Reviews of Phantom Breaker

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This game has so many famouse CV. I love this game not only because of CV also the designer of the charcter. The character settings are perfect.

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this was like one of the best thing have happend to me and i was hopeing there will be some come to the us more but anyways i still loved it

Cheap Battlefield 3 Premium Edition -Xbox 360

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List Price: $59.99
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Great game, best shooter ever, blah blah blah. If you are expecting to be able to play right away you are not. This seems to be the exact same game released in Oct 2011 with new packaging and an included code to unlock Premium. Once you unlock premium you have to DL quite a bit to actually get what you paid for.

Armored Kill1.6 gb

hd update1.5 gb(optional)

title update183 mb

update2.1 gb

Multiplayer Update 32.4 gb

Multiplayer update 41.5 gb

That's over 9gb kids. Now It is awesome that that they are including all the DLC's in a bundle and to be honest I am not even complaining, just giving warning.

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I have always loved Battlefield and BF3 IMO is a fantastic title. But all of the new DLC's and stuff now are kind of a turn off to new commers. Then they released this edition and I have to say, much more worth the extra 20 or so dollars compared to the standard edition. You save some 50-80 dollars on DLC's alone. You also get access to close to 20 new weapons and 20 or so challenges to help mix up the gameplay. All of which(the weapons) are pretty well balanced and are a welcome addition to the base gameplay.

The two DLC map packs that have released (As of September 2012) mix up the gampley by taking you to two ends of the Battlefield spectrum, up close infantry combat and HUGE maps with all out Tank and vehicular warfare. The developers have realy done a great job at including a broad swath of gameplay options to accomadate many people's playstyle.

The gametypes are usualy either super fast paced, super tatical, or both, requiring players to think on their feet and work different play styles. The class system is great and there is no one class that will be dominant for everything. You just have to find out what works for each situation and they change quickly as the game progresses. Hell you can even create sort of hybrid classes, like a sniper with an SMG or shotgun for close in engagements or an assault class with a high powered rifle with a scope for medium to long range. This game offers a level of flexability not too well seen in games today. Although not the hyperealistic title some people want, but not the arcade like individualistic gameplay of other games either. BF3 fits in a special place that greatly balances the two types Extremely well. I reccomend this to anyone willing to give it a try.

And the best part is that the experience is not over, the next THREE DLC's that you will get for essentially FREE will expand the gampley even more. And they are not just simple map packs slapped together and thrown into the mix. Each DLC so far has focussed on creating a different gamplay experience; meaning the next few will offer new and refreshing options for the player to utalize. Im just hoping they will add more multiplayer coop missions/rewards to the soup ;)

Best Deals for Battlefield 3 Premium Edition -Xbox 360

Battlefield 3 is by far one of the best shooters I've ever played. The amount of detail to the environments and sound are astounding. The intense multilayer has kept me playing for more that 6 months and I'm still going!

Battlefield 3 Premium adds 5 new expansion packs. Unlike Call of Duty these expansion packs are actually worth your purchase. Each pack adds a new layer of depth to the all ready deep multiplayer. If your considering buying this game, Premium edition makes it perfect, it saves you about $50 from buying premium if you didn't get this version of the game.

I would give this game a 9/10. Its has a great and almost flawless multiplayer and Co-op. Sadly the Campaign isn't quite up to standards with the rest of the game.

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The campaign is great, the multiplayer is AWESOME, you get all the cool premium stuff, benefits, and expansion packs, and the best part was, I got this new for only 25 dollars from amazon!!!!!! Oh yeah!!

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husband loves it great deal for $25 that i paid for it perfect christmas gift i even enjoy playing it

Review of 2006 FIFA World Cup - Xbox 360

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List Price: $29.99
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Obviously, some people writing these reviews have not actually played this new installment of the FIFA series. The newest FIFA is probably the best ever. Road to the World Cup had many flaws that were corrected in this game. 2006 FIFA World Cup has many fun game modes and very good online play with very little lag. This is probably one of my favorite games out on the 360 and is definitely worth your money.

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I respectfully disagree with the previous comments saying this game is similar to RTWC. For me RTWC was not finished and had to go out in order to not loose the momentum of the Xbox 360 launch. This version is probably the RTWC, but ready for the market. It has the Fifa 06 (for Xbox) gameplay, and more !!! It also has all the nice graphics that we had in RTWC. For me this is the best soccer game ever in terms of quality and gameplay. For sure there are some basic mistakes, as any other Fifa game, i.e.: you can't see the overall rate of each player without manually going to every single player's bio (x button); you can't create a tournament for 2 people and use the cpu teams to play against your friend, you can only play with one of the 2 teams you've marked as user teams; the goalkeeper may still jump to catch the ball and fall down inside the goal, while the referee doesn't flag that as a score; and some others that the Fifa consumers are already used to (unfortunately). I also agree the price is extremely high ... but it is worth it. If you like Fifa and was upset with RTWC, I do recommend this game.

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I'm an American who played soccer when he was a kid but really doesn't watch much on TV aside from when the World Cup rolls around every 4 years, so take my review w/ a grain of salt. However, that said, I think FIFA World Cup 2006 on the Xbox 360 is a VERY fun soccer game. I'm told that the Winning Eleven series (which unfortunately doesn't have an Xbox 360 version yet) is a more accurate soccer simulation, but I never felt like FIFA WC 2006 was too arcadey. I think it does a good job of emulating real soccer. The animations are very good, the details in the players and stadiums are great on the 360 in high-definition, and the announcing and other sounds are very well-done (when I was playing a game, my wife thought I was watching a real World Cup match).

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I recently borrowed FIFA World Cup 2006 from my friend and was amazed at how great it was. This is by far the best soccer game I have ever played. The graphics are excellent and are the best I have seen in any soccer game. FIFA World Cup 2006 certainly provides you with the ultimate world cup experience! Overall this is a great game and worth buying!

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Now that the world cup has come and gone, I still continue to love this game. I had never played a soccer game before in my life, but I tried this one out and it definitely hooked me in. The controls are easy to learn, and it's fun to get to learn the rosters of different teams since the graphics are so good you can easily learn what players look like.

Buy Street Fighter X Tekken - Xbox 360

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I have this game for both systems. The 360 version was bought here on Amazon. And the PS3 version was bought 5 days before launch at a local mom and pop shop.

Online

Street Fighter X Tekken is a ton of fun. It really is. But it's cons are very difficult to overlook. First there is the situation with the online. In this day and age netcode is too important. The ability to play online against friends or even strangers from around the world is one of the reasons the genre has made a complete comeback. SFXT's netcode sacrifices sound in order to run smoothly. The kicker is that it still struggles to run smooth even when sacrificing this precious audio. If you rely on sound for hit and block confirms, just stay away.

***Online update*** As of 4/10/12, the sound issue has been addressed, but many have complained about increased input lag since the patch.

Local to online co-op a.k.a. couch co-op

Got a friend over and the 2 of you want to jump online and do some ranked matches together? If you bought this game on Xbox 360, it's not possible. I'm not sure about later, but right now as I write this review, the 360 version does not have couch co-op even though it's advertised to and is even in the manual. At first Capcom blamed Microsoft. Claiming that the 360 was not able to do it because of it's architecture. That was a blatant lie that they got called out on because MK9 among other games can do this very thing. Then they claimed the 360 version was never supposed to have the feature and that it being in the manual was a mistake. And now, at the time of me writing this, the latest "explanation" is that they were on a tight schedule and they made the "tough decision" to leave it out. Which means the whole time they intentionally kept quiet about it long enough to get our money and let us discover the mode was missing on our own.

Controls

Now I already had a SF4 Round 2 TE, but I was hyped about this game. So I picked up a SFXT Fightstick V.S.(which I'll also be doing a review for) and it works wonderfully. If you're an arcade stick user you've got nothing to worry about. But pad warriors beware. The game has a problem reading diagonal inputs from a pad. Quite often when attempting to jump towards or away from your opponent, you'll get a neutral jump instead. And you'll also get swept when you're trying to crouch block because it'll register as down instead of down/back. This is a serious problem and wouldn't have possibly made into the final retail build if the game had received any sort of Quality & Assurance testing. Taking builds to tournaments and having top players fiddle around with it on the flashy new arcade sticks you're trying to market does not substitute for Q&A.

