they work even better in groups.
Once the game starts, it's non-stop destruction and mayhem. There's never a dull moment, because once you clear an area of the enemy, they're on top of you again in no time. There are hiding places, but you should only take cover to reload and get your bearings, because if you don't keep moving, the enemy will find you. Each side has about 20 units fighting at once, and 200-250 reinforcements that are used when you or your fellow soldiers die and respawn. The object of a battle is to kill all the enemy units until their reinforcements run out, or to capture all of the command posts before all of your own reinforcements are gone. It sounds pretty simple, but once you get into the middle of a battle, everything becomes chaotic and it's all you can do to simply survive. There are ten different planets to choose from (Bespin, Endor, Kamino, Geonosis, Hoth, Kashyyyk, Yavin 4, Tatooine, Naboo, and Rhen Var) and sixteen different locations to fight in. Each map is different and you must use different strategies to achieve victory. I don't have Xbox Live, but I'm sure playing online would make the game ten times better.
PROS:
-Great graphics and sound on realistic environments.
-Lots different vehicles, from Imperial AT-ATs and AT-STs to Republic AT-TEs and Seperatist Spider Walkers, as well as flying vehicles, such as TIE fighters and X-wings.
-Lots of levels on ten diverse planets.
-No two battles are ever the same, because there's no set way to win a battle: it's all up to you.
CONS:
-On certain levels, your skill and how well you fight will often have very little effect on the outcome, because the rest of your team is doing terribly. Once on the Platforms level on Bespin, I was playing as the Rebels and had 104 kills and 6 deaths, and my side still lost the match.
-The Republic is not at all evenly matched with the Seperatists. Droidekas are often nearly impossible to beat. If you play as the Republic, be prepared to have a very tough time. Likewise, if you play as the Seperatists, it's easy to win.
-It's often obvious who the winner is going to be on some maps before the game even starts. On Hoth and Rhen Var during the Galactic Civil War, the Empire has a better chance of winning because they have AT-ATs. On Rhen Var and Geonosis during the Clone Wars, the Republic has a very good chance of winning because they have AT-TEs. That's not saying that if you play those levels as the disadvantaged side you won't win; anything is possible if you employ the right strategies.
Star Wars: Battlefront is one of best Xbox games available. It will give you hours of enjoyment, and it rarely gets boring. If it's too difficult, switch it to easy mode, and if you're constantly winning and nobody can defeat you in battle, put it on hard mode to truly test your skills. This is a great game that won't come out of your Xbox for days or even weeks, and I recommend it to everyone, even if you're not a Star Wars fan. | video-games_xbox |
Solid improvement from Top Spin 3 but still has few flaws. After playing this game a lot more, I have decided to change my review from my initial impressions below.
(overall score has gone up - Fun went from 3/5 to 5/5. Yes, the game is fun. Overall is at 4/5 now
Pros -
+ Good gameplay. Much more improved than Top Spin 3. The shot timing gauges really help you understand and improve your shots with
better timing. The controls are quick and very responsive and ball placement is very good. Its good that if you a hit a shot
early, it becomes a Normal shot instead of getting awry like when you hit it too late. Thats a well implemented balance. This way
not all your shots are a miss.
+ Good shot range. Winning points feels rewarding. You can deliver power by hitting with full powerbar at right moment (perfect shot)
or you can sacrifice power for a good accurate control shot. You can place balls very well. Slices go nice and slicing through,
top spins bounce and spin fast, normal shots go as expected. Lobs are also much more better. The drop shots are tough but thats
the whole point. You nail one and it feels very worth it.
+ Very good career mode. Lots of goodies in the career mode from Special Events to minitournaments to things like photoshoots and
Yoga which give you XP
+ Presentation is terrific from the little splashy intro before tournaments to other misc. things. There's loads of polish in the game
+ Crowd is really well done. They ooh and aah and sometimes when you reach a tough shot and keep the rally going, they start murmuring
and that crescendo keeps building up till the point is won at which point they burst into rapturous applause. Really makes you feel
alive playing the game. It helps that they're not cardboard cutouts too. They seem individually rendered.
+ Keeps a good smattering of statistics - which shots used, how many serves won etc. etc. With nice Pie charts and all.
+ Player evolution is nice. I was skeptical of their points distro system but its working well balancing the stats around
+ You feel satisfied playing this game and you really feel like you're getting your $60 worth unlike say CoD or Homefront or MoH which
are really ripoffs are $60 for like $25 of game content.
Cons -
- Very few players to choose from
- No online doubles with 4 consoles
- No signature shots
- Who the hell is Eugenie Bouchard?
- AI on Hard and above are very tough. Prepare for a beating
Neutral -
: Hitting shots is not very intuitive. You have to press and hold the button and then let go at some optimal moment for a perfect shot. Easy to pick up but very hard to master. | video-games_xbox |
Buying guide for Xbox One bundles. I wanted to create a guide to help those interested in purchasing an Xbox One, since there are so many bundles, and offers change constantly. I'll attempt to keep this up to date as the bundles change. This is NOT a comparison to Playstation 4 or Wii U.
A short list of features that may interest you, shared by all Xbox Ones (more details can be found in product descriptions and Microsoft sites) -
HDMI pass through. You can hook up an HDMI device to the back of an Xbox One to view the content from that device without changing inputs or leaving the X1 interface. This allows for split screen viewing and if a cable box or the official TV tuner, you can view the channel guide, watch TV, and set recordings.
It is backwards compatible with some Xbox 360 games. This is great for those with backlogs (like me...) or those who want to revisit finished games without having another console plugged into the wall/TV. In the fall, owners of publisher approved disc or digital 360 games will be able to play them emulated on the X1. Some X1 games also include their 360 precursors with purchase for play on the X1 in case you missed them. Gears or War Ultimate Edition includes all 4 Xbox 360 Gears games and Fallout 4 includes Fallout 3, for example. List of games and other info here -[...]
It will stream content to Windows 10 devices.
Xbox Live Gold now applies to households instead of individuals; meaning that multiple accounts on the same console can have access to the same features but have differing account restrictions (I.E. parental controls). So you can let your kids play Garden Warfare online, but not Gears of War.
External USB 3.0 storage. This is great because, 1) you don't need to open the console and replace a hard disc to add storage, just plug in and the X1 will format the drive, 2) even disc-based games have compulsory installs and can be upwards of 50GB each, eating storage space quickly, 3) external drives can be spacious and cheap, and last but not least, 4) USB 3.0 is actually faster than the internal hard disc interface. This means that a game on an external drive will load faster than one on the internal drive, usually by a significant amount.
The bundles-
The current bundles include a newer controller that has a standard 3.5mm audio jack built in and output both game and chat audio through it. Legacy consoles shouldnt be expected to be widely available at the suggested price (and some I haven't included, due to their rarity at this point). You may have better luck at other outlets finding the legacy consoles (Microsoft Store, Dell, various brick-and-mortar stores). There are no functional differences. All bundles include a controller, HDMI cable, chat headset (with exceptions), and a 14 day Xbox Live Gold trial membership (paid $60/year service to play online and download the Games with Gold, a monthly rotation of full games you're free to download and keep (forever for 360 games and as long as you have Live Gold in active subscription for X1 games).
Current bundles (with rating based on what you get for the money. Star and letter ratings are intended for the suggested price listed next to the bundle, not whatever current prices are.) -
Xbox One Elite 1TB bundle. $499. Includes a console with a 1TB hybrid SSD and hard disc for quicker load times for the items you access the most and the Elite controller, which has replaceable/customizable sticks, buttons, and triggers for the professionals or tinkerers, and DOES include a chat headset with a matching black and silver color scheme. While the internal storage on this will be better than the standard HDDs in other X1s, the performance increase PROBABLY won't match external USB3.0 drives, due to the continued use of the SATA interface. There's little information about the size of the SSD partition and many hybrid drives don't allow you to choose what content is on which partition. The elite controller has been released to wide acclaim (modifiable professional controllers can easily go for twice as much), but is scarce on its own at present. If you want the best/most storage and best controller out of the box, this is the bundle for you, but you won't get any games with it. B+ rating. Please note that the bundle with two controllers does not include a second Elite controller, but a regular wireless one.
Kinect 500GB Bundle - $399. Includes 500GB console, the Kinect camera, a chat headset, controller, and three Kinect-focused game downloads: Dance Central Spotlight, Kinect Sports Rivals and Zoo Tycoon. Finally another Kinect bundle! The X1 UI is made better and more easily navigable with the Kinect, and there are fun, energetic games to be played with it. A rating. Great for those who want to move and enjoy motion and voice controls, but it has little storage. Bundle with FIFA on separate page is even better for the same price.
Holiday 1TB Bundle - $399. Includes 1TB console, Gears of War Ultimate Edition disc (as well as all 360 Gears games as downloads if you play online before the end of the year), Rare Replay disc, and Ori and the Blind Forest game download, the new controller, and doesn't appear to include a headset. A rating. Something(s) for everyone in this bundle, with 36 games included. Bundle with Forza Horizon 2 on separate page is even better for the same price.
Halo 5 Limited Edition 1TB bundle. $499. Includes custom console with Halo sounds, and custom controller, with the Halo 5 Limited Edition (steelcase, guardian figure, game download and add-on content). Why a limited edition would come without a physical game is beyond me... It may not bother some, but it will upset many. This is a higher premium than the Forza 6 bundle (charging an extra $100 for an extra $40 package). For Halo aficionados/console collectors only. C rating. Bundle with Forza Horizon 2 on separate page is a B rating.
Gears of War 500GB bundle (also in white). $349. Includes Gears of War Ultimate Edition download (as well as all 360 Gears games if you play online before the end of the year). This 500GB model includes the new controller, but does not include a headset. B+ rating. This is the most discounted bundle in sales and has many other offers with it, if you can catch them. Bundle with Forza Horizon 2 on separate page is even better for the same price.
Legacy bundles-
Fallout 4 1TB bundle - $399. Includes 1TB console, Fallout 4 game confirmed to be a disc (!), a download of the Xbox 360 version of Fallout 3, and a chat headset. B+ rating. Two open-world RPGs for grownups.
Rise of the Tomb Raider 1TB bundle - $399. Includes 1TB console, downloads of Rise of the Tomb Raider, DLC, and its predecessor, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, and doesn't appear to include a headset. Releases November 3rd. B+ rating. The Tomb Raider reboot from 2013 was pretty good and I expect the sequel is even better, but I haven't tried it yet. Great for adults who love action adventure.
Lego Movie 500GB bundle - $349. Includes 500GB console and the Lego Movie Videogame and no headset, apparently. C+ rating. Game is a cheap one and good for kids, but little value in this bundle compared to others.
FIFA and Madden 16 1TB bundles. $399. (I think these are being phased/sold out) I'm grouping these together because other than the type of football you prefer, they are the same. Both include either the latest Madden NFL or FIFA soccer game download and a year of EA access, a paid ($30/yr) service which allows Xbox One users early access to EA releases, extended demos with progress that can be saved if a full game is purchased, discounts on EA games, and free access to the Vault, currently 14 full games. Great if you like EA's games. A- for each.
Forza 6 1TB Bundle. $399. Custom Forza-inspired console with racing sounds and custom (new, with 3.5mm audio jack) controller, and download code for Forza 6 and extra content, and a chat headset. A- rating, though some may not like the custom design and sounds.
Hope you found this useful. | video-games_xbox |
Even with the constant freezing, 13 was much better. A lot of the time, a golf game is a golf game is a golf game.
I played 13, lived through the INSANE amount of freezing up, and when my friends on XBL migrated to 14, I went ahead and snagged a copy too.
Had I been smarter, I would have just waited - they are mostly back to playing 13 now, as very few can stand this new and "IMPROVED" edition.
In terms of game play, this is pretty much the same as TW13 or TW12. Not much visible innovation, and frankly I think the graphics are a step back from last years effort. It isn't that they are BAD - it just doenst do much to impress.
