Def Jam Icon - Xbox 360 Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $19.98
Today's Bonus: 33% Off

This game is retarded. Sorry that I have to start my review like that but seriously, this is one of those games where I try to explain it to people and the words fail me every time.

I'm not saying it's the worst game I've ever played. For one, the graphics are really impressive and the way the levels are affected by the music is pretty interesting. Looking at the character models, you can tell exactly who you're looking at, i.e. The Game looks like the Game, Big Boi looks exactly like Big Boi, etc. The fighting engine is okay, if limited and not overly responsive. The music is okay as far as today's hip-hop goes (sorry to say it but rap music these days is in a sorry state... that's a whole other conversation though) but luckily you can upload your own music to play with and this feature works well.

The premise of this game is what makes me scratch my head. I mean, a typical scenario in the game would go something like this:

The record label exec you work for needs you to sign an artist, but Ghostface Killah might be there to stop you, so you two have to duke it out.

As ridiculous as it sounds, that's pretty much what the game is and it also has a lot of fighting which gets repetitive fairly quickly. The game has a weak frame around it which attempts to incorporate a kind of lifestyle management aspect like what to wear, how much to spend on your girlfriends, how much to spend on artists and their records.... but it all gets boring pretty quickly, especially when you're really just having the same fights over and over.

I've played online and like with most fighting games, I found the lag times to be a bit of a pain. Sometimes I'd have a clean match and other times, my opponent would be teleporting all over the level.

I'd have to suggest a rental on this one first or at least try the demo out. Seriously, this game is just really weird in too many ways to count to make any kind of recommendation.

There's one other thing that I should mention. I find it kind of sad that this game promotes the exact same kind of violence that gets the rap industry into so much trouble all the time. While it's all handled in a tongue in cheek way (I mean, fighting Sean Paul for whatever reason is just plain silly, no matter what), the fact that this is an officially licensed product from a well known record label makes me wonder what the intended message is.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

1) Take out everything that made the first two games cool

2) Add new crap that doesn't work and makes you want to punch the developer in the face.

3) Come up with the most god awful plot and unbelievable events to ever grace the 360 to date.

Controls are a nightmare. I could go in the bathroom with a notebook and take a crap and come out with a better control scheme than this. I also now have the god-like ability of making a door swing open to hit my opponent by merely making a gesture with my hand. This is crap. But worst of all, AND I MEAN WORST OF ALL, is that the cool finishing/blazing moves that I loved from the first two are nowhere to be found.

I guess it wouldn't be THAT bad of a game if I wasn't comparing it to the first two but this is retarded when a franchise of this calibur switches to better graphics on a next-gen system and comes out being not even close to the equivalent of the other two. I can smell Electronic Arts from here. And they smell like garbage.

Best Deals for Def Jam Icon - Xbox 360

The game has defenetly improved in graphics since its last tittle, fight for NY. The controls are easy to master but the counters are a bit tricky to use. One of the major options in this game is the ability to use your own sound track in the fighting scenes. In general you donthave to be a hip hop fan to enjoy this game, you can fight to punk, rock, metal or if you like.....classical. The enviroment will come alive with whatever music you choose. The only down fall to the game is that you can finish it in one day, if your really devoted to it. It has a medium replay value and the mini game of managing your rappers sales is a good way to earn money to buy bling. Overall, i beleive the game is worth buying, its fun and what better way than to releive strees than kicking the crap out of your friends.

Honest reviews on Def Jam Icon - Xbox 360

Compared to any other Def Jam game his one should not exist!!! Its been out for quite a few years longer but DJ Fight for New York is leaps and bounds past this title.

My biggest peve is theres no power meter to judge how much life each opponent has but instead the screen gets really red....thats just one nag among the 15 others on the top of my head.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Def Jam Icon - Xbox 360

It completely breaks away from the previous versions with control style. It takes a second to learn, but when you do it is a lot of fun. If your the kind that gives up easy if you dont understand something as soon as you pick it up this isnt for you. But if you dont mind about 10-15 min of learning the game is great. It also has great replay value. A great buy

Buy Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Cynder

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $9.99
Sale Price: $8.99
Today's Bonus: 10% Off

This review is to counteract the first one. Whomever wrote the first review was misinformed and did very little research before purchasing. No where on this page does it say that this is a Glow In the Dark Cynder. The picture isn't even of GITD Cynder. GITD Cynder is only available from Walmart Skylanders Giants Starter Packs. She is not available as a single figurine (as of 1/18/13).

Now, I believe this figure is really well done and the symmetry is painstakingly beautiful. Cynder isn't my favorite character, but it is my niece's favorite. She loves the purple and the lightning.

All in all, good character, great figurine, not Glow in the Dark.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This Cynder is the re-released series 2, redesigned & upgraded version of the original Cynder from the Spyro's Adventures game. She is an Undead element character and one of only a few female skylanders in the series. She is a pretty powerful character with very cool powers, everything from shooting lightning from her mouth, flying around, shadow dashing which allows her to quickly run past bad guys, to leaving ghost trails behind her for her enemies to walk through and she can be leveled up to 15 now and you have a choice of more than 1 upgrade path! She is my niece's favorite character not just for her powers she has but loves her purple color and personality with the phrases she comes out with on the game. Since this is a series 2 re-released version of the Skylanders Spyro's Adventures version of her, she now has a WOW POW power and she can be played in the original Sypro's Adventures game and the new Skylanders Giants game. Very very fun character!

Best Deals for Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Cynder

Happy to find another skylander in the mad hunt for them. Never disappointed with amazon. Purchased for a birthday present.

Honest reviews on Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Cynder

what she wanted

it is just what my daughter wanted they seem to be all the rage at school now

glad I got them

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Cynder

My son recently received the game Skylanders Spyro Adventures and of course is needing characters. Love finding them on Amazon cause they seem to run a little cheaper then some stores.

Review of AVerMedia C985 Live Gamer HD 1080p Capture Card

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $224.99
Sale Price: $177.20
Today's Bonus: 21% Off

Hey just to give you a brief background. I have been a Youtube Commentator & Streamer for a few years now. For the last several months I have been using the Hauppauge HD PVR for my capture device. I was interested in the Live Gamer HD because of its ability to deliver 1080P through HDMI. The PVR used component cables and could only output 720P.

So far this is the best recorder I have ever used. I am no techie, but I got the capture card installed and running with no problem. The quality is outstanding and I LOVE the Easy Button that allows you to start & stop recordings painlessly. The recordings are easily managed and the output is MP4 in 1 file no matching files together like you have to when using FRAPS.

The capture software is sufficient and will allow you to record gameplay & stream. I tested the streaming through Recentral & XSplit and both worked flawlessly, however I recommend that serious streamers use Xsplit for the added feature of scenes.

Avermedia is promoting Low CPU & help with dropped frames.

My PC Specs Are: Intel i7-2700k 3.50 GHz |8 Gig Ram |NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 It is a newer computer so it is hard to tell just how beneficial this is to me, but I can tell you that CPU usage stays low while using the program. I also had no issues with dropped frames on TwitchTV.

