Best Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition - PC Deals

Customer Ratings:

First things first: in the past I have chastised EA a number of times for its release of cookie-cutter games, crippled with atrocious DRM schemes. So, in all fairness, I now have to say this: DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS IS A GAMER's DREAM! It is an excellent game and it comes FREE of any DRM madness. So, thank you EA for listening to your customers (let's only hope this new trend holds...).

This is one of those games that are easy to control, a joy to roam through and fun to play at no end.

I am a huge cRPG fan and cannot remember such a great companion/squad cRPG ever since the Baldur's Gate Saga. And to tell you the truth, this is the game I was dreaming of being able to play one day while playing BG (yeah, by now we all know that NEVERWINTER NIGHTS never delivered).

There are about a dozen gender/race/class/background choices and a great many combinations in forming your party. The armor and the weapons are exceptionally made and everything shows on your characters. And the graphics are truly beautiful! You have to see the rendering of flames to believe them.

Nevertheless, what really stands out is the gameplay. Every battle is a puzzle to be solved, pausing ever so often to reallocate enemies to the best suited party members (a feature I loved in BG!). Of course one can always turn off the autopause feature and let the AI take over the rest of your party and turn the game into an hack&slash action RPG (not exactly my cup of tea but, hey, it's still nice to know it's there).

Finally, this is a game made just like the classics in many ways, including duration. I am now playing the game for over 20 hours and I feel that I barely scraped the surface! DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS is one satisfying RPG!

My only gripe is this: I did not appreciate such short dialogue options. Most fit a single line and more often than not they consist of a couple of words. I like my RPGs to be wordy and challenging to my verbal imagination as well and I want my characters to participate in the humor, not just provoke it or react to it. Remember the long dialogue options in BG? Well, expect to find DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS much more laconic.

I guess 10 years of fast-paced FPS and blitzkrieging RTS do take their toll...

Now this is the COLLECTOR's EDITION which is almost 30% more expensive than the Standard edition. For the extra money you get: a tin case, a cloth map, a bonus DVD (soundtrack, making of documentary, concept art & wallpapers and strategy tips), an in-game quest and character as well as three enchanted items. Is it worth it? You be the judge.

The blood sprays, the swords clang and the spells explode. The animations are beautifully made and add a lot to both enjoyment and immersion. There is a verse in Homer's Iliad I love: "the warrior fell and his armor echoed around him" and I was reminded of it many a times throughout the game.

This game will stay with you. Do not miss on it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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Installation

For some reason it took three installs to get the program on my machine. Not sure why, I received no error message or other indication there might be a problem. So getting the game installed took nearly an hour.

Digital Rights Management

-DRM is not present in DAO. A simple CD Key and online registration to get an account with BioWare/EA and you're ready to rock.

Tech Support

Thank goodness the BioWare community is intelligent, helpful and generally proactive. Since EA purchased BioWare official tech support is passed off to EA. EA has no tech support to speak of. So imagine my frustration to find my NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX had issues running the game. I've got a gaming rig CPU Intel 2 X9000 2.8GHz, 6GB RAM, etc. and I could not run DAO. Big WTF. Thank goodness the BioWare Forums had the answers I sought.

Exclusive Content

The bonus items at start up are nice, having the Stone Prisoner is great (I think as DLC it retails for $15 US) But the Cloth Map is meh. The tin case is nice if you're into that kind of thing I often discard packaging in favor of my giant CD book. The features disk is interesting but if you want to play the game not see the whole shebang it may not be worth it for you. Overall I'd probably get the Collector's Edition again (it was a birthday present from me to me) but if you're on a budget or want plenty of bang for your buck its probably not worth it.

Gameplay

Graphics

Anyone that tells me the game looks outdated or poor isn't paying attention or can't witness DAO in all its glory. When I can see the pores on Morigan's face, the individual teeth on Dog (aka Rabbit) and see stray hairs on Alistair, it is amazing. Not to mention the burning, bleeding, spurting, freezing, effects from damage. Seeing an enemy break because he's been frozen is awesome. If you've got a mediocre rig a PS3 may be the way to go. I haven't seen a 360 in action so check those out but if you've got a machine that can handle the settings check the PC version is way worth it.

Cutscenes

If you've played BioWare games before you know they're big on story. If you've played Elder Scrolls, Fallout 3, Fable, Diablo, Guild Wars, LOTRO, and like the story this has more, and it is good. If you like Demon Souls this is less hack n' slash and more about the entire experience. Heavy dialogue, great and frequent cutscenes, are BioWare hallmarks. If that is not your bag you can hit ESC to skip the scenes.

I do miss the dialogue wheel from Mass Effect, I rather enjoyed hearing my character speak. Selecting dialouge options is akin to KOTOR or Baldur's Gate and at times it seems like your representative in the game is mute. This is not enough to discourage or dissuade me it is merely an annoyance.

Gameplay

Think an updated Baldur's Gate. As your avatar gets better at killin' he or she performs more stylized attacks and finishing moves reminicient of Fallout 3's VATS finishing/killing attacks. The game goes to SloMo and shows you doing X to critter Y. Navigating is easy your compass has a quest arrow when you use the feature.

One of the most interesting things are the "tactics" the more cunning your avatar or the higher the level you get more "if A then B" actions and choices making a very flexible but very effective "script" for combat. I.E. Condition: 'Self health is < 10%' Action: "Use strongest healing potion". The limitations are your ingenuity, imagination, tactical know how and your avatar's intelligence.

Downloadable Content (DLC)

I like the way the have DLC set up, it relay's what you have, what you can buy, and etc. It seems that Electronic Art's buisness model in DAO is to provide a solid and addicting product then have you purchase things to make the story more in depth. As a gamer it is annoying but I'll probably persist. As a stockholder if it would raise the share prices it seems like a good idea.

DAO Creator is awesome. I don't know what the consoles can do with regards to this option but it allows PC players unlimited creativity and ensures amazing replay value.

Overall

I am very happy with the game. If you have any doubts cast them aside, there is enough knowledge to ensure bugs are being fixed (there are few if any) and almost all technical issues I've seen posted on the BioWare forums are resolved.

This is an extremely enjoyable game with a new twist on old genres and the story creates a world that I certainly hope persists in BioWare's repitoire.

Have fun, enjoy.

*UPDATE*

Content

The rating of M is well earned. Gore is aplenty with decapitation and similar fantasy violence. Those concerned about the romance plots should know that you can engage in sexual relationships. The scenes depicting these are similar you would see to day time television, no genetalia or reproductive organs. There is also prostitution though once again no nudity.

Best Deals for Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition - PC

To long time classic CRPG fans, Dragon Age: Origins (DAO) is a nostalgic trip back to the bygone era of CRPG Renaissance amist the blight of dark forces joined with many (certainly not all of them) of generic FPSs that gives you measley 4-7 hours on single player campaign and hybrid RPGs that blur the true quality of classic CRPG. While Bioware has released many games that all found financial success and critical acclaims, Bioware's track record since Black Isle's demise hasn't always been impressive among classic CRPG fans.

