Kill Switch Review

Customer Ratings:

This game is by far one of the most difficult games I have played since stuntman for ps2.If you like trying to get through a level about a thousand times then you might like this one.There is nothing really special about this game except the cover system, weak graphics and extreme difficulty prevent this one from being a five star game.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Kill.Switch is not a bad game at all. It reminds me of the Bruce Willis platform game Apocalypse. In fact it is probably one of the best 3D Platform shoot `em ups you can get your hands on. You play Bishop, a sort of Metal Gear Solid's Solid Snake x Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher with more firepower than both combined. In fact that is what kill.switch is one big free-for-all GUNFIGHT.

The story is actually confusing and told in flashback style (some flashback shots are cinematically realistic). Bishop is an ultra-tech Soldier and who is married to Lynn Takamura a Neural Interface designer for some weapons tech firm. Bishop was supposed to execute a terrorist called Archer but failed. Archer came back to kill Lynn and to take control of Bishop's neural technology sending him about the globe committing terrorist acts of violence. Eventually Bishop finds a way out from Archer's control and goes to take Archer down himself.

Having said all of that, the gun fighting is first rate stuff simply because the enemy AI is the best seen in any game of its kind. The enemy is smart and moves accordingly. They will take you down by flanking you or sending a grenade in your direction. One or two hits are all it takes and you will go down. So you need to use the environment and this is where kill.switch scores in aces. As you hide behind something you can blind fire on the enemy with several different weapons to choose from or you can lean around the side, sight someone and shoot them. The detail in each level makes this one an essential purchase for the XBOX user. It pushes the PS2's graphics quite a bit (now and again the FPS stalls).

So kill.switch plays like you would expect it too run around various levels (there are 5 major levels divided into two parts each) shooting the enemy and diving behind boxes as you blow things up. Sounds boring or unoriginal yes, maybe but kill.switch does it all so furiously. Once you start firing and throwing grenades and dancing about the obstacle pulling off headshots with some blind fire you will see how enjoyable all of this really can be and for that kill.switch is all golden 5 stars.

However it does have some negatives. The story is simply very hard to understand and makes no sense. The zooms are not very deep on the gun scopes meaning that you do not really get to zoom around and see the awesome sights that they have designed. It could have done with better zooms. It was absolutely terrible that they did not make more objects destructible. You couldn't even shoot up things like tables and chairs. I didn't see a single wall blow out in the game.

In the end I would not really purchase this unless you like blast em ups. If blast em ups are your thing then do not even think twice about this review. Stop now and go pick up kill.switch. It is insane live fire from start to finish. You will get a bang for your buck. However if you are looking for a game that might do something other than that (forget any type of Splinter Cell objectives or Metal Gear Solid coolness) then I suggest you go look elsewhere.

Pros:

Furious action. Non-stop suppressing fire.

Amazing enemy AI. The best of any game out there.

Highly detailed graphics.

Blind-fire. A very cool option.

In terms of action this is what MGS and SC want-to-be but are not.

Cuts scenes are realistic.

Cons:

There appears to be no screen size adjustment.

Short. Really only 6 to 8 hours of start to end game play.

No environmental destruction.

Extremely limited objectives.

Story makes no sense.

Best Deals for Kill Switch

Does anyone remember the game Winback? I believe it was originally for the N64, and later was released on PS2. That is the grandpappy of Kill.Switch. Duck behind something then pop up and shoot when the enemy is not. Firstly I'll start by saying the gameplay is truly enjoyable. The only problem I found was the AI. I'm not lying when I say this, I beat this game in 1 day with the difficulty on Realistic. I read that the AI was so great that they would formulate attacks as a team, etcetera. They didn't. Maybe mine had a bug. Not to mention, when you get the SAW machine gun, you're basically unstoppable. The greatest thing about this game is that hopefully it will set the standard for future 3rd person shooters to employ taking cover, blind fire, etc. The story is not great, at all. I'm not exactly sure, but I think the main character is a machine or a virtual reality simulation or something. The FMV sequences are outstanding. Overall, it could have been harder, the story could have been better, and it needed to be longer. I forgot that. Don't be cheated by the 15 senarios. In most games a senario is the same as a campaign that has about three levels per senario. This game has 15 levels. This is the ultimate renting game, buy it if you want when it's $20.

Honest reviews on Kill Switch

Finally a Really Fun game has made its way to xbox. Here are a few pros and cons...

Pro's

~Fun game that will have you in action from start to finish.

~Great how you can hide behind a wall and heve the option to blind fire.

~Good graphics and cool how the glass breaks.

~Wide selection of weapons, as well as you can pick up enemy weapons.

Con's

~I do not like how he run's, his feet move to fast.

~You can't hold medi-kits, if you are in need of health you need to find a midi-kit.

That's about it, I'm sure I could find alot more good things about it but I just got it and I'm going to play it now... But as you can see there are more pro's than con's... so got check this game out!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Kill Switch

Kill.Switch redefines what the action/shooter genre is by adding new elements to the norm. It boasts unique miltary techniques, 15 levels of action, and a deep story. Does Kill.Switch deliver all of these? Keep reading to find out.

Kill.Switch does indeed redefine the action/shooter genre, but that's only because of the blindfire element they threw into this game. Other than hiding behind objects and shooting, there isn't much innovation. Plus dong blindfire over and over again get's old quickly because that's basically all you really have to do in the game.

The control of the game is perfect on XBox, it doesn't take long at all to master it. So you will be blowing up and shooting stuff in no time at all. It is interesting on how the blindfire works, you basically just go to a wall and press the shoot button while holding down the duck button. By doing blindfire you are protected by enemy fire, which means you take less, if any, damage.

I won't give any of the story away, but that's only because I didn't understand the story. Although I didn't understand it, it did keep me wanting to play the game in hopes that I could understand it by unlocking more of the story.

The voice acting, music, and sound effects are good. I can't really complain about any of those aspects. But I dislike how in the cutscenes how non of the peoples lips move when they are speaking. The sound effects of the guns, bombs, and footsteps alll sounds realistic. The music is driving and it keeps you wanting to play through the games various levels.

The in-gsme graphics are good but they could have been better, because they look a little out of date. But the CG's are great looking. The movement of the characters is smooth and fluent, unlike some of the reminicent shooters like WinBack.

Even though this game has some flaws that doesn't mean it's not worth a buy. Especially for the XBox owners because this one of the top action/shooters on it. This game isn't reccomended for the weak or new gamers because this game has a high difficulty level. All in all this is a good game and it deserves a buy if not it makes a great rental.

Hit

+ Blindfire is a nice touch

+ Good gameplay

+ Good CG's

+ Great sound, music, voice acting

Miss

_ Gameplay can get tiresome

_ Steep difficulty level for soft games

_ AI is pretty weak

Calibur11 Battlefield Vault (Xbox 360) Review

Customer Ratings:

Its very well build and the light modes on the claymore are great. Not as bright as I had hoped but it as 3 different settings. The grenade pin seems pretty easy to break so i don't like touching it. The only downfall really is that I have my xbox on its side now but the bottom platform keeps it pretty stable.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

It was great.. I ordered it on a Friday morning, and I got it the next Wednesday...all in its original packaging and everything was still sealed

Best Deals for Calibur11 Battlefield Vault (Xbox 360)

To make it a short as possible, I'm going to say this product is ver well built, solid, and it does protect your console against hits, dust, scratches...etc. It does not really overheat the console, but I do not know it it depends on the region you live in, I live in Bogota Colombia and my city is freaking cold, so it doesn't really overheat. The 3 sets of lights are pretty cool as well, but I don't really use them, easy to assemble and very durable product. Hope this helps :)

Honest reviews on Calibur11 Battlefield Vault (Xbox 360)

Love it. It holds the xbox in place and it doesn't fall.like the bonus feature where u can light up the claymore to make it looks it's armed.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Calibur11 Battlefield Vault (Xbox 360)

I would give it 5 stars but the bf3 front plate was not in it other than that very good product.

Xbox 360 Arcade Console with Bonus Game Review

Customer Ratings:

If you take nothing else away from this review, understand that the Arcade bundle is simply an Xbox 360 without a hard drive and some games thrown in. The games are nothing to go crazy about, but you can't beat the price.

The fact that this version doesn't have a hard drive is important because backwards compatibility (the ability to play old Xbox games) relies on emulator software which gets installed to the hard drive. If you hear someone saying that the Arcade version can't play old Xbox games, they probably don't realize that all you have to do is install a hard drive. Microsoft is running a promotion where you can get a 20GB hard drive with a free Gold Live subscription for around $30. This is way cheaper than retail.

It's also worth mentioning that some industrious individuals have figured out how use an inexpensive (~$60) 120GB (Western Digital BEVS) hard drive rather than paying four times as much for Microsoft's version. If you're interested I suggest googling "HDDHackr".