In terms of the infamous TW13 freezing - TW14 has come a long way. I find myself freezing only once a week on average, instead of once an hour. That part really is nice. There is still the ridiculous "DLC" course - although how they can treat stuff available on release day as DLC seems to violate the spirit of DLC. Didnt DLC used to be when the game was out, and there were still things in the pipe that just were not quite ready - so fine tune it, offer it later for a small fee. Now with "DLC" courses built right into your yearly schedule right from release day, it makes for a pretty transparent cash grab.
As many have noted the thing that is most annoying is the clubs resetting. If you have played earlier incarnations of the game, you know that as your player levels up and gets better, you unlock more / better clubs and other equipment. Well, this game likes to reset your clubs. So, say you have played some, and updated your clubs with a modestly better set. Now you are in a match, and thinking, jeez, I used to hit the ball further than this.... So you go and check, and all your clubs are back to the first set you started out with.
I wish I could say it was after a certain thing happens, or a specific sequence, but it seems to be perfectly random. I have played a few hours without it changing, and I have played a single round and had them change. A high degree of customization is NOT a feature if the game decides to just reset all you have done.
I don't know if it is an EASTER EGG or a bug, but I have also found my golfer to show up on the links in BRA AND PANTIES after I played some of the historic Masters Moments, and then later went back on XBL and played some friends. Cant think that is sposed to be a feature, but I guess some might think so...
All in all this is a pretty poor effort, and it makes me sad to see another proud franchise in decline.
I used to LOVE the Madden series, and it just got terrible. Now this. I hope they don't kill the college football next, it is about the last good thing these guys put out... | video-games_xbox |
The Hardcore RPG We Desired After Its Magnificent Predecessor. Dark Souls offers one of those gaming experiences that are hard to come by during the life-cycle of a console. For RPG lovers willing to make an effort and strive to adapt to the game's relentless enemy mechanics, Dark Souls will have an spectacularly well crafted ride that will keep you asking for more and more!
Have in mind this is not a game for everyone, mainly for people who cannot invest more than a few hours in a game and will not commit a 100% of their concentration to the game. If you're undecided I suggest to rent it first, but be warned you might end up addicted to it, if you are someone who enjoys RPGs thoroughly, and can actually bear with dying a lot more than in the average RPG/JRPG.
As a worthy spiritual followup to the highly praised and awarded <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Demon-s-Souls-Greatest-Hits/dp/B002AB7TX8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Demon's Souls Greatest Hits</a>, you are in for a special treat, due to the magically addictive vibe Dark Souls holds, in some cases you might even count the hours until you get to play again.
As a closing comment, this excellent title will remind everyone who started to play Video Games 15 or 20 years ago and considers to be a hardcore player, why we were enchanted since day one while playing games, and kept coming back for all these years. In the current Gaming market saturated with short single player experiences, Dark Souls is tremendously valuable for every single dollar you're paying.
Huge Congrats to Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team at From Software, I cannot wait to know what your creative minds will craft in the future.
By making Dark Souls a multiplatform title you're ensuring and motivating the growth of a greatly dedicated and passionate community!
The D4rth Man7iz Score is: 9.7/10
GT: D4rth T Man7iz
PSN: D4rthM4n7iz64 | video-games_xbox |
AN EXCELLENT REBOOT OF A CLASSIC GAME. It's been years since I've played the original XCOM on my 386 computer, but I still vividly remember the hours of fun I had filing my team out of our landing craft to do battle with the alien hordes.
While my memory of the specifics of the classic XCOM are a bit hazy, I can tell you that all the major elements that I remember are fully intact in XCOM: Enemy Unknown (XEU). You get to do loads of research between missions, you can scramble jets to intercept UFOs and most of all, you get to send your team all over the world in turn-based combat with the aliens in your patient quest for new technology.
Despite the similarities to the original, it is immediately apparent that a lot of thought and polish went into the development of this new game. . .
--Your teammates can go up in rank as they gain more experience. Best of all, more experience means more abilities, but even this is not linear as you are often stuck with a choice of abilities, both almost equally tempting.
--Prepare to die a lot, but the Soldier Memorial adds a nice touch and encourages you to be more careful with your strategy to prevent further losses.
--Being able to view the "anthill" of your base and excavate new areas gives you a great deal of satisfaction between missions.
--There are short load screens, but they are integrated so well that you hardly even notice them (in particular the spacecraft cinematic when you fly to or from an engagement).
--Having people at headquarters that actually talk to you reminds me a bit of the advisors in the Civilization games.
--But perhaps some of my favorite things about XEU, are the global threat alerts and council meetings. Through both of these, you really feel like you are part of a global effort to defeat the aliens, not just America vs the Aliens. As you'll soon find out, aiding other countries is crucial to getting ahead and keeping the aliens at bay.
As for negatives, I really have nothing but a nitpicking. The graphics are more practical than they are pretty. You won't be ooh-ing and aah-ing at anything, but at least you'll never mistake an alien for a pile of rubble.
One final note, although the game is rated "M", my experience (about 5-6 hours worth) has been absolute "E", minus a little animated green goo and blood. There is an option to turn off "squad language" which is where I imagine the bad language and the "M" rating lie. So parents should have no problem with having their kids play this game if it is set up properly.
In an age where some developers seem to favor style over substance, it's nice to see a game that remembers its roots. I've put hundreds of hours into "graphically bland" games like Civilization, the original XCOM and Final Fantasy Tactics. I foresee that I'll be putting quite a bit of time into this game as well. | video-games_xbox |
Fills in some conspicious gaps in 2K15's Single Player (get it while you can, this game dies online June 1st, 2016. When the "Season Pass" for WWE2K14 (a superior overall game IMHO), my short review was that it was essentially what the game should have come with from the start, or should have been free, because it was essentially just a big pack of extra characters, the majority of them being just alternate attires for existing characters already in the game. I would give 2K15 a lower overall rating than 2k14 on the 360 (don't get me started on the "next gen" versions, they are entirely different games, really), because the single player experience was far superior on the previous installment. 30 Years of Wrestlemania had so much variety, so many characters, you didn't have time to really get bored with it. 2K15 on the other hand spent a lot of time with the NXT characters that are far less well known (and ignored the women's division entirely), gave you a match against John Cena (which was far easier and less exciting than beating the Undertaker's Streak in 14). The single player between Randy Orton, CM Punk, John Cena and some other recent "WWE History" just wasn't that interesting to a more old school wrestling fan like myself. What this Season Pass does is essentially fix that problem by providing a HUGE assortment of Single Player content for 2K15 players who were sadly missing out. Again, this is what should have been included with the game or released for free, but I can understand why they charged for it, since it was like creating a brand new single player scenario instead of just recycling the same matches. The single player content already included in the game felt bare bones and hastily thrown together. So now you have classic matches with the Ultimate Warrior, more content with the (still, male-focused) NXT, and some more modern stuff like Mark Henry's career.
While 2K14 had a problem in that you had to store your DLC on a seperate disk drive in order to play people who didn't have it (a big problem that is avoided by companies like Netherrealm and Capcom who released compatibility packs for Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter IV so those without the DLC could play those who had it for free). In 2K15 they provided a work-around (finally) wherein you can select online to search for servers with or without the DLC (of course you basically need all the DLC in that case). The Season Pass doesn't include everything, it's missing for instance the "Sting" pack and the "Hogan" pack (which was removed when Hulk Hogan's private life became a public scandal thanks to Gawker; though you can still get Hogan and play with him thanks to this pack, though not the same attires). At the same time, this is a great improvement over what the original 2K15 came with. So if you're up for that, be sure to grab this so you have something to play, because the Online component of the game (including the Community Creations, which has been terrible since 2K14 ended, since you are limited to uploading 5 creations at a time and downloading 10 every 24 hours, unless you get hundreds or thousands of downloads in which you get a few more) is COMING TO AN END. That's right, 2K games officially announced on May 1st, that as of May 31st at 11:59pm PST, they are shutting down the online servers for 2K15 ON ALL PLATFORMS (even PC!). No more multiplayer on Xbox Live! or PSN, and no more downloading community creations. Like 2K14, you'll probably still be able to upload your single player high scores (Proving Ground against Cena) and get the DLC for a short period of time (before that's discontinued as well, as it was with WWE 13). So get it while you can... | video-games_xbox |
Nearly Perfect. Electronic Art's Battlefield series has long been the second place contestant in the console first person shooter market. The loyal fan base of the Call of Duty games made EA's foray into the genre a rough transition.
Over the years, however, EA and their franchise have steadily garnered praise and fans from across the video game industry. This usurping of the king was not evident upon Battlefield 3's initial release. While its numbers were good, it still failed to match the release of the latest COD. The surprise, as it turned out, would come much later in the game's life span.
With the release of their "Premium" package, EA started a heated push to steal away their competitor's fan base. Releasing engaging expansions at a cheap price, the Battlefield franchise had never looked better. The release of Battlefield 4 being just over the horizon, EA's timing could not have been better.
Battlefield 3 excels in its multiplayer mode. Setting itself apart quickly from its contemporaries was a clear strategy dating back through the long line of Battlefield and Medal of Honor titles. The focus of EA's multiplayer has always been an emphasis on team play. From its giant maps to its use of vehicles, Battlefield 3 perfected a style of play that would draw gamers back to their game time and time again. The smaller maps of their competitors essentially limited the number of unique engagements that a player might experience. With the variety available in Battlefield 3, each match feels new, and a gamer can experience amazing sequences in real time even now, years after the title's 2011 release
The areas where Battlefield lacks have been the source of general angst among its fan base, especially those that have followed the series since its earliest incarnations. Its single player has always lacked in both scope and storyline. Many fans of the series can be quoted as saying, "I play COD for the single player and Battlefield for the multiplayer." With the heavy emphasis in gaming leaning toward multiplayer in recent years, EA may have escaped the headman's axe, or perhaps they were just ahead of the curve. The single player in the series is really its only drawback, and in an industry leaning heavily toward multiplayer, that may not be such a setback.
Battlefield 3 is an amazing game for any gamer who enjoys the multiplayer experience. A small group of friends can find themselves engaged in realistic, and often breathtaking, firefights for hours on end. The leveling system is polished and progressively tempting, with just enough carrot-and-stick to keep you coming back for more. With the release of Battlefield 4 just around the corner, any gamer wishing to sharpen his skills early will find the "Premium" package an amazing deal as well. EA continues to polish a multiplayer platform that already has them taking the lead in pre-sales over their competitors for the franchise's next release. Fans of this series are in for some serious fun as EA continues to prime the Battlefield series for world domination. | video-games_xbox |
Went Off The Rails. Condemned: Criminal Origins was a beautiful and heart-pounding scary game. A game with flaws, but what it wanted to do it did so well that it was easy to over look the flaws. To be blunt, I had a blast and wanted to check out the sequel, Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
At first the game play reminds you a lot of the first. Their is a heavier emphasis on combat, which I wasn't fond of, and a much better designed forensic system. The environments are scary, the enemies are intense, and the story is straight foreword. Problems start to appear early on.
Anyone who has played Condemned knows the enemies in the first game were just homeless people who had been driven insane. The enemies for the most part were just normal people. In Condemned 2, you fight explosive dolls and a woman wearing a doll mask and holding a razor lined lolly pop in the fourth level. This is where things first begin to fracture.
Things get worse during the sixth level, where you investigate a museum. This level introduces stealth gameplay and forces you to fight a knight in a suite of armor with broad swords. The enemies in this level take too many hits and it gets repetitive trying and failing to kill a single enemy because he has armor and you don't.
Still, things still work until the next level, Black Lake Lodge. The level begins with you sneaking through a creepy cabin and being chased by a grizzly bear, all very scary. Until you get away from the bear and are told you have a new assignment. Disarm six bombs and win a shoot out with SWAT officers.