Bethesda has successfully reinvigorated non-linear, open-ended, free-formed, real-time CRPG of 'TES: Arena' and 'TES: Daggerfall' with 'Oblivion' and 'Fallout 3'. Now Bioware has done the same to narratively-focused, linear, story-driven, party-based tactical CRPG of 'Baldur's Gate' series with DAO. Both are in lineage of classic 'Dungeons and Dragons', 'Tolkien', 'Ultima' series and 'Wizardry' series. But each camp go for totally different experience.

Now for the fans of classic CRPG fans can finally find great solace in the latest medieval fantasy epic called 'Dragon Age: Origins'. This game really picks up the torch from the late Black Isle and its own 'Baldur's Gate' in terms of gameplay, design, lore, and character development and carries on the impossible task of putting CRPG back on the track. It generally succeeds with DAO but it will surely polarize many others too.

Those who began to acquire the taste of RPG through games like 'KOTOR', 'Jade Empire', and 'Mass Effect' must be warned though. DAO is not quite like aforementioned Bioware's titles. DAO is a classic, hard-core PC-centric western CRPG firmly rooted in D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) compared to the past three Bioware titles, which were hybrid western / console RPG geared toward more accessible and broader appeal that could be viewed as shallow to hard-core CRPG gamers. But there are definitely similarities among these titles too.

Those who began to acquire the taste of RPG through games like 'Oblivion' and 'Fallout 3' must be warned also. DAO is not a non-linear, open-ended, free-formed CRPG. You don't do anything anytime anywhere you please, and interaction with items and environment is non-existent. While you are given a fair amount of freedom once you pass the initial origin part and first big prelude, DAO is a linear game where main focus is on narrative focus via plot, dialogues, character dynamics, and of course tactical combat. DAO is the polar opposite to TES series. You don't have such freedom in DAO, but intensely plot-driven, character-driven game just not feasible in TES series. You don't get the visceral, in-your-face hack n' slash here. Combat focuses on character management during each wave of enemies. The action is governed by number-crunching Bioware's own original ruleset, similar to D&D ruleset. DAO gives you much broader scopes of battles with waves of mobs thrown at you alongside your companions, so it's totally different kind of pulse-pounding combat. But I personally love both styles.

And finally this is not a click-fest hack n' slash 'Diablo' clone or various MMORPG either. So if you are looking to get some fix for action RPG, 'Diablo 3' and WOW expansion are on the horizon. You won't get far in this game by just clicking your mouse pointer on your foes.

To some people, it might feel oddly enough it seems Bioware might have taken a step back, Bioware actually has taken a step forward from the games from the golden age of CRPG such as 'Baldur's Gate' series, 'Planescape: Torment' and 'Icewind Dale' series. And those of you who were big fans of 'Baldur's Gate' then were somewhat disappointed with 'Neverwinter Nights', you will be thrilled to finally have the heir to a decade-long empty throne since 'Baldur's Gate' in 'Dragon Age: Origins'.

You get to choose your sex, race, class and background to determine your origin among six different origins. Then you play totally unique origin story / tutorial for a couple of hours. Once you familiarize yourself with control, menu, etc, it leads you to big intro part where you wet your feet with couple of side quests and combat. A good 3-4 hours will be spent to this point. Then you see some exciting cutscenes and you are into the thick of epic battle and more exciting and revealing cutscenes. You get to play a part of the battle. And off you go finally to your main quest after the longest prelude of the video game history. And from hereafter things opens up and give you some freedom.

It still has loading screen between areas like all other Bioware games although it now feels less confined and limited in each area dut to the game's bigger scope created by newly created and much refined 'Eclipse Engine'. I just wish there's an open overworld map where you can actually traverse and level up fighting foes like classic Final Fantasy style instead of clicking on the world map and occassionally running into random combat area.

In terms of graphic, even on high-end PC, things are somewhat bland, blocky and jaggy. While the game doesn't look terrible and CRPG has never been the front-runner graphically, graphic in this game definitely looks dated even by the CRPG standards. By comparison to games like 'Oblivion', 'Fallout 3', and Bioware's own 'Mass Effect', graphic in DAO might even come as a shock. It generally looks more than fine on PC; just don't expect top-notch graphic.

Beside the confined world map, modular nature of the map with loading screen and not quite top-notch graphics, everything else is delivered with depth and grandeur. All the dialogues are voice-acted, except your player character, and there are tons and tons of dialogues in tradition of all previous Bioware's games. The gameworld is littered with lores. Weapons, armours, items, magic, skills, map, quest log, codex, character development / customization, party management and combat tactics are very well handled in robust menu design. DAO is the most PC-centric game since 2002 with 'Morrowind' and 'Neverwinter Nights'. You can handle the combat with either micro-management in 'Baldur's Gate' style using pause function and action queue or more fast-paced with programmable tactics slots for your companions. And the combat mechanics is similar with 'Baldur's Gate'. You have full 3D camera so you can zoom in and out on the fly with mouse wheel and pause with space key. While you have new tactics system, user-programmable command slots that control each and every member of your player characters, thers's only one action queue per character. While tactics slots do generally fine job, multiple action queues are desired.

What seperates DAO from other CRPG is character interaction and dynamic. The world is no longer black and white. Bioware abandons good vs. evil dynamic over much more ambiguity and complex shades of grey. The tone of the game is much darker and bleak. This in turn makes story truly dynamic unlike other Bioware games in the past that only give you the illusion of choice. Besides 6 different origin stories, you now have multiple endings and various permutations depending on your actions. The only thing set in the stone in DAO is the main plot; you are the protagonist who eventually leads the army against the force of evil. How you start, who you start with, who you side with, who you abandon, who you clash with, how you get to the finale, you and your companions' fate are all up in the air.

The story arc is massive, expansive and immensely complex with many different possible outcomes from branching storyline directly stemmed from your choices. It's also very heavy and mature thematically. At the end of my first 70 hour run-through as a human noble, I really felt as if I was truly ladden with the fate of the world as well as people around me. Political intrigues and personal agendas are everywhere. Choices you have to make are genuinely difficult and whatever the consequences you face are irreversible. Each and every single wave of combat feels difficult and exhausted. One wrong move and your party is wiped out. It really felt like a load of heavy burden often too much to bear. This is where DAO truly excels and shines. Not only DAO made me feel like I was actually integral and the most important part of the game, I wanted to embark on a brand new, totally different journey immediately after completing a long, winded and tiresome journey (in a very good way).