It appears that Microsoft has made some improvements on the Xbox 360 since they first came out, especially in cooling to help prevent the dreaded "Red Ring of Death" (RROD) which results from your console overheating. This is a great reason to buy one of these new consoles rather than a used one or old bundle.

If you've got the money, check out the Pro or Elite. If you're like me and would rather put that cash into a premium drum set for Rock Band 2 or rechargeable wireless controllers, the Arcade version is a great option.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I bought my Arcade from Amazon two days ago, chose one day shipping and got it yesterday. BTW, it is a jasper, came with 150W power brick, TEAM: FDOU, mfg 10-23-2008, Lot 0843x (package was picked up by carrier from Phoenix, AZ).

This is my first XBOX360 console. I never had one in the past due to the bad reputation it had from the RRoD issue. I did have a PS3 but sold it a few months ago due to financial problems. I was regretting it until now.

Now the review:

I have to say I'm impressed by the size, looks and feel of the controller (which BTW is wireless). I like it much better than the PS3 controller. Although that was much lighter it didn't provide the same accuracy in FPS games I can tell the analog sticks really make the difference. One annoying thing though, the controller anaglog sticks start squeaking after playing less than one hour (I bought the Orange Box and Fallout 3).

The console didn't come with a HD cable so I bought a component cable to go with my 26" HDTV.

The graphics on this are gorgeous. It's been a while since I played on my PS3 but I can tell the images look crisper on the XBOX360 (might be due to contrast). I didn't experience any hickups while playing the orange box unlike on the PS3 which was unplayable at times (frame rate drops).

I also purchased a separate 60GB HDD that came with a 3-month XBOX LIve GOld subscription. From what I can tell, there's no more waiting unlike the PSN which was very very slow. I'm not going to renew the subscription since I rarely have time to play.

Now to the bad part:

Let me start saying the console is fairly quiet WHEN playing from the HDD (the new update allows you to install games locally), as quiet as my previous 40GB PS3. It does not overheat either. I played three ours both Half life EP2 and Fallout3 and the console was amazingly cool no slowdowns or hangs).

HOWEVER, the console sounds like a vacuum cleaner when playing from the disk. It is very very annoying. I don't know if it scratches disks yet but we will see in time. BTW, I thought it scratched my disk for a second but then I realized that circle who looked as a scratch was present on other disks too (which were unopened at that time)

Overall, I like it a lot and don't regret buying it. I don't care about blu-ray anyway, the movies are so expensive so are the games and if it breaks it will cost a fortune to replace/repair. I'm not going to start about the game selection which its huge. I can finally play some oldies like Doom3, Quake4 which are unavailable on the PS3.

Now that It's confirmed Amazon has Jaspers you could hunt for one of your own. (God, I was so lucky being able to cancel my order for the 60GB bundle and getting this)

I'm not giving it five stars due to the controller squeaking issue and DVD drive noise.

Cheers!

PS: I'm keeping mine horizontal.

Best Deals for Xbox 360 Arcade Console with Bonus Game

First, buy the arcade console. It is the cheapest way to get into a 360. Then follow this link to build your own hard drive, as Microsoft will rip you off on the same thing in there package: ( )

now you have a nice console without spending a fortune. The console will die within a year if used daily, or last a little longer if used lightly. Microsoft will repair it for you when it breaks for free if it shows a E74 error on the screen or if you get three flashing red lights on the console. It is only covered for three years however. This WILL happen in time.

My 360 is the very expensive Elite model (unfortunately), and just died a second time so it is back to Microsoft for another free repair. This takes about 3 weeks which is pretty bad. My brother in law's 360 just came back from his third repair, my other brother in law had his repaired once so far, and my friend just got his back from his first repair. So you see everyone I know with a 360 has had to get there system repaired. It will happen to you too.

Xbox 360 has the best games out for it and the most people playing the system online, otherwise I would tell you to get a PlayStation 3. When the next generation game systems come out we all should boycott Microsoft for these shoddy systems they sold us. My original Nintendo still works just fine and it's like 25 years old. Microsoft you should be ashamed!!!

Honest reviews on Xbox 360 Arcade Console with Bonus Game

Just to start out:

I've owned numerous xbox 360, 2 premiums and 1 elite. I've either sold them off, or had them 3rrod and then sold them.

I finally decided to try out a new arcade with the jasper chip.

I must say from the get-go I was highly impressed with the new system. A few things had been changed, the top plate where the HD goes has been redesigned, the power brick has been redesigned, the frontplate cd drive has been redesgined, and finally the back has had some tweaks as well.

This thing is DEAD quiet when playing games from the harddrive, and does NOT get hot at all. I booted up World At War and played for about 2 hours straight...it was BARELY warm on the back; my previous 360s would have been INSANELY hot.

This is a great buy for people getting into 360s or people who want a new unit to pair their old harddrives with.

I recommend it 110%

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Xbox 360 Arcade Console with Bonus Game

We purchased an XBOX 360 when they first came out. We were so happy with it, we decided to get a second one, an Arcade this time. I was tired of having to move the 360 from the media room to the living room every time we had friends over to play Rock Band, and I figured the back and forth couldn't be good for the system anyway. It was an added bonus that we would now have the media center extender in both rooms, and I would be able to play my games on the 360 when Mike was playing the PS3 or the other 360 in the media room.

We're a dual income, no kids family, so we have disposable income and spend a good deal of money on electronics. When our 360 Arcade broke, it was a mild inconvenience, an annoyance more than anything. Purchased in January of 2008, and broken by March of 2009. It lasted all of 14 months, two months past the warranty period. It wasn't the RRoD, so to fix it, we would have to pay $100. Microsoft would warranty the repair for all of three months. We're very lucky, we can afford to fix our 360, or even just buy a new one. But not everyone is in our situation, and that's what makes me angry about this.

There are kids everywhere who begged and pleaded with their parents for this console, and it was a big deal that they got it. Maybe it was a Christmas/Birthday combo gift, or the only present the entire family received. Some people don't have $100 to spend fixing a broken console, not to mention not everyone has something else to play while it's off for repair. It is NOT COOL that Microsoft will not do the right thing and stand behind their product.

That being said, when the 360 is working, it's a wonderful console. The interface is very intuitive and it has wonderful features that make it much more than just a gaming system. I can't say that we won't buy the next generation console, because we will. And, I guess that's the problem, the reason Microsoft can continue to sell and manufacture substandard merchandise is that we let them.

EDIT: Microsoft has, after this review was originally written, agreed to extend the RRoD warranty to include the E74 error message. Thank you, Microsoft, for standing up and doing the right thing.

Review of Madden NFL 12 - Xbox 360

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $20.25
Today's Bonus: 32% Off

EDIT 9/3... see end

Final Edit 9/5

Brief first impressions from playing the game for a few hours today: (I skipped Madden 11, so any comparisons to previous versions are Madden 10 or before)

Pros:

Visuals; stadiums, fields, weather look very nice. Crowd is still a little boring but that doesn't bother me.

The Franchise Mode improvements are nice. I haven't made it to an offseason yet, but the expanded rosters, cut days, and IR system force you into some tough decisions which are a welcome challenge.

New pump fake system; I haven't read about this in any of the other reviews, but in my opinion it's one of the best new features. Unlike previous games, where there is one 'pump fake' button which makes the QB perform a generic pump fake, Madden 12 lets you hold the left trigger (on 360) and press any receiver to pump fake to that receiver. This is very useful for pulling linebackers out of the middle of the field and throwing behind them, or getting safeties to commit before lobbing a bomb over their heads.

Realistic injuries; The new 'player roles' system in general is very cool, and it has some nice results. I was playing as my team (Go Steelers!) and Aaron Smith went down with a torn bicep... the same exact injury that caused him to miss the playoffs last year! Players who are injury prone in real life are more likely to get injured throughout a season in this game.

Rookies; I love the fact that you don't instantly know what you got out of a guy when you draft him (or for the current rookies when you start a Franchise). After each preseason game, you learn more about each rookie (unlock more of their individual attributes), and their 'overall' begins to narrow down to reflect their actual skill. It's not until after the 4th preseason game that you are able to see the actual Overall rating for each rookie, as well as their Potential grade. (The interesting thing is... by that time, you've already made 16 cuts!)

Cons:

Be a Superstar; I didn't spend much time on this mode, so take this with a grain of salt, but I wasn't impressed. I imported a 'Road To Glory' player from NCAA 12, and it jumped right to a screen with my schedule on it. I had already been drafted, and I didn't even know it! I think if you spend time playing a guy's whole college career, they should make a bigger deal about getting drafted. Or, you know, at least tell you that it happened.

AI play calling; I'm playing on All-Pro, which shouldn't be too difficult, and somehow the computer knows EXACTLY which play I'm going to call every single time. I'm not one of those guys who uses the same play over and over; I mix it up quite a bit. Yet no matter what I call, the computer has it sniffed out. Run a counter play, and they happen to bring a weak side / FS blitz. Pick a run between the tackles, and what do you know, there are 8 guys in the box even though it's 2nd and 17. I've found myself calling a TON of audibles at the line of scrimmage, because it's the only way to actually get your plays off.