Color Edit Mode

KoFXIII offers up an amazing color edit mode. SFXT does not. As of right now only 2 colors are available. The additional packs will supposedly be free. But even though they're on the disc, Capcom sees it fit to ration them out over the course of 2012 rather then just let us have our fun with the color options now. The majority will have likely moved on already by the time all colors are finally available.

Gems

I was in favor of the gems initially while everyone else was skeptical from the beginning. I saw them as a potentially fun mechanic if done right. Well, everyone else was right to be skeptic. When you've faced as many people as I have online using the auto block gem as a crutch to defend against what would have otherwise been solid mix-ups, it suddenly becomes clear to you why the community thought they were a bad idea, and why tournaments don't allow them at all. The gems take an already unbalanced game and makes it even more so.

Disc-Locked Content: The new meaning for DLC

If you thought what I said before was bad, it gets even worse here. Locked away on the disc that you've already spent your hard earned money on is a ton of content that Capcom intends to squeeze you for. There are 12 additional characters, costumes, more powerful gems, additional quick combos, and more colors for the edit mode. Here's an idea of just how bad Capcom intends to make you literally pay for your decision to get SFXT. In Europe the costumes have already went on sale. They are £0.79 each. Which is about $1 US. There are 38 characters readily available and 12 locked characters. That's 50 characters total. Each character has 2 alternate costumes. So if you want them all, that's $100 just for COSTUMES. That's not even counting how much it's going to cost you to unlock the additional characters. You're already paying more for locked content than you did for the purchase of the game initially.

Engine

The good: The Tekken characters utilize ground bounces. And the Street Fighter characters utilize wall bounces. If you pick one of each, you get the best of both worlds. The Tekken characters surprisingly fit right in. Some of them fight a lot like their Tekken versions(Kazuya), and some fight nothing like their Tekken versions(Heihachi). But Capcom did a wonderful job of capturing the essence and character of the Tekken cast.

The bad: Damage scaling on combos is so severe, it's as if you're penalized for getting good at the game. It's too easy for non stick users to accidentally trigger quick combos, and there is no way to turn this off. "Grey Health" regenerates too fast. That combined with the heavy damage scaling results in most ranked matches ending in a Time Over. And Pandora is an unusable mechanic. It's so weak, no one dares to even bother with it. If you trigger Pandora during a match, there's a 95%+ chance that you're going to lose because of it. Scarily, there are even more problems than what I've named. I just listed a handful.

Graphics

This game looks great! Everything is in the SF4 art style, but the characters have been touched up a bit. And characters that had to be built from the ground up like all of the Tekken characters, and some from the SF side like Poison, Hugo, Rolento, etc. look amazing. The stages all look great too.

Overall

A game backed up with lies and shady business practices from it's publisher isn't something that I can honestly recommend. It's a great fighter at it's very core, but purchasing it will just encourage Capcom to continue treating their consumer/fanbase like they're stupid. SFXT is a ridiculous cash grab masquerading as a fighting game. I can't recommend someone buy half of a game for $60 and then the rest of it, which is locked ON THE DISC for over $100. They didn't have time to make sure the 360 version had couch co-op. They didn't have time to make sure the online was solid for either console. They didn't even have time to make sure pad players could enjoy the game. But they did however have time to make content to lock away on the disc. In short, do not buy this game.

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Wow, do I feel ripped off by this game! Believe the bad reviews. I do not care if they want you to buy stuff that is already on the disc, the game itself is horrible. I only play online, and the online is totally broken and unplayable: lag, dropped sound effects, dropped controller inputs, lack of options. You name it, Capcom screwed it up. I am putting this game aside for a while. Hopefully, Capcom will repair all that is wrong with this game through updates, and then I will reevaluate it. It's too bad, too, because Street Fighter and Tekken are probably the ultimate fighting game franchises... and Capcom took a big stinky dump on both of them.

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This game is a huge waste of money.

*First off the story in this game doesn't really exist just like every other fighter.

*Second, capcom has 12 characters locked out on the disk so you can't play as them until they officially release the DLC over the next 6 month period, in which you have to pay for the characters. You shouldn't have to pay for something that is on the disk. They are selling you an incomplete game. People found ways to hack and unlock the 12 characters and the company is now suing and getting Microsoft to ban those peoples accounts even though they are just using what should be theirs in the first place. Also, there was day one DLC for alternate costumes which pretty much only change the color of the characters clothes. If you were to buy every outfit it would cost around $100 extra.

*Lastly, Capcom is known for coming out with reprints of the same game. Street Fighter 2 came out at least 5 times. Street Fighter 4 came out and then 6-8 months later they came out with Super Street Fight 4, then 6-8 months after that came out with Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition. This also happened with Marvel vs Capcom 3, now there's Ultimate MVC 3.

So unless you want to keep buying the same game over and over again, I would wait for Crapcom to release the Super, Ultimate, Give me all your money again edition of this game.

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Capcom has released a full game and charged full price for 60% of it. DLC has become a staple of this industry and its not surprising companies are trying to add more content to keep the title played longer. This is the opposite. This makes me want to get rid of this game and not purchase the next one they release.

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Ok, so I am a die-hard Capcom fan. Have been since I was seven years old playing Street Fighter II in an actual arcade. Never would I have imagined that I would be driven to the point of actually slating one of their products, but low and behold, Capcom seemed determined to sway me, and other loyal fans, to do so.

I purchased the 360 version of Street Fighter x Tekken. I was mad before its release when I found out that it was going to have less characters than the PS3/Vita versions, but Capcom placed the blame for this on Microsoft through lack of communication, so I empathized and proceeded to buy it upon its release, even though it was still exactly the same price. Upon the purchase, and although even the instruction booklet that comes with the game lays out the set-up for it, there is no local co-op on the 360 version. So all the hype about 4 people playing at once? Sorry, not gonna happen on this version.

Wanna know what else? The 12 supposedly DLC characters that are being added to the roster of the Vita version this fall to "celebrate" Street Fighters 20th anniversary, are already on the disc. In full. On all versions. What does this mean? You buy the game for retail, with all of this content on the disc, just locked. How do you unlock them? You pay them more money for characters that you've actually already paid for. Nice.

Capcom's repsonse? There are numerous responses, each one digging the lie deeper. It's even to the point that Capcom officials are calling its consumers "whiners" "moaners" "cryers" "entitled gamers." Yes, Capcom, I am an "entitled gamer." I am entitled to the content that's on the disc that I already purchased!

Anyways, this disgusting marketing ploy is probably why the price is already starting to drop just a little over a week after its release. I was overly enthusiastic about this game. I wish game makers who actually care about the fans had produced this game. The one who did obviously doesn't care about his franchise.

Reviews of Star Trek - Xbox 360

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I have played about 3+ hours of this game, and I have to honestly say that it feels a bit unfinished.

The (third-person) controls are a bit clunky, as is the cover system (which is a bit hit and miss). The graphics are OK. This is not Mass Effect 2, but it is not the worst game ever to come out the gate, either. The graphics are average at best. As much as the developer had tried to avoid it, this game has a movie tie-in game feel to it.

The story is good, the voice acting decent, but the mechanics just don't feel right. It reminds me of the Iron Man movie tie-in games to this point. There is fun to be had, and I am definitely a Star Trek fan, but it just isn't terribly gratifying.

A lot of times, it is a bit confusing as to what it is that you need to be doing. I am playing a single-player campaign, and the AI hasn't been so great. maybe that is part of the problem? I am playing as Kirk, and sometimes Spock is near me but invisible, other times he's kneeling but floating in mid air, and sometimes he just runs toward the enemy taking fire out in the open. The enemies aren't so bright, and your phaser takes a few shots to put some enemies down. On stun, although the game doesn't explain it very well, you stun your opponent and it dazes them, then you have to run up to them before their stun wears off, and perform a melee combat move to put them down. When your phaser is set to "kill" it often takes several shots to put an opponent down. And, your weapon can overheat, so you fire off a shot or two, and then your opponent closes on you quickly, and you are scrambling a bit until your weapon cools down. And your opponents move MUCH faster than you do.

