Review of Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 - Xbox 360

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As an owner of the original Kinect game, and a player of many other workout games since (UFC, Biggest Loser, etc) I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised with this new version.

As the original one did, the game gives you a body scan when you originally sign in. That image is then what is used to play games. Oddly enough though, I've yet to find anywhere in the game where I can modify anything it measured. It also didn't ask me for my weight so I have no idea where to input that or update it. It did recognize that I was a previous player and carried over my calorie burn count which I thought was great. After that, a ton of achievements were unlocked, which I also didn't mind :)

Gone are the days of the dreaded menu system from the past. Now, your hands are used in a push and hold motion to activate what you want to do. This is much improved over the old hold the arm out with hand extended to touch a dot for 4 seconds to activate. I always had problems with that one.

The main menu is broken down into 4 sections: My Zone (your settings, goals etc...btw, be sure to go in and change the measurement system to Imperial for those in the US since it is defaulted to metric), Activities, Workouts and Classes. Once I told the game what I wanted to achieve (with several options to choose from) it created a routine for me to follow and there are several to choose from:

Classes include African Rhythms, Boot Camp, Hip Hop, Bollywood, Cardio Boxing, Yoga, Latin Dance and Zen Energy.

Activities include Warm Up, Stack Up, Stomp It, Run the World, Wallbreaker and Jump Rope. Run the World here is amazing...more about that later.

Workouts include Cardio, Arms, Abs, Toning, Back, Sports Prep, Glutes, Health and Legs

I jumped right into the Run the World and have to say this is fantastic! You run in place in various cities around the world and jog by landmarks. To keep the run interesting, you are monitored for speed (how quickly your knees are moving) and given challenges throughout the run including "high knees" and speed challenges. Along the way, you pass makers regarding the landmarks and a color photo pops up with the training giving you a brief history lesson or fact about it. Very cool.

The recognition on sit-ups went very well, with push-ups still a little off for me. I may have been doing something wrong, but it is the by far the best recognition of push-ups for me of any game I've used before. During your training the background will change and spice it up which was also a nice feature.

One final item that didn't change that seemed to bother a lot of previous players was that there is really no defined way to exit the game or button to push. You still have to get to the pause menu or use your controller to go to the dashboard. If someone can figure out where to input/update the current weight and pass that along, I would greatly appreciate it.

All in all, I have to say that I'm very impressed with the new version as I believe they've really worked on making it a great workout game that is much improved from the first one.

**Later in the day edit**

I think they have hit a home run with this game. The jump rope section is like crack! It's guitar hero, except with your feet. An absolute blast and fun for the whole family! (without getting them addicted to crack, of course) :)

I also did the Boot Camp initial workout and was pretty dang tired after doing it, and I'm really no slouch. The only issue with that was the trainer just started going into movements so you miss a few the first time. But seriously, the background changes through a military theme throughout.

LOVING IT!!

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The original Your Shape: Fitness Evolved provided an excellent showcase of what the Kinect was capable of in regards to fitness and exercise. Its motion detection was revolutionary in terms of how well it detected how well you were performing exercises, and the mini-games it included were both tons of fun and moderately good exercise.

I'm happy to say that Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 does push the platform forward, in an evolutionary if not a revolutionary way. Still, it is by far the best "pure workout" game that you can get on the Kinect.

When you start out the game, you see a blue screen which adjusts the sensor and detects who you are. You're then brought to a home screen, where you see a stylized cartoon image of yourself. That's right, there's no need to create an avatar, because you ARE the avatar. This little change was a huge improvement over the first version, where you played as a brightly colored silhouette. It makes a world of difference, because now you can see your limbs and your body position much clearer than before and match them against the on-screen trainer. More on that below.

The home screen shows a number of different counters: medals won, badges won, and percent of content you've played through. On the right you can see the total number of calories you've burned playing the game. I do like the fact that there are clear milestones and targets to aim for, which will keep you coming back to the game. (One question a lot of people have is--did Ubisoft fix the annoying bug from the first version where it'd lose track of which sessions you've finished in a given routine. The happy answer is yes--now, no matter what order you do the exercises in the system will keep accurate track of which ones you've completed).

At the main menu, you have a variety of choices which are color-coded into categories. The blue icons represent your tools. You can keep track of your overall progress, set objectives and take a fitness quiz so the system can recommend specific workouts for you, or go online to share your progress with the community. I do like that they made the fitness test optional in this version, so those who want to can just jump into the exercises.

There are three remaining categories: Yellow icons represent "Activities", which are mini-games. Red icons represent "Workouts" which are traditional generic calisthenics and strength building exercises of the kind you might find at a gym. Finally, purple icons represent "Classes", which are essentially themed Workouts.

Under the yellow "Activities", you have the following mini-games:

1) Wallbreaker: This is essentially the same game as "Virtual Smash" in last year's version. In it, you have to punch across your body to hit blue blocks that appear next to your virtual character's body. The more blocks you punch accurately and quickly, the higher your multiplier will go up and the more a grid behind you will fill up--fill it up completely and it'll collapse. As you get to higher levels you'll have to kick blocks as well and avoid red blocks and giant anvils swinging at you. Even though this is basically a rehash of last year's version, it's still immensely fun, and the fact that you're controlling "you" and not just a silhouette of you adds a certain dimension to the game. I'd rate this one a 4 of 5 for workout intensity and a 5 of 5 for fun.

2) Stack 'Em Up: This one is essentially the same game as the game from last year's version called..."Stack 'Em Up". This is the one where you're holding a plank and trying to catch and balance blocks that are falling from the sky. There are some new twists this year--to make your bar longer you have to raise a leg in the air. Also, the blocks come in different sizes, and they can even turn into ice or catch on fire (you need to kick a giant water drop to make it rain). Interestingly, I found the graphics of last year's version much clearer than this year's, especially when it tells you where to drop your blocks. This one gets a 3 of 5 for workout intensity and a 5 of 5 for fun.

3) Run the World: Ah, finally something brand new. This is an activity where you "run in place". But there's a twist. You can choose either New York or London and basically "run through" the city from landmark to landmark. When I first heard about this one, I was excited--I thought it might be a virtual reality experience where you could literally run through actual streets (if this sounds outlandish, remember that the technology is already there with Google Maps and Bing Maps, not to mention driving games that have mapped out those cities' streets). But in reality, the experience was much less impressive than that. You basically just run in place on a blank white screen following a line of stylized "yellow dots" on the road. As you run, you do see buildings to your left and right, but they're just generic grey outlines. As you "approach" a famous landmark you'll see that building's distinctive outline, see a tiny photo of the building, and read some trivia about it. Note also that the distances you run are not literal--I'm quite familiar with downtown New York, and there's no way you can run from 40 Wall Street to the Woolworth Building to City Hall in 5 minutes. Still, I did like how the system was able to detect how fast I was "running" and how at least captured the feeling of running through a city. Overall, this activity definitely made what was otherwise a tedious activity pretty interesting. Workout intensity of this one was a 5 of 5, but for fun I give it a 3 of 5.

4) Jump Rope: This is another new activity, and it's a winner. It's a twist on jump rope. You start out by holding your hand as if you're holding a jump rope, and an energetic beat will start playing. You'll see icons of two feet under you, and need to jump to the beat while matching the pattern of feet (either two close together, two far apart, or just the left or the right). Even on Easy mode I was wiped out after this one, but I found it immensely fun. 5 of 5 for workout intensity, 5 of 5 for fun.

5) Stomp It: This game is very similar to "Light Race" from last year's version, where you stand in the middle of something similar to a "Simon" game and move your feet to correctly hit the colored panels under your feet. This year, they've improved it by matching the colored lights to a beat and give you a visual cue of which panel will light up next, so it's more like a step aerobics exercise (versus last year's version where you were just randomly stomping). You still need a ton of room for this one, and if your Kinect doesn't have a clear view of your feet at all times it's not going to be fun for you at all. This one was a 4 of 5 for intensity, and a 4 of 5 for fun.

"Workouts", represented by the red icons, are basically traditional calisthenics, cardio, and strength building types of activities that a trainer would do with you at a gym. The workouts are categorized by the part of the body or the exercise goal you want to focus on. They include the following (the number of exercise routines under each is in parentheses):

1) Arms (12)

2) Abs (13)

3) Cardio (10)

4) Toning (9)

5) Back (12)

6) Sports Preparation (8)

7) Glutes (12)

8) Health (3)

9) Legs (12)

They've got all the basic exercises covered pretty well. For example, when I selected the first workout under "Arms", the exercises were knee push-ups and slow mountain climbs. A typical exercise under "Abs" will have you doing all kinds of crunches, from basic crunches, to V knees to the chest, to up and down planks.

As in the first version, to the left of the screen you'll observe your virtual trainer doing the exercise, using the proper technique. You'll see an image of yourself to the right of the trainer. I really liked how the cartoon trainer and the cartoony you looked very similar, both in terms of size and visual style. As I said, new to this version is the ability to see your arms and legs clearly, so you can work on matching the trainer's body position and moves precisely. There are also visual cues that'll show you exactly where your head should be and where your feet should be. Finally, there's music so that you can time your reps to the beat perfectly (you'd be surprised at how many workout games just play random music and don't bother to match it to your reps).