I read other reviews that mentioned they were having trouble with Audio Sync and other issues. I can confirm that these issues WERE happening when the device was released, but Avermedia was pretty quick to upgrade firmware and push out updates to correct these problems. I wanted to mention that because I think it is important to recognize a company that keeps its users up-to-date with information and fixes issues promptly.

I can tell you that the latest build is running great on my system.

I created an in-depth Review & Walkthrough of what all is included and a quick tutorial of how to hookup your Live Gamer HD to Console & PC. I also demonstrate a quality test with 1080P HD Xbox360 & 1080P PC gameplay.

Enjoy!Channel:

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Before I give this review let me give you my background. I currently host the #1 MMO Live stream on twitch.tv. Now as a broadcaster I need a few things.

1 I need to be able to capture games flawlessly with the least FPS drop humanly possible. Now before I started using this card I was using Dxtory to capture my games and it was decent but still a big hit on the FPS.

2 I need to be able to maximize the quality of the stream with a minimal upload connection in order to give my audience the best streaming experience without any lag whatsoever.

I have tried quite a few capture cards in the past. BMI was a decent card, but I could not stream in 1080p 30fps. I think most I did was 720p 30fps. I tried AVerMedias own Live Gamer HD but was once again held back by resolution restrictions on it. Finally the Live Gamer HD came out. At first Xsplit, the program I use to stream with, did not cooperate well the Live Gamer HD. Like any piece of hardware there are going to be issues at launch. Now I am speaking from a streaming standpoint here. In terms of capturing PS3 and XBOX360 gameplay the Live Gamer HD is flawless. No FPS drop like when you are using Fraps or DxTory. I have 2 videos on my channel capturing the XBOX360 Mass Effect 3 in 1080p and then Battlefield 3 in 720p PS3.

When Xsplit and AVerMedia started working together to get this card to work I got excited. Finally Xsplit came out with a version that supports AVerMedia and AVerMedia updated the firmware and drivers on the card to help fix some issues with 1080p resolution encoding capturing.

Let me tell you folks when I say the Live Gamer HD has given me the best experience performance wise live streaming this past week. I currently own a GTX 690 and when I stream AT 1080p, which mind you is a CPU hog and computer killer, my stream plays as if I wasn't even streaming. The Live Gamer HD has no flaw. It caputres my screen and gives the audience that 1080p loving we all want to see at no FPS loss, or CPU bogging down.

All it took was the work of the people from AVerMedia to find the problems and fix them asap and now I have what will be my capture card for live streaming and recording games for the next few years. The Staples like button "that was easy" to capture is also pretty nifty for recording console gaming on the go.

Specs:

i7 2600k OC to 4.5

16GB Corsair Vengeance RAM

GTX 690 EVGA

The Card also came with an Xsplit 3 month personal license code which is good for anyone trying to get a stream going on twitch.tv or any other streaming website. Came with all cables needed to get started. I would be surprised if AVerMedia can one up this card in future.

Towelliee

Towelliee's HD Gaming

twitch.tv/towelliee

Best Deals for AVerMedia C985 Live Gamer HD 1080p Capture Card

I've used programs like Fraps and Camtastia for years to record PC footage, and while those usually work just fine, you do come across games that suffer frame rate and response time issues when using a software screen recorder. This is even more of an issue when streaming live. Games like Alan Wake, Metro 2033, FSX+mods, etc all have issues with Fraps for me, even with a 1090T CPU and 16GB RAM. Often the frame rate will be halved or worse when using a CPU-intensive screen recorder, which is unacceptable for any kind of serious work.

With this card, you don't have to worry about that anymore. All installs easily, from hardware to software, and then just load the program and press the glowing red button whenever you want to record the screen. Captures anything on-screen at 1920x1080p down to 640x480. Also records from external devices like game consoles and other PCs, but it really shines when recording the PC it's installed in. Passthrough HDMI & DVI cables/adapters are included and the image is nice and clean. Also worth noting it captures 4:2:2 YUV color.

I've not had any A/V sync issues like some seem to be reporting. The only small issue I have is with the software, which at this point is somewhat limited. It's supposed to be updated so more customization options are included in the future (for custom bit rate, frame rate, codecs, etc.) As of now you can only choose a few preset options. It would also be nice to be able to record at 60fps at 1080p, but you're limited to 30fps. Lower resolutions provide 60fps, but 1080p you're out of luck. Also, if you want to record through something like VirtualDub using DirectShow or whatever, you can do that, although it doesn't seem to capture using the on-card hardware encoder.

The Live Gamer HD also works very nicely when live streaming, and comes with a 3 month personal license for Xsplit at the time I got it. It's not fully supported by it yet, but once Xsplit v1.1 supports the card this will be even more awesome.

I'd recommend this card entirely. It may cost you a bit upfront, but the cost of a stand-alone PC to record externally is going to be even more, and even if you have an extremely powerful CPU you're still going to have more of a hit with that than you do with this. It also encodes directly to compressed MP4 up to 15,000kbps, so even slower hard drives writing at 40MB/s have no problem keeping up. For both users with older PCs who have CPU usage issues and newer PCs who are serious about the highest-performance on a single PC when capturing, the Live Gamer HD is great.

Honest reviews on AVerMedia C985 Live Gamer HD 1080p Capture Card

UPDATE 8-17-2012: If you read my previous review below, you can see a host of issues that I originally had with this card. It really did feel like the card was completely useless. I have been reporting issues and giving feedback on their support forums. Through this process, AVerMedia approached me and asked if I would be willing to help test an unreleased beta build of their driver. I can tell you that once that version of the driver is officially released, the card will function nearly perfect. That driver release, combined with the upcoming features being added, makes this card a good buy.

AVerMedia is a good company that obviously stands by its products and works to serve their customers. I give this 4 stars instead of 5, simply because of the initial trouble that I had with it. It feels like they really should have done some more QA before fully releasing this product. But, they have fixed the major issues at this point. If I purchased this card and had access to the test driver from the beginning, this would have been 5 stars all the way.

PREVIOUS REVIEW: As of 8-13-2012, I must advise against purchasing this product. The following is a list of the major issues with the card (not minor gripes):

1) Recorded sound is distorted and over-amplified

2) Audio has issues syncing the longer you record, anything over 5 minutes results in a 1-2 second delay of sound

3) FPS is variable. Despite setting it to record at 30 FPS, it's a crapshoot between 28 and 30 FPS. You never know what you'll get

The above issues combine for a very bad experience using this card. It produces 100% useless videos. I feel like AVerMedia is trying to correct these issues, albeit slowly. But so far it seems like each update has added more issues or, worse yet, amplified existing issues.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for AVerMedia C985 Live Gamer HD 1080p Capture Card

So, I purchased this so I could capture some PC Gaming with hardware H.264 encoding. This thing performs like a beast. It captures, up to 1080p at 30FPS, flawlessly with no hit to FPS at all. However, the way you hook it up to get your computer that the card installed to is a little tricky.

You need 2 HDMI cables (provided), and a monitor or display device (Television) capable of 1080p or the resolution you want to record in. You need to take the HDMI out from your video card, and plug it into the HDMI in of the Live Gamer HD, then take the HDMI out of the Live Gamer HD and put it into the HDMI in of your Display Device (Television or LCD). Basically the Live Gamer HD just mirrors what your graphics card is doing and captures it in real time with RAW data. This offers massive performance over programs like Fraps or Camtasia as they use system resources while the game is running.