When your enemies take cover, they move extremely fast, get into cover, and never, ever come back out. You have to go into their cover after them, and they are more powerful than you. So if your weapon overheats, look out........

Not much is explained as for space battles (using the Enterprise), either. I keep getting blown up over and over and still am not sure what it is that I should be doing....and, for note, I'm a fairly seasoned (casual) gamer (completed the Uncharted games, Mass Effect Trilogy, Arkham games, etc.). I just can't seem to put together exactly what it is that I'm supposed to be doing.

It just doesn't feel like the game is fully developed. I'll keep it and do my best to complete it, as I am a Star Trek fan, but in truth, it just isn't living up to my expectations to this point. I'm just getting kind of a clunky, unfinished feel from this one. It was in development for quite a while, but it's just missing the mark.

It's playable for a Trek fan, but I'd wait until it hits the $ 20 range (which shouldn't be too long). I was expecting a mediocre to decent game, and I'd say, to this point in my experience, it's barely meeting my minimum expectation.

I'm normally leery of games that haven't been reviewed by the release date, and to my knowledge there was no online demo. I have read a few sources saying that the review copy of the game "got out late", and they didn't have it in time to review it. That leads me to believe that they knew it just wasn't quite finished, and they wanted to capitalize on beating the movie out of the gate.

I wasn't expecting the world, but am a little let down. There is still fun to be had, but it just isn't as well developed as the marketing suggested. It definitely needed a bit more development and polish.

I know that it can be unfair to review a game that one hasn't finished, but I'm a good way in, and I have a pretty good feel for it at this point. It may be worth holding off a bit and, if this is a game that you as a Star trek fan want to own and play, buy it at a lower price point than $ 60.

UPDATE:

I finally completed this game yesterday (took me about 15 hours or so), and there is a lot of attention and polish that the developer should add through "Patches". Overall, I don't feel like the game lived up to what the developer had promised~especially a game that has been in production as long as this game has.

The graphics were OK, better in some spots than in others. Not the best that the current-gen systems have seen, but not the worst, either. In truth, for me, if a game has a great story and great gameplay, the graphics generally aren't a hangup for me.

The story, I thought, was excellent. Very well written, and it felt like a Star Trek-worthy story. The voice acting was good. Simon Pegg (providing Mr. Scott's voice) was probably the highlight as far as the voice acting goes, and a great comic relief.

The AI was really bad. Especially the enemy AI. In some cases, some of the larger more formidable foes would just stand in one place (as if stuck in a glitch) and I would ultimately defeat them with almost no resistance. The enemy AI and the glitches surrounding the enemy behavior was definitely underdeveloped.

My (computer controlled) partner (Spock) was often a hindrance to completing tasks. Sometimes he just took off on his own (into the open taking enemy fire), and other times he just wouldn't follow me as he was supposed to. Several times I had to backtrack just to find him.

My character kept walking around screaming "Thanks for the shield boost!" to Spock, even when we weren't engaging (or even near any) enemy. That got old. Also, I found that sometimes when I would be walking or running forward, when I would release the gamepad stick, my character would keep walking/drifting forward on his own. I often had to mess with the gamepad to get him to stop.

There were three different hacking sequences used during the game, none of which (in my opinion) are really ever explained-you just have to figure them out on your own (more or less). The first is matching up pairs of matching sequences in a given time frame, which was easy enough. The second was, I'm not sure how to describe it, grid navigation mini-game (similar to how the characters rode their light bikes, or whatever those were called in Tron). That was a bit more challenging, mainly due to poor control, and became frustrating at points. The third was both characters working together to match frequencies. It worked OK, but with two players, I can see this one being tough to complete.

To the game's credit, there were a lot of really cool levels with some really neat gameplay ideas. Some were more fleshed out than others. One of the real detractors with this game is that it never really offers much in the line of explanation as to how to complete your tasks. It just leaves you to figure it out on your own. I don't know if this was by gameplay design choice, or an oversight.

At the end of the day, you play through 15, or so, hours of co op aimed gameplay and it all culminates into your facing off with a less than impressive final enemy (or "Boss").

As a Star Trek story, it succeeds. As a co op game, there is some fun to be had there. For a Star Trek fan, if they can look past the game's (sometimes glaring) flaws, there is some fun to be had there. For a gamer with high expectations in respect to overall gameplay, polish and presentation~this one will disappoint you.

Some of the mainstream reviews of this game have been pretty brutal. I feel that a "3-Star (out of 5)" or "6 out of 10" rating isn't completely unfair for this game.

It's buggy, undercooked in some areas, and nothing about it is cutting edge, but I still had a good time with it (on a solo playthrough), and I would like to play the game through on co op as well. If the developer updates this game through "patching", I think that it would be a much better and more playable game overall.

This is a game that is definitely going to be a better experience played as a co op game rather than as a single-player game. As things stand today (and in my opinion), this is a mediocre $ 60 game, a decent-to-better than average $ 30 game, and a better than average-to-good $ 20 game.

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After watching the developers talk about the game, I wanted to buy it. I saw the passion of how they spoke of the game. The wife decided to rent it first. Good call. The animation is choppy. The graphics were never finished. The enemies are either invincible or stupidly easy. Battles are never explained, nor navigation clear.

The Opening sequence is annoyingly confusing. You start out in some battle, take a couple of shots. Then there is a cut scene where Spock and Kirk are about to kill each other. Then, just before the first blow, the game starts with a pleasant conversation over chess.

The game uses battle modes similar to Gears of war, with storytelling comparable to Mass effect and Army of Two combined. It looks like the game would have been pretty good, but it seems to be pushed too soon. Characters glitch often. Enemies often shoot and walk through walls and doors. You can play as either Kirk or Spock. I chose Spock, but it's like they forgot to write those lines, so it feels like I was still playing as Kirk. Check points are at random, almost evil places that don't seem to make any sense other than to annoy you. Even the Achievements are grabbed from predictable game play and are poorly named.

I would still play it through, but I got to a point that was just too buggy. It was written to have a strategy, but all the glitches ruin it. When going in mini-games (which aren't bad), the game does not stop, so you are often left venerable.

There are four things that make this game playable and they are great:

Original score written by the same composer who wrote for Into Darkness

The characters look like who they are trying to be, even if not smoothed out not up to par for 2013 or even 2008, but like-ness is there.

The script is wonderful. Aside from the opening, it kept my interest

The Best and what is worth any amount of money to pay for this game is the entire movie cast has recorded dialog for this game. This is not something that is done often, and in this game it is perfect.

This game wants to be a 7 or low 8, but because of its poor execution and streamlined release, I can't give it more than a 4. I gave Via Domus a 5.

Buy it in a discount bin or pawn shop in six months. I you forget to, don't worry, you're not missing much.

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I have been very expectant of this game's release for some time. My wife and I are both big gamers (I have 70k xbox points and she is 20k+) and also big Star Trek fans. So far we have put in about 4 hours play together.

On the whole this is a great game but needs a bit more polishing (something updates may correct) in a few regards. First and foremost is the very awkward sign-in for the splitscreen multi. The issue is that you have the option at the "New Game" screen to play as either Kirk or Spock, and at the bottom is the option for player 2 to sign in by pressing start. However, once you start playing the second player cannot join, at all (or so it seems). There is no way for a second player to sign in when the game is running. So my wife and I pop this game in, we go through the new game screen and we both login, and we play about 2 hours. So far so good. We stop to eat dinner and when we come back I click continue, and it starts with only me... there's no way to log her in as player two... Well, I figure maybe she needs a separate save file... nope. Well... we look it up online, nothing... We try "inviting" her to my game, but it says she can't join a local session... We even find some threads online that say that this game doesn't support split screen... What the %#$^? But we just played it splitscreen for two hours?! Feeling as though we were in a Twilight Zone episode, I finally figured out that the only way to continue a game via splitscreen is to go to the Chapter select, then when you get the character selection screen then the second player can log in. There is a vague reference to this in the manual which is only online, but it isn't very explicit about the process. Hopefully the game desginers will figure this issue out so that the second player can login and continue a saved game without having to restart checkpoints, or at least make the process more streamlined.

Anyway, I wanted to get the word out that the split screen does function, but you have to go to it through chapter select.