A woman's voice will talk your through all the exercises, calling out instructions and encouragement. Regarding the latter, I found that she tended to err a little on the "overly encouraging" side--even when I wasn't doing the exercises right, she'd be shouting out compliments and encouragement. Happily, the motion detection is definitely spot-on--after the workout you'll see precisely what percentage of the workout you nailed, and I found it to be remarkably accurate.

"Classes", represented by the purple icons, are very similar to workouts. You go through a series of set exercises, you have a virtual cartoon trainer who will demonstrate the proper moves, and you'll control the cartoony "you" standing next to him or her as you try to match the moves. The difference is that while "workouts" were like generic exercises you might do at the gym, "classes" all follow a specific theme, such as a certain style of dance, a boxing training session, and even a military bootcamp. Here are the options and the number of routines in each:

1) Africa Rhythms (12)

2) Boot Camp (6)

3) Hip Hop (12)

4) Cardio Boxing (14)

5) Destination: Bollywood (12)

6) Yoga (4)

7) Latin Dance (12)

8) Zen Energy (8)

I tried the boot camp one first. Sure enough, you and your virtual trainer (a gruff drill sergeant) are in the field of a military boot camp complete with a helicopter and occasional explosions happening around you. Even at the easy levels, you're taken through a grueling set of exercises, from running to "Olympian squats" to "stun attacks" to push ups. The trainer stays in character throughout, shouting instructions to you amid various random interjections ("you're tired? I don't care!", "does it hurt? Good!").

I also tried the Bollywood one. Like the rest of the dance-themed classes, it had different levels with names like "Learn it", "Rehearse It", "Speed It Up", and "Show it Off". I tried the beginning level, and it brought me through some very authentic Bollywood dance steps with names like "Bolly Arms", "Aarti Step" and "Blossom Step". The moves were very authentic. I wouldn't say this part of the game is exactly Dance Central, but it's not bad either.

Overall, I'd say this is a worthwhile purchase if you're serious about using your Xbox for fitness and exercise. Those who purchased last year's version (especially if you purchased a lot of the DLC) may find a lot of what's in this year's version redundant. But I'd say there are enough improvements to make it a worthwhile purchase. I loved the improved avatar, enjoyed the new activities they added, and appreciate the fact that they didn't skimp this year on the number of exercises you can do before resorting to purchasing more as downloadable content. From the title, I'm assuming Ubisoft intends to release one of these every year; here's hoping that they continue to innovate the series moving forward and don't get lazy and rest on past laurels.

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Played this last night for about an hour. Instead of a real work out I jumped around from activity to activity. I like all of the new classes they've added. I used Cardio Boxing a lot last game,(lost 45 pounds) and can see I'll be using the Hip Hop and Latin dancing often too.

The look and feel of this game is jazzed up a lot. The sterile white work out room is replaced by an environment that differs with what you're doing and at least in the classes, it changes as you progress. For example, cardio boxing is plain room with a flat floor when you start, but as you progress, punching bags drop from the ceiling, the ring pops up around you, etc. They're only decorations -you cannot interact with thembut its visually stimulating. That said, I found the stimulation a little distracting and missed a few moves!

The menu system is different, but not worse or better than what the first game had. I liked the titles of things previously. The titles were more descriptive to me, (Cardio Boxing Silver Part 1 Versus Cardio Boxing Learn it!) but I assume I'll get used to the new naming system.

I don't get how the initiatives feature works. When you start it, it asks you some questions about your fitness goals then highlights some exercises with flags and suggests a frequency and length of workouts. It told me to workout 30 minutes, twice a week for 4 weeks. But then I was lost. Am I supposed to pick and choose flagged items that add up to 30 minutes? I wish it would just launch 30 minutes of activities one after the other, but maybe I am missing a button.

I liked how the time and calorie info was presented in the previous version more. In this version instead of square on, it's shown in a front to back perspective that was hard for my old eyes to read at a glance. Also missed is the easy to find "how-many-calories-did-I-burn-today" number. If its in the game other than online in the Yourshape center, then I can't find it.

But overall, this game is everything its predecessor was and even more. The amount of content is overwhelming at the moment, and I had NO issues with it reading my movements. The differences are something a new player won't care about, and a original YSFE player will get used to.

=== 3 days later ===

I *think* the program works by just following the flags and doing any combination of the exercises to get to the total number of minutes over all by the end of the time period. For example, it said 30 minutes twice a week for 4 weeks --so thats 2 X 30 X 4 = 240 minutes. I did 27 minutes Thursday and 37 minutes today, so it now if you go back into where the program is set up it shows 64 minutes out of the 240 = about 25% (can't remember the exact number it showed me.) I'd prefer it tell me EXACTLY what to do, because for example, I will probably lean heavily on the cardio (easier for me) and ignore the arm strength training (harder for me) because its so flexible and doesn't force me!

But I finally tried the boot camp! WOW is all I can say, the first one yesterday was very, very tough but I made it through. Today's was REALLY challenging and I had to give up on several places (5 or 6 times) and then start up again after 20 seconds of rest. I was sweating like crazy, and def breathing hard, so I know its working me out hard. Can't wait to keep doing it till I can make it through without breaking a sweat!

Honest reviews on Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 - Xbox 360

This is just what I needed for the start of another Wisconsin winter!

I've played Your Shape 2012 for about 6 hours worth now, so I think have a good enough impression of it. I didn't buy the first Your Shape game, because of the lukewarm reviews it got, because of my disinterest in Wii Fit after a few weeks, and because I do work out fairly regularly at the YMCA. But I had a feeling about this new one, so I bought it.

So far, I think it's a great game with a ton of fun, calorie burning and strength and flexibility building workouts. As a teen I never did sports, but I maintained a healthy weight, probably due solely to teenage metabolism. In my 20s, I struggled with weight. At my highest I weighed just under 300 pounds. I've kept off 110-130 (depending on the month) pounds for over 10 years. Not the greatest, but not bad when you're 6 feet tall. ANY game (DDR!), program, machine, activity, etc. that is somewhat tough, but also fun and motivating is good in my book. Your Shape Fitness 2012 fits in this category.

OVERVIEW

The game has all sorts of warm ups, exercises and classes (supposedly about 90 hours' worth) to keep you sweating and keep you coming back. And there's enough variety that if you find an activity or two that you despise (Stomp It -I suck at it!) there are plenty of other activities to keep you happy (LOVE the punching/combat routines). The female voice that talks to you through the activities is pleasant. I've had some games, like versions of Dance Dance Revolution, where I've turned the voices completely off because they irritated me so much. There are different instructors in different classes and workouts, dressed for the activity they're doing.

The Kinect Sensor is pretty darn accurate in regards to what I'm doing and when. Seeing ME on the screen was a little disconcerting at first. But, when I considered how much it helps to watch a mirror when exercising to see what I'm doing right and wrong, I realized how useful seeing myself on the screen is. Even if I look 10 pounds heavier than I am. It doesn't seem to 'get' me certain times, like when I'm doing certain Yoga poses --registering as 0% accomplished sometimes -but there are few situations where I've had this issue. It's even dead-on with most of the floor exercises. Remember when you're playing, whether you score 0% or 100%, as long as you're moving and working out, you ARE doing good for your body. So don't worry about your accuracy too much!

I love Body Combat classes at the Y, and I find all the punching/kicking Your Shape classes and activities to be very similar. They're slow to start out, but it's really good because it gives true beginners a chance to figure out what they're doing. Once you understand the moves, you can pursue the higher level, longer length classes. Destination Bollywood, something I know I'd never have tried in front of actual people, is also turning out to be really fun. I'm getting to the point where I may actually attempt a class "in the real world" like this someday. The Zen Classes are relaxing and a great way to do final stretches at the end of a workout. Some of the activities and classes might be too complicated for younger kids, but there are enough games like Run The World and Jump Rope, that they'll probably keep wanting to play, too. (Those are also fun for adults!) We have four kids (ages 9-13), and they've all enjoyed Your Shape too, although I figure they think of it as more like a game, so I'm not sure how long it'll keep their interest.

OBJECTIVES

One thing that's a little weird, and non-motivation-like, is you can set up an Objective for your workouts. You can choose an option like "Get Toned" or "Lose The Muffin Top" and, depending on a few other things you choose, you'll be told how much time and how often you should exercise each week. If you do this, activities that fit your chosen Objective will be flagged from then on, until you finish your Objective or change Objectives. This is all good, but I've found ONLY the flagged activities count towards your Objective -so you might work out 50 minutes, but if only 20 minutes were of flagged activities, your Objective will only be 20 minutes closer to being done. What's more, is many of these flagged activities are in the harder range -meaning, you may need to work up to that activity awhile before you can do the hard version of it. Some of the harder activities are locked until you complete easier versions of that routine. This is all fine, and not a deal breaker, but I think some people will get frustrated at how difficult it may be to reach Objectives they set out to accomplish. Also, some may push themselves to do harder versions of an activity than they're ready for, so as to do the Flagged Objective activities.

Well, whatever. I just suggest you don't take the Objectives too seriously. Hopefully this will be fixed in an update, but if not, it's not the end of the world.