This device isn't limited to PC Recording in that crazy config.

Out of the box, you can hook up your Xbox 360 and record beautiful 1080p video, take lovely snap shots and share them with anyone. You can live stream using Twitch, Ustream or a custom URL if you know all those settings. I did a few test streams and it ended up looking great on the other end. With the amount of settings the software has, you can easily tweak it to your hearts content and to what your current cable internet package allows you in the form of upload. Be careful if you set it too high, you will not be able to play multiplayer without severe lag.

Now, onto what I hate, and that's the movie industry. There's this thing called HDCP or High Definition Copy Protection, the MPAA (devil) thought maybe you and me might use HD video feeds such as from our Blu Ray players, PS3, and other devices to record content that we have. The implemented this encryption in all hardware since the beginning of HDMI almost, so it's no doubt that most everything has it on there. I'm not sure why the Xbox 360 doesn't have this on there, maybe they opted not to spend all that damn money on licensing or they just didn't care if people recorded their gameplay to show others and promote their product free of charge?

Well, if you want to record your PS3, iPhone, iPad, Blu Ray Player, or any other device that might connect to HDMI and was made in the last decade or so.. you're gonna have a bad time.

I attached some screenshots from the software of this application and it does have HDCP restrictions. It's not the fault of the software company, or the hardware. You can't find a hacked software that disables HDCP, it's a HARDWARE encryption. Without going into to many details, suffice to say, it's some next level crap.

If you do some googling, and try to find out that your PS3, MacBook, iPad, and any other devices that have HDCP can't be bypassed without 100's of dollars worth of equipment, it's pooh talk. Amazon, the wonderful company they are, actually sell the best and cheapest option to bypass HDCP. The product is a Sweell 1x2 HDMI splitter, I will try to link the item in the description so you guys can order it as well.

After you hook that baby up, HDCP is rendered invalid, and this hardware can really take off!

10/10 would buy this again. I'm actually installing the hardware on an Intel Atom PC so I can dedicate it to recording all sorts of inputs. Because this PCI device has a hardware encoder, the only processing power you need is enough to copy to a hard drive, and of course h.264 playback.

Feel free to ask any questions, you can check videos out on my youtube as well that I record with.Sewell 2 Port 1x2 Powered Hdmi Splitter V 1.3b 3D Certified-Up to 1080p

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record - Xbox 360 Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $17.33
Today's Bonus: 42% Off

Off the Record is a reimagining of DR2 with Frank as the main character.

After being proclaimed a hero, Frank soon allows the fame and fortune to go to his head. The fame soon fades and Frank is left as a has-been, rotting on his couch all day. He decides that the best way to get back in the lime light is by going on the TV show Terror is Reality (where contestants compete by killing zombies). An explosion at the TV set releases the zombies and soon infects the city.

Off the Record is pretty much the same games DR2. The plot is different, due to Frank and Chuck different motivations. What makes the game great is that it feels like a direct sequel to the original Dead Rising. The overall feel of the game is a lot more comedic and self-centered this time around.

The new sandbox mode is also a welcome addition. There is no time limit and you are free to roam and complete challenges as you please. It's a nice break from the timed story mode and a great way to rack up PP and cash.

The photo mode also returns! The weapon system from DR2 works really well with the old photo mode. It feels great setting up a giant zombie massacre and raking up PP by taking photos. It feels a lot more rewarding pulling off difficult stunts when you can get bonus PP by capturing it on film.

Overall, Off the Record is an amazing game and a love letter to fans of Frank West. If you don't like the other Dead Rising games you won't magically like this one. However, if you enjoy the series and are looking for another reason to return to Fortune City you can't go wrong with Off the Record.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

As a fan of Dead Rising since the first game, the idea of a version of Dead Rising 2 with the original hero, freelance photojournalist Frank West (he's covered wars, y'kno*shot*) was very enticing. But after finishing Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, I feel like it just wasn't a good fit for Frank.

The game is mostly a rehashed version of DR2, with some new psychopaths, survivors, and weapons. Obviously, the dialog is slightly different with a new lead character, but without spoiling too much, the storyline doesn't really diverge until near the end. Then, it gets a lot more interesting.

Ultimately, though, Frank just doesn't really fit as well into this story as Chuck Greene did. This version of Frank doesn't feel like the real thing from Dead Rising 1 or Case West, which is odd since Off the Record and Case West have the same writer. His reactions are less believable, and he spews far too many (grudgingly amusing) one-liners for my taste. He still has the same great voice actor, Terence J. Rotolo, but fans who buy this game just for Frank may be in for a bit of a letdown.

Frank's camera returns as another method of earning experience points and Achievements, but to be honest, I often forgot that it was there. Using it is still fun, though, and the interface has been jazzed up a little since DR1. The sidequest where you can photograph special PP stickers hidden all over the city remains an obscure annoyance.

With that out of the way, Off the Record improves a lot on the DR formula, without changing it. You no longer have to choose missions from a realtime menu, there are checkpoints, and grappling with the series' notoriously annoying transceiver isn't an issue since Frank receives a hands-free headset right off the bat.

The other main addition is Infinity Mode, where you can cast off the chains of the story mode and annoying survivors for special challenges scattered around Fortune City. Unfortunately, my initial taste of Infinity Mode was bitter, because my level was too low to complete challenges. Coming back to it after completing the story mode is more enjoyable, however. The challenges are a fun and occasionally bawdy (like "Stiff Back", where oh, I'll let you find out) way of testing your zombie slaughtering skills. It does drag a bit between challenges where you have to kill a fixed number of zombies to unlock the next one.

After waiting four years for Dead Rising to come out of its sequel limbo, I thought that I couldn't get enough of the series, but after Off the Record, I think that Capcom Vancouver should perhaps let the world wait a spell before unleashing the zombie horde yet again, and make Dead Rising 3 something really special.

Best Deals for Dead Rising 2: Off the Record - Xbox 360

"Dead Rising 2: off the record" (DR2:OTR) Brings back Frank into the fray! Although he is.. hum... bigger in this installment, his movements certainly are not affected. The main storyline is similar to that of Dead Rising 2 (DR2) but tweaked a little to suit Frank's background as well as his trusty camera, bringing back the ability to take pictures. Also in this game are new combo cards, outfits, weapons and a new area not available on the previous one. The "Sandbox" mode is superb in here you can freely roam to most in-game locations and complete several different challenges without worrying about time constraints. Just like in DR2, DR2:OTR has an online multi-player mode.

My opinion:

DR2:OTR is far better than the first DR and DR2, so if buying one of them this is the version to get as it offers more.

I play the PC version using a X-Box 360 controller.

This game has a lot of adult content: gore, violence, plenty of sexual references so it is definitely not suited for the Squeamish.

Honest reviews on Dead Rising 2: Off the Record - Xbox 360

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record follows up on Frank West, the protagonist of the original Dead Rising.