Commentary; I'm a few hours in, and it's already getting repetitive. I like the voices better than Madden 10, but they need to mix up some of their phrases. Most of the time, Gus Johnson's thoughts sound disconnected and he gets way too excited (come to think of it, that should be a 'pro' since it's quite realistic)

Sorry if I rambled, but hopefully I helped. The ultimate question is usually, 'Is it worth 60 bucks if I already own Madden __', and that answer is not going to be the same for everyone. If you like Franchise mode and you can deal with some frustrating AI features (some of which will hopefully be patched out), then there is a good chance you will enjoy the game.

REVISED 9/3: Still enjoying Franchise mode, but a few complaints. One, importing a draft class from NCAA will overwrite the new 'draft logic' which ensures that there are NFL-ready talents at most positions scattered throughout the draft (i.e. not just in the first and second rounds.) I've found it to actually be more realistic to NOT import a class, since the new logic is pretty good and allows you to scout gems in the late rounds, which is quite fun. Still, this is a bug that should (and almost certainly WON'T) be fixed... until it's a "new feature" in Madden 13.

As mentioned in one of the comments below, there are perhaps too many injuries. This tends to be a problem with most annual sports games, because they introduce a new feature and then over-tweak the gameplay to show it off. Injured Reserve is new to Madden this year, and it seems like they have gone overboard with the "HEY! Look what I can do!", resulting in too many season-ending and long-term injuries. There is an 'injuries' slider you can adjust, but I have yet to notice if that affects simulations (may only affect games that you actually play)

I've played a little more Be a Superstar, and I am still lukewarm on it. I like the new development system where you can assign skill points to improve your player, and I like that you are awarded skill points based on what the TEAM does (much better for playing as a defensive player,) but something about it still feels unpolished.

Final edit / opinions (9/5)

I've been back and forth on this version of Madden, but I'm finally off the fence, and I can't say I'd recommend the game. Sure, the visuals are improved and there are some nice tweaks to the franchise mode, but Madden 12 is plagued by the same thing that has plagued the series for a long time, especially since 2004 or so (which, by pure coincidence, is the last time that EA Sports has had to compete with another NFL licensed game). The problem is the lack of attention to detail; I know EA has gone to great lengths to have realistic and detailed player introductions this year, but the problem is that this game has far too many more pressing issues that seem to be ignored. The blocking on punt returns is miserable, the Franchise AI is frustratingly stupid, the audio commentary is VERY repetative, and the list goes on.

The problem is that EA doesn't NEED to fix any of these things to keep selling copies... as long as they're the only show in town, and they can half-heartedly implement a few new features every year so that there is something to put on the back of the box and something to show off in the demo, people will keep buying the game. They suckered me in again this year, although this is the first time I have bought a NEW version of the game since 08, but this is probably it for me.

Supposedly, EA's exclusive rights to the NFL expire in 2012, and NFL 2K could be making a return. I'm not sure if it will be any better, but it will at least encourage some competition in the marketplace, and force Madden to stop giving us half-efforts.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I think Madden 12 has made some progress....I think. However, Madden 11 was so bad that it's hard to tell. I'm unsure if I like it more because Madden 11 was garbage, or if it has some actually quality to it. Here is as list of things I consider to be pro's & con's of Madden 12.

All of my experience's are based from playing on the All Madden setting.

Pro's.

1.)The Presentation. The presentation is very good. It definitely feels/looks more authentic and adds excitement before the game. The presentation in previous Madden's was a joke. I think it was Madden 10 that had Jet's flying over and fire works going off before every game. Doe's this normally happen? Jet's...maybe. Seems like I've seen that happen on occasion, but it doesn't happen before every game for every team. But fireworks...before a NOON kickoff? What team shoot's off fire workers during the day before kick off? Ridiculous. I sometimes wondered if the Madden programmers actually watched football? Well, that joke has been replaced with some realism. The Madden team has done a great job this time around.

2.)Catch options/awareness. This year receivers seem to be able to do more. Whether it's trying to stay in bounds or come down in the end zone or falling to their knee's to make a catch, this aspect has been (thankfully) expanded. It was always frustrating to throw a pass to a receiver who seemed oblivious to the sidelines or made no effort to come down in the end zone despite their high ratings.

3.) Franchise. I love the new franchise additions. Trying to rebuild or maintain a good team over the years is my favorite thing to do with Madden. I'm especially thrilled with the cut day's. You have walk on's and rookie's who's rating's are not revealed until you play them during the pre-season. The longer they last, the more you learn about their rating's. Occasionally you do get some gems that are good enough to make your team and actually start in some cases. You don't fully know what you have until all the pre-season games have been played. Yet, after every pre-season game, you have to make some cut's. It makes this a lot more enjoyable. You really don't know if this guy you're cutting will be a better player then the guy you're keeping. The auction for free agent's is better, as well. You can't sign every player you want. There are many good, solid additions to the franchise mode.

Con's

1.) New collision system. This has been describe as a new feature that "uses momentum to produce more authentic tackling." Not true. Here's an example. My linebacker, Demarcus Ware, who happens to be a All Pro/All word linebacker has gotten past the offensive line man and is making a b-line to the running back who is taking a hand off from the QB. Ware is running at almost full speed, the back is just getting started and has taking two steps. Now, Ware should blast this guy...no matter who it is because Ware is a great linebacker and has a high rating AND has all the momentum. What happens? The running back trucks Ware!! Runs right over him. Not possible. This kind of thing happens all the time in this game. The multi tackle aspect is still bad. Many if not most of the time the initial tackler will get blown off when another tackler joins. You'll have big, massive DT's that get thrown off the ball carrier after the small DB join's in. Or the initial tackler will continue on the original projected path before the second hit holding the invisible man, I guess. It's also harder to tackle in the open field. Seems like every offensive player can cut on a dime. Trying to tackle in the open field reminds me of trying to operate a very sensitive mouse pad. You move the arrow a little to the left and you blow right past the link. A little to the right and the same thing. Maybe this is something that will change once I get used to it. But right know it's frustrating.

2.) Rating's. At this point I think the ratings are a practical joke on everyone. The only real noticeable ratings are the speed, quickness, and acceleration. Ever other rating seems to be pointless. Running back's will routinely break multiple tackles even if their strength,trucking,power, rating is low... and the defenders have a high tackle rating and the size/momentum. Big, massive, strong DT's routinely get tossed to the side or run over by smaller back's. Every running back I face is exactly the same... a tackle breaking beast. There is no difference between Ahmad Bradshaw and Adrian Peterson...in Madden, that is. None. Every back that I've faced will almost always break multiple tackle's before being brought down. It's so unrealistic that it becomes frustrating and not enjoyable. Maybe if I lower the setting that will help, but then what's the point of having a All Madden setting? I want it to be hard and challenging, but not in a unrealistic almost cheating kind of way. I find the same problem with the offensive line. All Pro linemen will routinely get beat by leaser opponents. I don't mind Albert Hansworth tossing my All Pro center to the side or knocking him on his butt, but when it's anybody and everybody, this becomes a frustration and it makes the whole rating system and everything else pointless. There's no point in bidding or drafting good offensive lineman because they get tossed around by every defense they face. At this point I've abandoned the play action. 8 out of 10 times I'm sacked. I thought maybe I wasn't running enough and therefore the defenders where not "buying" the play action...wrong. No matter how many times I ran it and no matter how successful I was at running the ball, almost every time I went play action I had a defender on me before I could even set my feet. They never even hesitated.

3.) The commentary sucks. I think they forgot they actually had this in the game. Collinsworth routinely contradicts himself. One minute your QB is one of the most accurate in the league, and then literally a play or two later accuracy is one of his weak points that he struggles with. There's this bizarre misplaced enthusiasm as well. Small, not so meaningful plays are celebrated, while big meaningful seemingly game altering play's seem unnoticed. It's like their not watching the same game, emotionally sometimes. It's the same with the crowd. At one point I was driving down the field in the last two minutes of a game to try and take the lead. At this point the crowd is cheering and appropriately in the game. I throw a pass to a receiver who appears to have made the catch for what would be a very needed first down...but they call him out of bounds. I challenge. They review it and over turn it which gives me this huge first down...and nothing. The crowd doesn't erupt in cheer or anything. The crowd is quiet....literally. No applause. No chanting. Nothing. I'm at home too, by the way. It was very disappointing. The replay sucks too. They show the replay but you don't get to watch the important part. They show my player running down field, turn and head towards the side line...and that's it. They don't show the catch and the keeping of the feet in bounds. They show multiple angles of my receiver running his route but not one angle of him making this great catch. Who signed off on this? How can someone see this and say "yeah, that's good."