'Eclipse Engine' is much better and more powerful than ill-equipped tile-based 'Aurora Engine' and rightful 3D successor of 2D 'Infinity Engine' but still restrictive and modular in nature. I hope Bioware refine the engine in the future to open things up little bit more. It's down right annoying when you get stuck by a tiny pebble on the ground or simple nook and cranny. Loading between each area, both interior and exterior, is still present but each area being much bigger and more detail than ones created by 'Aurora Engine', along with much tighter camera controll, it alleviates a lot of problems. Furthermore, thanks to free 'DAO Toolset', we can expect tons of quality mods from a very active modding community that will probably surpass that of 'Neverwinter Nights' and possibly equal to 'The Elder Scrolls' community. There are already a few official DLCs available for purchase and several mods from 'Dragon Age Nexus', the same site that also host for both 'The Elder Scrolls' and 'Fallout 3'. I guarantee we can expect some terrific mods in the future from the site.

While I had not run into any technical glitches at all throughout my 70 campaign, there's memory leak problems, which cause the game's loading time gets longer and longer during each single continuous session. It's solved by occassionally restart the game but there's some serious loading time problem due to poor memory management.

This game runs surprisingly well on my now ancient P4 HT 3.0Ghz with 2GB RAM and nvidia 7800GS with everything max except AA and resolution, as well as my brand new Intel Core i7 with 6GB RAM and nvidia GTX 295 with everything max.

As for CE package, I solely got this edition because the regular edition comes with really flimsy plastic case, which is a new cheap trend among DVD movies and PC games to save cost. And I am happy they don't stack 2 discs on top of each other with seperate disc divider. As for contents, the cloth map is nothing like the one that came with 'Neverwinter Nights Limited Collector's Edition'. It's very cheap and useless. Extra disc contains about 60 minutes worth of making-of documentaries and promo materials as well as 18 music from the game. It also comes with a few free official DLCs, which are way way over-priced if you decide to purchase seperately.

While I am definitely not happy about the current business trend in the video game industry with DLCs over expansion pack, cheap package with weak manual, over-emphasis on online features, I commend EA for letting Bioware realize its vision with minimum artistic interference and toning down the DRM scheme from the draconian secuROM that forces Internet connection and limited number of installation to much linient version of simple secuROM DVD check. It's definitely step-up from 'Spore' and 'Mass Effect'.

Although it's little too early to tell whether DAO will eclipse 'Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn', DAO is definetely the best game from Bioware since the legendary game on the other side of TES series. DAO is without a doubt one for the age; crowning achievement among the very best of CRPG indeed.

'Morrowind', 'Oblivion', 'Fallout 3', 'Gothic Trilogy', 'Risen', 'The Witcher', 'Two Worlds', and now 'Dragon Age: Origins' closes this decade on a very exciting note for CRPG and joins the handful of elite 3D CRPG collection from this decade that rivals the golden era of 2D CRPG of 'Baldur's Gate' series, 'Icewind Dale' series, 'Planescape: Torment', 'Fallout', 'Fallout 2', 'Divine Divinity', 'Sacred', and 'Arcanum'. DAO will delight CRPG fans for a long long time.

Honest reviews on Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition - PC

If you love the Epic Fantasy, Dungeons, Castles, and Knights genre of video games this is a great addition to the realm. These games used to be a bit more popular and they don't come out now as often as they used to . The gaming industry is very heavy in a lot of different genres and the military game is very popular right now. Anyway, I am glad this game came out. Some other great games in this genre are The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition. Gothic 3 Collector's Editionand Dungeon Siege.

About the game

This is a very complex game. It took BioWare five years to develop this game and it shows. There is an awful lot of stuff in it. And most of this stuff is what is expected. There is plenty of battling and plenty of world to explore. And it is a party oriented game so if you have played Dungeon Siege or World of Warcraft you are very familiar with the style of game play. As you adventure through and explore the world you pick up party members that will fight with you. And you have to put together a complimentary set of members. You need a balance. If you are a warrior you are going to need a mage for healing and a rogue for lockpicking etc. It's a nice way to explore a lot of different roles in the game.

Where this game gets different

There are some very interesting things about this game that set it apart from other games in the genre. First off, there are a lot of moral and ethical choices that you have to make during the game. Will you steal from others? Will you make sacrifices for the greater good? And these choices affect what happens in the game. For example: Will you kill the evil king who has been wreaking havoc? If you do then his daughter will not marry you. This ruins your chances to become the new king if that's what you seek. Or how about this: When battling the evil bloodmage you have the choice of making a deal with him. Will you spare his life in order to get a permanant boost to your constitution stat? If you do this then some of your party members will disapprove. Bad Karma! And it has an effect on the game. Party members will get upset with you and leave the party permanently!

Not for kids

This game is definitely not for kids. There is quite a bit of very realistic bloodshed and you have killing blows that will actually decapitate your foes. And, there are lots of cut scenes after battles where you and your party members are spattered with very realistic looking blood. And....You can actually woo and seduce other members of your party through gift-giving, conversations, and good karma actions. It is an interesting concept and if your seductions, which take time to develop, are successful you will be rewarded with an animated cut scene of the actuall nuptials (PG rated).

Some of the minuses of the game

I got the collectors edition with all the extras which include a special character, some special armor, and another realm with quests to explore. But the game doesn't come with a storage chest! Yikes, no place for your party to store all their stuff? Wow, all you can do is carry a limited number of things in your backpack and when it gets full you have to sell the stuff to vendors.

Well, seeing as this game is very quest oriented (There are hundreds of quests) you never know what stuff you are going to need to complete a quest. And, I love to accumulate all kinds of armor, weapons, gems and things. It is a fun part of the game for me. So this is definitely a minus for me. But they do offer a solution. You can buy and download the add-on quest that gives you a whole new area to explore and a party chest to store your goods. This downloadable costs seven dollars but is worth it for the chest and the extra game play. And it's a seamless download. You can get it through the game screen which means no worries about extracting files. You pay for it and click it and the game does the rest. In a few minutes the new game area shows up on your world map.

Crafting is a bit weak Crafting is a big part of many online games and other epic fantasy rpg's. In this game you can do some crafting like make potions and traps but this is definitely weak in the game. There are not a whole lot of options for this and materials tend to be scarce. I really like the crafting aspects of games and usually do a lot of it but there is not a whole lot of it in this game. Definitely a minus for me.

Political intrigue

I am not really sure if this is a negative but in the games I play and the epic fantasy books I read I tend to not be too interested in all the political intrigue. You know, this is where the various houses, lords, and barons are all struggling for power. In this game there is a lot of this and the decisions you make during game play have an effect. As you are trying to conquer the blight that is set upon the land you have to drum up support from the various houses and factions. The moral and ethical decisions you make do matter. And the quests you complete are a factor too.

Extra stuff

There is some real fun stuff about this game. The developers really took a good look at combat and there are lots of great sword and weapon moves that your character makes and there are some great mini animations. Sometimes when you fell a large creature like an ogre your character will actually jump right up on its face and issue the killing blow. The combat is pretty good!

Mechanics of the software

I have a fast computer with Windows Vista and everything has gone smoothly for me. The installation was smooth and game play is smooth, no crashes and no errors.