The premise is still the same, a limited amount of time to uncover the truth behind the outbreak and survivors to rescue. Weapons can be combined to create powerful new ones.

My favourite part is the sandbox mode, a free-roaming unlimited time mode where you can complete challenges and explore Fortune City.

There is online multi-player, but no local multi-play.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dead Rising 2: Off the Record - Xbox 360

Anyone who hates on this game because it's too much like the first Dead Rising 2, are just retarded for not doing a little homework about their purchase. It was never advertised as a brand new game, just same story with a new protagonist. The new additions are fun and make it worth playing again. All new achievement list is great. Towards the end of the game things change some. The challenges on sandbox mode are a lot of fun too. All around a really good, solid game.

Review of eForCity 25 Ft / 7.6 m Digital Optical Audio TosLink Cable

Customer Ratings:

I ordered this cable to connect my TV to my stereo so I could have 5.1 sound for everything I watch. The cable came promptly and in good condition. The ends have protectors that you take off when you're ready to plug the cable in, you plug it in, and you have great sound.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Discount Sky Odyssey

Customer Ratings:

I love it when a game with very little hype or fanfare is released, and turns out to be one of the best titles of the season. This is such a game.

Not a logistical nightmare flight sim like some PC games, this one is a straight up arcade experience with wonderful graphics, total control, and the best sensation of flying this side of Pilotwings. So many flight games for the PSX were just tracked driving/shooting games in the air. Air Combat had such a close camera angle and sluggish handling that it felt more like wrangling a Buick in the sky than flying. This one lets you control all directions of movement like a true barnstormer. Diving, ascending, barrel rolls, bank turns, stalls, they're all here, and it really makes the game a pleasure because the impetus is all on you to complete the mission. Don't blame the game because there is very little you can't control when it comes to the aerobatics of your plane.

And you will need that control because, while some missions are easy, most will need to be done and re-done to successfully complete them. But it isn't a frustrating task. Sky Odyssey is one of those games (reminiscent of old 8-bit Nintendo titles) where, once you wreck, you wanna hurry up and try again, because you know it can be done.

Plenty of different modes and planes keep it interesting, as do the different objectives of each Adventure mission. Land on an aircraft carrier (hella fun,) pursue a train so you can link up and refuel mid-flight (through a tunnel, no less!), and maneuver in a canyon with huge rockslides occurring around every corner. The best word I can use to describe the experience is "fun." And that's what's so great about this game: no big-name sports stars (Madden), no past video game series to fall back on (Ridge Racer, Tekken), no million-dollar hype campaign (Final Fantasy), just rock solid gameplay.

Flying games don't get any better than this.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This is a great flight simulation game. I was a little worriedthat it might [not be good] .... However, this game has many options like mission, sky writing, target, and free flight modes. Target mode is my favorite because you need to hit red or blue targets in sequence and then land your plane in the given time frame or start over. I have had to land the aircraft with only seconds to spare so focus and flight skills are required. Carrier landings and mid-air re-fueling also make this game exciting! Build your skills and acquire more modern aircraft like the stealth bomber! If you like flight sim games this game is for you. I have rented and played most of the PS2 launch titles and Sky Odessey is one of the better titles out right now.

Best Deals for Sky Odyssey

This is the kind of flight simulator I have been looking for! If I wanted all the knobs, buttons and gizmos true flight simulators have, I'd just get my pilot's license. This is just a fun and simple game. No fuss or messy keystrokes to remember. You can just throw the CD in and begin flying with easy to use controls and gorgeous graphics.

I was also surprised at this game's long playability. There are so many levels and missions, that this game will have long lasting appeal. Also, I must admit I found myself drawn to the sky-writing exercises. I know how lame that might sound, but blowing smoke out the back of your plane while trying to make shapes and words was oddly addictive. I don't remember ever seeing that in other flight simulators.

So, if you are real pilot, I am sure this game will disappoint. However, if you just want to fly around with ease while having a great time, this game is sure to please.

Honest reviews on Sky Odyssey

I have to admit, I didn't expect this game to be this good. Although the graphics are pretty decent (certainly not the best by far for the PS2), the aspect where the game excels the most is where a game SHOULD excel at: gameplay. This baby has got soume seriously GREAT gameplay. Some might find flight simulation games to be too technical, while some find arcade style flying games to be too unrealistic or cartoon-like. I think that this game is a perfect blend between the two. There are plenty of game modes to keep you coming back for more, and the game is structured in such a way that it's not too easy and not too hard. On levels that seem to be difficult to pass, you'll find yourself actually wanting to come back for more instead of throwing your controller down in frustration. The gameplay is that good. I actually find myself rocking back and forth in my chair while playing the darn thing becuase it immerses you so well into the game! I never thought I'd say this, but I'm being quite honest: this game is among the top 4 or 5 games overall that is available for the PS2 right now.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sky Odyssey

I'll admit I had many doubts at first when I went to buy this game, but I had heard some good things about it so I decided I would give it a try. Well, my doubts went out the window after just an hour with this masterpiece of a game by Activision. Sky Odyssey is a flight simulation game just like Pilotwings 64 but done much better. It gives you many modes of play at first, such as target practice and landing pads. But the true fun and challenge is in the adventure mode. You are taken to a series of islands and told to complete certain missions like refuel your plane in midair or fly quickly through a small cave while avoiding falling rocks and wavy waters. Before each mission you are given a specific tutorial so you know exactly what to do and how to do it. But believe me, even with the tutorials these missions are very challenging and quite hard to complete under your given time limit. If you should finish your mission, you are then given a grade and depending what grade you get, you then get to choose one of many upgrades for your plane which will help you later on. It is really quite a innovative and cool system. And dont worry about replay value because there are plenty of missions the game has to offer.

The different planes in this game are each very unique and neatly designed. As mentioned before they are all upgradable in areas such as their wing, engine, propeller, landing gear and more. And for you aspiring artists out there, the game even has a drawing program where you can draw your own symbol on the back of your plane!!

The target practice and landing pad parts of the game should be used by beginners as they are good places to practice all of the flying skills with all of the planes. The control of these planes takes some getting used to and is best when you have an analog playstation controller. Once mastered, you wont be able to wait for your next chance to become a virtual pilot.

My only problem with this game is the graphics. The weather effects are excellent and utilize the PS2's power very well, but on the training lessons and some parts of the main gameplay the graphics can get pretty bland and boring. A touch could've been made here and there to better enhance the whole flying experience. This is the only reason I didn't give the game a perfect score. But as long as a game has solid gameplay it usually hardly detracts from the whole experience.

All in all I'd have to say this is one of the most original, challenging, and fun games I've played in a long time. If you have some extra cash and are lucky enough to own a Playstation 2, I would highly recommend this game. Unless you really don't like flight simulators, there is something in here for everyone. Definately one of the top games for PS2 this year.