Ultimately, Madden is what it always has been. It's either a complete disaster or it's close but not quite. I would say there has been some improvements, sure. But some of the most frustrating things that have plague this game over the years are alive and well. I wouldn't recommended you not buy it, but I wouldn't recommended that you do, either.

Best Deals for Madden NFL 12 - Xbox 360

Frankly, I'm writing this review because I'm tired of reading people whine about things that simply are inevitable with any video game. Video games are not real life, so of course playing Madden will not be like controlling actual NFL players, duh. The audio commentary is pre-recorded and randomized, not live. Sometimes it's going to seem weird, duh. When you have a game that has deep calculations at so many levels with hundreds of variables, sometimes there will be bugs, duh.

The better comparison is with other games in the Madden Franchise. I have owned and profusely played every Madden Game since 03. Honestly, this is the best Madden since the switch to next-gen consoles (Xbox360, PS3, etc.) The franchise mode finally got the treatment it deserved after being fairly ignored since the next-gen switch. Another great twist is that now, the stat's aren't absolute; the engine has been programmed to change players ratings in-game based on how they perform. One reviewer complained that his players weren't performing like they "should", but that's because of the new shift. I personally love it because it makes it much more like the real game: even superstars have bad games sometimes, and sometimes bad players have temporary bursts of greatness. It gives the game a much livelier feel.

In summary: if you've liked Madden for years, you'll love this game. If you're new to Madden and like football, give it a try. It takes a couple of games to get used to how things work, but once you get the hang of it it's a lot of fun. Don't listen to negative reviews from people who expect too much out of something that's just a video game at the end of the day.

Honest reviews on Madden NFL 12 - Xbox 360

I usually think the ranting reviews of Madden every year are overboard, but this is a really poor quality release. I'm actually going to return it, which at $40 for a trade-in is what I paid for it after the Amazon $20 credit for purchasing it. I've played Madden every year since the mid-90s and have never really been upset with a release. There are always glitches and annoyances, but overall the game is fun and realistic so I can live with it. I did not buy 11 last year b/c I just didn't have time to play much. So, Pros/Cons since v10 follow.

Pros

Sideline catches work now! In v10 receivers would just continue running with no concept of the sideline.

Graphically it looks better than v10.

Auto-sprint and auto-strafe are nice additions.

Half-time is gone, which was annoying in v10 because they would run down the games.

Cons

Announcers are consistently out of sync with the action both time-wise and action-wise. I just picked off a pass and returned it for a TD for example, and they start talking about how "the CB took a risk on the pick and missed and then he has to hope for Safety help, Safety can live with an aggressive corner" like I didn't even get the pick! Time-wise, you can literally make a first down or score, and no mention of it then when your lining up for the next play all of a sudden "Huge Touchdown right there!" And sometimes a mundane 5 yard catch in the middle of the game is met with "Huge catch there!!" from them. WTF?

Rosters are horribly out of date, and the game prompted me to update it the first time I played it. Some examples; Palmer is playing for the Bengals, Hasslebeck for Seattle, and Asomugha isn't on the Eagles roster. It's like they never bothered to update the rosters from last year?

You can't turn off accelerated clock in Franchise mode (it always runs down to 20s), which makes no sense to me and makes it harder for folks that like to adjust their play before the snap.

In-game menus are really slow. It's very clunky to change formations or the like, to the point where you can easily get screwed up because your hands are moving faster than the menus.

The overall game is slow, maybe we're reaching the limits of the XBox hardware, I'm not sure.

Using the A button for kicking is harder than necessary, since it's not as responsive as the stick was so you have to better anticipate timing and mash accordingly. I don't really understand the point of this one, since the stick worked perfectly well. Making kicking harder would be fine, but making it more tedious doesn't work for me.

Replays! Their on every play, half the time they don't even show the key part of the play and I can't figure out how to turn them off. Again, just another clunky interruption to the gameplay.

It just doesn't seem as fun this year, since you're playing against rosters that aren't accurate and the overall mechanics are clunky throughout the game so I'm sending it back...

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Madden NFL 12 - Xbox 360

Madden 12 is so-so. I see it like this:

The football.

The football is okay. It isnt great, but it is good, and on par with recent releases of Madden. There are things which are interesting, and things that will drive you nuts. I got tired of the run-off that happened before each play, outside of the final two minutes of the half(s).

Player Modelling.

I dont know who decided it would be funny to make all the big men O-line, D-line look like overstuffed water balloons, but I didnt care for it. It looks retarded.

The Franchise.

For many of us, this is the reason we buy Madden. The Franchise is lackluster in this incarnation of Madden. There are a few neat ideas, but they have been executed poorly. There are expanded pre-season rosters, and cut days, but they are very arbitrary. You can make the cuts, then go sign a F/A and you dont need to cut again. Also the menu is not really to my taste, I like having it up instead of needing to call it up, but that is a personal preference.

I think it is a GREAT idea to have the overall player rating uncertain, but basic measurables that remain a mystery? I guarantee, every team knows how fast each player on the team is, for example. This needs some tweaking. There are measureables that make sense to keep unsure awareness, ZCV MCV, etc... But speed, strength, jumping? These are quantites teams know.

Scouting within the franchise is also broken. 4 weeks of scouting over a whole season? And all you get is +big hit, +stiff arm?

That isnt a feature, that is BROKEN. Why am I paying a scouting agency to tell me things I could find out by watching college football for 20 minutes some Saturday? You pay scouts for in-depth research on players.

The game as a whole.

I have one of them new fancy black x-box with built in wi-fi and hundreds of gigs of storage. So I install all games I play. This game still likes to hang coming in and out of menus, and weird places that you would think arent particularly intensive. They will probly fix this with a patch eventually, but how do you drop the ball like this and ask for 60 bucks to have the honor of gold testing a game?

The overall.

If you havent bought a Madden in several years, you might like this, it may be the jump forward you have been hoping for. But be smart, rent this on first, because odds are REALLY good you might think this wont be worth the 15 dollars you will be able to get it for used in a few weeks.

Best Vanguard Princess Deals

Customer Ratings:

Even though the Japanese version is free, I was willing to drop a Lincoln for an official English version. Its a solid fighter, the sprites are well designed and the animation is good. All the text is in English while the voices are still in Japanese. I prefer Japanese voices so that worked out well for me. The game is also pretty hard, even on easy mode (I'm not particularly good at fighting games though. So maybe its just me).

I can also use my Xbox 360 controller with the game, so thats a plus if you don't like using a keyboard (unfortunately I don't have an arcade stick to try and see if that'd work).

I encountered one glitch where my character randomly disappeared off the screen. I don't know why it happened, but it hasn't happened again.

Also, there is no DRM :) Thats always a plus in my book!

I'd say its worth $5, especially considering the obvious lack of good PC fighting games.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

The English release was unfortunately watered down and censored... to top it all of they are charging money for that 'service'. The Japanese version of the game was free.

I'd recommend everyone download the original Japanese version along with an English patch for the text.

Best Deals for Vanguard Princess

...i remember playing the original free untranslated japanese version a few years ago. And aside from the translation by eigomanga, this game is the same version as the original. Though Eigomanga claims they tweaked it a bit by removing bugs and fixing the balance, i honestly dont see anything theyve done gameplay wise

nor have they fixed the arcade stick controller custom interface you still cant adjust your arcade stick to the buttons you want as it seems to be designed more for four button control pads

but for $5, this game is more than worth it. The character design and fighting engine is quite well done for what it is. Everything's bright and colorful, and the girls are cute and kickass.

I really hope there's a sequel in the future. this series has huge potential

Honest reviews on Vanguard Princess

This is a GREAT game! It's worth more than $5! Do Yourself a favor and BUY THIS! it's only $5! The Animations are awesome and the gameplay is as good as any top fighter game that is out there! You'll spend countless hours having fun while fighting your friends or the CPU!

The game is in the English language which is always good! The characters are fun and lovable And the music is Great! you might just play the game for the awesome soundtrack!

This is a MUST BUY! You won't regret it!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Vanguard Princess

The game is solid in every conceivable way from the Art styles of both the characters and backgrounds to the simple and yet daunting controls for the gameplay. For the Best Bang for your buck getting vanguard Princess is a must.

Best Whiteout Deals

Customer Ratings:

This game is terrible!! I have never seen

a snowcross race with power ups and flaming

hoops.Stupid!! The graphics are PS1 level...

Seriously,they're that bad.If you want to make

a snowmobile game this is not the way to go

about it.This game will have serious sled-heads

disgusted.A sled with dual tracks? C'mon,try again

and put some effort into it.I was expecting Rev's

and Firecats with killer tracks and outdoor environments,

instead I got a game that wouldn't interest a 2 year old?

A dismal failure,no stars out tonight.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I rented this game and played it for 10 minutes before I ripped it out and put in "HALO". You can only choose between three snowmobiles that bare no resemblance to real snowmobiles. Boring tracks and you cant do any free styling. Dont even rent this game!