Quick, what isn't scary? Did you say gun fights? Gun fights and fetch quests? Correct! It's at this point that the gameplay changes from a claustrophobic romp through several ruined buildings and into a generic first person shooter.
(Spoiler Warning)
The worst part though comes at the end, which ends with a sequel hook for a sequel that will never be made. So yes, this is a game that starts off fun but completely loses it by the end. This isn't even a game that ends, it just stops. I recommend Condemned 2 only for fans of the first game or for people who thought FEAR wasn't quite bland enough. | video-games_xbox |
A lot of fun. I'm surprised how many official and individual reviews are luke-warm to this game. I've had a blast playing it and I still am. I agree that it is a little too short, but it's not nearly as bad as most of the adventure console games I've played. The Green Goblin missions give the game a depth of replayability that most games never do. If you grow bored with the game, you should try finding some of the cheats that are out there. SOme of them really add extra depth.
I'll agree that the camera mode can be a little frustrating sometimes. I think they've done the best they can considering the complicated movements that Spidey performs, but some of the indoor levels can be whacky with the action gets tense. Some reviewers and even the offical Xbox magazine accused some of the levels of being boring. It's true that some of the later "creeping around" levels are a little tedious, but I thought they were all interesting enough to keep me going. A little difficult maybe, but not boring.
Although they're a little grainy, a side effect of being a cross platform game I'm sure, the graphics are still excellent. The attention to detail, lighting and city scapes are absolutely incredible. The sound is good, but nothing to write home about. I will say that the Dolby Digital sound really helped create a sense of paranoia when creeping around, especially when the alarms go off. I also liked the the fact that Tobey McGuire did the voice work instead of a stand in.
What I think makes the game most succesful and satisfying for me as a player is how the developers managed to fuse all the better aspects of the movie with the comics. Since this game is based on the movie, they had to make the add-on villains a little more photo-realistic so they didn't seem out of place or goofy. The story and cinematics are top-notch and balance between interactive movie and interactive comic. The makers got it all right in this category. The web-slinging, the mid air acrobatics, the high speed action is exactly what I'd come to expect. Unlike Batman: Vengence, the Xbox's other recent multi-platform superhero game, the novelty of being Spiderman doesn't quite wear off.
I've seen the PS2 and Gamecube versions in action and they're vastly inferior. The Xbox version even has a bonus level featuring Kraven the Hunter. Even if you decide not to buy this game, it's definitely worth a rent. I can't remember the last time I played an old fashioned adventure game and enjoyed it, but I definitely enjoyed this one. | video-games_xbox |
I paid full-price for a game 60% done. I wanted so badly to love this game. I bought Crackdown a few months after its release just as the Halo 3 beta was winding down. I was out of town on an extended business trip and brought my 360 and a little flat-panel to play it on. I read in a forum about this game and how it was being overlooked due to the Halo beta invite that came with it. It was billed as a supercop game with GTA mechanics. Imagine CJ being able to jump 30 feet in the air to escape an exploding barrel while pulling off a headshot on a bad guy 200 feet away. It had over the top weapons, over the top controls and mobility and over the top cars that you could freely drive around the city. What's not to like? The only thing that bothered me was a widely held opinion that it was a minority mass-murder simulator. It kinda was, but when you're moving so fast that the bad guys are brown, yellow or white blurs you don't notice. I was having a blast, climbing buildings a killing ethinically-ambiguous asian dudes and russians and over-the-top Mexican gangsters.
Shortly after I got it, a little DLC pack came out with a couple new cars, new weapons and the "Keys to the City" game mode that practically made for a new game. I could crank my skills and abilities up to 11 and screw around with the physics and other things in the game. One of my favorite past-times was spawning a ramp truck at a certain point in the freeway where the cars get up to about 150MPH and see how many homing missiles I could hit them with before they hit the ground a quarter-mile away. Tons of fun. I never played it online, but I understand that it was an order of magnitude more fun being able to do all this crazy crap with your buddies.
Crackdown 2 came out of left field for me. Either it was a bit of a surprise to everyone or I just didn't catch it. I downloaded the demo on XBL and only lasted about 2 days before I HAD to buy the game. It had a lot of elements of the first game, but with swarming masses of zombies! Wow.
I dashed out and bought the game and flopped on the couch, ready to enjoy the good, old-fashioned storyless killing I got in the first game. After about 2 hours, it became clear that there are really only two missions in this entire game. I was a little disappointed, but hey, this was a lot like the original, right?
In some ways, yes. You still move like Superman if he wasn't able to fly. The weapons are still ridiculous and the cars are still pretty cool, but this is a confusing step BACKWARD from the first game. Some things were removed and some things were just plain broken.
The voice-over dude went from being a wise-cracking mentor to a nagging schizophrenic. You get the same introductory blurb every time you do something. Climb into the supercar? Get the supercar blurb. Accidentally kill a Peacekeeper or civilian (more on this later) and you get chided using one of the three Kill the Wrong Person Blurbs.
The cars used to do this super-awesome upgrading animation when you climbed in, depending on your vehicle skill, and they were ALL available from the get-go. Now they have to be unlocked. By the time you get the level-5 tank it's a liability. You're safer and deadlier (and sometimes faster)on-foot. Oh, they also removed a couple of Agency cars, one of which (the Truck Cab) was my favorite.
The NPC AI in this game is utterly broken. When driving, pedestrians and cops in an effort to get out of the way jump INTO your path quite frequently. If you're moving slowly, say at a walking pace, a cop will dive in front of your car and then get up, walk a couple of tight circles in front of your bumper and then dive back in front of you again. Eventually, I would start to get annoyed by this and edge forward, ever so slightly in an effor to gently move them out of the way. Hah, no go. the slightest touch of sheet metal on the body of a squishy sends them to the Great Hereafter, prompting the Voice Jerk to dress you down on how you just orphaned a family of 12 and how you will likely rot in hell for all eternity. Ok, that was an exaggeration. The end result of this is that I started to develop a cynical hatred of all squishies and regarded them more like I do an empty soda can rolling around on the road in real life. I didn't dodge them if it took the slightest effort and sometimes the crunch under my tires was pretty satisfying. Battles went much the same way. If you picked a fight with Cell or Freaks, Peacekeepers would rush in to help. All the way in. The result of this is that any explosive attack has a high likelyhood of killing Peacekeepers eager to catch grenades and missiles. Less common, but still infuriating is the tendency for them to cross your line of fire while you're unleashing a barrage of Hot Leaden Death. Your friendly kill count climbs over the threshold to the point where it is decreed that you must be shown the error of your ways, which brings me to:
Punishment. If Voice Jerk has determined that you are in need of a slapdown, he will unleash hordes of ineffectual Peacekeepers to annoy you by shooting toward you, at worst causing your shield to never fully recharge. Typically, I would ignore this until Voice Jerk thought I had learned my lesson and call off the attack kittens, hinting that he was sorry about all this and hopes you've learned something. Sometimes, if I had a bad day at work, one of these "teachable moments" would turn into a city-wide cop-killing spree where I would leave a wide swath of charred corpses and smoking, twisted Agency cars, tanks and helicopters. Seeing how long I could survive the onslaught was often more fun than the game itself.
Content was probably the thing that suffered the most. In the first game you had to beat a series of minority mini-bosses and their minions until you got to the Big Guy. It wasn't much, but it was good enough. There wasn't really a story there, but there didn't need to be. In this game, there are hints of some kind of government conspiracy that you get by collecting audio clips spread throughout the city. If, like me, you muted Voice Jerk's audio in order to actually make an attempt at enjoing the game, you wouldn't hear the clips since they are treated as the audio same audio channel. Clips continue playing when you pause the game, so if you manage to quickly bring the level up, you still missed half of it. Luckily, you can go back and play them at your leisure.
Good:
Superhero mobility
Crazy explosion chaining
Over the top weaponry
Lush artwork and a city area that seems alive
Hordes of zombies
Plenty of collectibles for the Completionists out there
Lots of achievements
Helicopters
Wingsuit
Bad:
Suicidally bad AI
Twitchy and inconsistent vehicle dynamics
A large selection of enemy vehicles with varying degrees of uselessness
Level-dependent vehicles and weapons
Helicopter-dropped ordinance and vehicles which could only be called in at very few specific locations. They're helicopters for God's sake.
No ability (that I have found) to reset the game and enjoy a second playthrough
Necessary grinding to obtain certain types of ability levels, mainly agility and driving
Ridiculously tough Renegade Orbs
2 missions
Stupid:
Rage-inducing Voice Jerk that repeats himself like a 90 year-old alzheimer's patient (in my case, this is almost bad enough to recommend that you don't buy the game)
Sniper rifles that don't zoom
Exclusion of features that already existed in the first game, i.e. Keys to the City mode
End-game mission that never shows up as complete
No ability to mute Voice Jerk and keep the rest of the non-environmental voice work intact
Bottom Line:
I know that Ruffian was only given a year to make this game. I applaud them for what they were able to accomplish, but this is a task they should never have accepted. It's unrealistic at best and business suicide at worst. I paid full price for a game that is unfinished. The unrealized potential here is saddening. The first game was a cult hit and an awesome casual shooter. This is a shameful mess that does a disservice to the original.
They do have an opportunity to make this right by the fans. The Xbox is a great platform for DLC and they should release a lot of it for free. I say "for free" because I'll be damned if I'll give them another cent until they fulfill their obligation of giving me a complete game in exchange for my hard-earned cash. | video-games_xbox |
A great heck&slash game. When initially Kojima and team developed this game, I was not sure what to expect, but as soon as xPlatinum Studio (Creators of Bayonetta, Vanquish) took over the development, I wasted no time in preordering this game. After finishing the campaign and some VR missions, this is how I would put it.
******************************Pros**************************************
-Satisfying Heck&Slash Gameplay: This is the main reason you should buy this game. If you liked Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Dante's Inferno or may be even God of War, this is the game for you. While heck&slash action is not as great as say Devil May Cry 3, it is tons of fun. Plus, the Blade Mode is unique.
-Unique Blade Mode: Yes this is what you see in trailers. Where time is frozen or very slow and Raiden is precision slicing through enemies, tanks, objects etc. At first I felt that it didn't go well with heck&slash gameplay, but in half and hour I began to love it and I especially enjoyed the creative use of it during enemies and boss fight.
-Boss Battles: I love games with good boss battles and Rising definitely has some really nice bosses. I like how each boss battle requires some strategy. You simply can't button mash your way out of it. I especially loved the high speed boss battles where you utilize combination of Raiden's ninja run, blade mode and combos. This is one reason I will be playing this game over and over and over again.
-Last Boss: WOW I just loved it. They make this guy look like a joke in the beginning but it is only after you listen to his reasoning and fight him, you realize that he deserves to be final boss in every sense. Bravo to whoever came up with the idea. I was really surprised by this and truly enjoyed this fight.
-Nicely designed unique enemies: This game surprisingly offers decent amount of different enemies ranging from weak cyborgs to large gekkos. Each requires a slightly different strategy making gameplay quite fun.
-Ninja Run: I really like the concept of ninja run in this game. Raiden running around the enemies (especially fast huge and heavily armed enemies), dodging and deflecting bullets, passing through the objects..... looks just so awesome.
-Nice graphics and great scenic locations: Graphics were better than I expected and environment are nicely designed for the most stages.
-Decent variety of upgradable weapons: The primary and secondary weapons (but not subweapons) are interesting. I especially liked the arm-poll. The fact that you can upgrade them adds RPG element to this game, making fights and gathering experience more fun.
-Zandatsu and precision right hand chops: To replenish your health, energy you need to precision cut enemies at certain points (zandatsu) and to acquire certain new upgrades you need to collect right hands of certain enemies. Both of these require precision cutting. I didn't think I would, but I actually ended up liking this.