Buy Asura's Wrath - Xbox 360

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $16.13
Today's Bonus: 68% Off

The game looks great. REALLY great. But you already know that, and you already know it's a essentially an interactive movie. I don't see any reviews on here yet though pointing out that the game is only 75% here. To get the final act you HAVE to buy DLC. Disappointing tactic on Capcom's part, double dipping is never cool. Treat it as a $75 dollar game, not a $60 dollar game.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

People are either gonna love or hate this game, simple as that. Play the demo, it is definitely an accurate representation of what you are in store for. If you love anime like I do, well this is basically an anime, episodes and all, that involves the viewer, and makes the epic moments feel that much more epic, because you are instructed to press certain buttons. For instance, when Asura is punching rapidly, you may be instructed to press b rapidly. It really makes you feel the energy and emotions of the character. There's a little energy shooting and free-fighting too, that you could compare to any hack and slash, but this barely ever happens. The graphics are sweet and everything from the story to the visuals are over-the-top. Is it worth full price? No, you should wait a bit for a drop in price. I'm rating it 5, b/c Asura's Wrath accomplishes everything it sets out to do and then some. Definitely not a game for gamers, if that makes any sense, although maybe a gamer would find the unique approach refreshing.

Best Deals for Asura's Wrath - Xbox 360

There are good games, and there are bad games. And typically you can make a recommendation to someone based off your primary complaints about the game itself. Asura's Wrath on the other hand is a little bit different.

If you're looking for something to play and are considering "Buying This Game" you may want to give this a miss. However if you are considering "Purchasing This Title" then you may want to read on. It's really the difference between a "game" (which you play) and a title (that you watch). The reality is that Asura's Wrath is only about 40% actual gameplay. The vast majority of the experience is spent watching the story unfold, and occasionally pressing a button or two (a'la God of War), which makes it hard to call this a "game" in the truest definition of the word.

Now the good news is that the both the story and gameplay (what little there is) are actually pretty good.

The story is your typical over-the-top anime. If you've ever read Masamune Shirow's "Orion" you're going to be right at home, as the story has that whole Buddhist/Shinto style of sci-fi as it's foundation. Outside of that it's your run of the mill protagonist curling his arms and yelling at the sky while he gets all powered up/glowing/on fire... while everybody wonders how he got all super powerful, right before he punches them through a mountain, etc. You know the drill. As much as it's not the most original kind of anime based story...it's not all that bad to be honest. They also break up each "stage" into more appropriately titled "Episodes". Each has a intro credit screen (even though it's the same info each time) to give it the feeling like you're watching a series of custom made animations. Which isn't too clever and can get annoying, but at the same time you can see why they did it that way.

The other bit of good news is that when you do actually get the opportunity to actually play the game it's fun. It's not deep, complex or really all that challenging. There's basically two types of gameplay = you're either going to be running around in a small arena/area punching enemies in a 3rd person style beat-em up, and/or playing a rail shooter. And while neither of these are mind-blowing per-se, it's that mindless kind of fun that is a great way to pass a Sunday afternoon. The only real downside is that when you do actually play the game...it makes you wish that they had done more with it, and that there was more of it. The gameplay really doesn't effect the way the experience unfolds that much either which can also be a bit of a bummer.

So if you like anime/manga like Orion or Naruto and enjoy the occasional mindless-easy-play-through kind of experience then Asura's Wrath is def worth checking out. If you've got any sort of expectations of paying money for a deep gameplay experience then this would officially be something to pass on.

Honest reviews on Asura's Wrath - Xbox 360

Let me start of by saying that with all of the reviews that I had read/watched I was expecting something along the lines of Heavy Rain, or TellTale's The Walking dead in terms of gameplay. However that is not the case, while this isn't an action game such as Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, or even God of War (as in you do not unlock, and master long difficult combos) it is still quite the action game. The action is quick, fast flashy, and fun. I honestly have no idea how you could not have fun with the gameplay as it is exactly how I described, and I find it sad to see some other supposed "action" games get less trash whilst having simpler combos, and slower gameplay.

I'll next talk about the style, which I will briefly say was absolutely fantastic. The amount of detail in each, and every character model is just stunning, it truly captures a manga look like I've never seen done before. The diverseness of the models is also quite impressive when you see how much detail is put into each, and every inch of the character. While the environment can be a little low res sometimes in the ship parts, the far off shots, explosions, lights, and the entirety of the scenery more than makes up for it in my opinion.

I'll quickly interject before I get to the story that the soundtrack was also top of the notch. Each, and every tune really felt like it had meaning behind it, and the over all epicness, and grandness of the sound is just a joy to absorb.

Lastly the story (Don't worry no spoilers) was absolutely fantastic. It really gives you the feel of the more modern action anime such as Naruto, and Bleach. While that may be a problem to some as it falls into some tropes that those anime also fall into, I never got a negative vibe from it, I felt sad when I was supposed to, happy when I was supposed to, laughing when I was supposed to, and most importantly angry when I was supposed to be (Which as the name implies you will be for a majority of the game).

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Asura's Wrath - Xbox 360

Does it worth the 25$ (with the final episode) I paid for it?

Yes, every peny. Rarelly I've felt the level of satisfaction I had after playing Asura's Wrath (Prince of Persia trilogy comes to my mind)

But... What is it Asura's Wrath? (AW from now on)

Well, as you might have read already, AW is more like an Interactive Anime. What does this mean? You can't change the course of the story, you rarelly die and the story develops even if you do nothing (most of the time)

STORY AND OTHER ELEMENTS:

The story is plain awesome. If you like anime then you're going to love AW, if you hate anime then stay away from it. I highly recommend to download the final chapter because it contains the real end. I was very satisfied with the story and the voie acting. Being it a japanese product highly influenced by anime, you can expect lots of screams and dramatic camera angles. The face gestures were perfect for every situation and they were rendered with extreme care. It almost appears as if they were trying to make a movie instead of a game.

The game is separated in episodes (a la tv show) and each episode even has its "middle part" with an intermission between parts that show you some art of the game (like japanese anime) It was a nice touch and does not interrupt the fight. They use it between scenes and never in the middle of dialogues or combat.

THE GAMEPLAY:

The gameplay was (as I said) limited. You do not do that much in the game, most of the time you're watching the dialogues and how the story develops and all of a sudden, QTE!!! (Quick time events) The game also has some parts where you can fight enemies (a la hack and slash but only with your fists, there are no weapons in the game... you need no weapons) and other times you have to press the inputs asked in the screen, might be a button or a button mashing or stick(s) movement. All the boss fights feel solid and this ones are a mix of the 3 things aforementioned: Free style combat, QTE, ButtonMash (at least most of them). No boss fight left me asking for more.

I would give the game a 4.5 stars because I have to be honest, I kinda hoped for a little more free style combat but even if it lacked a little in this field, I don't think the game deserves 4 stars so I rounded it to 5.

REPLAY VALUE

Kinda low. It comes from beating the game on a higher difficulty (only 3 levels of diff) and from the archievements. I hoped that after beating the game you would have the opportunity to watch the whole story in a single sit (like a movie) but there is no such option (makes sense in a way because the fighting parts) The REAL replay value, in my humble opinion, comes from the desire to watch the story again.

FINAL WORDS

I must admit it is hard to describe this game because I've never played something like this. Not because the gameplay is an innovation but because it is something highly focused on telling a story and it engages you. Look at it like this. It's a nice show that you can have for 20$ and that allows you to be part of it (even if it's only a little)

I highly recommend this game to anyone who likes a good story and does not mind the anime style. Do not expect a lot of gameplay like in any hack and slash but expect a satisfying experience with a game that is like nothing you've played before.