ONLINE COMMUNITY

In game, when you complete different activities/workouts, it'll show you how you rank compared to your friends. But that only works if your friends are consistently using it too. There's supposed to be this huge "Online Community" on Ubisoft where you can join events and challenges, and compare your accomplishments to others around the world. So far, that's been pretty much a joke. The only thing I've been able to do is log into Uplay, make an account there, and look at my profile, which consists of my name and birthdate. Facebook just has a Your Shape 2012 page, but there is currently no way to upload your times/etc. into it, although in the actual game there's a video you can watch, which says you can do just that. On my iPhone I've installed the Your Shape app (free). The app lets you see how many minutes you've worked out and how many calories you've burned each day in a little graph. That's it so far. I just wish they'd say they're working on this stuff, and maybe have a way to tell people when it's up and running, instead of saying this amazing Online Community is working and awesome, when it clearly isn't. I'll update this part of my review if that changes.

QUICK TIP PAUSING THE GAME

I couldn't figure the out the first few times I played, so maybe this will help others: If you need to pause it or take a break, just leave the Kinect sensor's range for a moment. The game immediately pauses, and when you come back you can resume the activity you were doing, or go back to the main menu.

RATINGS ON A 5-STAR SYSTEM

Varied exercises 5

Varied difficultly levels 5

Fun factor 4.5

Keep-you-coming-back factor 4.5

Online community connection 2 (at least it sounds like they'll have this going sometime!)

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 - Xbox 360

I have played the first version and was excited to get my hands on the next version looking for new challenges and improvements. After exercising for the past two weeks, I'm not entirely impressed. What I'm impressed with is the different and types of exercises (a big plus).

However, there are two issues with the game, in my opinion. For one, the new version lacks instruction (none) on movements (the first version provided instruction, but only once and couldn't revisit the help later, if you needed it). I think this a major drawback, especially for individuals not coordinated (causes a lot of frustration). Second, the game claims flexibility in exercise routines. However, all the game does is allow you to choose exercises targeting different parts of the body for your workout.

With that said, I will continue to use the program because it does get my heart going (which is my goal).

If you learn quickly and very coordinated, then this program is for you.

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ASTRO Gaming A40 Audio System, Black - Xbox 360 Reviews

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I am very happy to say that my extremely stylish white Astro A40 2011 audio system arrived recently and after much time pouring over it, I can safely say that it was worth every penny I spent. I noticed no one has reviewed the white ones, which I will now remedy. My wife and I live in a smaller-medium sized house divided into three apartment sized living spaces. I'm surrounded by two sides by in-law relatives. It's not a very soundproof house, and I sometimes suffer from insomnia or just want to play a game really loud. Until now, I've always had to turn the sound way down and could hardly hear anything. I've also never lived somewhere, ever, with an up-to-date surround sound, high fidelity sound system. Well, I decided I was through with that and so my wife and I got this package. It may be my best entertainment-related choice all year (at least tied with the PS3 I bought in Spring).

Immediately grabbing is the presentation of the A40s, even starting as early as the very slick, stellar packaging that is very reminiscent of an apple product. It's an impressive, clean introduction to Astro as a company. The Mixamp itself really has a retro-futuristic vibe to it and is very enjoyable to look at. In fact, the Mixamp's gorgeously simple design is immediately striking, just sporting two knobs, one for volume and the other for chat control, and two buttons, one for power and the other to activate simulated 7.1 surround sound. The buttons light up red, and really accent the black & white sheen of the Mixamp. Keeping up with the quality aesthetic design are the headphones themselves. The white ones remind me very much of the black & white droids with the red LED face screens from Mass Effect 2 (I hope you know what I'm talking about). Again, a very cool retro science fiction look that reminds me of the aforementioned Mass Effect, Star Wars, and Star Trek series. It's very neat. The speaker tags also look very stylistic and the way they click into place is always satisfying.

The build quality of the headset, as well as the Mixamp, is very sturdy and well built. However, without batteries, the Mixamp is very, very light and can easily be jostled around if you're not careful. Keep that in mind. Each headphone can swivel to rest comfortably around your shoulders when you need to take a break. The quick disconnect cable included allows you to quickly and comfortably get up and walk around with the headset still resting on your shoulders, if you so desire. The headset itself feels heavy in your hand but feels extremely comfortable on your head. I have had long, long gaming sessions with these on and my ears stayed cool and dry, and it still felt great all-around. The package includes every wire you would ever want or need except the most important one for surround sound, an optical cable. Fortunately, there are very high quality ones dirt cheap here on Amazon, like this one, which I found to be particularly high quality. It's also worth noting that the new-and-improved 2011 edition microphone easily molds and stays in whatever shape you want relatively well. It can plug into whichever earphone you want, which is a very nice feature. There are also foam inserts included that you can put in each headphone, sandwiched between the magnetized speaker tags and the open-back headphone themselves. These will lower outside noise by 6 decibels, and really add to the privacy of your sound experience. It also greatly lowers the sound that escapes out when you're playing. This is good for those of you with sleeping wives or girlfriends next to you, or if you want to keep from disturbing anybody nearby. It's also important to note that, despite being a wired set-up, this system is very streamlined and doesn't clutter my house or get in the way at all. I haven't once been inconvenienced by it.

The overall audio sound of the headsets by themselves is excellent. The 2011 edition utilizes new foam in the headphones themselves that is supposed to bring out more bass (the biggest and pretty much only complaint of the prior A40 models were a distinctly poor amount and quality of bass). They do not disappoint in any way. I've sampled various headsets and audio systems in my life, and the overall mix and focus of these headsets are very, very balanced in comparison. Overall, the headphones have a very warm, embracing tone that really brings out the lows, the mids, and the highs in an excellent mix without any being overwrought and abrasive, but still remaining distinct and clear. It's very much like an old, aged acoustic guitar that has settled over the years into a distinctly warm, full-of-character charm, with a loving sound that embraces your ears. It's a little hard to describe, but this thick and creamy tone is great whether in stereo or in surround sound. One reason I really love the Astro A40's is the variety of uses you can have with it. It's not tethered to a base that transmits audio like wireless systems require you to. You can plug the headset itself into your iPod, your 3DS (or just plain DS), your PSP, your laptop, pretty much anything with a standard jack, and that was a major selling point for me. It's nice that I can go anywhere I want, plug my A40s into my iPod, and enjoy the music. The audio from any of these other sources sound amazing through these headphones.

The Mixamp takes what was an already amazing audiophile set of headphones that performed at $350+ quality and turns them into an overachieving, $1000+ quality surround sound theatre system. It is a remarkable little box. To test out the 7.1 surround sound function, I played some multiplayer in Halo Reach, and was promptly blown away. I could FEEL the rumble of an engine, the discharge of a plasma rifle, the power of a running stream and waterfall, and the impact of a grenade. The bass was punchy, the mids were tasty, and the highs were distinctive. It was quite the experience. I stopped to pan the camera around and marveled as the sounds traveled from ear to ear, front to back, side to side, with a realism that genuinely convinced me I was there myself. The newly improved microphone worked very well in multiplayer as well. Having this audio system engaged gave me a distinct edge in multiplayer, which is what I imagine most people will buy the headset for. The award winning Mixamp is critically acclaimed for a reason, it is incredible. For me personally, I didn't buy this audio system for multiplayer efficiency though. Rather, I bought it for the surround sound immersion factor, with more focus on grand single-player experiences, which is what I tested next.

I went through some other games from a broad spectrum of genres and focus from my collection to test the audio quality and the 7.1 function of the Mixamp with the headset. I tried Okami, whose artistic, zenlike focus in the music and sound was made even more spectacular by this audio system. Halo 3: ODST became even more immersive, running around the lonely streets of New Mombasa in isolation and anticipation, newspapers blowing in the wind and rain drops were distinct. The charming ambient noises of Albion and lovely music in Fable 2 and Fable 3 were a delight. So many of my favorite games have so much detail now, I can't help but wonder if I was deaf before. It's a miracle, Astro healed my ears! Dramatic joking aside though, I cannot wait to play Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 again. This audio system makes me want to go back and play my favorite games again, just to hear all of the details I never had a clue about. One of the biggest factors for me in my favorite games is the immersion, taking me to another place and time to marvel at and enjoy. This audio system made even the most immersive games with the greatest atmosphere so much better to enjoy, and that's what's most important.

Well, are you still here? I know this review is really long, but I gotta tell you, when I was trying to figure out whether I wanted TB X41s, DPX21, PX5s, XP500s, Astro A30s, A40s Wireless, or the wired Astro A40 audio system, the long reviews that went into extreme detail that covered every topic the reviewer could think of are the ones that helped me the most. I hope that's what this review was like. My recommendation: buy this audio system if you can afford it. Astro is a great company to do business with, very personal, very much focused on your satisfaction. I can personally attest to that fact. The only downside that I can think of for most people is the price of the Audio System, but I can tell you that in my experience, the splurging was well-worth it. These headphones, combined with the mixamp, take a $250 price and stretch it out to being the equivalent to a very expensive, high-fidelity surround sound theater system. As a matter of fact, Astro purposefully chose to be their own seller because if they sold their products through a third-party retailer, the price tag would be 400$ OR HIGHER! Yes, $250 is a steal, and you'll get every bang for your buck in the best sound for anywhere near this price range. It's excellent. Buy it, immerse yourself (or "pwn n00bz" online) with it, LOVE IT!