The other big complaint is that the tutorials are really lacking. There are some great tech minigames for unlocking stuff and hacking and whatnot, but they are rather involved and the minimal direction, if at all, given by the tutorials does not in any way prepare you for completing the action. Instead, I have had to use trial and error to figure out what exactly we are supposed to be doing, sometimes it comes quick but some of the actions were rather tough to figure out what was expected. Once we figured it out it worked fine, but that first time can really be annoying which a more adequate tutorial would fix.

As to the game itself, so far we have really enjoyed it. There is a lot of investigating with tricorders which is a nice change of pace and fits the scientific character of the series nicely. The combat so far has been extraordinarily smooth, and while the graphics for the people can seem a bit stiff and blocky, the environments are great and really draw you in. We haven't gotten far enough for substantive remarks about the plot, but getting to fight the Gorn is pretty excellent by itself. It's also nice that this is an intermediary plotline taking place between the movies thereby not simply rehashing either plot line which is the downfall of many movie based games.

On the whole, this game needs some spit and polish to really make it shine, but hopefully continued development through updates will help to make the game more streamlined and less buggy. After we have completed the game I will return to update further but for now I highly recommend this game to anyone that thinks shooting Gorn with phasers as Kirk and Spock is just plain awesome. Finally an awesome Star Trek game. Finally.

>>UPDATE JULY 2013

So my wife and I beat Trek a while back, I just haven't gotten back to update this. Here's some final thoughts having played through the whole game beyond the reinforced NEED for a good update to correct the little glitches and add some explanations to a few points.

On the whole, this is still a very satisfying game. My criticisms are primarily against the non-normal portions of the game. I still feel the combat portions of the game were fully satisfying and apart from wandering around a few times between fights it was never so confusing so as to need "walkthrough" support to navigate.

The non-normal portions of the game are generally rather obtrusive and even obnoxious. There are three principle non-normal modes of play:

1. Space suit flight: Of the three, this is the best non-normal mode. Essentially you are shot like a bullet through a variety of zero-G vacuum settings, dodging debris and whatnot. On the whole pretty satisfying and makes you feel like you are in the movies. However, these scenes start sometimes unexpectedly and can be annoying to get through at times, particularly if you are at all clumsy as a player because the movements expected of you can be overly precise at times. Still, with a few re-dos all these scenes were doable without much hair pulling.

2. Space combat: More obnoxious than the zero-G flight mode, you also get to take over the gunnery systems of the Enterprise and engage is ship-to-ship combat. Awesome! Right? Ehh... The graphics and sounds are great, very bright and stunning, but the actual controls are very, very simplistic and there are a lot of moments when you are sitting there just holding down your phasers wondering if you are damaging the ship you are shooting at. Perhaps more annoying and certain to annoy Trekkies is the fact that you have to LOWER YOUR SHIELD TO FIRE, or, more precisely, between holding down your phasers you have to engage your shields to try and deflect incoming fire. The total package effect was devastating and I was shocked that they could take something so incredible looking and with so much potential and make it so tedious. My wife and I were so glad when we got through the principle battle and we could get back to the regular run and gun mode. Terrible. This mode REALLY needed more work and thought as it could have been great but in the end was one of the lowest points in the game.

3. Mind Meld: I do not think a game since the days of 8-bit consoles has made a mode of play so very, very boring. The mind meld is the most ridiculous part of the game and is really laughable. Essentially when you meld it is just an extended cut scene, not that big of deal, that's what I expected. But no, to navigate between cut scenes you get stuck in a weird blurry New Age looking tunnel and have to steer toward the light. No you aren't having a Near Death Experience. Yes you are playing the Star Trek video game and wondering what the ^&*% the designers were thinking. Really? Come on... Really? It feels like they ran out of mini-games and said hey, let's make them steer toward the memories in a long... tunnel... yeah. Seriously?

On the whole, the game lets you feel like you were playing through a Trek movie. There are some memorable fights and the voice acting, which had the entire cast, was great throughout. Having had some time to reflect on the game, I think one of the reasons why players have reacted so poorly to it is that we can sense that this game had real potential. The game mechanics and everything are good enough that if this thing were really put together well it could have been epic. Is the final product that we are playing now epic? Not by a long shot. Is it a really fun Star Trek shooter that gets you into the films? Yes it is. Just ignore all the silly and obtrusive parts and there is a very enjoyable experience here for Trekkie gamers and fans of the films.

Final Score: 3.5 rounded to 4 because... well... it's Trek.

Honest reviews on Star Trek - Xbox 360

First off, like many reviewers here I have not finished the story. The gameplay makes finishing the game a challenge to say the least. The developers really screwed up with this game. They alienated the Star Trek fans by making an action Co-op game and then turned around and alienated all Action game fans by making this a Star Trek game. IF this was simply a generic Sci-Fi co-op action game it would have sold much better. (Granted nothing can help sell games when the core gameplay is so flawed) Star Trek fans want a real star trek game that emphasizes exploration, starship management and crew management. We get none of that with this title. Action game fans want tight controls, a great story and most importantly great gameplay. We got none of that either. Honestly this game should have been scrapped in development. Everything about this game is wrong. Making a Star Trek game where you can only play 2 characters is asinine. No Star Trek movie or TV show has ever revolved around 2 characters only. Huge mistake. Second setting the game in the new timeline could have made for amazing stories... instead we get a story about the Gorn... Everything "Star Trek" about this game is an insult to the franchise. From an action gamer point of view this game fails to deliver on nearly every level. The "Clunky" controls can only be ignored for so long. After going through Mass Effect inspired levels I found myself bored more often than not. The collectables are so limited I find myself running most of the levels with my tricorder on. I can't complain about the graphics because I spent 90% of time running around with my tricorder on making all the graphics blue. It was such an awkward way to play, you can't even enjoy the levels because you have to use the tricorded all the time if you want to collect everything. Often times, I would still miss objects because I didn't notice the little patch of orange on the ground after running through blue levels the past 30 minutes. In essence the tricorder that some reviewers are praising as the best part of the game, was the worst part of the game for me. Its like the investigator view in Batman games except in the batman games you can see the items even without the view, in this game everything looks the exact same. 1 terminal might have something to check out with the tricorder while an identical terminal 5 feet away might be as pointless as the game itself. Essentially you are forced to run the levels with the tricorder always on if you want to find any experience points.

The only saving grace in this game is the multiplayer. I played through the first half of the game with a Trek friend. It was fun to play split screen like the good old PS2 days but honestly it wasn't as fun as Gear of War or even Dead Space 3 (FYI dead space 3 has no split screen both people have to own the game). Overall I'm disappointed I ended up buying this game. I wanted to support the developer and the Star Trek name but really shouldn't have wasted the money. Nothing is going to save this game from being another joke in a long line of hideous Star Trek games. Why in 2013 we still don't have a single real Star Trek game is beyond me. Since PC's bridge Commander there hasn't been a single Star Trek game worth owning. Its sad but developers with ideas like this keep getting the go ahead. Guess we now start another 6 -10 year wait for another Star Trek title to be released that hopefully isn't as bad as this.

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This could have been a great game, but it's buggy and unfinished. Feels like a smash and grab to get it out before the movie, so they could make loads of cash off the fans. What a waste. And by the way, if you're playing with a friend, don't try and save a game and come back to it, because you can't. They forgot to add in the two player mode in the continue game section. Utter crap. Wait until it hits the discount bins, or you'll feel ripped off. Like I do.

Torchlight Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $14.99
Sale Price: $5.10
Today's Bonus: 66% Off

This game sure comes with some serious pedigree: Travis Baldree, designer of Fate, and Max Schaefer and Erich Schaefer, co-designers of Diablo I & II put their heads together and came up with an action hack&slash isometric RPG game that can appeal to all ages. The result is a good game that will keep us hacking and summoning until the ...3rd coming that is.

In fact, the game developers made sure to often pay tribute to the DIABLO Series: from the background music while at the town-camp (you would recognize those Tristam guitar riffs anywhere!), to the draining health and mana fountains and to the voice announcing & warning, you cannot miss the timeless DIABLO influences. Having said that, I found TORCHLIGHT to be something between a DIABLO and a FATE game.