Best Deals for Whiteout

I was very disappointed when I heard the so called music on the game. Most people call it RAP, But I call it Crap Noise!

Thank GOD you can turn the volume off. Then I had fun. The kids who listen to Crap Noise probably never drove a snowmobile in their lives. I'm 46 years old and I can bet you Snowmobile experts, like myself will agree. I hope Microsoft reads this and

also I would love to hear how many true sled lovers agree or can

reply to my comments. Sincerely, Wayne

Buy X360 Slim Vault - MLG Special Edition

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $89.95
Sale Price: $24.99
Today's Bonus: 72% Off

This case is a definite plus if you own a Xbox slim, it raises the bottom to allow more airflow. The wider feet help keep the system from falling over (I have 5 children), we have a small collection of games with "the ring" on the disc from systems falling over. Another plus of having this case on is the touch sensitive buttons for opening the disc tray, and the power button are now recessed, preventing accidental powering on/off, or opening the disc tray inadvertently. The controller/headset hook works well, it has a groove that the battery side of the controller fits into. The mask is quality made, there's a button on the USB plug for cycling through all the different light modes. Assembly was also very easy.

Now for the negatives. If you are like me, you will do some searches and watch a few videos online for this product. You will see there is a retractable "hook" on the top of the mask for holding a headset, this is not included with this case. Next the MLG logo nameplate seen on the front in all the pictures isn't included either, being a MLG case you would think it would be. I raised my concerns with the seller Rover Mall, and they went above and beyond trying to locate a nameplate to send me. Turns out none of them come with it. So it would appear Caliber just didn't include these items, this is no fault of the seller. This case normally retails for $90. and is substantially less here on Amazon, combined with "Prime" free 2-day shipping makes this deal even better.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

The Calibur Vault is great! very simple to install, and it gives a great overall look to you xbox 360....it also comes with a controller slot as well which is aweosme! the LED lights from the eyes give it an awesome look at night....great price, great item, and it arrived fast......

Best Deals for X360 Slim Vault - MLG Special Edition

Nice my kids love it they show it off all the time to friends and family and take pictures and send to everyone

Honest reviews on X360 Slim Vault - MLG Special Edition

First let me say I have been extremely impressed with this entire package. The box the vault came in was cool all by itself, opening up like Jambi's box (Yes, that's a Pee-Wee's Playhouse reference) revealing the MLG Vault stored quite safely inside. A big shout-out to the shippers for dropping this off 3 full days before the expected shipping period even started! The assembly of the Vault was amazingly easy..... it took me about 3 minutes. The LED eyes on the mask have a few different modes, including solid colors, fade outs, and colour rotations, all of which are operated with the push of a button. The MLG plate beside the usb ports was included, with an option to get a customized nameplate for the front of the Vault, which I plan on doing. This makes my Xbox360 look totally custom, the sturdy base keeps it from tipping over and also keeps it elevated for better airflow to the system. Amazing product, amazing shipping, amazing experience!

One word of caution for people (like me) who live in Canada and are planning on ordering this:

Be prepared for around $40 in "brokerage fees" (aka taxes) for them to let this across the border. Keep in mind this is no fault of the manufacturer, distributor, shipper, or Amazon. Just our Canadian government. Even with the brokerage fees I'm still incredibly happy with my purchase and would recommend it to all my friends, it just would've been nice to know about beforehand.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for X360 Slim Vault - MLG Special Edition

I received my x360 slim vault -mag special edition promptly love it ordered it for my son he would recommend to all his friends

Company of Heroes - PC Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $7.99
Today's Bonus: 60% Off

This game is brilliant.

First a little history. I am a 43 year old gamer (and bad speller)who has been around since pong. I have gone the route of Pong, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, Atari ST and then the PC since the 386. Other than FPS (just not my thing, plus I suck) I have played all the different type of games many many times.

Even though these are my initial impressions of the game so far this is easily the most fun I personally have had with a RTS game since Total Annihilation. I have played the Age of Empires, Warcrafts, Starcraft, Rise of Nations, Dawn of War etc etc. All these games were different yet they had the same "feel" about them. COH feels new and that is something that the RTS genre really needed. The bar has been raised to a staggering height.

Why do I enjoy COH over these other RTS games.

1. Strategy: Flanking, Machine guns covering arcs, armor facing, etc. COH has real strategies that make you think instead of how fast you can click around the battlefield(more on this later). The battlefield is destructible which also adds a level of strategy. The brick wall that feeds enemy troops towards a choke point is great until that tank rolls through it giving the enemy another point of access. Wait until you come back to a great defensive point while you were busy at another area and see off-board artillery devistate your position.

2. Atmosphere: The atmosphere in COH's is awesome. The voices (warning crude language), graphics, etc. Every little detail is done to a new level of perfection.

3. A.I.: The A.I. is very good. Your troops will find cover if possible (unlike the report from a previous reviewer). If you have mortar teams back and a rifle company come upon enemy units they will automatically start bombarding that location. the computer player on normal is a very tough opponent for someone at my level in the skirmish mode (I have yet to bet him).

4. Resources: Resources are done like Relics pervious game Dawn of War with a added level of complexity. You have to take over points on the battlefield which will supply you with one of the three types of resources required. What is different is that each point is in a sector and these sectors must be joined back to your base (by being adjacent to another friendly sector). It is possible to lose a sector which will isolate some of your other sectors and their resource income. This adds even more strategy to the game.

5. Map: The map in the game is outstanding. It shows the sectors your troop locations with a symbol what they are, if they are pinned, suppressed, in combat. A excellent way to have a snapshot of what is happening.

Is this game perfect no but what is. Although some might find this game easy I (like most) find it very hard. Even with the advance A.I. I always feel like I am out of control and need to be at 20 places at once. The good thing is that you can pause the game, go through your troops giving them orders, gather your wits and then let all hell break loose again. I have not played online but at my speed I would probably get massacred. Even tough I think the language fits the game perfectly I agree with some that you should have the option of turning it off if you have kids around. I was also underwelmed with the first mission of storming the beach. I know they were trying to ease you into the game but i think they missed the marked and was more confused after the mission than I was before I started.

I highly recommend that you purchase this game, support Relic as they deserve it. Give yourself a treat pick up Company of Heroes.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This little masterpieceis everything you want in a real-time strategy. I wasn't a fan of RTS before this gem came out--now I can't wait for the expansion pack that will offer more maps to play single player skirmishes... and perhaps even, weeeeee... a map editor!

The graphics are simply out of this world. I found myself watching a streetfight between the axis and allies and noticing that down there on the cobblestones was a broken piano. It's beautiful little touches like this that makes a game so remarkable. In fact there is all types of debris in the game, all types of house models, so much stuff that I can't wait to see each next map. The game is simply a delight to look at.

The AI really does run for cover, especially when there is a tank or a big gun shooting at them. If not--if they feel confident enough that they can take their adversary--they will stand boldy where they are, not bothering to take cover. I think, dare I say it, each little man has his own personality and will take cover when choosing to do so.

The campain is fun to watch. The game works like a first person shooter, but when the story stops and you get dropped into it, it pulls you back so that you can view the entire battlefield and have control over everything.

I can't belive how fun this game is. I never thought I'd get into a video game like this again, especially an RTS. The only reason why I gave it a less than perfect score was because they didn't provide a map editor. With a map editor, it would have been perfect.

And another thing... Why can't the allies or axis build trenches??? ... I want trenches!

Do yourself a favor and buy this game. It's worth every penny and more.

Best Deals for Company of Heroes - PC

First let me say other reviewers mentioned this is a difficult game to play and win because of all the action. It is difficult until you realize two very important things:

1) You can give orders to your units while the game is paused! This makes the game almost like a turn-based game. If you try to play without pausing it does become a very tough click-fest.

2) Relic themselves published a 'cheat' that allows you to adjust the game speed from its default of '10' all the way down to '1'. So if you do not like pausing you can simply slow the game in general.

So having said that how is Company of Heroes (CoH)? First the graphics are outstanding. They are almost equal to that of a FPS game of just a few years ago. You can fully rotate and zoom the view. Like Relic's previous 'Dawn of War' title you cannot zoom out very far but they did include an 'operational' map view that shows the overall battlefield with unit icons. This helps alleviate the problem with the inability to zoom out.

Sound is very well done. Weapons sound correct and the various audio clues of what is going on are vital. The units do swear, which is unnecessary and really adds little to the game, but it is humorous the first few times you hear it.

Game play is very similar to `Dawn of War' and most RTS games. What CoH does well is it includes the objective resource system from DoW but expands it to include four different resource objectives: fuel, munitions, gas, and area. Combinations of the four allow you to build and improve your units. In addition, as you capture resources you gain control of an area. It is also possible to cut off an area and thus lose the resources from it. This simple system encourages not only attacking but also higher level options such as flanking. This is unique to a RTS title and is very well done and works even better.