*Below is supplementary information in addition to the main review, which I finished above. I figured I would include some information about this system and my own personal preference to try and give you as much helpful information as I can. The following really didn't fit anywhere in the review, so I put it here, enjoy:

After hours and hours of research into the different high quality headsets out there, I really settled on either Turtle Beach's PX5 or the Astro A40 wireless system, or this one. The PX5's are wireless and boast a ridiculous amount of features and customization. The A40's boast simplicity and ease of use, variety of use, and being of the highest quality. I just didn't feel I needed all of the things Turtle Beach claimed the PX5s could do for me. I'd prefer to avoid wireless, I don't care about bluetooth, I don't care about customized presets, I don't want my headset to be anchored to one base source, etc. I'm really glad I got the A40s.

In the end I went with this wired version, and I want to let you know why exactly I chose the wired Mixamp system over the new wireless Mixamp 5.8. Some may think this is a weird choice, because the 5.8 Mixamp supposedly has every good feature of the wired one, plus some new, exclusive features like a bass boost function that the wired Mixamp does not have, as well as the obvious perk of the convenience a wireless system inherently has. Despite these facts, I deliberately chose to get wired for two main reasons:

1.) Call me a hippy alarmist if you want, blame it on the fact that I live in Portland, OR, the emerald city of weirdness and ecoloving-naturalist-hipsters, blame it on my natural-health focused wife rubbing off on me, but I really didn't want yet another wireless system broadcasting micro/radio waves in my house. It seems every year they come out with studies proving how harmful the background radiation is from wireless things we use everyday (cell phones, wireless routers, etc) and I just want to avoid as much of that in the house as I reasonably can. In our house, we only have one wireless router, and that's pretty much it. I don't judge anyone who uses wireless systems, and if you love high-quality wireless devices and detest wired systems, then the A40 Wireless System is probably the way for you to go, but as for me, this wired system was exactly what I wanted. I may get a lot of unhelpful votes for this paragraph alone because people hate those who seem to be hipsters (I'm really not), but I just wanted to explain one big incentive to go the wired Mixamp route for me. There's also one more big factor for me, and it is my biggest reason...

2.)The quality of a wired audio system is still the best you can get. Despite the fact that newer wireless headsets are getting better in better in quality, perhaps nearly as good as wired systems, I still prefer a wired system for headphones. There really is no better way to transfer audio data that translates to higher quality sound than in a wired system. Maybe next year that won't be the case, hell maybe that's not the case right now, but I just figured I would go wired because after much research, it's a general consensus that wired gives the best quality. According to my experience with the A40s, this is true. This way, there are absolutely no risks of pops, interference (although that really shouldn't be the case with the 5.8 Mixamp as it uses a different frequency than every other wireless device out there), and all of the cons of a wireless system.

So there you go, the two biggest reasons I went with the Mixamp over the 5.8 Mixamp. I traded the convenience for worrywart health precaution and audio quality, but I'm glad I did.

Finally, I'll give you a really nice pointer that helped me tremendously. I have a two-year-old Xbox 360 Elite and a relatively new Playstation 3 slim. Instead of buying accessory plug-ins for the 360 and then unplugging and plugging the optical cable every time I want to switch between the systems, I did something much simpler. Both systems are hooked up to our HDTV via HDMI cables. All I did was hook my optical cable into the optical out on the TV, plugged the USB power cord for the Mixamp into the TV, set up each system to output dolby digital, and voila! It's easy, it's super effective (lame Pokemon reference aside), and now I don't have to bother with it anymore. It's a great set-up! I hope that is helpful to somebody out there.

Ok, I think I'm all out of words to use for the product. I hope all of this was helpful. Take care.

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Hello, this is D-Day1944, and today I will be doing a review on the Astro A40 Audio System (2013 Edition). I know that many of you have been waiting for this one. So, let us get started.

Introduction:

Astro has already proven themselves as a one of the most successful gaming headphone brands in recent memory. However, with Turtle Beach snagging the contract for the new headset licensed by MLG (Major League Gaming), and Tritton having made their turnaround with the 720+, things are more difficult for the A40. To make matters worse, Astro's old rivals, the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 and Sennheiser PC 360, did not make things any easier for this new edition. The most talked about this year, however, the Plantronics Commander, has made things even harder. With all these new competitors, does the A40 still have the sound performance to best its rivals, or has time really taken a toll on this consistent successful performer? Also, should you even consider to upgrade to the 2013 edition? Those questions will be answered soon, so stay tuned!

Out of the Box/Looks:

To start out, if you have already have owned the Astro A40 System, there will not be much change here. However, if you have not, here is to explain what the box looks like.

To start out, the box itself has the Audio System logo on it. On the back, there is a quick set-up guide for those who are new to how a gaming headset is supposed to be hooked up, and on the sides, their is additional information about the A40 specifications.

Now, as you pull of the cover of the box, you are greeted with a eye catching design of graphical artwork. You will then notice a tab sticking out. Once you pull back the tab, the headset itself will appear. There is a 3.5mm input located on the left side. Once out of the case, you can adjust the metal sliders to change how big you want the headphone to be.The skeletal frame looks eye catching as well. If you look at the plates, you cam remove them, which reveals an Astro "A" embossed on it. These plates, or speaker tags, are unique in which you can buy different sets, or customize your own at their official site. Also revealed are two 3.mm inputs in which you can add the microphone on either side. Thus far, this is the only company I have seen who does this. As said before, the A40 is no longer sponsored by MLG, so the embossed MLG logo has been replaced by the Astro logo instead.

Moving on, there is another compartment you pull up, which, once done, will reveal the new mixamp (I will explain how this differs from the 2012 version later in the review). I heave to say, the mixamp definitely has some retro vibe going for it, with its retro-like analog controls and curves. It reminds me of when space invaders was still in its prime.

Afterwards, you will notice a ribbon. Once you pull up the ribbon, you will notice some papers regarding the Astro family, and a congratulations one as well. Under these papers, there are the cables that you will need. The cables are as follows:

A 3.5mm to TOSlink cable.

A 3.5mm Male to 3.5mm Male cable for streaming music or "Daisy Chaining" or the new Stream mode (I will cover this later in the review, along with the Daisy Chaining.)

A 2.5mm Male to 2.5mm Male cable for Xbox Live Chat.

A PC Splitter.

A 3.5mm Male Cable with a mic mute switch that you plug in to the Headset.

A USB Cable.

These are all the cables needed to hook up with any system. The cables themselves have strong wiring, and the Microphone is flexible and pliable for any position once you stick it in the headphone itself.

Well, that covers what is in there and what you will be using. Next up, Build Quality.

Build Quality:

To put it simply, to Astro A40 system is very solid. Initially, I was a bit concerned due to many gaps in the plastic, as well as partially exposed cables of the headset. Through my two weeks of testing, neither of which gave me problems. If anything, I did not even snag a single cord. The headset is also very flexible, so it will not get broke easily. The skeletal frame of the headphone also made me nervous, but, after tossing it a couple of times on the coffee table, the headphone still worked properly.

As for the mixamp itself, it also performed very well. The mixamp's build is so good that even a couple accidents of it falling on the floor did not even break it, let alone scratch it.

In the end, the Astro A40 really did not break a sweat. Nothing low was here, which is good considering the $249.99 price tag.

Comfort will be the next topic in this review.

Comfort:

The Astro A40's really did not give me any problems at all comfort-wise. The flexibility of the headphone was great and did not clamp on my head. The skeletal frame of the headphone made it even more lighter due to its floating design. It is surprising, as the headphone itself weighs around 350 grams. However, none of those key factors above would be worth it if the A40's did not have good earcups. The earcups themselves are made from memory foam, and there is some on the inside as well. There is also a good amount of padding on the headband. The velour materiel was breathable, and the earcups themselves could swivel 90 degrees for breaks while resting on your shoulders. I had received 7-10 hours of comfort without taking them off.

If one word comes to mind about the comfort of the A40, it would be awesome.

Alright, now the main reason whether or not you should purchase this. The Sound Performance. That, my friends, is up next.

Sound Performance:

The moment many of you have been wanting to read, the sound performance. Astro said that the new updates to their drivers make this the best Astro headset ever. I was curious to see if these claims were true as I am an owner of the 2012 Edition.

The answer would be yes. For stereo sound, the A40's were very fun to listen to. In songs like "We are the Reasons" by We Came as Romans, the A40's handled the heavily distorted bass, screeching highs, and powerful guitar strums. It sounded almost as good as a worn in acoustic woody sounding guitar. Other songs, such as "Existence" by Excision, the A40 handled the powerful bass and expansive loops well.

Now, before we take a look as to how the A40 performed in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound, let me explain how it works:

Dolby 5.1: A closer look:

In order to achieve Dolby 5.1, Dolby headphone is mixed with Dolby Digital, which then uses 5.1 channels of audio much like in a 5.1 speaker setup. Then, DSP's (Digital Sound Processors) are used to simulate 5.1 channels of audio going to the headset. For Dolby 7.1, Dolby Pro Logic IIx is used as rear filler channels and mixed with the Dolby Digital 5.1. That is then blended in with Dolby Headphone to give Dolby 7.1

Disclaimer:

However, Consoles only output 5.1, so the hysteria behind the "Full Dolby 7.1!" is only marketing.

With that now finished, let us go back to the sound performance of the A40.

Sound Performance (Continued):

For entering Dolby 5.1, my audio has really gotten a boost, as the Astro A40's sound somewhat like a borderline physical surround sound system.

For games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Halo 4 the results were great. Footsteps were easy to detect, gunshots were great and whizzing past my head, and dialogue in the campaign was clear. Other games such as Batman: Arkham City proved to be very good. Hearing Batman fly himself through the city was awesome, and even subtle sounds like raindrops came in clear.