So, should you buy it?

This genre used to be the norm for video games but these kinds of games don't come out too often anymore. So if you like the genre then you definitely should get it. You won't be disappointed. It delivers what it promises.

This collectors version comes with a cloth map, lots of extra materials, a bonus character and more quests. But it doesn't come with the party chest for storing goods so if you want this you are going to have to spend another 7 dollars for the download -which is worth it.

And, because the game is so very complex I highly recommend you buy yourself a game guide. I bought this one: Dragon Age: Origins: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides) It is absolutely necessary if you want to find all the secrets and make your way successfully through the complexity of the game.

It is what is expected from the genre; You are set in a medieval world and expected to save it from the forces of evil. Along the way you get lots of political intrigue, battles with monsters and lots of opportunities for adventure.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition - PC

Deluxe edition stuff at the very end.

If you don't want to read my retarded ode to Bioware, please skip ahead to where it says, "Actual Review!".

Ah, Bioware. You're like an old girlfriend. The one who defined love for me (1). Then you hurt me (2). I still loved you, but I didn't understand; why did you have to do that?

You went your way and I went mine. Eventually I learned to forget. I met new people; sometimes I'd fall in love, but it was never quite the same (3).

We'd see each other every couple years, and we'd have a lot of fun for a night or two (4). But other times I thought to myself, "What are you doing with your life? We could be happy together! Why are you doing this? (5). After these ultimately disappointing hookups I'd always dig up our old photos and go through them (6). I'm not ashamed to say I cried a little.

You always told me you were searching for something. Learning who you were, and how to be.

Then, one day in early November, you called me. You said, "I know now; I know who I am. I know where I belong: with you." And then you came back home to me.

Then it all became so clear; you HAD been learning. It was the old you, but a new version! Everything past was prologue to this; the version of you I always knew was there. I just needed to have faith, and you'd see it too, and we could get back what we had, what we'd always known was us.

I love you Bioware. I realize now I've always loved you. Thank you for being in my life.

Answer Key!

1. Baldur's Gate I and II, the infinity engine that led to Icewind Dale, Fallout, and Planescape

2. Neverwinter Nights

3. The Elder Scrolls, Neverwinter Nights 2, FFX, FFXII

4. KOTOR, Mass Effect

5. Jade Empire, Sonic RPG

6. all those replays of BGII

ACTUAL REVIEW!

This is the best cRPG experience I've had in ten years. It becomes very clear within the first few minutes of your Origin story that you're experiencing gaming history. Not the revolutionary, innovative, awesome new mechanic kind of gaming history. This is analogous to a new album from your favorite artist that's been doing experimental side-projects for the last few years, and now comes out with a solid, deep, meaningful effort in a well-established form.

All the old ingredients are here: rich, meaningful character relationships; deep, tactically challenging combat; well written, thought-provoking dialogue trees. In short, everything you knew Bioware was capable of, but hasn't been fully present in any of their games since BGII.

Don't get me wrong; I've liked almost all of their games since then (Jade Empire and the Sonic RPG being the exceptions). It's just that none have fully satisfied me, or they've left me with the nagging feeling that something's just not quite right (re: KOTOR and Mass Effect feel slightly underdone).

This game is an instant classic, from a master of the genre. It's the kind of game that will be added to the roster of eminently replayable games (BGII, Fallout 1+2, Morrowind, Final Fantasy [pick your favorite], etc.). It's as good as or better than all of those.

Now, those of you that have NOT played Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Icewind Dale, NWN2, beware.

As evidenced by the very few negative reviews, the ad campaign for this game is not very representative of the content. This is a true western RPG, especially if you're getting it on the PC. Combat is challenging on every difficulty mode but easy.

IT IS BY NO MEANS a hack-and-slash or action RPG!!!

I still recommend it, but be prepared to open your mind to a new experience.

For those of you trying to decide on which version to get, here are some things:

If you played and loved Baldur's Gate, and got it because you bought into the "spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate" thing, get it for the PC, no question.

On the console, the camera is locked in behind the character in the style of Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect. This is fine for those who fell in love with Bioware since their console years began, but not if you want to play it for full tactical enjoyment.

Also, if you have a capable PC, the graphics are far superior to the consoles, which is often the case.

360 vs. PS3?

PS3 looks better, 360 moves smoother. 6 of 1.

Don't hesitate. Buy this game.

Learn it,

Live it,

Love it:

Bioware is Back.

P.S. For those of you getting the Deluxe Edition, the added content is completely worth it. You don't have to feel cheated; they did it right. Worth every last penny.

Review of Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 - Xbox 360

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $17.68
Today's Bonus: 12% Off

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.

Best Deals for Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 - Xbox 360

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.

Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction Reviews

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This game has an incredible foundation in place to build an even better game on. If it had spent another few months in the tank getting tweaks and having some more depth added to it, it could have been stunning.

The game that this mostly resembles is not Warcraft, but the seminal Command & Conquer series, though with these graphics, AI, unit choices and relative game play, only the earlier incarnations. I would have liked more unit types, higher caps, larger maps, a skirmish mode (campaign only? What's that?!) and maybe a tweak or two on the controls. The push-the-stick-and-circle-to-select-troops was suspect at best, and C&C already has a perfect way to do it: just make a square and capture the units you want to use, no guesswork. Even the original PS version can do that.

All in all, a good idea and not a wholly bad game, but I hope they take some cues from a franchise that does it right and come back to this. They're really on the verge of making a wholly good game here, just not with these flaws. Give us a "Part 2" to this and make these slight changes and you're gold.

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In my opinion this is a very good stratagy game but with one flaw. I always play as an alien. What i dont get is if there are som many other enemy units in the game why you can not have more then 45 units. When you have 45 units the queen stops laying eggs. I mean what is with that, does the queen have some limit. i thought she wanted the hive to grow. how can that happen if you only have forty five aliens. i always end up with fifty or sixty hosts left over just sitting there fot the k-series aliens to steal. The graphics could also be better. They are a bit on the bland side. but other then that exellent game.

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I bought this game expecting it to be so-so based on the amazon reviews, but found the game to be an outstanding treasure among PS2 games. This is one of the best computer/PS2 games I've ever played. Of course like all games it has its faults, like a lack of skirmish and online play. But overall fun game that will keep you entertained for hours. Definitely play as the aliens, they can be a little frustrating but fun to play.

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alien vs. predator was a great movie so i decided to play the game and i thought it would be where you move with the left analog stick insted of with circel but it is still is a fun game i like playing as the predators cause there strongest i think if you like the movie you will love the game and even if you dont like the movie you will still love the game

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This game is very flawed, but is tons of fun if you can be patient with the AI. There are plenty of different types of soldiers, and the three races are very diverse. 21 Missions total will probably be around a week, unless you play all day. Later missions usually take about an hour. Buy it at a local store, like GameStop or EB, beat it within the 7 days, return it. Voila!