-VR Missions and New game plus: The game itself is not that long, but you can unlock VR missions and play them adding longevity to the experience. Also new game plus mode allows you to keep weapons and experience so you can master all the weapons, acquire all the upgrades and techniques. Like it.
******************************Cons**************************************
-Identity Crisis: There was absolutely no need to keep stealth in this perfectly fine heck&slash game but I guess having Metal Gear in the name the creators decided to do so. I see no reason why a kickas* cyborg needs to hide at all. Also hiding is not the reason I purchase this game. I purchased it because I wanted to toss metal gear in the air and chop it up into millions of pieces. They should have just made this is a pure heck&slash game instead of keeping some missions stealth which are highly annoying.
-Missed opportunities: This could have been a great game if they focused the story more on Raiden or the Metal gear universe. They could have made the story so much more personal to Raiden. But instead they decided to fill the cut scenes with cheesy and lame jokes and dialogues. Such a tragedy.
-Subweapons: They are difficult to use in fast-paced combat and hurt the pace so badly. Also many of them don't make sense. A javelin does less damage to choppers than your blade. Simply remove them.
******************************Conclusion**************************************
Contrary to the cons I described the gameplay alone in this game makes it worth it. Not to mention the last boss who cracked me up. While short, it had variety of enemies and fun bosses. This really adds to replayability of this game and worth a purchase. If you like DMC, Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta etc. do yourself a favor and give this a shot. | video-games_xbox |
Do not buy. They WILL break. (Updated 2-7-13. Allow me to reiterate my review title again:
DO. NOT. BUY. They WILL break.
I am very gentle with my headsets these days - I accidentally yanked a few cords and dropped a few on the ground a little too hard over the years, so now, I very carefully arrange the wires so that I won't accidentally pull on them, and I leave them on a table top at eye level so that there's no dropping involved when I take them off. I squeeze my head into the things so that I don't have to pull the earcups too far apart to get them on.
Let's start with that one. That was the reason for my latest (and 3rd) warranty return. I have a slightly larger than average head, so I put the headband extenders at half or 2/3 of their maximum setting. After one week, the right side extender snapped in half as I was putting them on. I was stubborn about sending it in for a 3rd replacement, so I just decided to tape it and ignore. The very next day, the left side extender snapped in half too. Returned.
I should have known these would be a problem long before that, though. My first return involved the left speaker going out, 3 or 4 months after purchase. It was something to do with the wires as they connected with the headset.
Within two weeks I got a replacement, so Turtle Beach gets some points for a faster-than-most turn around. However, the replacement developed problems of its own. Everyone I spoke to through Ventrilo and Skype said my voice would sometimes turn to static. Eventually I figured out that this was due to a wiring problem where the connectors on the headset meet, when my mic went out completely and the static problem evolved into static that I could hear myself through the headset. I could sometimes get functionality back by wiggling that part of the wire, but this was yet another return. The wiring and the solder on these things are abysmal.
Here's the real reason I bothered to sit down and write this review: My 1 year warranty just expired three weeks ago, and these things are broken for the 4th time. If I had sent them back immediately every time one started to develop a problem, rather than trying to fix them myself or deal with it as long as possible, I'd probably have been on replacement #6 or 7 by the time the warranty ran out.
Don't spend $80 on a headset that has the worst construction of any headset you'll ever wear. You might be me and think these other negative reviews are from kids who like to throw their toys around and that you'll NEVER have these problems, being a very gentle and caring electronics consumer. It happened to me too. If you buy them, they WILL break. Repeatedly. You will spend more on the envelopes, the postage and gas to get to where you buy all those things in order to return it, than you ever spent on the headset.
My recommendation? Take that saved gas money and buy a better headset. Or hell, buy yourself a $10 piece of crap from Wal-Mart. It'll last longer.
UPDATE: Turtle Beach's support was very kind and offered me one last RMA even though my warranty was up. For that, they gained back a few points in my book.
BUT, they promptly lost those points when the right side speaker fizzled out 2 days after I received the replacement. It's not broken, but it's very noticeably quieter on the right side 'Front' speaker. Reaction from wiggling the cord tells me that yep, it's another wiring problem right where the cord meets the volume control box. | video-games_xbox |
Dr. Muto Lands on the X-Box. Nowadays platformers are a dime a dozen. Some good, some not so good. But what so many of today's platformers are severely lacking in is innovation. Thankfully Dr. Muto finally breaks that curse and introduces the world to one of the weirdest, yet most engaging platformers to date. Most recent platformers are basically ...of Crash Bandicoot. It seems so many development companies are searching for their next cool mascot and seem to be forgetting about building a great game to host their new creation. It's so nice to see a company actually get creative instead of rehashing what's already been done before.
In Dr. Muto you take on the role of the good doctor and your goal is basically to rebuild your home planet after you mistakenly blew it to bits. But in order to accomplish this task you must morph into various creatures including a spider, horsefly, gorilla, and many other hilarious life forms. Sounds simple right? Well guess again. Dr. Muto is one of the most challenging action/platformers to come out in some time.
The graphics in Dr. Muto are really actually good. Don't expect the cartoony look of most of today's games, instead Muto has a real dark and dank look to it. I've played the demo's of both the PS2 and Gamecube versions and the X-Box version is by far and away the best looking of the bunch.
The music and sound effects in Dr. Muto are also fairly good. Nothing to write home about or plug in the stereo system but good nonetheless. I especially liked the voice acting. Some of the best I've heard in quite a long time.
The gameplay is where Dr. Muto really shines. Being able to morph into different forms and take on the abilities of those lifeforms is where the game really begins to take on a look and feel of its own. I especially loved the levels using the spider and it's climbing abilities. You can tell that Midway really put a lot of time and thought into the level designs using the morphing abilities. Finally a platformer with some uniqueness to it.
I wouldn't reccomend this game for really young children as it's a fairly difficult game. Some of the dialog is also probably not terribly suitable for younger kids. Midway obviously geared this game for the 18-35 demographic. As far as replay value goes, it takes a long time just to beat the game but trying to perfect the game will take longer than most people will stay into this game. If you are looking for something new and innovative for a change, pick up Dr. Muto. All three versions of the game are good but the X-Box is better in just about every category. It's just what the doctor ordered! (Sorry I couldn't resist! : ) | video-games_xbox |
Familiar Territory. The turn-based RPG has been languishing for a long time, and fans of the genre will not be disappointed in Lost Odyssey. The game is an X-Box exclusive, but developed by Mistwalker and headed up by Hironobu Sakaguchi, who created the original Final Fantasy games. The result is that Lost Odyssey is extremely familiar - almost to the point of being derivative - of those golden games.
Lost Odyssey follows the 1001th year of Kaim, an immortal who's fighting to regain 1000 years of lost memories. Along the way he meets other immortals in the same situation and mortals who have been caught up in the immortal lives. Early on you discover that there's a mastermind behind the immortals' missing memories, and you pursue that mastermind for answers and revenge.
Lost Odyssey features 4 disks - 4! This isn't just graphics overload, there is a lot of story and content to go through in the game. The visuals are stunning, as to be expected, but you really need a high-def TV to appreciate them. I have a 32' TV, but it's not high-def, and I can barely read the menus or pick out pots and treasure chests in the landscape. All of the character designs are beautiful, apart from Kaim's, who has an annoying strand of hair in front of his face that I would love to take some scissors to. Kaim's 1000 years of history leave the doors wide open for writers, who oblige us with memorable short stories in text-only "dream" sequences. I actually found the English voice acting and script more engaging and suitable for the characters than the Japanese voice acting cast and writing. The orchestral score is top-notch, and very reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII and Radiata Stories (Nobuo Uematsu wrote music for both Lost Odyssey and Final Fantasy VII).
The gameplay features some new ideas. Your active party consists of 5 players arranged in a front and back row. The front row's hit points determine the "Guard Condition" of the party, or how much damage reduction is available for the back row. The enemies also have this advantage, so your tactics must be planned accordingly.
Immortals can learn new skills from mortals and accessories. Mortals only gain new skills based on level. It's very addictive to build skills for your immortals this way. You accumulate new skills quickly, and there's no limit to how many skills you can learn - just how many you can equip. Theoretically, your immortals can learn every skill in the game.
Parts for enhancement rings are scattered across the world. Ring crafting is the sole crafting mechanic in the game. Recipes for enhancement rings are automatically unlocked as you collect the required components. Equipping enhancement rings will give your melee characters the ability to apply status effects, increased damage types, and other effects. The ring system gives your character an additional action to time while attacking - you must hold down the right trigger as an outer ring contracts onto an inner ring, and release the trigger as both rings overlap. The better you are at this, the more effect your equipped ring will have.
Though there are some unique aspects to the gameplay, there are many turn-based RPG conventions that are used in the game, including all of the annoying conventions you hoped were dead and gone forever.
You only have 3 of the maximum 5 characters for most of the first disk, and the pattern-style boss fights are incredibly difficult and unbalanced when compared to the monsters you fight before each boss. I suspect that they specifically designed the game with the assumption that every player would have a game guide, and still want to make the game challenging for those players. The result is that the early boss fights are only conquered through perfect tactics and dumb luck. The game doesn't become enjoyable until you obtain at least 5 characters. No game should ever have a trial period that lasts 1/4 of the game.
There are plenty of in-area annoyances, including gathering, block-moving, guard-capture and maze puzzles - most of these are in areas that include random monster encounters. At one point in the game, there's a funeral, which is completed with three minigames. How tasteless.
The turn-based system and skill system leave much to be desired. You must enter all of your actions at the beginning of the turn, so they may be completely invalidated by enemy actions intermixed with your own, and there's not a lot you can do to plan for this or predict when your turn will complete relative to an enemy's. There is a big discrepancy in mana cost vs. effect for spells - you're usually better off using the lowest-ranked spells for maximum effect, since the higher-ranked spells are so expensive and only slightly more effective. The ring system is also a little ineffectual. As with most classic RPGs, status ailments still have a tiny percentage of being applied to enemies. (But enemies seem to have no problem hitting you with them all the time.)
Annoyances like this are tolerated for our favorite turn-based RPGs because we're rewarded with amazing story and character development. Lost Odyssey's commercials may feature "White Rabbit," but there's not a lot that's surreal or dark about this game. The immortals initially suffer from one-dimensional personalities due to their lack of memories, and it takes quite a while for us to sympathize with them. The dream sequences are hit-or-miss: a lot of them read like drippy, mediocre fan fiction, but some of them are quite moving. The characters are mostly adults, which is refreshing - no more rites of passage or whiny teenagers with identity crises. But many of the characters often fall into the RPG character paradigms - spunky thief girl, strong silent tank man, jerky sidekick type, a naive princess on her first adventure.
Apart from its flaws, Lost Odyssey is an artful, decent game. It takes a long while to get started, but you will be emotionally involved in the story and engaged with the few new gameplay mechanics. But if you're a fan of the genre, chances are you will play this game and be nostalgic for older releases that do the same thing, but better. | video-games_xbox |
Worth the price. This gaming headset for xbox ones come with the audio controller, removable mic, bass boost, and usb cord. It also works as a normal headset for listening to music, but at this price, there are much better sounding headphones if you don't want the gaming ability. The bass is rich and the highs are sharps, but it is not top tier.
Include in the in game controls and mic, this gaming headset is well worth the price. It's in the middle range, in terms of price, but it feels very durable and it performs its job perfectly.
Some gripes is that the microphone is hard to remove once it's in, so don't expect to repeatedly take it on and off, or I'm afraid that it might break, because it fits in there really snug. The microphone can't really be adjusted, like rotated at the base, but you can bring it closer or farther because it is the rigid, but bendy type.
The headset cable is on the short side, it's slightly shorter than the average length of normal headsers and I wish that it was longer. It's perfect length for attaching it to the controller but for other listening purposes, it is a bit on the short side.