CoH is not a wargame but a RTS game with a bit of wargame feel to it. The game plays much like a normal RTS game. The unit choices are interesting and mostly historical. Most of what you would expect in a WW2 title are here. You can even call in artillery, airstrikes, paradrops, and other support functions. Engagement ranges are ridiculously short and this hurts some of simulation feel as vehicles and heavy weapons are not able to stand off as far as they should. But, again, this is a RTS title not a wargame.

The biggest complaint with the game is the AI. The enemy AI does a very good job overall especially for a RTS game. But the friendly AI reactions have some real brain dead moments that will either cause you a lot of grief or force you to micromanage more than you would wish. For example, an enemy tank will move up and fire on your infantry squad and wipe it out while a friendly tank of yours sits just half a screen away doing nothing about it. I've lost buildings to infantry attacks while my own infantry sat by and watched. Units will also make some silly moves. Tanks will sometimes ram each other and rarely try to flank each other or seek nearby cover.

But overall the limits of the AI and few other quibbles are overshadowed by the great game play and overall great `feel' of the game. It provides the most tactical and combined arms options of any RTS game to date and for that it succeeds and for that any RTS fan should pick up `Company of Heroes'.

Honest reviews on Company of Heroes - PC

Company of Heroes is the latest real time strategy game from Relic who are known for their excellent Dawn of War RTS titles set in the Warhammer universe.

In Company of Heroes Relic takes a more realistic approach to the RTS genre. Set during WWII CoH follows Able and Fox Companies from their landing on the beaches of Normandy through their closing of the Falaise pocket.

In CoH the gameplay has been adapted and enhanced from Relic's Dawn of War games. Instead of capturing generic control points on the map just for resources and territory, instead in CoH capturing points gives you control over that territory and in addition provides a population cap increase and generates more manpower. Manpower along with fuel and ammunition are the three resources that you will use to supply your army. While you gain manpower by capturing any control point there are specific control points that generate fuel and ammunition. Obtaining and defending those points successfully is a major part of the game.

Because of this gameplay mechanic, playing the game defensively is usually not a very successful tactic. The game rewards players that move in and capture territory. During the campaign as you capture territory and destroy the enemy you receive special command upgrades that allow you to obtain more advanced units, build units more quickly and call in air and artillery support among other things. These special abilities still cost you resources to use though and the person that has resources to use them when necessary will be the winner in an engagement.

The AI on both sides of the game is able to handle itself fairly well. Your soldiers are usually very intelligent about taking cover, but they still require micro-management to use their special abilities. All infantry units have special abilities that can tip the balance of an encounter in their favor, but without your guidance these abilities will never get used.

The vehicle AI is generally good with the exception of some pathfinding problems and an annoying tendency for vehicles to present their lighter armored backside to enemies at inopportune times. In tight combat situations micromanaging which armor side is shown to enemy gunners is critical and at the same time you'll need to maneuver your armor to flank the enemy and catch them from the rear. At certain points the enemy AI is very good at keeping their armor effectively positioned and at other times they ignore facing completely and present an easy target. Sometimes this is the difference between facing a green or veteran unit, but at other times the AI just seems to give up their back.

Another issue with vehicle AI is that vehicles when ordered to directly attack another vehicle like to run right up on that vehicle and collide with them rather than come to a stop at a distance and fire. This can be problematic when the enemy you attack is grouped to the rear of other enemies and your unit ends up presenting their rear armor to the other enemies.

The enemy AI can be challenging and in some scenarios overwhelming. The scenarios in general vary in difficulty that way, but usually the challenge is in finding the right mix of units and support to utilize. Each scenario presents primary goals to complete and a secondary goal which will earn the player a medal for outstanding performance. These secondary goals often involve inflicting additional casualties on the enemy or avoiding excessive losses on your side.

While there are only fifteen scenarios to complete these are packed with details and can often last for several hours as each scenario will have multiple goals embedded in it. For instance you might be tasked with capturing a town from the axis and then afterwards you must hold it for a period of time against a counterattack. The aforementioned secondary goals also add performance challenges that will make you rethink how effective you were in completing the scenario.

The graphic engine makes use of as much hardware as you can present. The units are well crafted and scaled, the terrain is detailed and the destructible environments are well done. Being able to reduce buildings and obstacles to rubble adds to the gameplay experience immensely.

Running on two year old hardware my play experience was limited by my Radeon 9800 Pro AGP graphics card with a measly 128mb of RAM and limited support for the latest technologies. In addition I'm running an Athlon 64 3200 with 1GB of RAM. While the game recommended running at 1024x768 with most of the more advanced settings turned down I found that even at that resolution I was getting a good amount of slowdown in large scale battles. I ended up lowering the resolution to 800x600 to keep things moving smoothly. I found the graphic presentation to be quite good even without being able to turn up the juice.

If you haven't bought/upgraded your machine recently with PCI Express and one of the newer video cards then you'll probably have the same experience I did in terms of performance as this game requires a lot of computer power in every area. Loading a scenario for the first time can take up to a minute on my machine even with a 10000 RPM SATA drive.

That said, once you are in the scenario there are no loading screens and save game loads within the same scenario are much quicker than the initial load. It's worth the wait.

The sound in the game is immersive. The explosions and weapon fire will rock you if you have a subwoofer attached to your sound system. The units will call out and alert you when they are under attack and in general respond appropriately depending on their status in a battle or otherwise. As one poster noted there is a bunch of harsh language mixed in, but I didn't find it to be out of place.

The campaign story itself is well put together, but certainly doesn't approach something like Starcraft in terms of tying the story and the scenarios together. This didn't detract from the gameplay, but I wasn't really drawn into the campaign story very much.

Overall, I found Company of Heroes to be a satisfying game in most aspects with only minor quibbles and very few obvious flaws or bugs in the initially delivered product. Unfortunately, now I think I think it's put me in mind to upgrade my computer.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Company of Heroes - PC

A very quick review since I haven't played the entire game yet.

First: this is a real fast paced game. You very quickly feel "out-of-control" and trying to keep your head cool is a very hard thing to achieve. Not unlike real war I guess!

Second: it is indeed a great game. It looks spectacular and the one thing you can't help but notice is how well polished it is. Yet another fine product from the fine folks at Relic.

A buying advice: get the regular edition, not the special edition: I got the special edition and the only difference is a small printed "real map" of D-Day, 10 little cards, a slim metalic box, and an extra CD with mostly text info and very little in the ways of content! I feel like I've been cheated.

Best 76-in-1 Smart Portable New Generation Digital Handheld Console BLUE Deals

Customer Ratings:

The gameboy was great until the battery charger stopped working (within a month). Aside from this, my kids' only complaint was that many of the games were duplicates.

All efforts to resolve the faulty battery charger with the company, who initially told me not to worry bc it was guarranteed, ended in them ignoring my emails, with no refund nor replacement. It's been 3 months, and we still haven't resolved it. I wouldn't recommend this product, unless you buy from a reputable company, and not WoofersEtc.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I bought this after putting it off for various reasons. I am thrilled with it! The shipping time was SUPER FAST.I can't believe they squeezed all these games into this little unit! I am an old school gamer when I have the time, and the graphics of these games are just like playing an old nintendo or sega all over again. I plugged it into my 42" flat screen today and played Burgertime the way it was meant to be played. battery has a charged life of about 5 -6 hrs between charges which again works fine for me. The only other game I would add to this unit is JR.Pacman.(Maybe someone will come out with an Atari handheld ??!!please!!)I took it to work with me to show it off, and now a couple of them want one.I have only had this for about a week, but so far, I am happy with my purchase. GREAT PRODUCT !!

Best Deals for 76-in-1 Smart Portable New Generation Digital Handheld Console BLUE

A complete waste of money. Most of the games are duplicate and/or homebrew games. The portable system itself feels cheaply made. The buttons and directional pad are okay.

Honest reviews on 76-in-1 Smart Portable New Generation Digital Handheld Console BLUE

This product was even better than described! Wonderful graphics, came with dc adapter, cords to link to tv, and directions

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for 76-in-1 Smart Portable New Generation Digital Handheld Console BLUE

The game is fun to have but the only problem is my son can only play the game with it plug in to the charger.

Tritton Detonator Stereo Headset for Xbox 360 Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $79.95
Sale Price: $79.00
Today's Bonus: 1% Off

First off I should mention that I'm using my mother's amazon account (go Amazon Prime) so this is from a 18 year old power gamer. (seriously...) anyway, I have a pair of Astro A40s, that I absolutely adore. That is, the headset. personally, I found that I used my surround sound system more then the astros when gaming, simply for a comfort factor. Onto the item that we're looking at however.

Pros:

Cheap. Cannot stress this enough. For the build quality, the overall look, and the sound quality, you'd be hardpressed to find a better deal. I got mine at another store for $30 (thanks after christmas specials) but it's the same product, and I've never really had an issue with amazon.