Discount NBA 2K10 Anniversary Edition -Xbox 360

Customer Ratings:

This review is not about the game, it is about the Tenth Anniversary box set.

Pro's:

The Box is massive, stands about 2ft tall.

Packaging is top notch, outer packaging alone makes for a great display piece

Locker itself is really cool, each locker is individually numbered out of 30,000

Locker construction is solid, and made really well

Access to the 2k10 Live Gold Room (haven't accessed it yet so I don't know how cool it is)

Cool poster from Shepard Fairey's Studio No.1 (made on a high quality stock paper)

Cons:

The Box is massive so it might be tough for you to display.

I was disappointed with the Mcfarlane figure, I thought it would be a full size figure (should have read more, "it stands at 6" tall, not the figure is 6" tall)

Overall I was really happy with this purchase. Now that I look back I am not sure if I can justify paying $40 extra for this set. If they would have given you a normal size Mcfarlane figure this would have been well worth it.

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I have to order this from the USA, because I live in Italy. Everything is fine and the cabinet idea is awesome.

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Excellent game! Different gameplay modes including the "My Player" mode that is funny and complex, it is very realistic and you can customize the difficulty of the game with sliders and adjust it to your liking.

The locker is very useful and well made, all my friends have seen it and fallen in love with it.

Honest reviews on NBA 2K10 Anniversary Edition -Xbox 360

The game is the truth, and I had my minor problems with it at first in the beginning but since then, the game has been nothing other than the perfect simulation of real life counterpart to the real game of Basketball. One of the best modes this game has is the "My Player" mode. It's so addictive and gives you a lot to do and aim for. I have yet to play the normal game as much simply because I am enjoying living the life of a NBA rookie trying to make a name for myself and become an All~Star. The game is worth checking out, even if you're not a basketball fan. Give it a shot, you will not be disappointed. Also, they have 24/7 Roster updates which is a great addition as well.

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The box (which is the size of a hobbits wardrobe) is just the first suprising thing about the 2K10 special anniversary edition. The thought that has gone into assembling a package worthy of celebrating 10 yrs of this game franchise is superb. The well made metal locker, along with the ltd edition print of kobe and all the other bits and pieces make for some real eye candy. The addition of the 'gold room' entry pass is a wonderful idea that gives the feeling of exclusivity you want when you buy somthing that is in limited supply. The game itself is as you would expect,packed with smooth graphics, kick ass soundtrack, and realistic gameplay, with really atmospheric arenas and crowd reaction during the matches themselves. The rendering on the player in game graphics is enough to make you weep tears of joy as you control Lebron, koby, and all the other NBA superstars and legends. a highly recommended package well worth the extra bucks. And Amazon.com were one of the only people prepared to supply it to us mere mortals in the UK. Well done ESPN and many thanks Amazon.

Review of Just Dance Kids

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $19.34
Today's Bonus: 3% Off

Great fun for kids of all ages (yes, even toddlers!) and grownups too. Great variety of songs, both older and current. Easy to follow. 3 levels to choose from: younger kids, older kids and all of the songs together. The lyrics are printed at the bottom of the screen so you can sing along. So, so, so much fun...haven't had this much fun with a Wii game ever. Great exercise too. A whole roomful of people can dance together. You don't have to hold the Wiimote while dancing. Great workout! I'm feeling it.

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I was so excited for my kids to get this game. They have Just Dance 1 and 2 and LOVE THEM. So, I assumed they would love this one too, especially my 4 yr old. My biggest complaint is the choreography. If I choose the Macarena, I expect to actually do the Macarena dance not some oddly choreographed version. And come on the chicken dance is a classic don't mess with it. Some of the dance moves are the same, but most are totally different than the real songs! We are huge Wiggles fans, but none of the dances are the actual dances! My kids were so aggravated because they were ready to point their fingers and do the twist! They know those dances like nobodys business. After 3 songs that they thought they would know the moves to, they gave up. Whoever decided to re-choreograph the dances to the songs made a big mistake. Maybe my kids will give it another chance, but more than likely this one will be traded in for a different game :(

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Detection is quite like Just Dance & 2, more kid friendly, moves OK. YMCA doesn't have the YMCA moves in it; the Chicken Dance doesn't have the Chicken Dance; the Macarena song doesn't have the Macarena moves in it (each one has about half of what you would expect YMCA has Y and M and then ???). I believe the technical term is "What gives?"

Honest reviews on Just Dance Kids

I bought this game for my kids (6 and 9). They enjoyed the original Just Dance, but I thought this might be a little more fun for our younger one. They both ended up having a lot of fun with it. Even our 1 year old was enjoying some of the songs. It goes from songs like the ABCs to Funkytown. The only thing I don't like is having kids singing many of the tracks instead of the originals. They do have some original singers like The Wiggles, and Yo Gabba Gabba. This game wasn't that fun for adults, but it still will give you a pretty good work out.

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We played this game yesterday at a friend's house with a group of 5 kids who ranged in age from 3-12. They all had a great time and burned off a lot of energy! The gameplay was easy, the team play mode was great, and the kids had lots of silly fun. It was my first time playing one of the Just Dance games, and I will definitely be purchasing the other Just Dance games for me and my older kids, because we would prefer the songs by the real artists. For people with younger kids, this game is fantastic fun.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction Deluxe Reviews

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I was disappointed that Splinter Cell Conviction did not have as many gadgets as Splinter Cell Double Agent. I think that for the next Splinter Cell, it should incorporate the stealth features of the previous versions as well as upgrades. Overall, it was a good play.

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I just want to say that this game is THE best espionage action game I ever played. Despite minor inconveniences, such as buggy xbox 360 controller support on windows 7, the game is indeed solid. The studios at UBISOFT Montreal really have outdone themselves. The graphics are stellar, even though the game uses DirectX 9.0c and not 10 or even 11. I like the way the story is told to the player and the way the developers just envelop you, the player, in a very exciting and interesting world. The learning curve is not too bad and actually maybe easier for players who think "outside the box". Finally, the game's difficulty is augmented by the excellent AI portrayed by enemy combatants and excellent level design that encourages creative solutions and problem solving for the player to manuever through.

As I have stated initially, the only gripe that can truly be found about this game is the issues of usage with an xbox 360 controller with the game and maybe the fact that you need a permenant internet connection to play the game. Basically, when playing this game on I believe only windows 7, the buttons on the controller are not mapped properly. To remedy this, I use a Logitech F310 gamepad that can switch between xinput and logitech's own driver set, the latter being the appropriate mode for the game to play beautifully. Just have Logitech's profiler point to the game's executable, run the executable, and enjoy.

If you enjoy being a hero with untold precision and menacing military tactics at his disposal, you will indeed love playing this game. You can make Sam Fisher be a real killing machine once you get a hang of the game.