If, after reading my review, you're interested in the game; there is only one way to really know what is it about and how does it play: Download the demo, play it and WYSIWYG. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Cheap Xbox 360 Rock Band Portable Drum Kit

Customer Ratings:

I got this drum because it's cheap and I thought maybe at least something about it would be fun to mess around with. I have an ion, but my pedal is too loud and I also wanted to get something I could take with me on the go to a friends' house. Well this thing worked as well as the other reviewers have said. The pedal in this kit is better and makes less impact noise than any pedal on the market, and if you can stick the pads down in one place, they seem to work perfectly as well. The only downside is that you pretty much have to use this with the included sticks, because the pads are too hard. The sticks in the box are rubber to compensate. Using wooden sticks on these is too loud to stand.

Another added perk of this kit is that the controller can be plugged in standalone and used like an NES controller for arcade games, as long as the games don't use the shoulder buttons. Also, people who are interested in modding projects can use the little controller part as the "brain" for a custom drum kit. People have used this to turn their nice electronic kits into RB kits!

Let me reiterate again that the pedal on this is better than the stock ion pedal in terms of noise and equal in function. Get a 1/4" to 1/8" converter and use it with your ion.

In every way, this product is worth your money if you're looking for any of the above features.

ADDITION: I am adding this to the review as a caution: the sticks that this comes with seem to be susceptible to breaking at the middle where they screw together. Now, I know that all drum sticks break eventually, but just be prepared to try to locate some rubber-head sticks as backups because you really can't play this too well with a wooden head.

UPDATE 6/29/09: The pedal for this is still working great, and I still use it with my expensive Ion drum kit. I play on expert now better than ever, and this pedal is very accurate and much easier to double tap to get those super-rapid beats. The official pedal I bought recently doesn't respond well at all to quick rapid pushes like this does. I even got a second portable kit just so I could have a spare, and the second one works just as well.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Overall, the quality of this product is top notch. I'll start with the bad and work into the good.

BAD----By itself, the drumkit has to be placed on a flat surface like a table or desk. For those who are used to the standard Rock Band Drumkits, the pads are angled towards the player rather than flat. I guess it's a matter of personal preference but I see this as a negative feature.

BAD----The kick pedal is in the shape of a box rather than the shape of a foot. It is very awkward to use and if you're used to the standard kick pedal, this is a bad alternative.

GOOD----The drum pads themselves are highly sensitive. Never in the past 6 months of using this product have I missed any notes due to the pads not being able to register a hit whether they are soft hits or hard hits. The pads are very reliable for fast parts i.e. Everlong on expert.

GOOD----The drums pads are very durable. For the price of this product, the durability and resiliency of the pads is excellent. I've been using them for 6 months now and not a single pad has malfunctioned.

GOOD----The sticks that come with the package are durable and allow for more fluid play with the drum pads. They are made of plastic and weigh about the same as the standard wooden sticks. These sticks also have rubberized head which allow the player to feel a bounce off of the pad. For me, this allows me to transition from one pad to another more effectively than with wooden sticks. These sticks also have a rubber grip around where you would normally grip a drum stick. This helps prevent the stick from leaving your hand.

OWNER SUGGESTION----Please watch this video this video will teach you how to fully take advantage of your portable drum kit. This enables you to use them with your existing Rock Band Drum Kit.

Another note: The pads connect to a central rectangular panel which has the standard console buttons on it. This is where you plug each individual pad, kick pedal, and has the USB plug that plugs into your console. The only problems I've encountered are with voice communication. There is an outlet where you can plug in a microphone and I frequently run into problems with communicating with other players. Maybe it was my headset, but it works fine with my regular controller.

In sum, this is an excellent product and for its price, it is very much worth buying for its ease and quality of use to its durability.

Best Deals for Xbox 360 Rock Band Portable Drum Kit

We bought these for our son to play on his uncle's Xbox Rock Band game (we already own the Wii set with the full size drums). Our thought was that they would sit on the Wii drums, but they won't they will slide off. When we set them on a wooden bench to play, they work perfectly but the yellow one slides for my son (I guess the way he hits it). They do come with a thin rubber ring around the bottom edge to prevent moving, but I wish they had come with maybe a full non skid bottom to keep them in place better. Still, they work great and were totally worth it for an easy to use set of drums if you need an affordable Rock Band setup!!

Honest reviews on Xbox 360 Rock Band Portable Drum Kit

The pads of this kit are very good. They register strikes perfectly. I bought them to use in a DIY kit instead of wiring up peizos and buying a midi converter, and I am very pleased so far.

Many people buy these to replace a bad/broken kit. Just apply some velcro to the back of these pads and stick them right onto your existing bad kit, and go to town.

They would be alright for schlepping your gear to a friends house or for travel, but I would not want to try and position them to play as sold.

The pedal is pretty craptastic, but will do in a pinch. The sticks are terrible. The weight is slightly off, and they will come apart or break under moderate stress. All of these problems probably result from them being 2 piece sticks, which is a bad idea to begin with.

The tips are great, though. Buy a pair of sticks that you like, with narrow tips, and stick the rubber tips from these onto them. They are still a little louder than the plastic ones, but feel good, won't fall apart and the rubber gives nice action on these pads.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Xbox 360 Rock Band Portable Drum Kit

These drums are actually a lot better than you would think, especially for the price. I had already been through 2 Rock Band replacement sets before I decided to try these out. After cracking the pads yet again on my third set from some intense drumming, I gave these a try. Like some other reviewers have pointed out, this set works best if you simply place the pads on top of your older RB set using velcro or some other adhesive as these have no frame. Also, you can decide to use your old Rock Band pedal with this set or the one that comes with it, whichever you prefer (I opted to use my existing steel-plate reinforced RB pedal and ditch this weird looking one).

I've had these pads for about a year now and they continue to work flawlessly, despite me beating them to death mercilessly. The drum sticks included only lasted a few hours for me before they snapped in half, so you may want to consider using something more durable in that regard.

Prior to these pads, I was never able to get 100% on any drum song (no matter the difficulty) b/c of mishits on my old set. Now I get them quite often. These pads are incredible.

Best Warhammer 40k: Space Marine: Dreadnaught Assault DLC Deals

Customer Ratings:

Buen DLC y precio reducido,lucha por el control del Dreadnaught, que es practicamente indestructible y una maquina de matar,para inclinar la batalla a tu favor,recomendado

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

be careful with buying this DLC! Just because you own it doesn't mean you can use it.

More often than not you're fighting against this thing rather than being the one using the dreadnought. For $10 i'd expect a hell of a lot more than playing as a dreadnought 5% of the time.

They purposely don't tell you that there can only be one dreadnought on a time and the only way you can choose it is for you to kill the current one! Useful for balance purposes but for $10(or even 3.50) i'd expect to be able to play as one when I choose to :( cause in reality you're paying to be killed by one

Review of MechWarrior 3 - PC

Customer Ratings:

When you look at all the games that have been out concerning Battletech and Mechwarrior you have to admit that this one far surpasses any other, not only that it blows away any other game in this genre. Besides the incredible graphics and game play (which I will get to in a second) This game also closely parallels the Novels and the RPG story lines. By doing this it gives the novel fans a bit of a thrill and makes the game more fun.