Sturdy Build

Quality Sound (I won't say that these beat the astros overall; those are just a step above. however, I gave that whole set to my father for christmas, as he is a gamer and just had another kid, so being able to game without a loud TV set whilst she sleeps is a must have)

Extras: this comes with the HDMI adapter that is normally anywhere from 5 (offbrand) to 15 (official Xbox). That is a HUGE plus, and something that didn't come with my Turtle Beach X31s.

I've never been a fan of Tritton after my first ax pros broke; then the second and third. (power gamer, remember?) but I've been brutal with these the last two or three days (usage times of 5+ hours, throwing them onto my desk for dinner-not forcefully, but not gently placing anyway, more like underhand tossing them from 6 inches above the desk) and these have taken the slight abuse like a champ.

Cons:

Stereo sound. this isn't really a complaint, but more an observation. coming from a 5.1 to this is rather obvious, but it still is very good.

Slightly tight. I get a headache after extended wear, but this might be because I have a rather large noggin (I generally need to buy XXL hats, so ya)but i'm sure the rigidity will go away with more extended use. If not, I'll find a way around it and update this.

The microphone is not removable, which isn't a huge deal, but it was nice to be able to use my Astros like normal headphones. (you can with these, but there is a microphone sticking out of the side. If that doesn't bother you, more power to ya)

Overall?

If you are thinking of getting Turtle Beach X31s or lower, but have the room to get a wired set, get these. Not having to constantly switch batteries is a huge plus, and the sound quality is the same. Plus, they look a bit less goofy.

TL:DR?

If you're spending less than $100 on a headset, buy these. Doubt you'll be disappointed.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I have owned this product for 6 months.

I'm extremely tough on my xbox headsets, and usually have to replace them after a year. I've moved my setup into my computer room, so I've been using stereo headsets for both sound and communication on Xbox live.

I started with wireless Turtle Beaches, but the battery replacement always happened at the most inopportune time. Then I switched to the Tritton Ax720s, but the detachable mic stopped working 6 months in, and I had a heck of a time getting the replacement to work.

When I heard that Tritton was getting into the market with a new inexpensive stereo headest, I thought I would give them a shot. So far, they're my favorite.

They are On-Ear, which means that they will not envelope your whole ears like the 720s. Regardless, they are very good at noise canceling. As always, extended use does tend to warm the ears, but the headset is comfortable for me to wear 3-4 hours at a time. The adjustable mic is very nice: The boom stays put, and people have not had cause to complain about my volume.

The control module is close enough to the headset to make it easy to reach, and the graduation of the volume sliders for both gamechat and game sound are fine. Every once in a while they'll catch on something--like my shirt--and I'll have to re-adjust them, but they don't really change on their own.

The absolute best part of this setup is the included "adaptor" for old-model Xboxes. As you may know, the HDMI port contradicts the use of the older style component cables. Either you would have to buy an adaptor, or you would "mod" your cable by hacking off the plastic casing (something I had to do for my AX720s).

Instead, Tritton included a matt black stereo rca audio adaptor for those of us who play through HDMI. It's thin and light and does not interfere with the HDMI port. The adaptor included with the Triggers does not include optical audio but there isn't a need for such a port, considering the headset uses RCA (RED/WHITE) connections. The RCA ports on the headset itself are MALE/FEMALE terminated, therefore allowing extension cable use.

Now for the only negative so far: Using this with a wired controller.

I have no idea if this is just the controller acting weirdly or not, but when the headset is connected to a wired controller, a high pitch whine can be heard if the gamechat volume is on at all. If I turn down the gamechat volume, the noise goes away. If I unplug the chat cord, the volume goes away. It seems to be connected to the notification ring on the controller, because whenever that flashes, the noise goes in and out. During gameplay, it's hard to notice, but in-between matches, it's annoyingly present. It's distracting, and not present when connected to a wireless controller.

Overall I enjoy this headset the most per-dollar. If you use a wireless controller and are looking to get into a full headset, I'd recommend these over pretty much anything else. The headband is extra durable, the ear cups are comfortable, it sets itself up smoothly, and the volume is clear and loud.

Best Deals for Tritton Detonator Stereo Headset for Xbox 360

Hello, this is D-Day1944, and today I will be reviewing the Tritton Warhead. I know many of you have been waiting for this one, so let us not dwandle and begin the review. :)

For years, the gamers of Xbox have wanted a "Truly Wireless Headset." Many attempts at this proved to be a failure, and while the Turtle Beach XP500 uses a Wireless Dongle, it still was not "True Wireless" to many. Many thought that "True Wireless" just was not possible and could never be achieved. Last year at E3, everything changed. Tritton announced its newest headset in "the Warhead", as well as working together with Microsoft to create a "Truly Wireless" solution. It has been a year, and you can now buy the Warhead from the offical store of MadCatz. However, the Warhead now has some competition from ASTRO Gaming (their arch-nemises), and Turtle Beach, the former having released the Astro A50, and the latter having released the XP500. Has Tritton's year gamble paid off, or was it a year too late? Find out soon! :)

Out of the Box and Appearance:

From looking at the box itself, I cannot say I was impressed. Yes, the picture logo is good, but is standard fare. This is a bit of a letdown for a $300 Headset, but definitley not a dealbreaker. In the box, there is RCA Cables if you go "Old Skool," an Audio Adapter if you have an old Xbox, an A/C Wall Adapter for powering the Base Station, the Base Station itself with a rest for the Warhead, an Optical Cable for Surround Sound, two Rechargeable Batteries (One for the Headset and one for the Base Station), the Warhead itself and a Detachable Microphone For how the system overall looks, its appearance is reminisent to that of a Sci-Fi Movie. The Base Station looks like a futuristic Rocket Launcher, and the Warhead itself has a "New Gen" appearance, with curvy lines, embosed "Tritton" Logo, and Glossy finish. There is a magnetic faceplate on both the Base Station and the Warhead for the batteries as well. On the Headset you will various buttons. On the left side, you have a Stereo to Optical button, a Volume Switch for Voice Chat, and your Selectable Voice Monitoring Button. On the right side, you have a EQ Option to four pre-set Options (None, Game, Music, Movies), a Volume Switch for Game Volume, a pairing button on the left side and a power button on the right side.

All in all, everything worked properly and there were little to no problems. The only complaints I do have is the Optical Cable being a bit flimsy, the Warhead's finish a fingerprint magnet, and while the button's are tactile and responsive, they do feel cheap.

Setup and Layout:

The Warhead is easily the most simple headset I have ever used. Just simply plug your A/C adapter and Optical Cable (or RCA Cable) in, put in those rechargeable batteries (one in the Warhead, and the other in the Base Station), turn on your Xbox, pair your controller, and you are good to go. This Setup took me about 1 minute, 10 Seconds, and for setup, that's fast. As stated above, all of your controls are at your fingertips, so changing various settings on the fly is simple. The Base Station also has an indicator telling you how many Warheads are hooked up. If your friends have a Warhead, then it can be paired up with your own Base Station, and up to four are allowed. As for the Layout, it saves space. No Cables running out to me, and no tethered cord, which works very welk with the Warhead. Even better, those two Rechargable Batteries are 3.7V, 1,800 mAh. Let me repeat that, two 3.7V, 1800 mAh batteries. Now the manual says 12 hours, but I got up to 18. This beats both the A50 and XP500 hands down, the former getting 9-10 hours, and the latter getting 9 on the dot.

Overall, very pleased with the setup. No issues here, pretty much everything worked fine. The battery life, though, is just icing on the cake, and it is something ASTRO Gaming and Turtle Beach should pay close attention to.

Comfort:

The Warhead does not feature Memory-Foam Padding, but there is a great amount of plush in the earcup. The Earcups themselves are removable, but no secondary padding was included. The stock faux leather padding was more breatheable than in the older AX Models, and your ears will not get as sweaty, keyword being "as." I had gotten on average 3-5 hours, which is not bad, but is not great either. To give a comparison, the XP500 and A50 had much better padding materials. Continuing on with the Warhead, the Earcups do swivel for breaks, and the Earcups can contour with larger or smaller heads. The headrail is also adjustable for larger and smaller heads. The Flexibilty of the Warhead is good, but not great. It does feel stiff compared to the Astro A50 or Turtle Beach XP500, but it can get the job done. Inside of the earpads though, is no padding at all, so those of you who have bigger ears, all I can say is "OUCH!"

In the end though, the Warhead is good to wear for long sessions, but there is somewhat of an anomaly. The Warhead is so comfy, but is comfy enough that I noticed the Warhead being there, which is not a bad thing, but not a great one either.