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The graphics are the most lifelike I have seen. No glitches so far, playing off and on for a few days. This was definately worth the money! Story line ok, using keyboard and mouse now, works fine but have controler on the way.

Windows 7 64 bit

GTX 275 x 2 SLI

Intel Q6600 quad

8 G Crucial

Honest reviews on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction Deluxe

Love the splinter cell series and this was a great deal I couldn't pass up! Wish it was a steam code but i'll settle for this as well!

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A good single-player experience, but be warned that there is ZERO SUPPORT for multiplayer. Use your best discretion... and probably don't buy this.

Major League Baseball 2K12 - Xbox 360 Review

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I have seen a lot of reviews of Xbox sports games that attempt to provide you with every detail of the gameplay and pros and cons. I am not going to do that and instead will give you the shot and sweet review of what I feel is in fact a very fun game to play with great graphics and incredible realism. It is by far the best Xbox baseball game out there and easily rivals The Show on the PS platform.

The thing though is that 2K12 is not a massive upgrade from 2K11. In fact other than updating the players and some other slight improvements it is hard to call this an upgrade more than just an updated version of the game.

What are the real meaningful differences? MLB Season mode is different as it snaps better to the regular upcoming MLB season. From a gameplay perspective, I like the new throwing mechanism where you have to be much more accurate with your throws or you will see them sail over the first baseman's head or easily miss your cut off man. You also will want to check out what they call the new Tendency system. As you get ready to make a pitch, the batter learns your tendencies and vice versa in a much more accurate way than in the previous version so you have to do a lot more adjusting.

Gameplay continues to be fun. You don't have to learn how to bat or pitch differently although you definitely do need to pay attention to the throwing as I mention above to ensure your accuracy. A good game that moves along fairly quickly and that you can easily play for hours and hours with your friends or by yourself.

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It's an upgrade for 2k11. That much is certain. One complaint is that the graphics aren't up to par with the games rival MLB The show. I did enjoy the new menus in comparison to 2k11's, which I thought were a tad bit confusing to navigate at first. The new batting style is favorable.

Perhaps my biggest peeve about this game is the face that My Player mode wasn't modified enough. It feels the exact same as last year, with a few graphical changes. Sure you can now define your player to fit your favorite role (Strikeout pitcher, ground ball pitcher, etc...), but it just isn't enough. Realistically created players would be submitted minor league offers from random teams and be able to choose the highest paying contract. I haven't gotten much past the first game in my player mode, so I will update when I have finished a season.

Dynasty mode is an exact replica as last season, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I like that you get to start out in Spring Training, so you can get practice and a feel for the new controls before the games start counting.

All in all, so far, this game isn't anything that stand above the rest. It is exactly what you would expect from a 2k Baseball game. Needless to say, I am definitely hoping for an EA Sports title next year.

Edit 3/9/2012

Just a small update. I am thoroughly enjoying franchise mode, just pitched a shut out with Josh Beckett in fact. My game has frozen twice when loading the last 2 games I've played, so that is a bit of a downfall. I've also noticed that at times the commentary is wrong. For example, one of the commentators said the Red Sox one the World series in 2008 when in fact they won in 2007.

Edit 4/3/2012

I am digging through My Player Mode now as a pitcher. I enjoy the fact that it is a bit more difficult to get to the Major's than in last years edition. I'm currently dueling it out in Triple A with Pawtucket. My Player Mode is really where 2K shines (well sort of). There were features that definitely, no questions asked, should have been added. For example, NBA 2k12 boasts an interested player draft before delving into its My Player Mode. To me this seems like a feature that could have seamlessly been added to MLB 2k12 that would have made My Player Mode much more realistic. Also I would have liked to have seen the computer to be able to potentially trade your newly created player to other teams.

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First off, I LOVED 2K11 and was really excited to get 2K12 for the updated rosters and because Justin Verlander is my favorite pitcher and the cover athlete. I cannot say I am disappointed in 2K12, but really, it's pretty much the same as 2K11 just with updated rosters and a few minor changes here and there. This is not a bad thing, I just wish a few more changes would have been made such as more minor league stadiums or classic ball parks would have been nice. My Player mode seems really no different from last year AT ALL, neither does Franchies Mode. MLB Living Season mode is cool but not really for me since you csn only play one game at a time (on the current day of the year).

Honest reviews on Major League Baseball 2K12 - Xbox 360

Hi, I don't review many products however as an avid baseball fan and Xbox gamer, I feel compelled to review MLB 2K 12. First you should know, I am a Mets fan. So please know that my expectations are NEVER too high. The best aspect, and also the most frustrating of this game is the MY PLAYER mode. You create your own player, give him whatever name you desire and assign him a position for both the field and batting order, as well as the franchise he will play for. I selected Shortstop and Leadoff hitter, and I obviously assigned him to the Mets. Your newly created player starts in the minor leagues, A ball, and hones his skills (You earn SKILL POINTS to assign to your player's fielding, batting and base running abilities.) until he gets called to the majors. I'm not sure what happened to Double and Triple A ball, it would add to the game if you could develop your player against more difficult competition, but as you read this review you'll understand why that's not really important. Also, you continue earning skill points and developing your player even after you reach the majors. My player was called up to the majors the 2nd week of July during his 1st season. The games move quickly, because they have what's called a SUPER SIM and you only actually PLAY during your at bats, or if you have a potential play in the field at your position. Okay, the frustration begins. The N.P.C.s (i.e. your teammates) have the baseball acumen of road kill that's been baking in the hot August sun for 3 days on the side of I-95. An example: Slow runner on 2nd base, (My speed has advanced to 81 out of a possible 99 at this point) and my player is batting. I hit a ball that reaches the fence in Right-Center field (Ya know, the GAP) and I'm thinking triple all the way. As I'm rounding 2nd base, the center fielder has just gotten to the ball. My team mate (remember, road kill) is standing on 3rd base and not moving. He should have scored. For reference, his speed was 62 out of 99. This type of issue is not a onetime thing. Also, in MY PLAYER mode you have absolutely no control of your team mates. During each of your at bats, you are given a GOAL to achieve for additional skill points. A common goal is to DRIVE IN THE RUN(s) if there's a runner on 2nd, or 2nd and 3rd bases. Frequently the runner on 2nd base simply won't progress beyond 3rd. It doesn't matter where, or how hard the ball is hit. Road kill. Another very frustrating part is the N.P.C.s inability to understand the in-game situation. Every little league boy or girl learns early on, if there are 2 outs and there's a runner behind you, you run on anything. The road kill simply stand there and wait to see if the ball will be caught. If it's not, they are much less farther along than they should have been. Finally, I mentioned the GOALS that are assigned during each at bat. These are apparently random and also don't take into account the in-game situation. Losing by one run, top of the 9th inning with runners on 1st and 2nd. The goal, GET AHEAD IN THE COUNT. That doesn't sound so bad until you realize in order to get ahead in the count, you must take at least 1 pitch. If it's a strike, you're automatically in the hole (behind in the count) and having to take at least 2 more pitches to get ahead in the count. If either of those pitches is also a strike... well, you get the idea. A nice thing about this game is that you play with and against actual Major League players. Stepen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals is a phenomenal pitcher. During my 1st at bat, the goal again was to get ahead in the count. I fouled off 15 pitches, had a count of 1 ball 2 strikes before I finally struck out. He doesn't throw balls early in the game. When I came up again in the 3rd inning, h3 had thrown a total of 49 pitches, only 4 of them were balls. I'm now in my 3rd season, and the problems have only gotten worse. The reason is as I mentioned, MY PLAYER continues to develop while the N.P.C.s are stagnant. This game has so much potential, but the level of frustration far outweighs the fun that's provided while playing it. The best baseball franchise for the Xbox was MVP Baseball by EA Sports. Unfortunately, they lost the contract to 2K. I hope that when the contracts are up for bid again, EA wins it back.