Now, the new mixamp has four different modes. Not only that, the Daisy Chain Adapter from the 2012 Edition has been removed. You now use the 3.5mm Male to 3.5mm Male adapter to link other mixamps if you have friends over. For audio, these change the dynamic range and compression of audio. They are as follows:

Pro

Movie

Music

Sport

I will explain how each performed.

Pro:

This setting turns down the bass response and kicks up the mids and highs. For this option, it was very pleasing, as this was my most favorite option. This option helps in games such as Halo 4, Killzone 3, Call of Duty, or Battlefield. As for others such as Infamous 2, hearing the electrical grinding was fantastic.

Movie:

This setting turns up the mid range and lowers the highs and lows. This turned out to be my second option. This was more used in games such as Batman: Arkham City and Uncharted 3: Drake's Fortune. The Sound stage was wide, and the compression is better suited for these games. While it still can be used for games like Battlefield, I would still recommend pro for those types of games.

Music:

This setting kicks up the low end and tunes down the mids and highs. With the Astro A40, the highs are not as distorted as their 2012 edition, but still, this would be my least recommended option. The low end did not help me at all in Call of Duty or others like Infamous 2. However, I will give the special mention that games like Hydro Thunder or Forza 5, you can have fun hearing the roar of the engine.

Sport:

The High end is kicked up this time for this setting, and the mids and lows are kicked down. Since the A40's had great bass, the Sport setting did not do much, but they are my third favorite, as the sound stage for certain games, such as Halo, did not go well. Games like Madden 13 or NBA 2K13 did do well, since these games really do not vender themselves of audio importance.

Well, there you have it, folks. The new additions have made the audio for the 2013 A40 sound better. It actually sounds slightly better as its nearest rival, the Sennheiser PC 360's, but still not as great as the Beyerdynamic MMX 300's.

As for the microphone, it performed well. It is not a condenser type, but it did well in blocking ambient noise and my teammates could always hear me.

As for the stream option, I had a friend help me stream a video and it turned out well. Basically, if you hook up a 3.5mm Male to 3.5mm Male cable from the streaming option to your PC or Mac, you can have audio and voicing going from the mixamp to the PC or Mac. I would rather just use a capture card, but the mixamp did do a good job. Anyway, back to the review!

The SVM (Selectable Voice Monitoring) that is built in to the mixamp has improved, but still is not necessary. With that note, that brings me to what is not hot about the mixamp.

The mixamp I got for this review is the repaired model. My initial model had distortion upon turning the knobs and the signal wobbles between the drivers when the mixamp was below 15%. It is something to be concerned about, but I do have to mention it for disclosure's sake.

With the Sound Performance done, it is time for the verdict.

Verdict:

Many have tried to knock it from the throne, but only a few have budged it. The Plantronics Commander, Senneheiser PC 360, Tritton 720+, and Beyerdynamic MMX 300 have budged it, but the new 2013 A40 has helped it stay as one of the best gaming headsets available. It looks like that ASTRO Gaming still has what it takes to develop high quality products. While it may cost $249.99 + optional speaker tag additions or a optional carrying case, few can match what it can do and what it offers.

I give the Astro A40 Audio System (2013 edition) a 4.5/5 Stars rating.

Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed. Join me next time were I will cover the Tritton 720+. After hearing so many good things about the 720+, I cannot wait for the review to happen. Until next time, this is D-Day1944,

Signing out.

***UPDATE***

Hello everyone, D-Day1944 with an update. It seems that my 720+ review will be scrapped. Instead, I have opted for the Turtle Beach Sierra for my next review. I am terribly sorry for any inconveniences and hopefully this will not happen again. Anyway, that is all.

This has been D-Day1944, signing out.

Best Deals for ASTRO Gaming A40 Audio System, Black - Xbox 360

I already own a pair of these and use them for my game consoles, however they are capable of much more! I've also used them on my iPhone and laptop. The sound quality of these headphones is near audiophile level. The directional precision is impeccable, the quality is so high that I had to change the way I sound-whored in Battlefield. I own a pair of X41s and Tritton AXPROs, they're now retired and collecting dust. The build quality is very impressive and comfort level is unparalleled. Astro actually studied the amount of pressure required to maintain comfort. They don't hurt even when I'm wearing my glasses and 3D glasses at the same time. Both of the microphones on the headset are very good too. The boom mic is my favorite with it's ability to be moved to the other side with a quick pull and push. The in-line mic is also very good and if you're not a fan of boom style mics offers a great alternative. When they're plugged into the mix amp, they provide the best clarity and noise cancelling for the mic I've ever experienced. If you take gaming serious and want to compete on a higher level, these are the headphones for you.

Honest reviews on ASTRO Gaming A40 Audio System, Black - Xbox 360

I have had my A40 system for about 6 months now, and it's the best purchase I've made in a while. I've tested all the major headsets available, and this one is by far the best. It sounds amazing, it's extremely comfortable to wear, and Astro Gaming is a great manufacturer. It's obvious to me that Astro takes great pride in all of their products, and I highly recommend buying directly from them, rather than amazon.

The Headset:

The headset is very easy to adjust, and fits all headsizes. On both sides of the headset are speaker tags. These tags are detachable, and comes in packs of three. Two solid ones, and one with a hole (for the mic). If you don't need the mic, you can remove the tag with the hole and replace it with a solid one, giving the headset a more symetric look. Astro allows you to upload images and design your own speaker tags, which is great for customizing your headset. The mic is a single boom with no wires. The mic is very high quality, and will attach to both sides of the headset. As far as sound goes, I give the Astros a 9/10. I think the bass could be a little deeper, but I'm not complaining at all.

The Mixamp:

The mixamp is pure genius. There is only one wire going from the headset to the mixamp. If you're playing Xbox, you will also have a wire going from the controller to the mixamp. I strongly suggest that when you buy this system, you get the TOSlink cable for the best possible sound. The mixamp has two knobs on it. The main one is the master volume control. The smaller controls the game sound to voice sound ratio. The mixamp runs of USB power, which is great because the Xbox has two USB ports on it. You can also get 4 AA batteries which will give you 12-14 hours. Astro just released a new version of the mixamp, which now supports use with the PS3 right out of the box.

The cables:

The system comes with tons of cables, allowing you to connect it with just about anything. It includes a cable to plug your headset into a headphone jack and a mic jack, a cable to plug your headset into a headphone jack, and a few other cables that I have never used. Astro makes sure that you have all of the tools necessary to maximize your headset.

Customer Support:

My headset got a short in the wiring a couple months after purchase. Astro responded quickly to my emails, fixed the headset in about 3 days, and got it back to me just over a week after it broke. They clearly care about customer satisfaction.

Astro Gaming:

Astro offers many accessories and replacement parts for the A40 system. If you have any gaming needs, Astro probably has something just for it. You can also download product manual on their site before making any purchases.

I love my A40 system, and as soon as Astro comes out with a new model, I'll be grabing that one as well. Hopefully it will be wireless.

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INTRO:

Please dont mistake me for a complainer, hater, troll, etc. This is my honest review. I believe Astro can and will fix these problems. But until they do, people need to know what they are getting into.

LONG STORY SHORT:

As of 01/04/2013, do not update the firmware for the mixamp! I immediately updated, and I regret it. It has caused the mic to be complete poop. As of right now, from reading on multiple forums and reviews, the best thing you can do is

1. Get a better quality USB cable than the one it ships with.

2. Possibly plug the USB cable into a different device or wall outlet than the one you're using.

THE DETAILS

Some background on the problem history of the 2013 edition: There were reports of very low mic volume, meaning your friends could not hear you or you sounded muffled. There were also reports of the audio dropping out when certain things (loud noises) happened in game. Astro released a firmware update that "fixed" the low mic volume. They supposedly released another that fixed the sound dropping in and out. Many people have said the sound dropping out is due to the crappy USB cable the items ships with, and that replacing it with a decent one (the ps3 charge cable for example) completely fixes the problem.

When I first hooked up my headset to my 360, according to my friends, I sounded fine. Also, incoming sound sounded great to me. After I stupidly decided to update the firmware, I started sounding like poo according to my friends.

SUMMARY:

Just DO NOT update the firmware until Astro releases a new version and it is confirmed as working (I will update this review then)

I want to like this headset. It really does sound amazing. But the mic problem is a deal breaker. I paid $250 for a gaming headset. If I only cared about incoming sound, I could get a much cheaper set of headphones. But since this is a gaming headset, the mic should work perfectly, and it's not even close.

Current recommendation: Do not buy the Astro A40 2013 edition.

I truly hope to be updating this review and giving it more stars. I am waiting on Astro support to respond to my email. We shall see what happens.

UPDATE 1/17/2012

Still no firmware update from Astro. I did however communicate with a support representative about my headset. (They only communicate through email which means it can be slow). Even though the problem is clearly with the mixamp, they sent me all new cables and a new mic. While its great that they sent all this for free, I didn't really need it. The problem is with the mixamp. It needs a firmware update to fix how a persons voice sounds. For the record, Astro has said they are working on a firmware update for the "noise gate" problems. They have also said they plan to release "an update" sometime in January. Well, I got tired of waiting. I initiated a return through Amazon. The process was painless and Astro even contact me so they could give me a free shipping label for my return. This part of customer service was again, amazing. I really wish this product had worked out. Even though it isn't a bad product, for the price, it should have worked flawlessly. I will try to update this review again if I see they release firmware that works.