If you have experienced any of the FATE games you will be reminded of them often, although the heroes here are not children. The village NPCs will keep giving you straightforward quests (usually a go-and-fetch excuse to dwell deeper into the dungeon). Extra dungeons, however, can be accessed by accepting the extra quests of the male NPC in the south and by purchasing dungeon maps of various levels from the local merchants. Also, sometimes a spectral animal appears while in a dungeon: slaying it will open up a bonus dungeon where better equipment often becomes available. There is no traveling to/from town while in a bonus dungeon, so you better keep an empty inventory before entering it.

Yes, you do get a pet (a dog or a cat but you can interchange them by purchasing and feeding them a special fish) and, yes, you can transform them by feeding them different types of fishes. Fishing is carried out in pretty much the same fashion: you wait for two concentric circles to merge and their color to change from pale blue to purple but it is less important than it was in FATE (so far I brought in nothing else but fish no equipment or valuable items).

Now, when not playing an AD&D RPG (where I always choose to be a Paladin), I like to play other RPGs as a warlock, a fighting mage. The Alchemist class allows you to both cast powerful spells and exchange blows in the midst of the action (the other available classes is the Destroyer and the Vanquisher). The Destroyer is the up-close-and-personal tank warrior whereas the Vanquisher is the ranger.

When leveling up as an Alchemist, make sure to get both the (steampunk!) golems and the Ember Strike spell. Together with some good shielding spells, nothing can stand in your way.

Try not to go broke. At first I though, "finally, an RPG that is not stingy with its money". But that was only at first. Items are less expensive at the shops but (surprise!) they also sell for a pittance. The good news is that money drops like rain from slain foes. The money-hole is the enchanter: attempting to further enchant your equipment will deplete your funds faster than you would imagine! And you also run a considerable risk of having all of its enchantments removed. No post-dated checks are honored. No credit cards accepted. I tried.

You WILL get swarmed so be prepared. Place healing potions, defensive and knockback spells on quick-slots (1-0); equip your pet with self or group healing spells and a powerful summoning spell; and never forget to first stay alive and then keep pounding on your enemies. In the heat of the battle it is best to deactivate (Alt-key) the fallen-items labels (more on this later on) and to always keep an eye on your health and mana levels. Respawning is not free: it will cost you either time, money or experience.

The inventory seems small but, in fact, it is more than adequate. Potions and scrolls are stackable up to 20 and (more importantly) every item takes up only one inventory square (no, you do not have to carry your fishing pole, it is just there).

You can send your pet to town to sell off its inventory and the time it needs to return is much less that what it did in FATE.

And there are treasure rooms you can only access by finding and pulling levers (sometimes in specific sequence) to open doors or turn bridges.

Now, some negative points:

(1) the game is only a dungeon crawler, there are no outdoors locations.

(2) the graphics of the the spells are very impressive but they can become really confusing as well. Even at maximum settings, unless the fallen-items labels are deactivated you will not be able to actually see much of the battle. That means alternating between fighting and looting but it also means missing some important interactive objects (levers or ballistas). Also, when electric, fire, ice and poison spells get mixed the result is not something one can discern friend from foe in. It makes no tactical difference (you cannot harm yourself or your company) but it sure would be more enjoyable if you could aim more than...80% of the time.

(3) the environments are beautifully designed but your path is often blocked by obstacles that visually you could easily bypass. Sometimes you find your hero running in place, stopped by a ...pebble.

Finally, some closing suggestions to the developers for a future patch: (a) add the possibility to order our pet to bring back potions and identification scrolls when sent into town, and (b) make it possible to change class in mid-game (keeping the level and redistributing the skill points).

All in all, TORCHLIGHT is a very enjoyable experience. It is easy to master, it is beautiful and it is fun for the whole family.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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This game gets the inevitable comparisons to Diablo, but for me personally, it is far more enjoyable. For one, it is more simplistic...you choose from one of three classes/characters and a pet (either a cat or a dog), then you simply start adventuring. The colors used are brighter and more eye popping, in a way. The story itself is pretty well written for what it is, and there are plenty of side quests to keep you occupied as well. The combat mechanics are intuitive and easy to grasp, inventory is also easy to manage, collision detection is spot on....no real gameplay issues that I can think of. Plus, if you get bored, you can always go fishing (in game). Additionally, though Steam and elsewhere, there is a large mod community, so you can further develop and enjoy the game. With part two coming out soon (and part one be offered free as a preorder bonus at some sites), there is no reason not to pick this game up. It really is worth every penny.

Enjoy!

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Runic Games produced Torchlight in approximately 8 months. Of course Runic's personnel included the team (formerly of Blizzard North) that designed Diablo and Diablo II, as well as the creator of Fate. Those who have played Fate will instantly recognize the stark similarities here. Torchlight is bigger, prettier, smoother and the combat engine is fantastic.

You will LOVE this game; it's got everything an ARPG should have with a few notable absences: multiplayer and the ability to customize your toon. However the game is moddable, flexible and provides hours and hours of fun.

Torchlight II will be out soon and it is bigger, better, shinier, more customizable, has multiplayer and will be terrific...due out this year.

Hightly recommend Torchlight till its successor comes out. The price is right and the game is F U N

Honest reviews on Torchlight

Love the game!! Buy and never be sorry. Hours of fun. Addictive to the core! Can't think of much more to say.

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This is a clone knock off from the fate game series. Its fun and well done, Graphics work well, audio is good, support is there if you have a problem, It can be a bit laggy on even the best computers when crossing over in to a new territory. There are walkthroughs, cheats and tips available all over the internet. I liked it. Great game concepts. Good combat system. Item alterations and skills are well thought out. Its doesnt have alot of replayablity. The same quests are there everytime. You only have 3 classes to choose from to play though so not alot of variety there. There is only one town, and set of salesmen in the town, it varies very little. Gold is pretty easy to get, there are side quests and a optional dungeon to do for more exp and gold and items. After i tried all 3 of the classes it was pretty much done and got very boring. You want a game to replay over and over..this is not it.

Halo 3 & Fable II Combo Pack Review

Customer Ratings:

waited for a while and got the wrong stuff, contacted the seller through amazon and they were prompt to contact me back and arranged to send out the right games. initially i recieved two cases, a fable II case with just a bonus features disc in it, and the combo pack case with just Halo 3 inside of that. The seller sent out the correct copy of Fable II in a fable II case, and just let me keep the bonus disc and case. dissapointing at first but the seller promptly fixed the problem.

as far as the games go... they've been around, check em out on youtube, i like them so that's why i bought them :)

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Discount 2in1 combo Silicone Skin Military Camouflage Black Green and Sky

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $8.80
Today's Bonus: 56% Off

I bought the 2in1 combo silicone skins for my son as a gift, he loved them! They fit his controller great and they are not too hard to put on. Great product quality! Will buy from them again.

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I was skeptical about ordering this product due to no reviews. I was not sure it would be a cheap knock off of some sort with fake, thin plastic that I would probably end cutting it to size for the controller(s).

But I was wrong.

These silicone protectors fit the controller perfectly! No cutting to size around anything. Either the joysticks, D-pad, buttons, or triggers. I have the black and green one on a silver Microsoft wireless controller with the rechargeable battery pack. The opening for the charging port is outlined wonderfully so as not to interfere with the connection at all. Plus there is a slit for your headphones that is the same way. No hassle connecting anything. I also have the blue, white marbled one on a wired Microsoft controller. It fits the same way, perfectly with no slippage on the controller nor covering anything that it is not suppose to or getting in the way of the wire. I did notice one small tear between the start button and colored (action) buttons, but that might be from the way I put the protector on. I figured a little super glue or something will take care of that. Just watch that spot when you put them on for the silicone is thin there. It only happened on the blue, white marbled one.

The colors are vibrant, but a little darker in real life than the pictures. Which doesn't bother me. They are not faded or badly colored due to plastic issues not accepting color or just poor product in general. They simply came in a white zip-locked bag waiting patiently to be put on. I didn't notice any funny smells when opening the package either, but my nose is not the best smeller either.

Note: I do want to add the reason for me putting 'Microsoft' controllers is because I used these on actual Microsoft products, not the third party knock offs, for fitting purposely. Thank you.