They are quite light, especially in comparison to normal nongaming headsets, but you can feel that you are wearing them. I wear glasses and I had no trouble with these interrfing with my glasses. They are comfortable around the ears, and they don't make my ears feel suffocated. They are not sound proof, but with the sound or music on, it blocks out ambient sounds, but you can still hear if someone is talking to you really loudly. Wearing it on just one ear is comfortable too.
Do note that the microphone does not work if the headset is plugged into an iphone. I haven't checked its comparabilities with non xbox devices, but the mic does not work on the iphone 5s with ios7. Also, I can't get the microphone to work when it is plugged into the PC so that is another downside unless there is some way to make the computer recognize the microphone. | video-games_xbox |
Really nice except for some things. This is more a teaching system than a game, and while it might not be as flexible or as much fun as the other choice, it's a better game to learn an actual stringed electric guitar on. More than the only other comparison on a console. Rocksmith is less expensive, even on a PC really, just the cost of the game if you already have a guitar with 1/4" output. (And for those of you buying used, watch out, that game cost includes a $30 cable that comes with the full $45 game,.) Biggest deal for many, you can actually play this on a real bass guitar instead of the limited emulation of the other game. Although if you don't have a bass guitar and don't want to spend $80 to $120 (or what have you) for one, Rocksmith does also have an emulation mode. Why anyone would want to do so for any length of time, who knows; it's like trying to play the guitar parts on a bass guitar.
It's a great game, that's for sure. I suggest it to anyone that would like to see what playing is actually about and wishes to do so on a console. It's essentially all there is to choose from. Which is perhaps some of the problem with its issues, if you're not on a PC, it's really all there is. Yes, there is sort of one alternative. Not that it's really the same thing, but Rockband 3 can help you practice, and has more songs in-game, even though it won't teach you much of anything as you go along. But for that game, for an actual guitar, it will run you some $400 to $500 for what's essentially a used MIDI-enabled guitar that would be about ~$125 new if it didn't have MIDI -- although for a MIDI guitar, some $400 or so is almost a bargain. Yet you still don't get to choose the instrument (unless it's one of the two psuedo-guitars) and you're muted and there's no real training and there's only a pretend bass option. Rocksmith isn't fully the same thing, but it wins none the less.
Not that everything is perfect, far from it. The load times are an issue, but what I found most lacking was the programming or game testing or both. It seems nobody that programmed it tested it, and whoever played it either wasn't a beginner or didn't play it very long. Such as, the arcade games are fun and worthwhile, but go from almost too easy to insanely difficult, with no way to start over at a less challenging level and have it get to YOU FAIL with sometimes astonishing speed. (Sometimes the detection is a bit wonky also, which on many of the games is a killer.) Song choosing is non-sortable and tedious even with the speedy letter scroll feature, riff repeater is ponderous and non-smooth in re-choosing and playing other parts or other songs. There's a way to change the mastery level in songs here and there, but seemingly no real speed sort of choice. I didn't see a way to do the entire songs in one of the riff repeater modes, just sections of the song. Whole song is just like practice. Mastery level automatically going along is a very nice touch, even though as a player you're not much aware that the super-difficult part you just stumbled through is only 60% of what's really there. That's easy to check some places what level of the full song you're doing using the slider, but it's not outwardly obvious in most screens where you are.
Probably the biggest "what were they thinking, why didn't they test how annoying this is?" is the tuning. Before every song, riff practice, game, over and over, you are checking your tuning. It's important to be in tune, but every single new thing, even when replaying? Especially for the bass guitar, which doesn't detune itself all that often. But even for guitar, over and over, all the time, waiting, playing the strings over and over; are they in tune, the fate of the world depends upon it I suppose. There's a couple other annoying things in there too that grate on your nerves after playing for a while. It's constantly telling you it's amplifying the instrument and to check your tone; well you can hear it unless you're not touching the guitar or bass guitar at all, and they're in menus where it doesn't matter. Then there's the message at the top when you're tuning. The one "reminding you" not to use the other instrument you're not using. "Hey, you, on the bass guitar, make sure it's not a six-string one, hey, you!!" Of course, when they're tracking the sound, tuning open strings (or even held ones) between a guitar and bass guitar should be extra obvious and extra easy to check for. They're not often even in the same octave between the two instruments after all. It's like they think a user will unplug the one they're playing and plug in the other in the middle of one of the overly frequent checking of the tuning. Over and over.
It's just a number of badly-tested or non-tested user-unfriendly aspects that stop this from being five stars, but it's in many ways training-wise all their is, and it could have been much worse. It's a lot of fun too, even though it's frequently frustrating. But that's part of its charm. | video-games_xbox |
I would say that you can buy three or four other really good and enjoyable LEGO games for less than the price . The flaws in this game are myriad in number. The most prominent is that you can pay $100 and not be able to come close to completion. You only get three characters and you cannot even complete ANY of the free play with these characters. All you get is story mode, three miserable adventure worlds, and only three red bricks. This games is not even really that much bigger than all the other Lego games that have come out in the past 3 years, and I have played all of the them so I know what I'm talking about. The worlds on Lego Dimensions are so small that Minas Tirith is only about fifty feet away from Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings world! To those who are wondering if they should buy this game, I would say that you can buy three or four other really good and enjoyable LEGO games for less than the price of this partial game. Lego Batman 2 has a Gotham City free world which is much larger than any world than this game has. The Middle-Earth of Lego The Lord of the Rings is at least three times bigger than this game's version. Lego Marvel has a large free world New York and in Lego Batman 3 you can visit all of the Lantern Worlds. Furthermore, in all of these games, you can buy all of the characters, complete all of the free play, collect all of the gold bricks and red bricks, and complete the game to 100%. The best part is that you can buy all of this for less than what Lego is now charging for one INCOMPLETE game. People have said that this game is worth $100 and more , but I would say that several complete Lego games that are still perfectly fun, entertaining, and valid are worth FAR FAR more. I would spare anyone the expense of this game in favor something cheaper and just as lastingly good.
A flaw that I see in the Starter Pack is that legos come with it. The legos alone that are involved send the price out the roof. At least with other games you could choose whether or not to buy corresponding legos, and if did want to then you could pick and choose which ones to buy in relation to how much money you could afford to spend at the time. I am not against the legos that come with this game. I just don't think you should have to pay the extra expense just to receive the game. The old system of buying legos and Lego games separately is better and definitely a lot cheaper.
When someone completes this game to 100%, please comment on how much it costed to do so.
For further entertainment, check out the older LEGO games that came out on the Xbox 360 like LEGO Indiana Jones, LEGO Batman, and LEGO Star Wars the Complete Saga. Although these games do not have open worlds, flight, and other things that the newer games have, it is their simplicity and fun that made LEGO games popular. They cost about $20 each. | video-games_xbox |
Too Human = Too Crappy. What an amazingly crappy game. There is so much wrong and frustrating about this game, that I don't even know where to start. How do you push a game from release several times over and still release a stinker such as Too Human? I'm sorry, but the team over to Microsoft Games took one from the page of the makers of Alone in the Dark over to Atari with Too Human.
Graphics: Subpar at best. PS1 at its worst. For whatever reason, when you venture into Cyberspace, the graphics take a jump through time, back into the 1980's with flat grounds and environments. Why doesn't the water move?
Controls: Okay, however I can't tell you how many times I started swinging my weapon around while trying to adjust the annoying camera with the right analog stick. Another page from Atari's Alone in the Dark? Why on earth did they do this? You have two other buttons that aren't even used! Arghh! Frustrating. Swinging your weapon with the right analog stick is absolutely miserable and single-handly takes away any "fun" that the combat has to offer.
Note to game makers: Halo's controls were great and spot on. Follow what works, and has been tested.
Gameplay: OMG! Repetative! The same enemies over and over and over again, with the occassional new one thrown in to say that they atleast tried to spice the game up. Just wait until you try and target a floating enemy with a gun while 900 unkillable enimies flatten you in two seconds. Oh, and don't get me started on the Valkiyre cutscene everytime you die.
Speaking of dying, although you don't have to restart the entire level when your character perishes, you'll soon wish you did, if that meant you could skip the annoying Valiyre cutscene. What were they thinking? Did they want to punish the player for spending $[...]?
Final thought:
This games is a renter at best, but if you want to buy it, wait a few weeks, it'll be in the bargain bin by then.
I will never understand what posses compainies to release complete piles of crap like Too Human or Alone in the Dark. I'd rather have the game scrapped completely, and be dissappointed but still have my $[...].
In the end it's your choice, but if you're on the edge about this game, then rent it first! | video-games_xbox |
Decent. Good for casual, not the best for serious gamers. Bought this years ago to game on my Xbox. For the 360 it worked great. Pretty comfortable to wear and had the ability to control the voice volume and the game volume separately. Not a feature you see for a headset of this price. Although for the Xbox one that setting didn't work for me and I could only control mic AND game volume with one knob. Not sure if I just didn't install something correctly or if that's an issue with this thing. Also my friend would say he could hear my buttons/joystick clicking which he found annoying.
For PC I probably wouldn't recommend this. It picks up the sound everywhere around because of the mic design, so my keyboard clicks can be heard if I have my mic activated openly during a game. Also, since it's USB powered, it plugs into the computer and because of the design of the headset, it actually will pick up some sounds/feedback from the machine itself. It "thinks" that some sounds on the PC are actually supposed to be projected into the microphone. Even if you mute the mic, because of the USB plug, some sounds will actually be sent to the mic, so it will be like you are projecting those sounds through your mic to the other players. I alleviated this problem by plugging the USB portion of the headset into a separate outlet with a USB plug. It's for power only so you don't need it actually plugged into a computer USB, any USB is fine.
I think for a more casual gamer who just wants a cheaper headset but still get an immersive gaming experience, it would be great. For a more serious console player or PC gamer, especially one who likes to communicate and play well, you might be better off going for something else. But if you are fine with the issues I presented, or are willing to press a button to chat on PC every time you want to, sacrificing a hotkey, go for it. It's good quality sound, just a few issues with the design that I don't like. | video-games_xbox |
It's fun, but still needs some work. Sega Sports is gone, so now we have Visual Concepts (their old sports devloper) working with "2K Games and developer Kush." Visual Concepts can just focus on baseball thanks to E.A. swiping their greedy hands on the NFL license. But hold on to yourselves, this will be the only baseball game on XBOX for years. Unless Microsoft decides to step back on to the bandwagon, with no more E.A. MVP Baseball after this year, I think they should consider it.
Anyway, now we got Visual Concepts and Kush games with the hold of the MLB license and E.A. will have no more baseball. Sega Sports is gone, but we still got baseball from Visual Concepts. MLB 2K5 is Visual Concepts first game without Sega by their side. I have to say, as a whole, this game is whole heartedly worth spending 20 dollars on but I'll say to you it's not the best baseball game this year. MLB 2006 on the PS2 I feel is the best game this year. MVP is a close 2nd and here we have 2K5 in a close 3rd. I think 2K5 plays so much better as an online experience as Visual Concepts has proved year after year so keep that in mind when buying.
What to expect:
The big change this year is the batting and pitching aspect. No longer is the "aim and pitch routine". The game now requires you to line up 2 cursors, much like a free throw routine in the old NBA Live Series. You have to line up 2 targets in a cross hair, the closer you are, the more accurate the pitch. As a pitcher gets tired, the cursors move faster, thus making it harder to launch and accurate pitch. It works well, and feels great, and is a good fresh change from the norm. If you don't like it, I believe it can be toggled off in the options screen so you can play it the old way. Batting still has a cursor, but before the pitch, the batter "on a bad pitch" has the ability to guess the location of the throw. If you guess the diretion, you'll douse the pitcher with a hit or even a home run. The guessing game feature is quite simplistic, but freshens up the game in my opinion.