Now on to the graphics and Game play (see I told you I'd get to it.) The Graphics are incredible, both in their realism and in their mesmerizing detail. This game is just loaded with "eye candy" no more do we have the blocky hexagonal mechs tromping around slowly on incredibly poor scenery. Now we have accurate death machines stealthily moving through incredibly detailed scenery to lay waste to the enemy that you are determined to blow away. The reality of the weapons is incredible, it really makes you think like you were actually in the mech. Certain tactics and maneuvers that would have prevented you from getting hit in Mechwarrior 2 and Mech: Mercenaries, will now just leave the Smoke Jaguars smiling and saying " You are one dead Stravag". You are now forced to keep adapting new tactics and fighting styles according to the Mech you are piloting. While the enemies AI is impressive they do have certain weaknesses. This can be used to your advantage, but you also will experience disadvantages due to the games AI system. One...The enemies will sometimes learn from your previous actions. Two.. your lance members will not always act intelligently. Picture this. You're being swarmed by elementals, and they are really tearing into a lance mate, well your lance mate is just sitting there letting them hit him, you have to order him to defend him self. This did not happen all the time, but it did happen enough to be an annoyance.

The missions that you are sent on are both challenging and original. The Salvage factor is one aspect that I love, shoot out the legs of your enemies and looky looky looky...you get more salvage than when you blow them sky high. Again the realism is at its best. I can not wait for the next game to come out. I can only imagine that it will be better, How? I don't know...but the designers have not disappointed me yet. I just hope that the next game is from the clans point of view. I root for the Inner Sphere, but I'm a real Clanner at heart. A great Idea for the next game might be that you are in Kahn Phelan Kell's Wolf Clan...that would be great. But until the next game, Mechwarrior 3 is undoubtedly the best of its type out there.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

If you like simulated giant robotic explaosive action this is the game for you! Its got 18 mechs for you destructive pleasure. you can even customize your mech with all kinds of weapons and equipment from laser and rockets to machine guns and jump jets which make you fly. it is a very fun and adictive game. You can play it through the game with a story behind it, play it on the net or play instant action where you pick how many and what type of mechs to fight. Also you can pick if you want a compuster AI buddy to help you destroy everything in sight.I HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS GAME. you should also buy the stratagy guild..............You might need it!

Best Deals for MechWarrior 3 - PC

Some people can find fault in anything if they look hard enough. This game is a HUGE step above what MechWarrior fans have had to deal with up until now. The graphics are no less than incredible, from mountain ranges that "fade in" as you approach and skies that roll across the screen, to buildings and underground warrens that pull you into the simulation with every detail and shadow. Our sim has finally brought us to the level of detail and more that Air Combat sims have enjoyed for several years already.

The AI (Artificial Intelligence) is truly amazing. Yes the computer pilots make mistakes, and need to be coaxed in the right direction from time to time. But if you think about it, so do real soldiers and pilots. Personally, while some see this as poor game design, I think it adds yet another level of realism. An unintentional bonus if you will.

The damage model is more realistic also. Missiles can and do miss if you're not careful. They do not turn on a dime (as with MechWarrior II). The Particle Projection Cannon is a flowing stream of electronically produced artificial lightning, no longer just a blue fuzzy ball of fluff. Lasers burn afterimages in their wake. Mechs fall and never get up again if a leg is shot out from under them, where they used to become a stationary weapons turret turning on the one remaining leg (not very realistic at all, wouldn't you agree?) The Mechs will slow and start to limp if enough damage to the leg is achieved without actually blowing it to ferrofiberous dust and myomer shoelaces.

All of this has been done without sacrificing game speed or flow. The maps and gaming area of each mission are detailed to the last hill and storage container, yet "skips and stalls" are so rare and quickly corrected you wont even notice them unless your one of those who actually watches for that sort of thing. The Makers of MechWarrior3 have made an unusually precise effort to program to the minimum hardware requirements listed on the packaging. Even someone working on a machine with the bare minimums can enjoy this game, unlike many other games where the bare minimum just barely works without crashing.

The online multiplayer mode is every bit as good as the in system game modes. While the missions in multiplayer mode lack a defined goal, with a little imagination games like capture the flag and king of the hill can easily be agreed to and set up by the players. Played on any of the many maps available for multiplayer game mode, variations of these two basic games can be modified to produce innumerable possibilities for loads of fun and entertainment.

Of course there are things that I would like to see added to future versions of this game, but I will save those for the suggestion box at MicroProse. The people who worked so hard to put this game together for us deserve our thanks and support. They have done what used to be considered impossible and I'm sure they will continue to improve the game. I can't wait to see how MechWarrior4 turns out!

Honest reviews on MechWarrior 3 - PC

Mechwarrior 3 is the sequel to the classic mechwarrior 2 which made me stay up almost every night. Now, I must say the graphics are beautiful. The lighting effects are shown well on my Creative Labs Savage4. Gameplay is pretty impressive too, I use a gravis blackhawk. For keyboard users, you do get a fold-out leaflet with all the keys, pretty intimidating at first. The biggest problem with this game is its length and difficulty. The missions finish way to fast and are way too easy. I beat most of the missions on the first try. I also finished the game in less than a week. But you multiplaying on any of those networks. I'll probably buy the expansion (I hope its good). There arn't many new mechs too, so another disappointment there. All in all, this is a good game, but to fully get its value, you have to play against other people.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for MechWarrior 3 - PC

This game is visually stunning. I spent an hour or so just gazing at the graphics that this game presents. I have also seen Mechwarior 4 that is to come out later. The 3D environment that is created in in it is unsurpassed. If not for the gaming experience, this game should be bought because it is visually enticing.

Discount Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.95
Sale Price: $16.93
Today's Bonus: 15% Off

If you liked the NFS earlier series game engine then you'll like this Arcade Racing Game.

The Burnout Paradise Ultimate Box Download from Amazon can be activated and downloaded right from the ORIGIN client after you get the activation code, my preferred method.

It worked with Windows 7 64bit, Steering Wheels and Gamepads. I tried both a xbox360 gamepad controller (work without configuring) and a Thrustmaster Ferrari F430 (worked after configuring) without issue.

I was able to set graphic settings to 2560X1600 (high,medium,low,AA options available). Plays without glitches, but I have a beefy system by today's standards. (I975@4Ghz, SLI GTX580's 1.5gb, 12GB system ram, HP ZR30w 30" S-IPS display). You can turn off music and even arrange the in game music selection and organize the order.

The menu is hard to understand at first like "exiting the game" and finding the "setting menu" was awkward. I suggest you do a search for *Criterion Burnout Paradise PC Q&A* before playing the game so you know how to "exit the game." The brief Q&A will also show you how to setup a controller and other stuff.

I haven't played Multiplayer as that is not my thing with racers, only FPS games. I never played the console versions so I couldn't compare to them either.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

My favorite game yet.