Current recommendation: Do not buy the Astro A40 2013 edition.

UPDATE 1/25/2013

I see that today Astro made a new blog post about firmware updates. I am a bit confused though, because I don't actually see any new updates. I can't test this since I no longer have the product.

UPDATE 2/14/2013

Astro released another firmware update today. Again, I no longer have the headset, so I cant test it. But here are some quotes from their forum page on the current firmware update. I think they speak for themselves:

"I did this livestream test using the new stream port with the update firmware and this is how it sounds. Basically my mic quality isn't good at all, it sounds muffled and cuts in and out if I speak over a certain octave."

"So I updated my mixamp now I get now sound except voices from the mixamp, I am playing black ops 2 btw"

"They still need to clean up the background hiss. I honestly feel they should turn down completely the game volume from this port."

"Just updated the firmware, now it's not working at all. Plugged to my computer via USB to power and optical (SPDIF out) for sound. Using the optical cable no sound at all is coming out. I tried setting USB as default and there's barely any sound coming out."

"the voice output has gotten a little bit better, but im still noticing aproblem with it picking up my voice"

Again, I can't say this is happening to everyone and I can't test it myself. Just take this into consideration guys.

Final recommendation: research the latest firmware update. If it has fixed everything for people, consider buying the Astro A40's.

Current recommendation: Do not buy the Astro A40 2013 edition.

Reviews of Microsoft Wireless-G Xbox Adapter

Customer Ratings:

....Ridiculously easy to set up. Actually ,the XBOX system did most of the work for me. It detected and configured most of the network info itself from my existing 802.11g wireless network. The hardest thing was typing the 26 digit WEP code for my wireless network.I just followed the step-by-step instructions and was online within minutes. Piece of cake.

I was a little concerned about the signal strength with my Base Station being two rooms over , about 35 feet away with multiple electronic devices along the way, and no real line of sight, but my fears quickly disappeared when I checked my network speed on the XBOX and found it steady at 54 Mbps with a Very Good to Excellent signal.Fantastic.

Online gaming on the XBOX is phenomenal with the Microsoft Wireless-G Xbox Adapter.The game play is flawless. It's as if your playing with that person in your living room right next to you. There was no laggy or choppy gameplay, just really really smooth. I love this thing!!

Just take the time to read the instructions one step at a time and you'll be playing before you know it. I look forward to playing you on XBOX Live.

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**READ THIS IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE CONNECTING TO XBOX LIVE**

Well, I read everything I could find on the Microsoft MN-740 Xbox Adapter and the Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router w/ SpeedBooster to prepare for installation. Hours reading before I even had the units in my hands. I was a bit worried after reading this review list. So, I did what I could.

The setup of both units was near automatic and needed little in the way of help from me. I got everything in order following the instructions the Xbox adapter and the Linksys Router were talking to each other. But, when I tried to get into Xbox LIVE...'bummer' the Xbox Adapter would not connect to LIVE. I thought it might have been an SSID problem, channel junk, or ISP information missing... So, I sat and tried to find out the problem for about 4 hours. Opting not to call customer services (feeling it to be jokeful). Frustrated and sleepy, I got online and re-read something tucked away at the Xbox site that I knew was not in any of the manuals. One setting change (see excerpt below) and it was running fast and the games began to fly with no lag what-so-ever!

If you have a Linksys router try this link and fix your Xbox LIVE connection problem.(...)

Excerpt: "Note: The UPnP implementation on the Linksys WRT54g with firmware 2.02.7 has been discovered to prevent users from being able to connect to Xbox Live. If a user is unable to connect to Xbox Live with this specific router model/firmware, they may get connected by turning off UPnP in the router's settings. Microsoft is working hard with Linksys to repair this issue as soon as possible."

Other than the one setting problem that they are working to correct... I am a bit disappointed with the weaker WEP security the Microsoft Xbox Adapter needs. Not cutting edge. But, for the ease of use this unit offers I'll take what I can get to get LIVE while my wife is online.

I hope this helps. If it did help you please click the "YES" button below.

Best Deals for Microsoft Wireless-G Xbox Adapter

Ridiculously quick and easy setup with the mn-740!!After having used the Linksys wgallb game adapter, this things connects and configures like a dream! It took hrs to get the linksys to work right with 128bit encrytion even though I was using a Linksys router. Linksys support is a joke! Absolutely terrible. They told me my game adapter was defective and that I need to return it. It wasn't, they just have poor troubleshooting ability. I would like to know how many thousands of non-defective linksys products have been returned because of poor tech support? I had the mn-740 Xbox adapter up and running in 2 minutes! With 128bit encrytion, I am seeing 48MBPS through 3 rooms and 80ft. My Xbox adapter is running beautifully with a D-link DI-624 with the 108G firmware upgrade. With rebates, the router and mn-740 Xbox adapter together is around 100.00. That's incredibly cheap for the quality and performance with this setup. Buy the MN-740! Stay away from Linksys, you'll thank me. Also, I have read from other reviewers that you can use the mn-740 as a wireless network adapter for any device with a ethernet jack after the initial setup. Hope this helps.

Honest reviews on Microsoft Wireless-G Xbox Adapter

This works wonderfully right out of the box with a modded (evoX) XBox, linked to a Linksys WRT54G. I originally tried to use the Linksys Wireless Game Adapter, which really sucked and never worked. Took a chance on this thing, worried that it would not be configurable enough with the network. Piece of cake. And 30-50 dollars cheaper than the Game Adapter. It found the network just fine and can now transfer files back and forth from the XBox from both the wireless PC and the Mac on our network via FTP. Hate to say it, but a really nice experience from MS.

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You can, too!!! This product is totally not needed if you have a laptop (which is why most people have wireless in the firstplace). From my Mac, all I did was go into system preferences > sharing > internet > and click "start" to share the internet access. Then I used ethernet cable (cat-5) and connected my laptop to the back of my xbox. Im sure you can do the same if you're running windows. Im sure this product is great, and it works right out of the box, but why spend the money if you don't have to? Hope this helps save some of you some cash.

Best DISNEY INFINITY Play Set Pack - Lone Ranger Play Set Deals

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We got the Infinity system for the WiiU and the kids love it. We got the CARS set, now at a substantial discount, so my boy (4) and girl (7) can play they can play together using the boy/girl CARS combo in the Toybox. This set is a great value for less than $20 (Amazon and Target), since each of the characters is normally 12.99 and Lightning and Holley aren't available any other way.

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If you like Disney infinity, this is a great add on. The cars are fun to race around and side missions are entertaining. It was hard for me to play for more than 2 hours at a time but I like to mix up the playsets so nothing gets boring or old.

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SHORT ANSWER: This is an add-on world playset for the Disney Infinity game. You still need the base portal that comes in the base set, and the game CD itself, in order to play with this set. With that said, the Cars playset adds more to the Disney Infinity game than one might originally expect. The Cars world has more appeal to it than just racing, and a lot of the Cars movie "charm" is present in spades. The additional toybox pieces are great for helping build your own race-tracks, as well. This single playset does come with two Cars character figures so is also all you need to play either single player or local multiplayer, making it a great buy for people with multiple kids who all want to play together.

LONG ANSWER: This playset is, of course, for the Disney Infinity game. With it, you can play in the Cars world as well as add Cars-themed pieces to your own toyboxes. Initially, when my 5-year-old daughter stated that she wanted this playset I was a bit skeptical. I was under the impression that all it would offer was some car racing; which is something you can actually do in the base sets already. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this playset actually offers more than just racing.

The Cars world, itself, has a lot more to it than just having the player race constantly. Like pretty much all of the other Infinity game worlds, this one is open-world. This means you are put into the middle of the Cars world, and allowed to roam around freely doing what you want. There are tons of side quests you can accept to do, but you are also free to just ignore them if you choose. Doing certain ones does open up new areas and items to the game, but it is completely possible for someone to just have fun driving around Radiator Springs without ever doing a single quest.

The missions, themselves, have variety. Some of them are definitely more inspired than others, however. There are the pre-requisite fetch quests (made a little more fun by being able to speed wildly to pick up the items), as well as regular racing quests. There are also destruction derby style quests where the object is to destroy as much of the scenery as possible (a lot more fun than one might initially expect), and trick quests where the object is to perform flips, rolls, etc off of ramps. All in all, they are not always the most inspired of quests, but they are usually still fun enough as to not feel like a chore.

Graphics-wise, Radiator Springs looks wonderful. The color palette for this one was nicely chosen, and gives you that mid-western, desert/canyon feel. This makes it all the more enjoyable to drive around in it. Almost all of the characters from the Cars movie are present, and you get a lot of your missions from them. There are even cute little touches in the game world from the movie; like the ability to knock down Luigi's tire tower, etc.

Most of the terrain is also skillfully set up to be a joy to drive through; with plenty of stuff to run into and destroy as well as ample scenery that acts as make-shift ramps and the like. There are plenty of levels to the environment as well, making exploring all the more interesting.

The story-line is not a very strong presence in this game, however. Do not expect any type of over-arching, epic storyline to add color and perspective to your game-play. Most of the quests are one-off tasks that the individual characters have you do; nothing that has any larger meaning for the game world. Considering the Cars gameplay is open-world, this is not too uncommon of that type of gameplay, however.