Custom soundtracks, while not as important to some, is a welcome addition for baseball. Not only can you apply your custom music to the stadium atmopshere, whether it'd be playing between pitches, between innings, after a big hit or great catch, you and customize a music tune for each of your players as they come to bat. How cool is that? Get your big gun guys pumped up with a flurry of AC/DC or Eminem or what ever trips your trigger! I wouldn't reccommend playing the barney theme song though, might not pump you up as much. But the custom soundtracks is a big plus considering E.A. still refuses to offer it in their sports games.
The graphics look good in 2k5,but I think MVP and MLB 2006 has it beat overall. Animations are choppy at times and I thought even last year the animations looked a bit more fluid and smooth. I just didnt' have as much fielding,it felt, well not as fun as MVP. I still wish the other baseball games would take after E.A. and use that throwing meter, I like the ability to control the power of my throws, but you don't have that option in 2K5. But great looking players, batting stances, and (potentially) fluid gameplay is doused by average animations while fielding. But it's not to the point where it's bad and hurts the game, it's just not as good as MVP and I expect more from Visual Concepts. One fresh I feature added is the "control the runner" behind the base. When you have a batter up and a man on base, you can take control of the runner and let the batter work on his own. It really gives the game from freshness. It really makes you feel in control of your baserunner and I felt it easier to steal bases.
The players faces look better in MVP, but 2K5 still gets the job done. Batting is still a blast. I really think it's fun to go up against a pitcher and it feels like baseball. Some people don't like the 2 button interface for batting, there is normal, and power swings. Some like it, some don't. I like the ability to slam one out every time, but I think it balances it out because if you use the powerswing too much, it's much easier to strike out when you're using your power swing.
Visual Concept added the "Slam Zone this year". This allows your batter to have a chance to guess where the ball might go after the pitcher chooses his target. The screen goes into a closeup battle between pitcher and batter and the game goes into a Matrixesque mode and slows down into slow motion and zooms in on the ball from the pitchers hand. During this short 5 second outing, the batter and pitcher have to tap at the button continuously during the slam mode as fast as they can to gain power for both the batter and pitcher, when the ball reaches the plate, take your shot. Whoever wins the battle will have a better chance at having a positive and if you tap out the pitcher enough, expect a big hit. Sounds confusing, but it's quite easy to get into and can be toggled on or off in the option screen. It usually will only happen when the pitcher disrupts a pitch or throws wildly, so don't expect it much.
Fielding seems to work fine with the exception of the breakups in animations. It still is a great playing game and I really love baseball, so for 19.99, really, what is not to like?
Custom soundtracks, good graphics, (including sweet looking stadiums, great player models and faces), good sound, good gameplay and good game overall is a bit put down by average animations that should have been better. If you only want to spend 20 smacks, 2k5 is the way to go. Online is great too, so keep that in mind when you pick one or "both" baseball games this year. Both are great in their own right. | video-games_xbox |
Great offer! Go for it. I was gonna give this product a five star but didn't due to the misleading Package Tracking from amazon. It said there that my product was Shipping right the next day after I purchased it. I was very happy with the service and after another two days, I called Aramex and asked them after giving my shipment number the status, they said that it had not yet left. I was like..... Whaa? What's she saying man? Again in Amazon it said shipping. I am a little dissapointed with this. Overall the deal was really good and an Xbox with 5 Arcade + 2 Games us a great deal for 269 Dollars. I'll update when I get the product. My suggestion is if they have it in stock get it now!!!
3 Days Later:
I had to change my review from 4 star to 5 star, because now again I called Aramex and found that it would come by 3 Days Later! I don't know if Amazon Read my review but certainly a lot has changed since my Previous Write of this review. Again, this is the best deal out there for an Xbox 360 Slim. Please go for it people ignore PS3 as it is just nothing. PS3 move even is just for moving hands and here Kinect is for the whole body. Try Kinect Adventures or Yourshape Fitness Evolved. Its Generations ahead than PS3.
Recommended games with this:
1: (Racing)- Forza Horizon. (Way better than the average NFS)
2: (Stealth)- Assassin's Creed 3.
3: (Action-Weapons)- Gears of War 3.
4: (Action-Combat)- Fable: The Journey.
5: (Just Shoot em' up)- Halo 4.
Im updating the review as promised. First of all the packing was in an Okay condition. I got my product 3 days earlier. I live in India so we have 230 Volt plugs. The Xbox had a 100-127 Volt Adapter. I had to get a Voltage converter to use my product and im absolutely satisfied with it. This is no doubt, the BEST gaming console out there. Ignore PS3 or a Wii. However Amazon can you tell me if and how I can get a 3-Month Xbox Live subscription as an Indian citizen? | video-games_xbox |
Fantastic open world, lukewarm game. Watch Dogs came front-loaded with a TON of hype, but thankfully I avoided most of it and was able to come into this game with few preconceived notions. All I knew is that this was to be a futuristic open world game in which hacking your way through the world's various security and intelligence systems was a genre-changing mechanic.
Well, the revolution isn't quite as explosive as you may have expected.
What Watch Dogs gets right it gets VERY right. UBI Soft created a fantastic open world with lots to do, a load of side missions and distractions ala Assassin's Creed, and fairly smooth controls. Think of it as a merging of Assassin's Creed and GTA and you'll have a solid idea of what kind of world this is and what the gameplay is like.
Plus, kudos to them for pushing ahead with a new property that is ostensibly rooted in a new game mechanic, i.e. the hacking. It's a novel idea that has some great potential.
Unfortunately, the game itself is far too repetitive and shallow for this to be the game-changer some thought it would be. The same old chases as any other open world GTA-style game with only minor twists does not a revolution make. The hacking mechanic only adds minor interest, too. There just isn't a lot to DO with it. Seeing the personal details of the world's people is interesting for about five minutes. Being able to do things like hack street lights is a good twist on things, but that gets repetitive, too. And the mechanic is just automatic (press X to hack whatever), making it NOT fun.
The story is solid and deals with some weighty issues, but it's not going to blow your mind with its twists and turns, nor with its social commentary. It gives you something to focus on while you play, and little more.
Still, it's fun to romp around the world and explore its nooks and crannies, and it's easy to see that the hacking mechanic has a lot of unrealized potential.
Overall this is solid game that will appeal to open world game fans, and UBI Soft deserves credit for trying to mix things up, but I can't help but feel that we won't REALLY see what Watch Dogs can be until the inevitable sequel. | video-games_xbox |
Review from a hardcore gamer - AWESOME, Different Kind of addiction. I'm a very competitive individual. I played Battlefield 3, Black Ops 2, Assassin's Creed Series, Fable 2, Forza 3, Uncharted 1 and 2, Dishonored... etc. Mostly all games that got good scores. But most of the time, I spend my time on Online shooting games. Online shooting games are very addicting but frustrate the hell out of me. No matter how good you are in shooting games, there would always be frequent times where you get pissed and angry. Whether it's technical issue like online lag, glitches, bad net node, bullet lag, ping issue or you just suck during that time, these games create some sort of inner anger/rage and stress which sometimes conclude to a rage quit or a broken controller or TV. Fortunately for me, I never got to the point where I broke any of my equipments because of these rage. Regardless, of how addicting these games are, they always leave you with this unsatisfying anger or stress time to time.
That's when I got Rayman. This games makes me feel like a kid again. It's an old school 2D game but modernize. This is one of the games that got me addicted but put a smile in my face at all times. It's for everyone. Whether playing alone or playing with friends, this will get you addicted and challenge you but at the same time makes you relax which creates a different kind of fun. An actual PURE FUN.
Gameplay:
One of the best 2D platformer control. You run using RT and use analog stick to move your direction of your character and direction of your attack. You can jump by pressing A and B to attack. But with these few buttons Rayman can do a lot of things. Unlike Mario where you just stomp your enemies. Rayman can do a lot of things not just stomping his enemies. He can punch, side kick, spin run punch, jump kick, charge punch, down smash, uppercut, kart wheel, Indiana Jones dive and much more. But at the same time they are easy to do. On top of that, the controls are very very responsive and natural. It feels like your hand is Rayman itself. You go to different worlds and themes from gorgeous jungle region to icy or even fiery levels. There are a lot of varieties in the world. You fight creatures and Bosses and encounter creative platform designs by either yourself or up to 3 of your friend can join you LOCALLY. Any of your buddy can easily hop in the game by pressing start. You and your friends can even change your characters. This game is so much fun and friendly entertaining. But no matter how friendly this game is, this will challenge you. The levels will eventually get from easy and fun to fun epicly hard. No matter how hard this game can be, it will never anger you like most games do. The control is so tight and the platform levels are well designed that it won't give you that frustrating or cheap death. The controls are spot on. Also for coop gameplay, don't be afraid for bringing any of your noob friends to the game because it won't hinder you. In fact, it actually might help you. Because even if you buddy died, he will turn into a bubble where he can float and touch you. When he touches you or punch his floating bubble body, he comes back to the game! If you then died, your buddy can act as an extra life where you can then touch him. Speaking of extra life, you have unlimited number of tries. There are no game over, or restart the level. There are checkpoints. So your buddy will always have fun while you also have fun. But regardless of that extra help, this game will still CHALLENGE you.
Presentation
BEAUTIFUL. This game is so beautiful that it made me sing this one song from One Direction band. No homo. I'm telling you, this is the most alive platform game I ever seen. Each characters express humorous emotions and the environment...wow. They're gorgeous. Whoever is the artist(s) of the levels should receive some huge bonus. Because everything seems so right and eye candy. The animation as well is very good to look at. The colors are vibrant and on top of that, it runs at 60fps.
Sound
The sound varies but mostly aims for cheerful fun melody. There are also creatures in the game that you will find that also sings along in the background music. And there are also objects that Rayman can interact that plays certain beat that also goes along with the music. Like for example, sometimes you will step or jump on a piano or drums that goes along with the environment musiic. Players can then take part of the background music and playing the game at the same time.
Online
No online. But it still better to play someone next to your couch.
Budget
This game is cheap. There is no reason not to buy this
This game is for everyone. Whether you're a casual gamer or a hardcore gamer. As for hardcore gamer, this game is good to change the phase of usual gameplay that you are constantly expose to. No more rage quit, stress, or yelling angry to your noob team mates. It's a nice break from all that stressy gameplay because Rayman Origins will provide a relaxing cheerful new FUN gameplay but at the same time it will challenge the hell out of you! A must buy. | video-games_xbox |
Nice try, but it's a miss in my opinion. I bought this game thinking 3 things: 1) I like film noir, 2) I like post-WWII Americana, and 3) I like Rockstar games.
So, it must be a winning combination, right? Wrong! The story is very interesting, with you being a rookie cop that solved a case and got promoted to detective. But after a short while, the gameplay becomes very repetitive. You look all over a crime scene for clues, by pointing with the character's finger (a book of matches here, a wallet there, etc). The character will make some spoken observation, and based on that you look for more clues. After you exhausted all clues, you interview witnesses and/or suspects. And repeat.
The graphics are superb: the game is set on Los Angeles circa 1947, and the atmosphere is perfectly captured. The cars, the buildings, the clothes, everything looks beautiful. The gameplay involves you studying a witness/suspect facial expressions, and the job they did is amazing!
The acting is very good:I like the show "Mad Men" and several actors (including the main character) are from that show, so I enjoyed it, and it helps, because you must examine the reaction of each character to the questions you are posing, and based on that you have 3 choices: believe what the character said, show your doubts, or tell them they are lying. Again, rinse and repeat, because from your further questioning/prodding, they will have different reactions, to which you must again ask more questions... and so on and so on.
There are some action scenes throughout the game that remind me of Grand Theft Auto, but they are very few and in between, and mostly add nothing to the actual game. It's like they are there so you don't get bored. Also, the game is set in 1947, so the driving is a bit tough, in account to the heavy cars they made back then.