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance - PC Review

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $5.87
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Supreme Commander (SC) was an exceptional game, and highly engrossing for myself and others who grew up with Total Annihilation. SC had its flaws, though nothing I'd consider game-breaking.

Forged Alliance (FA) is the "kinda" expansion to SC. It does, indeed, stand alone as a game, however many of the options are locked out unless you own SC. This could easily be a bit of a disappointment to those picking it up and not knowing the half-truth.

With that out of the way, should you own SC and FA, you are in for a treat. FA fixes many of the issues experienced with SC. Many of these issues come down to balance. The new faction is a nice addition to LAN games, and the extra units helps the distinction between the existing factions. One thing you'll notice, though, it the new faction's units are less numerous than the old faction's bolstered ranks. Perhaps not being a story-mode available faction was the reason, but it's rather silly. It makes the new faction, already functionally generic, even less identifiable to tactics and strategy.

Regardless of one faction's unit count, the other features of the game are an exciting addition, though players of SC may find the new interface a tad bit odd at first. It quickly becomes apparent the new interface is vastly superior.

If you own SC, I can easily recommend picking up FA. If you don't own SC and are an RTS fan, I highly recommend picking up both.

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I've thus far played through the campaign with the UEF side. A list of changes I've noticed from the original supcom:

-Cleaned up UI. It's much more streamlined. The construction tab seemed a little too simplified at first, but it grew on me.

-Some major unit balances. Nukes have a slightly smaller blast radius and take WAY longer to build (engineer assistance does very little to aid), other end-game options have been balanced to be more employable (ex: Mavor cannon much shorter build time, nuke-sub only takes 8 minutes, all experimentals build a touch faster, amongst other things), mass fabricators have a much lower output, etc. Overall, I like the new balancing more.

-The game handles 2000 units being on screen better than the original in terms of processing speed.

-New units. A brand new alien side and each original side gets a new experimental along with 9 or 10 new units. These new units are unique to each side (ex: UEF is the only side to get a new Tech3 point defense while the other sides get other unique advantages) so it adds to the new balancing.

-Some new multiplayer maps. These maps are nicely polished and as playable as the originals.

-And of course, a new campaign. The campaign is only a mere six missions long (for each side), but these few missions last quite a while due to their difficulty and extensive objectives. On average, each mission took me about 2-2.5 hours to complete on the normal difficulty. The campaign may not be a work of genius in terms of story, but it definetely is sufficient to set a do-or-die tone on humanity's bleak outlook should you fail your objectives. (Then again, it doesn't require too much of a grand story to build up a massive army and bring the pain to the opposition.)

These are top-notch changes and additions, and all quite welcome. However, I don't think they are sufficient to qualify a forty-dollar price tag for this expansion. (Just a few dollars more and you've got a brand new game.) Hence, I am rating this game only four stars. As an expansion, it is one of the best, but priced as a brand new game it doesn't quite deliver the value.

If you find this game for less and you already own the original supcom, consider it a must-buy hands down.

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As of 2/23/12 The CD Key you get for purchasing the DL version or this game gives you SC1 AND SC:FA when activated on Steam. The key you get for buying SC1 on Amazon does not activate on steam at all.

EDIT: APPARENTLY THEY REMOVED THIS DOUBLE-BUY STARTING IN APRIL 2012

However, in my personal opinion, SC2 is a better game. I got SC1 hoping the hardware requirements would be lower for large skirmishes, but they really aren't. SC2 is often on sale on Steam for under $4 as well.

Honest reviews on Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance - PC

The original SupCom was another excellent example of a good game that got too over-hyped for its own good. When it eventually hit the stores, the impression it made did not live up to the expectations (feel free to browse my review on the original game as well).

Its main flows were unpractical graphics (great looking yet unplayable when zoomed-in whereas, the zoomed-out warfare views were bland and generic), as well as strategically irrelevant ground characteristics. Luckily, SupCom-FORGED ALLIANCE is a standalone expansion that THQ obviously worked on improving.

As with the original, SupCom-FA demonstrates its strengths when a great number of units is deployed. After all, war is big and ruthless and this is SUPREME COMMANDER and not...PRETTY BIG Commander; on the other hand, there is no free lunch in this universe.

This expansion sports improved graphics (on both units, shadows and terrain) but this also means higher system requirements that include the effective need for a Dual-core processor.

Just like the original game, SupCom-FA requires a lot of resources to calculate the physics and ballistics in a way that other RTS games would not even touch with a pole.

So, when the number of units increases make sure that your system *surpasses* even the RECOMMENDED requirements (provided below):

· 3GHz Intel (or AMD equivalent)

· 1024MB of RAM

· nVidia 7600 (256MB) (or ATI equivalent)

· 6GB of HDD space

Now, even meeting the above, you canNOT rule out stuttering and freezing. A Dual-core processor is, in my experience, essential and this is a requirement NOT justified by the quality of on-screen graphics. Today, there are many games that do wonders with much lower requirements and this is where SupCom-FA looses its 5th star.

The 4th star was withheld because of the ...cunning marketing locking of the game options although this is sold as a "standalone expansion": hence the pricing at about $40.

Supposedly, one is buying all three factions of the original SupCom as well as the new Seraphim faction. At $40 that would have been a good deal; after all, the original SupCom is barely a year old game.

However, this Seraphim faction is only available in Skirmishes and Multiplayer, and does NOT have a campaign of its own! And, to add insult to injury, the other three original factions are LOCKED and not available in a Multiplayer unless one has the original SupCom!

So, since SupCom:FA is much more enjoyable as a multiplayer, these lockouts effectively cancel out its standalone status and make its pricing exorbitant.

All in all: a good effort but wait for the price to get market-corrected.

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As of 2/26/2012 buy this one as download version and use the key to activate on steam. You will get a Supreme Commander 1 and Forged Alliance, which means you can get 2 games. Yes is 2 games

Discount Urban Reign - PlayStation 2

Customer Ratings:

...you might want to give Urban Reign a try. Because, that's exactly what this is. A *FIGHTING GAME*. Many official reviews I've read online seem to be missing this crucial fact.

Urban Reign was not meant to be about intricate plotlines like an RPG...or freely roaming cities like Grand Theft Auto...or crazy side-games...or transparent distractions. It's emphasis is on the *FIGHTING*. And, there's a lot of fighting to be had in Urban Reign...after all, this is a tribute to the old beat-em-up days of Final Fight and Streets of Rage.

The best part is that you can get as involved as you want. You can button mash like a zombie if you wish, and I suppose that will get you a certain degree of success. However, if you are interested in going further, you will find a surprising depth typically lacking from the beat-em-up genre. There are special reversals, juggle combos, and (dare I say it?) STRATEGIES you must adopt to ensure victory. If anything, I believe the gameplay in Urban Reign takes this dormant genre in a promising new direction.

The single player experience will keep you busy for a while; unlocking many of the goodies requires you to familiarize yourself with the story mode. A warning: check your ego at the door. Story mode will own you. Period. The 1-on-4 whoopings will be frustrating, so if you fear challenges, steer clear.

However, the multiplayer experience is where the game shines. The action is fast paced and fairly intelligent...if you learn the nuances of the game, it probably won't get boring anytime soon. Especially with the library of characters, moves, and modes. Think Super Smash Brothers, but decidedly less cute...

Or if you don't feel like beating up on your friends, Challenge Mode allows you and a buddy to take on a series of computer controlled teams. It's not quite the co-op story mode we all wish for...but, it's a start...

Bottom line: Urban Reign is a FIGHTING game, first and foremost. All other aspects of the game play minor roles. No massive cities to explore...no intricate tasks to perform...nothing. Nothing but the fighting, that is. And, as fighting games go, it's a pretty dang fun one.

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Unfortunately, beat-em-up's are kind of a thing of the past. A few years ago they made a one last surge though and Urban Reign, reigned supreme.

Back in the day, this genre ruled the arcades and consoles with hits like Double Dragon, Final Fight, and Streets of Rage. But slowly over time, the brawler got left behind and there was a sense that what could be done had already been done and that there was no more left to do. That's a real shame because it's a great genre and though it past, nothing came to take it's place.