The actual character figurines and playset piece are of high quality and sturdiness; much like all of the Disney Infinity pieces. There is still the fatal flaw that if you lose that clear playset master piece (in this case, a clear piston cup), then you are no longer able to play in the Cars world unless you buy the complete set again. Disney REALLY needs to offer a way just to buy the playset master piece for people with children prone to misplacing things. This is one of my largest complaints regarding the whole Disney Infinity game; those playset master pieces are just too important (losing them locks you out of that world), and Disney provides no way to replace just them. You either by that whole set a second time, or you go without.

In addition, there is not much reason to buy any additional Car character figures past the two that come with this set. Unlike other worlds like The Incredibles, where each character figure plays somewhat differently in their world than the others of the set with differing powers, all of the Cars play exactly the same as each other. There is no difference between playing as Lightning McQueen from that of playing as Toemater, except how they look in the game. This can be a benefit, though. Once you have this one set, you no longer have any reason to spend any additional money on any of the other Cars pieces.

Overall, this set adds some good variety to the Disney Infinity game. It is a lot more than just racing, like I initially though. I would not bother buying any more Cars figures past the ones that come in this set, however. They provide nothing extra to the experience.

I hope this review helped at least one person decide whether to purchase this set or not.

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This was a birthday gift for my grandson. it did not look like

Much to me.......Boy was I wrong.!!!!!!!!! He loved it. It looks

like a couple of small cars but is so much more. It is an interactive

game and he still hasn't been able to tell me everything it does.

he gets excited every time he talks about it.

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Love being able to play as the iconic characters of cars in their environment, but also being able to use those pieces and characters in Disney Infinity's toybox mode to build my own car tracks.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - PC Review

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Having been a big fan of the original STALKER, I was very eager to get my hands on this prequel. After a few days with it I have to ask: could this game actually have been made in Chernobyl? Because it is infested by pretty serious radioactive bugs! But first things first.

Like its predecessor, STALKER:CS has amazing graphics and, yes, they are demanding. Barely making minimum requirements means barely enjoying the game visually. Having said that, I have to admire the work that went into the graphical design, from playful rays of light and shadows of moving branches to dilapidated buildings and endless skies, the game will grab you from the opening scene.

The gameplay does not veer off the original but there are more customization options, both regarding the weapons and your character. What one will notice early on is that STALKER:CS is a harder game. Not only are artifacts much scarcer (making it harder to save up for that precious suit which will allow you to reach more precious artifacts...) but there are also instances when your character could be stripped of everything! Immersion is one thing, aggravation quite another.

Speaking of which, be prepared to experience not a few crashes and freezes. The game was either rushed and still in beta(!) or this is another form of Russian anti-piracy method: release the game unstable and then keep it dependent on downloadable patches. In any case, wait for the major patches to be released because saved games will usually not work with later patches.

On a final note, Amazon.com customers should count our blessings: everywhere else in the world (including Amazon.co.uk) STALKER:CS harbors StarFORCE but not here!

Thank God for anti-rad and class-action suits!

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Let me preface by saying that I am a huge fan of the first STALKER and played the redux mod numerous times so a few glitches and crashes don't annoy me all that much. I got the game immediately upon release and installed and played it for several hours before the game repeatedly crashed at the same point. I went and installed the most recent patch I could find and things became more stable. Unfortunately, my saved games were not compatible so I had to start over from the beginning.... Oh well, the game is fun as hell and I really love the new maps and little changes to the original ones. If you were a fan of the first STALKER this is a must own just be sure to patch it before you play.

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I played Shadow of Chernobyl five times in a row. Finish it. Start again. Ridiculous, but true. It had plenty of bugs and issues and required a lot of patience, but it was completely worth it.

Having loved the first game, I was incredibly excited about the release of Clear Sky and have watched it as it developed over the last year. There have been a lot of negative reviews from various sources, and yes, this game is also very buggy. It has the Stalker Curse of hardware issues and wierd problems.

But I've been playing it for several days now with no significant (read as "game stopping") issues, and it is every bit as cool as I hoped it would be. I'm loving it as much if not more than Shadow of Chernobyl.

So, if you're patient and not afraid of the fixer-upper games that GSC is apparently intent on releasing, and you liked the first Stalker... I say give it a go.

Its brilliant and brutal, just like the original.

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STALKER Clear Sky (SCS) is a sandbox shooter in the style of Fallout 3 and Far Cry 2. As with those examples, SCS is a long game as compared to many more linear FPS games. The extra time consists largely of traveling from one place to another, but this format also facilitates a more complex scheme of interaction between the player and the game environment. There are many places to explore, objects to uncover, and interactions with the game's many characters.

Being more of a fan of mindless run-and-gun FPS games, this is not my favorite game. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that a huge effort went into creating the STALKER games (including Shadow of Chernobyl) and the outcome of that effort was an impressively detailed and well orchestrated adventure. To me, Clear Sky is a thoughtful improvement over Chernobyl and is the better of the two games, but Clear Sky also capitalizes on the first game. Changing it too much would ruin it and disappoint those who got Clear Sky hoping to get more of what Chernobyl offered.

I admit I did a terrible job of playing the game, so probably didn't get the level of enjoyment possible by someone who immerses themselves in it more deeply. I went from mission to mission with very little exploring. I had no money and never did any trading. I finished the game on the VETERAN difficulty level without ever having a suit with any protection from radiation or bullets. I highly recommend having a look at one of the guides available on the internet. A few pointers can save you some grief and make the game more fun.

At the time I installed it, there was one patch available, which I installed. I had no technical trouble with the game under Vista x64 running on a core 2 duo with 4GB ram and dual SLI-linked 8800GTS 512 GPUs. I had video options set to max and the graphics were definitely on the leading edge of what's commercially available. There is a huge amount of detail to the environment, excellent lighting effects, and weather so real you can almost feel it. The lightning storms are impressive. One in particular was just stunning. You could see the bolts of lighting flash in the sky and the entire landscape would flash in harsh bright black and white with stark directional shadows. The best weather effect I've seen in any game to date.

Depth of field was a nice effect and worked smoothly without being an annoyance. Sound effects and voice acting were also top shelf. Aside from what it takes to accomplish a mission, I don't usually pay much attention to story line or character development, so I won't speak to that. The game allows user saves, including quick saves and it allows you to change the difficulty level mid-game which is a rarity.

I recently finished Far Cry 2 and thought SCS was a far better game in terms of variety, surprises, and action. SCS compares favorably with Fallout 3 in that the area of exploration is huge and each place is not just more of the same (as seemed to be the case with Far Cry 2).

The things I personally didn't care for in SCS were the annoying (invisible) radiation fields that you could stumble into as well as the amount of non-fighting game play that is required. I prefer non-stop shooting, but that's not a strike against the game so much as saying that this game targets those gamers who like to get more engaged in the RPG aspects of the story and environment.

Toward the end, the game seems to slip into more of a traditional FPS in that the missions (and shoot-outs) occur one after the other. As soon as you accomplish one aspect of a mission, you are immediately pointed toward the next step and the shooting is almost non-stop. Also, I really liked the environment better during these sequences. It was tough for me because, having no protection from bullets, I was easily killed and spent a lot of time watching the "LOADING..." screen. The game does not load very fast.

So, if you liked the first STALKER, Fallout 3, or Far Cry 2, you'll probably like SCS, which is the best (in my opinion) of all of them. It doesn't have a long learning curve, but take time to learn about the vests and the artifacts and what you can get by trading and upgrading weapons, etc. The manual could be better, but there are guides on the internet that make up for it.

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I played the first one, which was really buggy but incredibly fun. This game had less bugs (1.5.05 retail patch) until towards the end of the game, where it would crash almost instantly. If you saved the game in a place that the game "didn't like," it would crash upon loading. For reference, my setup involves an AMD 6000, 3.5GB (recognized under XP, 4GB physical), Ati 4870 512MB, XP SP3, Ati 8.9 drivers. The 8.8 drivers seemed to cause the system to crash to desktop even more.

Anyway, game-play (when it's working) is absolutely incredible. Immersive, fun, challenging, visually stimulating, etc. About 80% into the game is where all the bugs showed up. That, coupled with the utterly lackluster ending (also bugged) killed the game for me (since I had expectations from the first game). I would gladly have waited another 6 months for a finished game, a finished ending and less bugs. This could easily have been a 5-star game.

Regardless of it's shortcomings, it's still a good game and I will be purchasing any future Stalker games. The plot, game-play and immersiveness are too good to pass up.

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Reviews

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Okay, this is a awesome game. It has wonderful graphics, the airplane details are superbly represented, and the sound is really good. One of the signature differences between this new title and the previous Ace Combat 4 is the addition of the CGI cutscene movies, whereas the Ace Combat 4 used the storyboard type representation. If you have played Ace Combat 4, this game is easy enough to pick up and jump right in to the action. Minor changes have been made to controls to allow for the "wingman" control scheme with the D-pad. This enables you to direct you wingmen to either cover, attack, disperse and use their special weapons on a target. You can also use the dpad for the standard yes no reply to questions that your wingmen will ask you throughout the game. It does add a nice touch of realism to the game with all the chatter you hear over the radio.