To be fair, I did stop playing it after a while because it did not fully satisfy me. Also, I bought Skyrim shortly after this and I was enthralled by it ever since. I don't know, maybe I stopped playing before it got really good? But if it is more finger pointing, then I don't wish to see it through. | video-games_xbox |
Unbearable. Bear with me...
This is one of the worst games Ive ever played. To start, I loved the first two Dead Space games. Im on my 10th playthrough of Dead Space 2. It took me a while to get around to the third installment and my expectations were pretty low from what Id heard.
But as a fan I decided to give it a shot. And to my surprise, the first several chapters were pretty cool and a lot better than I expected! The atmosphere was interesting (loved the lunar base, looked like something out of Blade Runner) and there seemed to be a story starting to develop. Then once you get to the ice planet things go south, and FAST. This is when I began to hate this game and I will probably never play it again.
The story dwindles to very very brief sections with Ellie and the crew with horrible, cringe-worthy dialogue involving a pointless love triangle that everyone whos played this game seems to hate. And then you start seeing a pattern with the story...
EVERY TIME you meet up with them some ridiculous predictable thing happens where you get seperated from them and have to wander off to meet up somewhere. Im not kidding, it happens 10 times or more at least. You barely get to know any characters and it becomes extremely frustrating and predictable. Either you get seperated or they immediately send you off to be errand boy and collect things for the mission. This is done so often that you start to forget about the story in the first place, constantly backtracking and going here and there meandering pointlessly to add more time to the games overall playthrough.
Now for the thing I hated most about the game: your encounters with the necromorphs. EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING. Unlike the other two games in the series where there can be sections of time where you see none at all, thus building tension, or when you do they're spread out so you can take them out tactfully, Dead Space 3 does the same aggravating thing over and over again: You encounter the necromorphs constantly, and in hordes, giving you no room to breathe and almost no time to react. They rush you and shove you into a corner and beat you down. You have to use stasis constantly just to keep them off of you. And they just keep coming in waves and never let up. So you resort to button mashing and cursing at the tv because you get so sick of fighting them! This happens throughout the whole game! And every time its in large groups rushing you, Im not exaggerating! The whole game. This takes all the fun out of killing necromorphs and made me start to hate this game even more.
The other thing is some of the side missions... You go over to this other facility for an optional mission to collect supplies and ammuntion, for example. Okay, but along the way you're going to come across 4 or 5 hordes of necromorphs in groups of 10 that you drain most of your ammo and health packs! So when once you reach the destination you get to a supply chest or something and you get a tiny bit of ammo and some scrap metal! Thats it! You wasted all that time and all those resources for tablescraps. This happens several times when I decided to do an optional mission.
There are so many things that completely ripped the fun out of this game for me. I have NO IDEA how this game was completed, with everyone, including the director sitting down to do final tests and playthroughs and just went Looks fine to me. Especially the horrible dialogue! My god. This is such a disappointment. I havnt finished it yet, Im almost done, but I couldn't take it anymore without venting about my experience. Im so glad I only paid $5 for a used copy of it.
I kept asking myself what is the point!? constantly throughout this game as I killed endless waves of Necromorphs. I cant express in words how frustrating it is everytime you walk into a room and have to fight 10-15 necromorphs... Walk through the next hallway, 10-15 more... Get to the next room after the hallway, 10-15 more! You never seem to make any progress because they just won't stop throwing necromorphs at you! It made this game absolutely exhausting to play and I didn't enjoy it whatsoever. You have almost no time to just stand and admire the atmosphere (if there even is any) because you're constantly fighting enemies. Yeah the graphics are good and the gameplay controls are good as usual, but that in no way redeems this game for me whatsoever. I can get that in the other installments and its much more enjoyable. The weapons crafting system was also too complicated and not enjoyable at all. I wish they wouldve left it like it was in DS2.
One of the most frustrating games Ive ever played, coming from a huge Dead Space fan. | video-games_xbox |
Barely any heat, barely any sound. Like many people I had a launch 360 quit on me last year and I waited for this to replace it, and I'm glad I did. Now I'm no MS fan, I absolutely hate windows to death and never use it unless I have no other option, I use OSX or Centos or Ubuntu for everything but games that are exclusive to windows. But I really do love my new 360
pros -
*After a game is installed it makes little to no noise, "whisper quiet" is an understatement. I can't speak for how noisy it is if a game is not installed, I haven't tried it. It runs so quiet I thought the fan might not be working properly but I've played it for several hours without a brake with no problems.
*Does not produce a lot of heat. My IMac makes my room feel like a sauna but the 360 feels like it's running at room temperature everywhere on it but the air vent on the side, and even there it feels only a little warm.
*Sexy, the glossy black looks pretty sweet.
*Touch buttons are actually pretty nice and work very well.
*Large HDD, I like being able to install every game I own without having to manage the memory.
*Smaller form factor and feels a lot more sturdy than my old Pro model.
*Wireless N. I will never game wirelessly on any system or computer, it's just too unreliable, but for streaming movies this will come in handy as I can bring it into the living room and my family can enjoy some netflix HD movies with no wired internet connection. If given the choice though, I'd rather have $50 off the price and no wireless, oh well though, hopefully I can get my monies worth with movie streaming.
Cons -
*Hard drive is not easily accessible. Not like it's a big deal but it's located at the bottom of the machine and requires that you tip it over to access. This really isn't a big deal though, and will probably only be an issue for just a couple of people maybe once during their time with the machine. Hard drives are also still not standardized, it would be nice if I could just pop in a regular hard drive like you can with the PS3.
*The machine is noticeably smaller in person, but I still feel like it could be smaller, again not a big deal but I feel it could have been made more "slim."
*Everything software wise still sucks, accounts were and are a terrible idea, I'd like to have unlockables, achievements and saves transcend accounts. It would have been nice if they could have done a software update to go along with the new console.
*No transfer cable. Why you can't just connect two machines with an ethernet cable and transfer stuff is beyond me.
*Still can't move it while it's spinning a disk, I realize you can't just throw it around and shake it, but it would be nice if we could gently move it from vertical to horizontal without it scratching disks.
*Downloadable full games are soooo expensive. Often times they are more expensive than buying a physical copy of the game, and at best they are the same price. It doesn't make sense.
OVERALL
The pros make it infinitely better than my original console, and the cons are so minor, they are for the most part a non-issue. I still hate MS software but with this hardware update it seems to be a home run.
The thing I wish most though is that we could instal a full OS on there, even if it were Windows 7. It would be freaking sweet to use it to play PC games as well. | video-games_xbox |
Good News/ Bad News. New ESPN packaging including the voice of superb announcer Jon Miller is no improvement on last year's model. Though there are some improvements (there better be!!) but it seems like it is at the cost of past improvements.....
I do enjoy being capable of playing regular season games (in GM mode) at any stadium I please including The Polo Grounds (now that's cool!).....
How could they get rid of being able to edit the players (adding a bit of power to your favorite player if you want for instance)?...
The GM mode does put a fun twist when you have to decide to follow orders of the boss or not....
I like that the Phillies and Padres new stadiums were added (why not add some more old stadiums though ex/Ebbets Field)....
It doesn't seem like they added any new vintage uniforms to the choice list from last years version (especially when you know there are so many cool uniforms to choose from in the history of baseball its a real disappointment what there is ex/70's White Sox)....
The graphics don't seem to be as quality as last years....
The statistics are more involved (that's a good thing)...
The games still has a poor minor league system....
Ichiro has a last name, use it!(last year I could add it on)...
Rex Hudler is still annoying....
After listening to Jon Miller say "...and the throw to first and he's out!!!" well after the play has been made and the fielders are running towards the dugout....
The system of saving the games is much more confusing than it has to be....
Game Play Sliders is improved over last years with more options...
BOTTOM LINE: game play is as fun as usual- playing in the stadiums that your favorite teams and ball players play in is awesome. I like the new TV style viewing/playing- and the new gm mode makes it worth the lowered price. If you already have last years game you could go either way on whither you would think this is an improvement worth your paycheck. | video-games_xbox |
Very good sequel to an amazing game. I've heard a lot of people complaining about the storyline in ME2, saying that it lacked depth, and that the characters were flat. I remember people saying the same thing about the first one, but it simply isn't true. It's the same thing with any RPG game(though there are honestly some really lousy ones out there with no story at all no matter how hard you try to get into it), you get out what you put in. The story is only shallow when you don't look into it, when you don't invest in the missions and pay attention to what's going on. The characters are only flat when you don't talk to them and get to know them, the more time you spend with them, the more you get to know them and the more dialogue options open up.
I personally thought that it was an excellent follow up to ME1 and did what the middle game in a trilogy is supposed to do, further the plot and set up for the third one. And ME2 did that amazingly well with major decisions that will(or at least should) have a major impact on the galaxy for ME3.
There were a couple of minor things that I didn't like. After a while the mining was really monotonous, and I actually started to miss the MAKO (as sad as that sounds). I was kind of irritated that using a single power took all of them out of commission for a cool down period. And I definitely hated though damn thermo-clips. I actually ran out of ammo on the final stretch leaving the collector ship and had to blast husks out of the way with my biotics as I hauled for the shuttle. I was also irritated by the lack of characters like Kaiden and Liara being part of the Normandy crew, and whild I could understand Kaiden's reservations about joining Cerberus. Liara kind of seemed like she went a little Psycho in the two years that Shepard was dead.
However, the good parts definitely made up for it. I was so happy that they fixed the texture lag, and that the load screens, while still present, didn't stay up as long and they at least seemed a little more situationally appropriate. I loved the humor, and especially Joker running through the Normandy cursing up a storm. The characters had very believeable elements to them, and I found myself watching their personalities unfold and thinking about people in my life who they were a lot like (not being alien, or genetically engineered, or completely crazy) but their attitudes and they way they spoke or moved. The Gameplay also felt smoother, and I was so excited that I could actually jump over stuff in combat, and the powers were much more refined and easier to understand (my friend Jennifer said that with the way the biotics powers were named it was like biotics for dumbies).
All in all it was a great game, and anyone who loved ME1 should love it just as much. | video-games_xbox |
Great deal, good console. I was on the fence about getting a PS4 or Xbox one. PS4 is way better than the Xbox One performance-wise, but I saw an amazing deal on reddit when 'Worst Buy' had a misprint in the Nov. 9-15 2014 ad at the price of the non-kinect version. Went into the store, grabbed the last one, and they manually price matched to their own misprint in the ad (they didn't know it was a misprint). So basically, I paid $349.99+tax for this model with the Kinect, and put the difference in price towards games and accessories.
I have only played a few games, since I do not have them all in yet (bought used online to save money). This included Forza 5, Assassins Creed Unity, and Assassins Creed Black Flag. I also do not have my cable TV running through my Xbox, since it is connected to my monitor. I have always been a PC gamer (I still am - I always prefer that over console), and used to use an Xbox 360. I also used to make, sell, and install my own rapid-fire mods for Xbox 360 controllers - so I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to the controller. So please keep these things in mind with this review.
PROS:
Controller...
Very comfortable to use. Much nicer than the Xbox 360 controller, and has no visible screw holes. It feels as if there are several different motors inside for vibration - two for the entire controller, and one on each trigger. I haven't looked at a tear-down online yet, but that is what it seems like. Will probably be a pain to disassemble since there are no easily accessible screws, and plastic seems flimsier than that on the Xbox 360 controllers. If it were thrown at a wall, it might fly into a million pieces, while the Xbox 360 controller would probably not. Battery life seems pretty bad - according to the Xbox, the batteries are down about 25% and I've had it less than a week! One of the reasons I did not get a PS4 is that the PS controllers never seemed comfortable or natural to hold in my opinion. Microsoft got the ergonomics right with this one.
Online Game Downloads...