A few years back, there was a small resurgence with Final Fight, Beat Down and Urban Reign all making an apperance around the same time. Final Fight and Beat Down attempted to mesh some GTA "mature" themes into their games and forgot the gameplay and they failed because of it. Urban Reign flew under the radar as the other 2 were publicized and promo'd alot more. But Urban Reign had something the others didn't, the developers of 2 of the greatest fighting franchises.

Urban Reign keeps the beat-em-up theme intact but takes a fighting game approach to the genre. Instead of walking through the city and trashing every thug in sight, missions are set up through a quick story recap that puts you on one stage to dispatch of anywhere between 1 and 5 street punks at a time. The stages vary in size from a back parking lot to a city block with ample running room. The story in pretty straight forward and revolves around various gangs vying for power and control of turf. Your a hired gun, assigned to fend off and expose the new threats. Which makes little difference to you as your just going in to crack skulls all the same. But the 100 missions are interesting enough to pay attention and the voice acting and cut scenes are actually pretty good.

The graphics are suprisingly good for a PS2 game. Even today, they hold up very well. I have to believe that they only benefit from the smaller focused stages and characters. That's another good thing, as your not just beating up the same 5 guys wearing different jackets like in older games. Every one of the 60+ characters has a unique look, fighting style and move set. Most of them are unlockable and playable in alternate modes, including Marshall Law and Paul Phoenix from Tekken. The soundtrack includes some rocking tunes that'll put you in the mood for some pummeling and the cracks and smacks of combat accomodate perfectly.

But it still all comes down to gameplay and that's where Urban Reign shines. Though theres only 1 button for strikes and 1 for grapples, the fighting is actually pretty deep. In the first few stages, it doesn't seem too fun or interesting, but as you go on, you upgrade your character with fight points and aquire new moves along the way. Eventually, you'll be able to pull off some impressive and really cool looking combo strings. It's like a mix of a traditional fighting game, a beat-em-up and a wrestling game. There's slams, throws, grapples and even double teams with an AI or human partner. There are also weapons strewn throughout stages and a super combo meter that can be built up to unleash a few different combos. The other 2 face buttons are used for run and evade. I really like the evade button as it requires more skill than a block button and makes the fighting flow and look more natural.

This is also a pretty challenging game. There's 5 levels of difficulty and the challenges only increase as you move up, so spend your points wisely on the attributes that'll help you the most. Some of the bosses and hardcore fighters will test your patience but there's always a method that'll differ to use on each. Always be observant to what works best and where they take the most damage and go with that.

As for downsides, the camera can be a little funny at times. When the action really gets going or your running around the stages, the camera has a hard time keeping up and your opponent will be off screen. You can move the camera with the shoulder buttons but it moves a little slow and your not always sure which way to move it. You can also find yourself being juggled against walls or in corners by opponents but luckily, you can use your power combo meter to break or evade their juggles. They can be a little frustrating sometimes but not enough to ruin the game.

Overall, this is a very satisfying game that flls a genre that's all but lost. Graphics and sound are very good here but gameplay is king. There's also plenty of unlockable modes and characters for solo, and multi-player (up to 4), that add depth and replayability. I know I'm guilty of passing on Urban Reign as I just didn't know what to expect and I only recently picked it up for cheap. But I'm sorry I did as it's alot of fun and fills a catagory that I didn't have already in my library. Definitely recommended for Tekken and beat-em-up fans.

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Urban Reign is one of those game that will appeal to a certain audience and was made for specific type of gamers. Its a beat em up game similar to final fight, death by degrees etc. Created by the same team that brought you the Tekken series it has that Tekken feel to it like that electric sprite you get whenever you hit someone.

It has has all the makings of a beat em up urban areas, gangs to beat upc, weapons like bats, pipes, etc. The story is not something you'll really focus about, basically your a brawler for hire named Brad Hawk who goes around beating up various gangs and their members to rid the streets of urban chaos, well for the second half at least for the first half your just beating up people left and right just for the hell of it.

Ok so the story is out of the way, now the gameplay its fighting from stage to stage just beating up people by whatever means but on occasion you'll be tasked to damage a enemies leg or their arms. Now there's 99 missions and this why I gave the game 4 stars the levels can get repetitive because you'll be revisiting the same areas but with different enemies. And this is the same with boss characters you'll fight the same ones again; first by themselves and then with more enemies by their sides, its lazy but hey I guess they had to stretch the 99 mission some how.

Now this game is notorious for its sudden peak in difficulty, this is why I said its meant for specific gamers. If you like beat em up games, not fighting game that's just one on one;in this game you'll have guys coming at you from all sides juggling you to the point that it feels cheap and this can be maddening on the later levels. But one thing I like is that there is Multiplayer which helps you forget about how difficult the later missions can get. You can play with a buddy or just duke it out with more players in a deathmatch type modes; the multiplayers is the best part about this game.

Urban Reign is a game for those who want the old school beat em up experience with challenging opponents who are just as tough as you. The multiplayer is a great add on that relieves the game that other wise would of been to hard for casual gamers.

Honest reviews on Urban Reign - PlayStation 2

Urban Reign is a great game if you willing to accept two things upfront. One its one hard game. And two,the story is pretty much nonexistent. With that said,lets start the review.

When you first start Urban Reign (hereafter UR)your greeted to a few nice cut scenes that start to flesh the story out. Sadly after that the story is told via text before you start your missions (of witch there is 100 of). The fighting in UR uses only 2 buttons for attacks,but you can make a lot of combos and grapples with them,I'm amazed at what Namco did with the fighting engine here.

Graphics wise UR is fairly good its about on par with Metal Gear Solid 2. It runs nice and smooth at (to the best of my knowledge) 60FPS with no slowdown at all.

One thing that should be mentioned is this game is HARD. I shamelessly turned the difficulty down to Very Easy after the first 5 missions and it was still hard. Two of the bosses here will absolutely open countless cans of whup*** on you. (Napalm 99 and Golem) But disarm them and use there weapons against them to make the battles about 10x more easy,going hand-to-hand is not an option.

Like I've said above the story is pretty bland in UR but it's alright if you accept it for what it is. UR main competition in 2005 was Beat Down:Fists of Vengeance (Beat'em ups are a dying breed. The only one out on current consoles is Yakuza 3.) And that game was utter crap. It was trying to be a beat'em up/GTA hybrid that didn't work out to good. UR is way better than BD in every department (except graphics witch are about on par,remember they were released within a month of each other.) I definitely recommend you pick up this game I found it in a bargain bin at Canadian Tire (think sears for our US friends) and am happy I got it,You will be to!

I should also add I gave it 4 stars due to the insane difficulty and unpleasing story (its like not being satisfied after having s*x)

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A smart and repetitive fighting game that will have you wondering why you haven't played this game yet. A unique set of controls will have you in a trance while you stomp, pile-drive, snap-arms, and run up walls flipping backwards to kick someone in the face.

Buy Def Jam Vendetta - PlayStation 2 (Jewel case)

Customer Ratings:

Ok, first of all I hate wrestling games and have never liked one enough to buy it or even play it.

This one is way different.

It isn't like other wrestling games,you can break your opponents arms or legs if you perform submission moves on that part of the body enough times, for Submission wins, you can K.O. them with fatality-like Supermoves, or hey you can go for the tradition al pin.

You can pick from a variety of "def Jam" artists including: Method man, Ghostface Killah, Redman, DMX,Ludacris,Funk master flex, N.O.R.E.,Capone,Kieth Murray,WC, and Joe Budden(who is the only guy on def jam who hasn't released an actual album in the whole time he has been on their label,What's up with that?)

Anyway, the more you play the more money you get to make your "story mode" characters better(buy power, speed,stamina,etc.)there is a "Survival" mode,as well as up to four player multi player set up.

MY ONLY COMLAINT?

the fact that if you beat the game and get all the characters and all outfits and everything, and you go to play multi player?

the person you play against doesnt have all the characters.

They have to beat the game through with all the story mode characters to get them and save them to a seperate identity so that you can have all players for 2 player mode.

AND THE GAME IS LONG!!!!! 40 wrestlers to beat, it can take some time, and not all of them can be pinned.Some HAVE to be K.O'd like a fatality(like the end boss).Also there are some pretty unfair matches,One of which you have to fight 3 guys and you cant pin them, you have to K.O one of them! Hard stuff!