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Overall I really like the game, I updated from MLB 2k9 so I can't compare this two the previous years game, but so far enjoyable. My Player Mode is frustrating, coming from the minors and then into the bigs, I can't seem to get my swing down, this game is definitely challenging. Sure I could use CLASSIC controls, but then what fun is that? Started a franchise as well. I find though that the hitting in this game is a lot harder then in 2k7 and 2k9 which I previously have owned, going to take some getting used to. The reworked pitching is definitely a big positive. For the hardcore MLB fan and casual gamer, this is a decent buy. Though maybe wait a bit more for when the price will go down.

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - PlayStation 2 Reviews

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This game is really really fun to play! I bought it the day after it was released, and I still haven't been able to put it down. It is such a great improvement over Two Towers that you'll be hooked as well. The story itself centers around 3 different paths: Gandalf as he defends Minas Tirith from another Helm's Deep-sized army, Frodo+Sam on their journey to Mordor, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli as they travel through the Paths of the Dead, to Minas Tirith, and so forth. The levels themselves are beautifully rendered, and the addition of weapons in specific environments really makes for a completely new feeling game. The controls are much more detailed, so now if you get surrounded you can easily engage multiple enemies at a time. And finally after all the complaints about it not being in Two Towers, you can also play Co-op with a friend! No more having split screens, you both play on a normal sized screen! This game also features the option to play online, but since I don't have the capabilities to do so, I can't really review that part. The only thing stopping me from giving this 5 stars is that some of the levels are incredibly hard, even when set on easy. I guarantee that you'll go through each level a few times before you beat it. All in all this game is definitely worth the money and your time, so I recommend that you purchase it.

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The first two Lord of the Rings titles belonged to that rare group of worthy film-based games. How many movie tie-in games have been less-than-stellar garbage capitalizing on a film's popularity? With "The Return of the King," EA concludes their trilogy with one of the best games of the year. A warning to those who have not read the books and do not know how the trilogy ends: As expected, the game contains many spoilers.

The biggest difference between ROTK and its predecessors may be the amount of action: Fellowship was mostly plot-oriented, and Two Towers featured one great action piece--Helm's Deep. ROTK, however, thrives on action. From start to finish, this game is non-stop action and adventure: gargantuan Siege Towers, monstrous trolls, bloodthirsty Uruk-Hai--this game gives you all you can handle, and then some. You'll be thankful for the occasional pauses to rest your thumbs--before the next attack begins. The game features voice-work from the film's actors and some of the most amazing backgrounds and environments I've ever seen in a video game, with perfect contrast between light and dark elements Like the films, there's meticulous attention to detail. Character design and appearance is first-rate, and character animation (thanks to motion-capture technology) is smooth and even. In addition, the sound quality (THX, no less) is outstanding--every roar, every clash of steel resounds through your speakers.

ROTK features three distinct playable storylines: The Path of the King, The Path of the Hobbits, and The Path of the Wizard. One can play as Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf, Gimli, Frodo, or Sam, and beating the game unlocks three new characters. Follow Aragorn on the Paths of the Dead and recruit the undead to fight alongside you, from Minas Tirith to the Black Gate (and you'll get to battle the Mouth Of Sauron in an epic conflict). Follow Frodo and Sam from Osgiliath to Shelob's Lair to Mount Doom. Take the wizard's path, and have Gandalf fight from Orthanc to Minas Tirith. There are thirteen levels, and the three storylines converge in a final level only accessible when all thirteen are finished. Some levels are relatively easy (Shelob's Lair wasn't too tough) and some are barbaric in their difficulty (Paths of the Dead took me six tries before I beat it). Each character has their own unique style and weapons, with plenty of enemies to battle: Shelob, Orcs, Mumakils (Oliphaunts), Uruk-Hai, The King of the Dead, and more. Attacks are pretty straightforward: Quick attack, Fierce attack, parry, or fire (arrows and the like). As you gain experience points from defeating enemies, you can acquire better weapons and skills (such as invisibility and the truly awesome Balrog's Revenge) to combat the increasingly difficult foes one faces as the game progresses. And, one can choose to retain those points for oneself, or share them with other characters.

The game has three difficulty settings: Easy, normal, and hard. Easy is just that: easy. Normal is moderately challenging, but beatable for most average gamers. Select hard, and you're asking for it. The enemies seem to never end, and even the lowliest orcs take incredible amounts of punishment before falling. Hard difficulty may be best tackled with the game's Co-Op mode, which allows a friend to participate. A major problem with the game, however, is that you can't replay a level until you've beaten it. But once you complete it, every level opens up and can be played by any character--which gives the game better long-term replayability than most movie titles (and many non-movie ones, as well). PS2 gamers will have to contend with occasionally slow framerates due to the PS2's low-end processor. This usually only occurs when a horde of enemies are present, but it's still a little annoying. Another thing I didn't like was the occasional difficulty caused by the game's third-person perspective. Like most TP games, certain positions or angles create blind spots. In close combat, this can prove to be a major aggravation. But those are relatively minor things that detract little from the overall quality of this game. For anyone looking for an excellent action/adventure game, this can't be beat. Highly recommended.

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This game, though frustrating at times, is one of the best adventure/action games ever. I did not want to stop playing it. Here is what happens:

You can play as up to 9 characters:

Aragorn

Legolas

Gimli

Gandalf

Sam

Frodo

Pippen

Merry

Faramir

(Pippen, Merry and Faramir can only be unlocked once you have beaten the game)

There are 3 paths you can choose from: The Path of the Wizard, King or Hobbit. The Path of the Wizard takes you to Minas Tirith and eventually the Black Gate. The Path of the King takes you to the Paths of the Dead, Pelennor Fields and the Black Gate. The Hobbit takes you to Shelobs Lair, Cirith Ungol and of course the Cracks of Doom. Most levels are pretty fun and addicting.