Now, since it has been 3 years since Ace Combat 4, I must say that I really did expect more in the way of advancements, but it truely feels like the same gamestyle, typical storyline, and overall general feel. Of course that is not berateing this game one iota. The graphics are much sharper, the land elevation scenery is much more detailed with trees and brushes now visible. The buildings are also nicely detailed with a higher polygon count. Perhaps the best change made for me is the missile animation you now see when you launch a missile. The missile stream is now much more realistic with the way it curves and actually winds through the air.

If you enjoyed Ace Combat 4, you won't regret buying this game. If you never played Ace Combat 4, then you will truely love this game moreso than the typical veteran Ace Combat player. Great visuals, good storyline and good sound design make this a winner in anyone's book.

Just to mention that you can either play the campaign mode or arcade mode. Arcade mode will have you reprise your role as Morphius from the Ace Combat 4 game. The campaign will carry you in the role of flight leader and allow you to fight with and control your wingmen. Enjoy.

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The only other Ace Combat game I've ever played was the first one for the PlayStation. It was impressed with the look and feel of the game. Ace Combat 5 effectively helps me to relive the same enjoyment I had playing the first game.

AC5 does a fantastic job of putting you in the pilot's seat of a fighter jet. The realism is astounding. Plane models look just like real jets, with good detail and believable movement. There are multiple viewpoints available both inside the cockpit and out that can be adjusted. The landscapes in certain missions are stunning to see from 2000 feet in the air. Finally, instant replays with adjustable angles appear after the completion of a mission (or in the event of the player's untimely death). They're reminiscent of the cool-looking replays in Gran Turismo 3.

The music is movie-quality and suits whatever action is taking place. As for sound effects, I don't think they could have been any better. For example, the farther away you are from an enemy when it's destroyed the longer the sound from the explosion takes to reach your ears. If possible, use a 5.1 stereo system with AC5. It sounds awesome.

There's a nice variety of missions, and none are excessively long. Once the campaign mode is complete you can replay any mission from that mode singularly. With 50 models of jets to unlock and use there's plenty of reason to keep playing.

As if all these pros weren't enough, AC5's story isn't bad either. How rare to witness a well told, positive moral in a video game. Communication between pilots during missions adds character depth and makes the gameplay more involving. Some players have complained about the audio chatter being annoying but I didn't find it bothersome.

At it's core Ace Combat 5 is a game with heart. I wholly recommend it.

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Better;

* Excellent graphics, particularly the aircraft models, weather effects and cutscenes.

* The same great gameplay as AC04 with some nice tweaks (e.g. enemy stealth planes are actually harder to detect).

* Lots of missions with a choice of paths through the game (though not as many as AC3), plus refuelings and carrier landings.

* Well written and absorbing plot.

* Numerous and varied aircraft and special weapons, including a fun new super plane and a kill-based 'evolution' system for unlocking improved variants of planes.

* Greatly improved arcade mode, again with a choice of paths, making for a nice half-hour blast.

Worse;

* Ropey mission design. Targets constantly pop up out of nowhere and you get teleported around the map after every cutscene. The action feels more scripted and less like you're flying around a real battle. This is reinforced by the fact that while the target areas are highly detailed, the rest of the maps are quite empty.

* Some of the missions feel like pale shadows of AC04 missions.

* The dialogue is often whiney, unprofessional or just annoying, and often gets out of sync with the action.

* The stats on the aircraft seem to be made up at random, and don't have that much affect on gameplay anyway. The missions aren't designed to make best use of the available weapons, and hence players will never use most of the basic planes and will have little incentive to unlock most of the improved variants. The loss of selectable secondary weapons is a shame.

* Rare but highly annoying bugs; planes fly underground and through buildings, missiles sometimes mysteriously fail to track.

* For the most part the difficulty curve is smooth if a little too easy (even on ace difficulty), but there are a couple of missions that are just unnecessarily frustrating (White Noise and Four Horsemen).

* The two player mode and target shooting range have been removed.

Missed opportunities;

* Fewer targets and no re-arming, making things less frantic. This is a shame as there are some missions where landing and rearm without leaving the battlefield would've worked well.

* The medal gallery is nice, but more unlockables (e.g. rendered beauty shots of aircraft) would have provided more motivation to get those special rankings.

* Giving wingmen orders is fun, but they don't seem to do much or need your protection. Similarly the interactive dialogue could've been cool, but doesn't actually seem to do anything and is hence just distracting.

* No bombers, choppers or VTOL aircraft, to fly or give orders to.

* Music is generally great, but the score for the final missions don't quite have that spine tingling thrill that AC04 had.

Ace Combat 5 is great fun and a high quality title in its own right. However while the graphical tweaks and new features are appreciated, it isn't a major advance over AC04, and the niggling problems prevent it from delivering the same outstanding all-round experience that Shattered Skies provided.

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I'm updating my review because I have now gotten all the planes--every last one--and must declare it well worth the effort. When I had only 'the best' planes, the missions were not nearly as interesting and oftentimes very difficult to do a sortie at Expert or Ace level because the plane I was using was too fast, didn't perform well at low altitudes, or featured weapons that were only really good for dog fighting. I could be flying the Falken through a mission and my wingmen would get the most kills because I would overshoot my target before I had a chance to lock on and fire and therefore have to go at it again, and the enemy aircraft would shoot me down as I literally jetted past them. The Falken is a great example because, unless your targets are all out in the open, you likely wont be as successful as if you flew something less 'super.'

Which plane you chooose is as important if not more than how you fly it or what kinds of weapons it features. For comparison, if you wanted to play a really great game of golf, you would need a full set of clubs--not just a driver and a putter. Likewise with planes--and I imagine this absolutely must be so in the real world of jet fighters--there is no one super plane that is the absolute best for all situations.

The best thing about this game--even more so than with Ace Combat 4--is how it demands you use strategy in addition to making appropriate choices in which planes your team flies.

Unlike Ace Combat 4, you can't just pick the right plane for yourself and finish the level or all levels practically solo. You need not only the right plane for yourself, but the right plane for your wingman and sometimes a complex combination of plane capabilities for the three other pilots at your command in addition to yourself. And then you have to give them appropriate commands--or you'll fail. Sometimes you even have give the most important strategic role to yourself while giving the more exciting dogfighting role to one of your other pilots.

You can't just have your team cover you and blast away at everything--you'd likely run out of missles and/or time--and even when the software suggests other choices of commands or planes, you have to take command and make the real decisions.

So what I wrote about Ace Combat 4 is far more true of Ace Combat 5. This isn't a game for dummies, and the amount of choice making you have to do in addition to outflying your opponents is what makes this an intelligent game.

They even included a bit of flight school in this one--nice.

My only complaint is about the Arcade Mode. You have to do it all the way from beginning to end. You can't save and finish it off later--which is no good for those of use who don't have hours at a shot to sit there and play video games. I'd rather be able to do a few bits in arcade mode, save it and do more later.

Campaign Mode is just perfect though. Sometimes you're stuck having to do more without saving after a really long and hard level, but it's not over the top difficult or lengthy. Even this adds to the challenge though, as you have to choose planes that you can succeed with in a variety of situations.

Great game; much improved over its previous version without losing anything in the process.

I do wish the playback at the end of each mission showed the weapon strikes at Ace Combat 4 did.

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I had long been waiting for this game to come out and now that I've played it; I could have waited longer. Yes, the backgrounds look amazing and the detail of the planes killer, but it was not what I expected.

The contsant chattering from your squad gets very annoying during the game, to the point that I just turned the voice off completely and put a CD on.

I played the game on Hard/Expert/Ace, and the Arcade Mode on all levels. After playing on Expert I really had no desire to play it on Ace, besids that fact of just wanting to beat it on that level. I did not find the game all to hard. I currently have no intension of playing it again. The replay need for this game is simply not there. Its too bad that they took away the VS Mode. Thats one thing that made Ace Combat 4 really fun.

Now we get down to the fighters. In this game you are provided with 50 aircraft from around the world. Most are the same from AC4, but look much better. A bad thing that I found was that you were unable to pick the weapons load for your plane via Ace Combat 4. The need to have to gain experience with a plane in order to get it upgraded model was not worth the time. Planes like the the French Rafael are only allowed to carry their Sidewinder variant for AA Combat and the Exocet Anti-ship Missile for ground targets. Where as in Ace Combat 4, you could load her up with medium ramge missile or air to ground. The same thing with the British Typhoon, nothing but air to air, and no waepons for ground operations. Air to ground missiles on the A-10 & SU-32 have no range what so ever, so why even bother putting them in.

In my opinion the upgrade was interesting yet could have been better,EX: The MiG-29 is not only a bomber but also a Fighter. Plus there is a Carrier version of this plane the MiG-29K as well a Carrier version of the SU-27, the Su-27K. The Britsh Tornado GR4 in Ace Combat 4 is more interesting than the ones in this game. They could have gotten rid of some of the upgrade versions and added more fighters in, Example: A-4 skyhawk, SU-22 Fitter, F-111 Ardvark, SU-24 Fencer, & SU-25 Frogfoot to name a few. Also, what is the point of in-flight refueling when you never run out of fuel?

If your a die hard fan of the series as I was then you'll love the game. If they would have left the VS Mode in then Iwould probably still be playing the game. Also, the ablitly to choose payloads. I guess I'll go to PC Games for a better flight game. If they come out with a # 6, I'll wait to rent it before I get it. Yet, remeber guys this is my opinion, its up to you to make your own. Laters