In my opinion fans of fighting games and wrestling games will like this game,but make no mistake about it this game relies on grapples very heavily like a wrestling game.If you want to do big damage you have to learn them.

Worth buying for sure!!!!!!!!!!! but hey , rent it first if you want to be %100 sure!!

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But, so are you

Pros:

-Pretty good graphics

-Nicely done wrestling-style battle system

-Music from all the main Def Jam artist

-Some of the blaze finishers are Spectacular

-I get to be some of my favorite rappers(DMX, Ludacris, Mef/Red)

-Great voice acting(despite some voices arent in for long)

-Nice setups for devistating combos

-EA big has created another masterpiece, with the help of Def Jam

Cons:

-You don't have any weapons to use

-Where's the create a fighter mode

-Game's too short(beat it in just 3 days)

-Where's Jay-Z(So I can kick his copying...) Ja Rule(So I can kick his fake ...), Freeway, Beanie Seigl, Slick Rick, and LL Cool J? That would'ave made the game a lot better(getting revenge for artist who made me waste my money, and more artist whom I appreciate), and longer.

This game definitly made me forget about Smackdown real fast. Despite the cons, this game definitly will please fans of wrestling, and all of def jams fans as well. So if you are fans of either, this should be in your collection of PS2 games(or gamecube games)

Final Words:This game was superb, no doubt, but I just hope that if they make a sequel to this, let's just hope all of the problems this game has will definitly be tweaked, so everyone can enjoy a much better, and longer game.

Peace

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this is a very good wrestling game.the graphics are very good.it is very cool.also dmx is my favorite rapper.if you are ooking for a challenging yet fun and entertaning game,this is the one for you.why play wwe or wwf when you can play this game.and for the person who does not like this game because it has rappers....shut up.

Honest reviews on Def Jam Vendetta - PlayStation 2 (Jewel case)

I finally got a chance to play Def Jam Vendetta and something occurred to me this game is great! To think that the only games with rap and hip hop influences were Parappa the Rappa and Wu-Tang Shaolin Style (which was a great concept but the execution came up short). Now for Vendetta. It seems that EA just cant be stop when it comes to over the top action and sports. Okay now I know some will say wrestling is not a sport but how cares when you can pit Method Man against Ludacris. This game rocks tight controls great storyline, awesome audio, and outrageous moves. Now with such greatness you would think there would be no flaws but there very minute. The only thing most wrestling game fans may want is create a character and various match types like ladder or steel cage matches. Basically if you thats all you want then youre missing the big picture of what Vendetta is. Dont wait for the sequel go and get this game you will not be sorry! WAY TO GO EA! WAY TO GO DEF JAM!

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yo this game is tight from the opening credit till the end yeah the game is a bit short but so what u can't get any beter than this. this game beats out wwe and all other wrestling games i mean look at the finishers every wrestler has 2 and there all different from the front and back pluss the def jam artist's yeah u can't create a wrestle but it's still tight graphic's are tight story mode could have had more characters but who cares it was great also overall theis game is dope u don't need another wrestling game expect when back yard wrestling comes out if it is good enough

Xbox 360 Raptorfire Master Mod Chip w/ Illuminating Thumbsticks Reviews

Customer Ratings:

This Chip is by far the best on the market!! Very impressed! I was blown away by the sheer complexity of the chip, yet it was so easy to install and set up. Great mod for anyone looking to take there gaming to a next level!! Mods aside, the lighted thumb sticks are easily worth the money!!! I will be buying from Raptorfire again. Excellent customer service. Fast and prompt shipping. Everyone I game with will hear about this!! Thank you Raptorfire!!

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This chip is awesome. So easy to install! Rapid fire speed is crazy,all mods works!!! i love it!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Raptorfire!

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do not buy this item it is not even writen rite... they are jst going to jip u alll... it is worthless

Best Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None Deals

Customer Ratings:

First of all, it's important to explain what type of game this is. This games is a traditional, 2D, point-and-click adventure game. You walk around and explore, talk to people, collect objects and clues, and solve puzzles. I'm a big fan of these types of games, but if you're not as a rule, I would skip this.

As a long-time adventure gamer, I was waiting for the Wii release to play this game. If you've already played it on PC, don't bother. It's exactly the same. The Wii controls are barely used, and when they are it's kinda annoying.

This game definitely has its flaws. It's not a great game. The action is pretty slow and sometimes repetitive. It's not exciting or unpredictable (especially if you've read the book, which I have.) The game is actually not very linear, in that you can do a lot of optional actions and you can do things at different times. That gets confusing sometimes because I felt that I had not done things I wanted to do and was afraid I wouldn't get a chance. But I did.

I have resorted to a walkthrough for a few parts of the game, but I have a low frustration tolerance, so that's not strange. In all, I've been really enjoying my time playing this game. I can't quite put my finger on what I like, but it's soothing and relaxing. I have been monopolizing the TV for several days playing it.

So, if you have liked this type of game in the past, I would recommend it. I understand the later PC games in the series are improvements on this game. I hope they do Wii ports of them as well. Otherwise I'm going to have to get them for PC.

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I review games for the Wii on youtube. To see more of my reviews go to

Best Deals for Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None

I love a good murder mystery and this is the first one for wii. Yes, it took forever to complete and there were some very tedious times trying to figure out what you needed but all in all I got wrapped up in this game and hope there are more in the genre coming out. I DID have to go online and find some cheats in the middle of the game or I would have never finished and just given up but I still enjoyed it. If you are a fan of Christie you will like the game. It is geared towards adults and I think most high school and college kids would find it too slow to be fun.

Honest reviews on Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None

My suggestion: borrow it, play it, return it.

Let me first admit that I have never read the Agatha book, or played the PC game. So I started with a blank slate. I will also admit that I am an ADHD gamer, and wasn't interested in this game. But my wife wanted a low action, easy-to-play, 7th Guest puzzle game.

She did not get what she wanted. My wife lasted only about an hour in the game, and then she was done. I lasted 2 more hours, and then I was done. I decided I wanted to see the ending, so I turned to a strategy walk-through cheat guide on the Internet. With the guide's help, the game was over in a few more hours.

I used a walkthrough guide based on the PC version, and found it 99% identical to the Wii game. So if you played this on the PC, there is really no need to buy the Wii version. Yes, there are a few puzzles that you can use the Wii motion-controls, but I found these very few controls to be awkward and unresponsive. Opening doors drove me crazy throughout the game (and I opened a ton of doors in The Godfather).

The game has a few puzzles that require you to assemble various inventory items together. But these puzzles are NOT required in order to complete the game they are just sidebars that provide superficial entertainment. And if it wasn't for the cheat guide, I don't know how anyone would have ever figured out some of these puzzles, or where to pick up the inventory items. For instance, the location of the antidote appears to be completely random (and only makes sense AFTER you know the ending).

The puzzles did not drive the plot along, and the plot did not move you to and through the puzzles. This is what separates this game from some of the other historic success stories in this genre.

The only requirement to moving the plot along was talking to the other characters. The main challenge was to find where the characters have walked off to. So it was really just several hours of wandering around, checking the same rooms over and over and over again, hoping to bump into a character.

And save your game often, because there are some bugs. My game froze at the raft scene and I had to restart from an earlier save which only prolonged my misery.

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In terms of game mechanics, this game leaves a lot to be desired. Sometimes it's repetitive, or doesn't make sense, or you have to go online and look for clues from others who've already solved the mystery. To anyone who says it's not worth the time or it stinks, I truly understand that.

Having acknowledged that, I still love this game, and I'll tell you why. First, I have read almost every Agatha Christie novel and I love them. I've seen both film versions of this one and I've seen the play done really well. So I love the story so much and the setting so much, it's worth it for that alone. My husband and son played this with me and watched me play it for hours. My son helped me draw a map of the rooms in the mansion and keep track of clues, so it was a fun mother-and-son bonding thing. My husband and son both said that one of the things they love most about it is the soothing soundtrack, from rain storms to music. They also love the quaint English dialogue they still quote some of the games lines from time to time.

In short, I'd say this game is like a beloved family member yes, they leave a lot to be desired, yes other people might not enjoy their company (and you know why), but you love them anyway.