Now I'll give you a few helpful pointers. Number one, don't get frustrated with Top of the Wall, the 2nd level on the Path of the Wizard. You have to keep the orcs off of Minas Tirith's wall otherwise the overrun meter will go up causing you to lose the level, whether you died or not. Just hold off the orcs until the seige towers come. There should be four. Destroy the first 3 using your staff. The 4th one is supposed to make it to the wall. Destroy it and kill all the orcs around it the run down stairs to finish the level. The level can sometimes be hard but overall its not to bad and can be a fun level to go back and play several times.

Another hint: Most people think that the final level, the crack of Doom, is hard. Actually its not. This is the first level you can use Frodo. What happens is you have to defeat Gollum. Its really easy. Just get him over to the edge near the lava and do Orc Hewer or something similar like Fierce Attack. Gollum will start to lose his balance and lean backwards. Continue hitting him until he's just hanging on by his hands then do a finishing blow and send him falling. He will continue to crawl back up until his health bar is depleated. Dont worry, its not that hard.

My final hint is for the Black Gate. This level is also pretty easy on co-op mode but if you haven't beat it on single player mode, it can be tricky. First off choose Gandalf. After you defeat the Mouth of Sauron, a pretty easy boss, prepare to fight back 6 waves of orc attacks. All waves come in through the front until the third one when they come in from all sides. Just be sure you guard your 3 fellowship members (if you were Gandalf they would be Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli) if they die, game over. One thing that make a major difference is orc archers. Kill them before they get to your fellowship heroes because the heroes usually just stand there while they get pelted with arrows. After the 6th wave, 3 Nazgul will come. This is why you pcik Gandalf. Shoot them a couple times with your staff and they will die. His staff works way better then arrows. After that, you've beat it.

I hope my hints have helped you. Enjoy the game and happy playing

Honest reviews on Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - PlayStation 2

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE SEEN THE '' TRILOGY '' EITHER IN THE MOVIES OR ON DVD, THIS GAME RELIVES ALL THE SAME FUN THAT THE MOVIES HAD!THE '' TWO TOWERS '' WAS A LOT OF FUN AS WELL, BUT A FEW LEVELS WERE RIDICULOUSLY HARD TO BEAT..THE SAME CAN BE SAID OF THE LEVEL '' MINAS TIRITH-TOP OF THE WALL '' LEVEL.ALL OF THE LEVELS ARE PRETTY MUCH STRAIGHTFORWARD AND SIMPLE TO GRASP, BUT NOT ALL ARE EASY.THE COOL THING IS YOU GET TO PLAY CERTAIN LEVELS AS SAM, OR GANDALF .AND THE OTHER LEVELS YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM GIMLI,ARAGORN,OR LEGOLAS. BUT WHEN YOU FINISH THE GAME YOU UNLOCK FAROMIR,GANDALF, PIPPIN, MERRIN ,FRODO ,AND SAM WHICH YOU CAN PLAY IN ALL THE LEVELS , EXCEPT THE FIRST ONE.YOU REALLY DON'T NEED TO BUY ALL THE CHARACTERS UPGRADES , BUT IT IS COOL TO PULL OFF A FEW COOL NEW MOVES IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE..BUT REMEMBER TO PARRY AND USE THE FIERCE ATTACK TO SHATTER THE ENEMIES SHIELDS .AND PARRY WHILE SHOOTING YOUR ARROWS, AS THE ARCHERS RETURN FIRE.AND LIKE THE '' THE TWO TOWERS ''GAME THEIR IS ALSO A 20 LEVEL FIGHTING ARENA WHICH YOU CAN PLAY.YOU DON'T GET ANYTHING FOR COMPLETING IT, JUST THE SATISFACTION OF SURVIVING IT..SO GET IT TODAY, AND YOU'LL BE ENTERTAINED FOR HOURS..ENJOY '' THE LORD OF THE RINGS ''!!

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First of all, the game has actual scenes included from the movies. Yes, it has scenes from both the Two Towers AND the Return of the King. This is because you fight in Helm's Deep in the beginning of the game and work your way up from there. The actors from the movies did the voices of the characters as well.

Second, the actors are interviewed for the game, and they are shown playing the game themselves and talking about it. A little something extra to make it even more interesting.

Third, the graphics are great! I love how they morph from a scene in the movie to the game characters and vice versa. The game characters look very much like the real actors too. Beware: the movie scenes will morph back to the game characters without warning so you'd better be ready to begin playing again or you may find yourself the victim of a nasty orc or mountain troll.

Basically, you fight in the same battles that occur in the movie, but because it's a game, your battles may involve more than is in the movie. You can play as Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Sam, Frodo, or Gandalf and when you beat the game you get 3 more special characters to play as. I won't tell you who they are I don't want to ruin the surprise. Hint: After you beat the game you will be given secret codes and secret levels. Now, usually I don't like to use secret codes to win, but in this case the makers of the game GIVE you the codes, and they do it for a reason. Once you've beaten the game fair and square, in order to beat the scret levels you WILL need those codes or you won't beat the secret levels! Trust me, we tried it with Aragorn at level 16 and Legolas at level 12 we could not beat "the Palantir of Sauron" without the codes, and even then it's tough to do! Hint 2: After you beat the game, you can play ANY character in ANY path you want. For example, you can take Aragorn and Legolas to "The Crack of Doom" with Gollum instead of Frodo and Sam. Or you can take Frodo and Sam along the "Path of the Dead." It's great, and much more than the 10 hours of play time one other reviewer mentioned.

In the game you choose between three different paths: The path of the King, the path of Gandalf, or the path of the Hobbits. As you level up and win battles you get to learn new techniques and purchase new weapons for your character. You need this in order to win at higher levels. One interesting feature is in the battle at the Black Gate. You not only have to fight the enemy but protect your party as well. If any of your party members die, you lose.

Finally, you can play as a single player, multi player, or if you have network capability, you can go online and play in the online world of Return of the King. My only complaint is that I wish there were more places to save the game. You have to finish a battle before you can save it there's no saving part way through a battle. Also, some of the camera angles are not the best, but oh well. Don't let it ruin your fun. Overall, it's a great game! Of course, eventually you'll beat the game or grow tired of it just like all your other adventure/action games, but that's to be expected. However, if you play as all possible characters and take all possible paths, you will end up with quite a bit of playing time. I highly recommend the game!!

One last word. I've read some people's reviews saying it's just a slashing game well, duh! The movie is one battle after another, not an adventure as it may have been in the Fellowship of the Ring. This is a fighter's game, not an adventure lover's game. If you want to search and explore in a game, and you love Lord of the Rings, I suggest you try "The Fellowship of the Ring." That game is not made by EA, so the graphics are very, very different, but it's a good game none the less, and the storyline actually follows the book rather than the movie. Also, the first four levels of "Return of the King" are NOT fighting the dead. The only place where you fight the dead is in "the Path of the King" ON "the path of the dead."

My son and I have beaten the game, and we still love to play it. It has great replay value, so buy it and enjoy!!!