Assassins Creed Unity took awhile to download - it was 40GB - but I pre-downloaded and was able to start playing right at midnight the day of the release, which was pretty cool. TIP: Get new redeemable codes online from Amazon or other online marketplaces and save $$$ - I got Forza 5 for only $19, and the seller emailed me the code within hours! It seems the ones that come bundled with consoles are cheap (like Forza), since some people just don't want the game.
Storage Space...
Online downloads need to go somewhere! Unfortunately replacing or upgrading the built-in hard drive involves voiding the warranty and doing some major disassembly (on the PS4 it does not), and 500GB can hold only so many games. However, unlike the PS4, you can connect a 256GB or greater USB 3.0 hard drive to any one of the console's three USB 3.0 ports. Get a 1TB external drive off Amazon for about $60, and you're set!
Voice Recognition With Kinect...
Convenient, and makes it easier to get to things. Not much else to say really, except for the cons of it...
CONS:
Voice Recognition With Kinect...
... is also a major con. You need to speak the EXACT keywords it needs to hear. It's not smart like Siri on iPhones, where it can interpret what you said into a command. You need to use the exact keywords it needs to hear in order for it to work, and sometimes it does not hear you. TIP: To mess with your friends while they have you on speakerphone/skype/FaceTime/etc., you can say "Xbox on" or "Xbox turn off... yes" to turn their Xbox on or off.
Scratches...
The high-gloss plastic on both the console and power supply scratches simply by touching it. I wiped the power supply with a clean microfiber cloth (which shouldn't scratch anything - even paint on a car!) and now it's covered in surface scratches. I'm afraid to even wipe the top of the console since the same thing will probably happen, and it already has minor scratches on it. A minor issue, but if you're OCD about keeping your electronics clean like me, it can be annoying.
No Native 4K Support...
I knew this beforehand, but both the Xbox One and PS4 do not support 4K resolution. Assassins Creed Unity supposedly runs at 900p, which is upscaled to 1080p, which on a 4K monitor (I use the Samsung U28D590D) is then upscaled to 2160p. So basically it doesn't look that great upscaled but is tolerable. For me as PC gamer, it looks horrible compared to native 4K, but for $350 you can't expect the performance of a high-end gaming PC.
Lack of Antialiasing...
...which makes things look even worse on 4K. For example, Forza 5 and Assassins Creed (and I'm sure many other games) really need antialiasing to get rid of the jaggies. AC Unity would lag with AA, since it already does at times without it. But Forza 5 should have been setup with AA since I there is little to no lag.
I'll update this review as time goes on, but for the moment this is all I can think of... | video-games_xbox |
A Mediocre Finale to a Formerly Amazing Franchise. SPOILERS for "Batman: Arkham Knight" will follow, read at your own risk.
Finished the main story of "Batman: Arkham Knight". There's a LOT of things I like, and a LOT of things I hate. The combat is as fun as ever, the game looks breathtaking, and the story is as intriguing as ever. But, I do have a list of complaints:
1 - Once again, The Joker, despite remaining deceased, is a huge part of the story.
2 - Rocksteady Studios flat-out lied about the game featuring multiple playable characters. Catwoman, Robin, and Nightwing are briefly controllable during some fights, but cannot be used for missions. That doesn't count. One mission involves controlling Commissioner Gordon, where you literally walk from Point A to Point B. That doesn't count either. The closest they came to actually telling the truth was a dream sequence where you control The Joker for a few minutes. The only part where their claim is actually true is for the DLC missions where you play as Harley Quinn or Red Hood, depending on where you pre-ordered.
3 - Apparently some fans didn't like the Arkham series' boss battles (I don't understand why, I thought they were the best part of the series), and complained about them. So what did Rocksteady do? They REMOVED them. There are ZERO boss battles in Arkham Knight.
4 - Lack of costumes for the characters. There's only a handful of skins available. Batman has had countless costumes, why can we only pick from 4? Robin and Nightwing have it even worse, with only one extra costume each, although it really doesn't matter since they're barely in the game.
5 - When the game's main villain, the Arkham Knight, was first revealed, pretty much every fan knew who he was. Again, Rocksteady blatantly lied, saying, "No, it's not _____ ____. He's a brand-new, original character created specifically for this game." A BLATANT lie, as Arkham Knight turned out to be exactly who fans predicted he was.
6 - My single biggest complaint: the Batmobile RUINS this game. Giving in to fan demand to have the Batmobile be driveable, Rocksteady decided to shove it into every single aspect of the game. 95% of missions CANNOT be completed without the Batmobile, which is required for everything from solving puzzles to opening certain doors, not to mention the dozens upon dozens of tank battles you have to go through in this game, some involving battles where the Batmobile is literally outnumbered 25 to 1, with every enemy having superior armor and weaponry, leading to frustrating, cheap deaths due to the fact that the Batmobile just plain sucks.
In conclusion, Rocksteady tried to do way too much, and this time they failed. The final game in the Arkham franchise is also the worst. A formerly amazing series goes out with a whimper instead of a bang.
SCORE: 6/10 | video-games_xbox |
A good game that should have been great. The first four hours of the game are almost unbearably boring. It's essentially a tutorial and a background lesson on Connor. You learn how to hunt, how to fight, etc. All essential skills but 4 hours of it is too tedious. Seriously, you don't "become" an assassin and get your uniform until at least 4 hours of solid main mission playing.
The new combat system is quite different from previous installments but it's a better system. It allows for a more varied fighting style.
Now, the main character, Connor, is a little too one dimensional. It's hard to care about him. This wasn't the case with Ezio. I felt a real connection to Ezio because of the gameplay. It really enhanced the game.
As far as the game overall, I'll echo other reviewers and say there are wayyyy too many cut-scenes and save points. After completing the game after about 20 hrs, it felt like I hadn't really done anything. None of the missions are particularly endearing or emotionally intriguing. Again, this wasn't the case with Ezio. You really felt his motivations as an assassin. When Ezio assassinated someone, you really felt a sense of accomplishment. Not so with Connor. There really aren't any classic assassination missions. They are more or less "go here and kill this guy". The previews also made it seem that the Revolutionary War and Connor's goals were kinda intertwined. That you'd be helping defeat the dastardly Brits. Not really the case. The war is mostly just a backdrop to the game and Connor only has direct involvement with it in a few missions but overall the game takes you in a different direction. You take part in a couple battles but beyond that it's just in the background and you only hear about it through cutscenes.
With all that said, this is still a fun game. There are lots of side missions and extras. Overall, it's not a terrible game. It's still fun and was exciting to play through, but it's just not the same caliber as AC2. | video-games_xbox |
Where's the story. I'll say upfront that this review is about the single player portion of Medal of Honor. I'm a SP guy and rarely venture in to multiplayer.
The original idea for this game, to focus on Tier One special operative soldiers in Afghanistan taking on Al Qaeda is a good one, as is the idea of taking control of U.S. Army Rangers in Afghanistan. Unfortunately the developers forgot to include a compelling story along the way and bounce the gamer between not just two, but three, different characters.
The single player game starts out set in 2002 with the gamer in control of a DEVGRU "operator" code named Neptune. You an the rest of your team are sent to find an informant and retrieve valuable intelligence. You're then tasked to complete several other objectives important in the early days of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Unfortunately the game failed to make me actually care about what happened. You're never really told anything about who Neptune or the other two characters you're playing as really are. Also disappointingly there's no intel items to collect throughout the game that contribute to a larger narrative.
Somewhat on the plus side I only experienced one level breaking bug and that was corrected simply by re-loading the level. That's frustrating but at least it wasn't game breaking. Also on the plus side the graphics in this game are pretty good. I think the developers captured Afghanistan quite well. I also thought the weapons were well done and the controls were standard fare, they didn't try to get cute and create something new out of the standard button layout all FPS fans are used to.
On the minus side there are far too many places in this game where you have to be in just the right spot for the rest of the level to load. In one level I took out 50-100 AI soldiers before realizing they were just going to keep respawning because I wasn't in the exact right spot for the rest of the level to load.
If you're looking for a good time just shooting bad guys without concern for the story whenever your internet connection is down and you can't play multiplayer this game is for you. | video-games_xbox |
Review from a non-guitar player. I've read all of the reviews, and have seen what people have had to say. I've only had the game a few days, but I love it. My index finger was hecka sore after the first day, now it is just a little sore and a callus has started to form, which should help a lot.
I've heard people complain about the adaptive nature of the game, how it gets harder or easier based on how well you are doing, but I think the game does it just about right, and I don't agree that the levels are only either easy or hard. There does seem to be more nuanced than that. And speaking based on my years of experience as a professor, I think that having the game set the level is the best way to go, because otherwise many people would just continue to play the lower level that they play really well and never attempt to reach the highest level of the song. All you have to do is look at how most people play Guitar Hero. They usually stay on the same level for most or all of the songs. It makes them feel better, but they never really advance that much. And I quite like the way Rocksmith will continue to throw new stuff at you. It throws you off at first, but those times that you are able to adapt and play the notes you are seeing for the first time, is pretty cool.
Another thing I like is the Riff repeater. Just like in guitar hero, you can practice all of the different sections of the song individually before you try the whole song.
I also like the way they throw new techniques in during the song, like hammer on's and hammer off's, sustains, etc.
I'm still on the single note versions of the song, and think it will be awhile before I can even attempt cords, but I look forward to the challenge, plus that means I will get a lot more life out of the game. It's not something you can beat in 20 hours of play.
The only main complaint I have about the game is that I haven't been able to figure out how to change players without rebooting and starting over. Since the game is adaptive and remembers the difficulty level you were at when you last played, allowing someone else who isn't as good or who is just starting, makes the game frustrating for them, because it is way above their level and it screws with the level progress you have made because they will end up dropping back down to beginner level.
So basically, it makes it impossible to play the game with friends or family. If Ubisoft is listening, please updated the game so that multiple people can sign in and have an option for being able to select a different profile while you are in the game. Even if it is back at the main menu, that is fine. That's the one thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars.
But overall, I really like the game. | video-games_xbox |
A very strong GTA title. Welcome back to Liberty City GTA fans and welcome Niko Bellic. A Russian immigrant that is running away from his past, or is it because he is trying to find someone, or possibly his cousin Roman talked him into moving (I will leave that open to not spoil the game). Starting off I noticed the difference in the controls mechanics of the game. I little adjustment from the older versions but takes little to no time to get use to. I also noticed the difference in driving, controls as well as speed is a factor of the vehicle that you choose. Feeling more simulated in this version I find it to be a great add to this version. With the upgrade to the graphics it gave the new and improved Liberty City a real gritty humid feel to the game.
I found that the size of the city as a bit much to handle at first but with the beauty of being able to call a cab it very helpful when you need to navigate through the city. I noticed a lack of labeling the map on this version of GTA (unlike the previous games which everything accessible was labeled). But calling up Roman or other friends, dates etc. you will find that the map will light up with locations.
With the deep and detailed storyline and dialog you may find it easy to get sucked into Niko's world. But one thing I have always loved about the GTA series is the humor they add to the game. Take a few minutes away from the game and watch tv, or listen to citizen's phone calls, etc. You will find out that there are a lot of hidden surprises that will have you laughing from time to time. I do hear of issues of the game freezing up which forces the player to loose there current status. I personally have not experience this issue but can say hopefully Rockstar send a patch for download to stop that problem.
While game play with the weapons are great I find it hard to get use to the hand to hand combat. there is a bit of lag between throwing punches and setting up combos but may not effect the gamer that likes to use weapons instead of hand to hand combat. But with the intense law enforcement added to GTA IV you may find that breaking the law and adding stars may get very frustrating. But with achievements like like three minutes with a four star rating that should give you a warning about messing with the police.
I do strongly recommend this game to adults but give this message to parents planning on buying this for the little ones. Pay close attention to the game and what the seller is telling you about it and read the reasons for the M rating. With it's strong language and content you may not want your children exposed to this much. I still recommend the game over all but of you feel that this may do more than just be a game to your child than stand clear of this title. | video-games_xbox |
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