Sound Performance:

Well, it is all what you have been waiting for, the Audio Performance. The Warhead solves the usual wireless problem by going up to a 5.8Ghz wireless frequency. By doing so, 2.4Ghz devices, such as Wireless Routers, will not interfere with the Headset. In my testing, I did not experience any static or hiss, unlike the XP500, which, in my case, is appearent. For the Stereo Setting, the sound was surprisingly underscored. The sound was good, but for the $300 Pricetag, its underwhelming and a bit dissapointing. The low end was good but it lacked some definition, the mids were warm but vocals could not be heard clearly or blended in too much in music, and the high end was clear, but dark and mildy squashed at times. Listening to songs like "I am all of Me" by Crush 40 or "Higher Ground" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers shows off how good the Warheads are for music Overall, for stereo, it is good, but not as good as the A50, and to an extent, the XP500. Thankfully, you have Dolby Digital options so here are the results, but before we get into that, let me explain how Dolby Digital works:

Science of Dolby Digital:

In order to recreate a 5.1 Surround Sound Setup, Dolby Headphone is mixed with Dolby Digital. Dolby Digital then uses 5.1 Channels of audio in a Surround Sound Setup, then uses various DSP's (Digital Sound Processors) to Simulate 5.1 Channels of audio to the Headset. For 7.1, Dolby Pro Logic IIx is added in as two rear filler channels with the 5.1 signal to get Dolby Digital 7.1. One important note though. Although the Warhead says "7.1", the Xbox only Outputs 5.1. The EQ Settings change the Dynamic Range and Compression of Audio

Now that you know how exactly the Warhead works, take a look at the results:

Music:

Definitely the worst of the three EQ settings. The low end does get kicked up a notch, and even though it (thankfully) did not drown out the mids and highs, in games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, it can be a problem. Footsteps were easier to track, but gunfire did not give me a realistic feel. Other games, like Hydro Thunder Hurricane, or Split Second, did have a more natural feel. Overall, though, this option is not what I recommend. The highs and mids are great, but amplifying bass can be a bit of a problem.

Game:

This option tones down the bass so that mids and highs have a little more breathing room. This can be good for games like Black Ops and Halo Reach, but the bass does not suffer as much as one would think. Still, this is a solid option. While playing Black Ops or Reach is fun, you might wanna play something else, and that is were game falls a bit short. Unlike a bit too much bass for the Music EQ, Game EQ does have good bass, but not enough for me to hear the roar of the engine or hear footsteps. Overall, the Game EQ setting is solid. Not having enough bass just could not cope with me, and sometimes, the highs were a bit too bright.

Movie:

*Hallelujah, Hallelujah, HALLE-LUU-JAH*

As you can see, you can guess which one was my personal favorite. Movie EQ lowers the mids but highs and lows stay the same. Madden 13's Demo definitley showcased how well the sound was. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms were clearer, audibles could be heard more easily, and crowd's did feel more expansive. Other games like Call of Duty and Hydro Thunder sounded better overall. Footsteps were easier to hear, and the roar of the engines were more smooth. Overall, Movie EQ was fun to listen too, and my recommended setting for the Warhead.

Overall, the Sound Quality is deserving of the $300 Price Tag, but the A50 definitely is a superior choice, and, to an extent, the XP500 (Emphasis on "extent").

As for the Microphone, it performed well. My teamates could always hear me and there was little to no static during playback or testing. When using the Selectable Voice Monitoring, hearing myself saved me from shouting into the mic, but it does pick up some background noise. Thankfully though, it was not appearent to my teamates or me. Although SVM does not have a volume ruler for it, it is not much of a deal breaker.

Ratings:

So, with all of these categories done, it is time for the ratings.

Out-of-the-Box and Look

Result: 3.5/5

The Warhead feels like $300, but certain elements, along with standard fare packaging, keeps this Headset from earning anything higher, but the look of the Base Station and Headset definitley is its saving grace.

Setup and Layout

Result: 4.5/5

I did enjoy myself with the Warhead's setup. It is the best Wireless Headsets to setup, and boasts the best battery life. Nothing even comes close.

Sound

Result: 4/5

While it does haven some quibbles here and there, the Warhead's 50mm provide a very spacious feeling. Not as good as the A50's, but usually better than the XP500. Mic quality is the same story, although it is better than the XP500. (Again, High Emphasis on "usually").

Closing Comments:

Is it safe to say Tritton has finally done it? After so many backfires on the old AX Series, the Warhead just might be Tritton's long, lost answer to their enemy, ASTRO Gaming. While it does not have Cross-Compatibilty like the A50 or XP500, it is the World's First "Truly Wireless" Headset, and major headphone companies better take notice quick, as Tritton has a commanding lead. If you only game on the Xbox 360, and in dire need of a headset, Tritton's Warhead will make sure you are satisfied.

Overall, I am giving the Warhead a four out of five stars rating.

Well, this has been D-Day1944, and thank you for reading. I hope you join me next time were we will take a look at the Astro A40 Gaming Wired System. Personally, I think this review is long overdue.

Again, this is D-Day1944, signing off.

Honest reviews on Tritton Detonator Stereo Headset for Xbox 360

I really like this head set..a lot.. i mostly play Black Ops with them but have found that i want to use it with every game i play...not to mention with netflix and hulu plus ...not having a huge surround sound system or anything of the sort this really fills that void... and also if you have a girlfriend that does not particularly want to hear the sound of gun fire all night while she is surfing the web or reading a book this is perfect.. but i can also still hear if someone is talking to me in the room if it is at a lower volume.. and still hear if someone is creeping up behind me in Black Ops(i'm a casual gamer and it has helped me gain more kills per round).. you still have to be wired to the controller to chat with people.. but no biggy there..i don't usually have it wired up my self.. the separate volume for the chat and gameplay sounds respectively is an awesome feature( its so nice to just turn some people off and not listen to some of the crap that comes out).... on comfort... it wasn't immediate for me( kinda along the lines of the dude with the big ears complaint) but once i adjusted them and played a few rounds i never looked back.. plus i already had the habit of taking of the old head set and setting down the controller between matches anyway... but i'm finding more and more that i don't really notice them there and keep them on for a couple of hours at a time now... and now for sound... this is what really sold me on it... besides the stuff that i've already mentioned.. i really wanted to go wireless .. my controller is wireless so why should i be wired to my xbox with my head set?? that was just out of the question for me.. this is 5.8 ghz compared to the 2.nothin' ghz of the turtle beach... i have experienced 0 static or interference .. i even walk into the kitchen between matches to get a brew( way beyond the distance specified) and i could still hear everything crystal clear.. the head set is powered as well with 2 AA batteries.. i have been using the same set for over 2weeks and still have not had to change them.. also.. one of the coolest things, i think anyway, is that the sound comes right out of the xbox .. so you can have the TV tuned all the way down as to not annoy your significant other.. or turn it up so that your friends that don't have the head set can hear everything as well... and as i mentioned before, you can adjust them where you can hear your buddy just fine as well as the gameplay sounds... i have read another complaint about static.. which prompted me to write this review... no static for me..not sure if there batteries where going dead.. or had some wires crossed ... i'm using the newest xbox 360;; so i don't know if that makes a difference ... i'm not saying there are not better ones out there(like the ones with Dolby surround sound) this set seems very "surround sound" to me.. i can always hear what side someone is coming up on or firing from.. which is pretty cool... i just don't see how it could get much better than this.. everything else kinda seems like a waste of money to go Dolby.. it is like they're charging you another 50 bucks for a name.. i hope this is helpful to some people .... i did not want people to buy a product just cause it has MW3 or what ever on it, and that's what you "must" use.. most importantly shop around try on what your friends are using ask people at game stores and remember you can always return something that doesn't work for you .. never settle... as for me i have found my set.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Tritton Detonator Stereo Headset for Xbox 360

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I recently tried out the Tritton's after using Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound) for the past few months. Both are similar in sound quality, but they each have their benefits over the other.

The first BIG thing, Trittons WORKED with my WIRELESS INTERNET. The Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound) caused interferance with my wireless network, forcing me to plug my xBox into my network via cable instead of wirelessly. The Trittons showed no sign of this problem, allowing me to put the xBox on whichever TV I wanted to, instead of the one closest to the internet router.

The other difference was comfort. This is going to be personall preference for everyone, but in my case I found the Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound) much more comfortable. The ear cups on the Tritton sit on top of my ears, while the Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound) ear cups fit over my ears.

The sound quality on both units is excellent. I do prefer the Tritton on how it attaches to the controller, the Turtle Beach's connection is weaker and has a tendancy to fall out or get loose over time. Many Turtle Beach users claim it actually stop working after a while, but I have not had that problem. This makes me want to point out...THEY ARE BOTH WIRELESS FROM YOUR GAMING SYSTEM, BUT BOTH NEED TO BE PLUGGED INTO THE CONTROLLER FOR CHAT OR PARTY USE. Both seem misleading in their descriptions on that point.

The controlls, volume, on/off, game volume, chat volume, are easier and more logically placed on the Tritton's as well.

Overall, I would say either would be a great choice. If you use a wireless network for your internet connection, I would say the Tritton has the Turtle Beach beat. Add to it that the Tritton's are slighly less expensive, and I would say Turtle Beach has some real competition now.