My one criticism of Burnout, the first time I played an earlier version of the game, was that the physics and crashes were super lame and utterly ridiculous. I was playing that on XBox or PS3 (can't remember which).

This is the first time I have seen a Burnout game on PC. I got it, and I have to say I have never seen a more compelling game. For one thing, it works even without a fancy graphics card, but nonetheless preserves attractive realistic shading. I have a Dual-Core 2.00 GHz Pentium processor on a Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop with the default chipset and 4 GB of RAM. Also, it has a map with every kind of temperate territory you can name (except, perhaps, Piedmont pine forests) :-)

There are 75 cars which are not real (Ford, Chevy, Ferrari, etc.), but look very real and probably are close spin-offs. Events are sprinkled throughout the city which you win to win new cars. Sometimes, for an extra challenge, you have to shut a car down to win it.

My favorite game yet.

Best Deals for Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box

I'm not a racing fan, but this game is surprisingly fun. Zooming down the streets and drifting around corners is simple and satisfying. Great game for just about anyone, even if you don't normally like these kinds of games.

My only gripe with the game is that it doesn't include all the dlc and there are no plans to release the rest of the dlc for the pc version. I wanna drive the DeLorean.

Honest reviews on Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box

Good game! It was recommended by my son and he was right!! Even my grandsons enjoy this game. Fun for all ages

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box

Lots of fun

lots of 'off map' driving

loads of different things to do other than a simple race.

worth every penny

Fallout 3 & Oblivion Double Pack - Xbox 360 Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $18.89
Today's Bonus: 6% Off

I read about this product before it came out. When it came out at the 29.99 price point, that seemed like too much. You can buy the game of the year edition of each of these games for 20 bucks, and both have a lot of DLC that this package does not come with. So initially I was just going to keep waiting for the GOTY editions to go down a little in price. But I was able to get this while it was on sale for 19.99, and for someone who will probably not even get around to the DLC, that was a steal.

So far I have only played oblivion for about 5 hours (the game has already been reviewed to death so I wont go into detail) but it quite fun and definitely not outdated. The graphics are still quite spectacular despite it being 8 years old. Yes, you do get slower loading times than you would expect (installing to your hard drive cuts them down a bit) and the framerate is a little low at times, but overall the graphics are very very impressive.

I may or may not get around to updating this review once I have spent a bit more time with these gameslet me know if you'd like me to.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

If I didn't already own these two games, I would buy this. Fallout and Oblivion both have HUGE free roam maps that hold hours and hours of side quests. In both games you can join the "good" or the "bad" side. Oblivion takes place during medieval times. Weapons include swords, axes, bows, and magic spell you can makeup yourself. In Fallout it is setup after a nuclear war. Weapons can be crazy. If you like guns than this one would be better for you. You can use baseball bats, knifes, pistols, rocket launchers and every gun in-between. If you find the right gun, ANYTHING can be used as a weapon. Both games have good story lines and they can go in multiple directions depending on your choices. Rent them if you want to try first (you would pay more if you rented them vs buying them and finishing them because they take so long to beat) :D

Best Deals for Fallout 3 & Oblivion Double Pack - Xbox 360

I had never played either of these games before I bought the double pack and Ive gotten about 70 hours play time out of them and counting. Reviews about the games themselves are easy to find so go look at them and if they sound like something you would like to play then the Double Pack is a great investment.

Honest reviews on Fallout 3 & Oblivion Double Pack - Xbox 360

After playing Skyrim I wanted to play Oblivion one last time, so I picked this up. Having just spent countless hours on Skyrim it was difficult to go back to Oblivion. The game play and layout is so vastly improved from Oblivion I was actually a little disappointed. The only other complaint with this great price is that neither game comes with instructions. Having never played Fallout 3 this was frustrating. I am not sure why the games did not come with the foldout instructions, but it was a cheap way to save a buck and had I known I would have purchased the games individually for a small fraction more.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Fallout 3 & Oblivion Double Pack - Xbox 360

It was everything I hoped for :) endless hours of roaming worlds and killing things! And awesome quest lines. I'm glad I bought this double pack.

Discount Legacy Of Kain 2: Soul Reaver PS

Customer Ratings:

This is one of the best PS(Playstation) games. Right along with games like "Finall Fantasy 7". Better than the "Tomb Raider" games(Also from Eidos). allthough it has some flaws(As every game does, it still is a very fun and very good game. It has good graphics, and voice acting, good music too.

You play Raziel(if you read the editorial review you know all this), once a luitenant(not as in army rank, but kainda like right hand man sorta, second in command), to Kain, the vampire ruler, along with 5 others. However, Raziel than evolved and grew wings before Kain. Kain became jealois and furious and tore Raziel's wings, than through him into the lake, to be damned and burn for eternity(Water burns them). But then a spirit or something called the elder saves and ressurects Raziel to take revenge on Kain.

There are two realms or worlds or planes, the spectre plane and the material plane. The material realm is just the normal world, the spectre realm is a twisted version of the material realm(Of course its the underworld/netherworld death place thing)

You can switch between these realms whenever you wish, this can be a big help, as that might not be reachible in the material realm might be in the twisted spectre plane, or visa versa.

There are alot of enamys to fight(Alot more than in tomb raider, wich seems like a walk in the park compared to this), and you need to fight enamys, atleast untill you get the soul reaver, because in the material realm your energy(Health) slowly runs out, and you need to consume the souls of your enamys. The fighting works like this; first you attack your enamys with normal attacks(Square button) untill they are stunned, than, before they recover, you must attack them with a fatal blow(Triangle button), they than die and there souls(Look like balls of blue light, or mini comets floating around) leave there bodys, you can then consume the souls before they go into the spectral realm(Were they will be if you go there). You have a large collection of weapons with wich to do this. Your bare hands, or claws:You first slash them than pick them up and through them into fire or water, sunlight or onto spikes on walls. You can burn them with torches, impale them on spear, OR, you have your ultiment weapon, the soul reaver(Basicly a sword of spiritual energy that you hit enamys with). You also have magic powers, or glyphs, these include powers like the shift Glyph(You start out with this, it allows you to go between Material and Spetre), Or stone or sunlight. There are alot of puzzles to figure out, however they can be chalenging(And get repetitive). The problems are: Some times Awkward camera angles, Often time no sense of direction, Puzzles can be chalenging(You will find yourself wandering about wondering what to do, very often)though that is not a magor flaw, The soul reaver turns off if you get only slightly hurt. But aside from those flaws, its a great game, don't listen to the negative reviews, all I have told you is what the game really is like, so order this game, or go out and buy it, you won't be sorry.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I'm getting sick of everyone whining about Soul Reaver being to hard and impossible without walkthroughs or strategy guides. I'm only 14 and I beat the game without any help from Faqs, guides, walkthrough etc.

If this game is too hard for you, go play Eternal Eyes. It has cute little monsters, easy fights and a happy story. But please, stop humiliating yourselves by saying you couldn't beat a simple puzzle game like Soul Reaver. I've had harder time with Bubsy than I've had with Soul Reaver.

Anyways, great game, go buy it.

Best Deals for Legacy Of Kain 2: Soul Reaver PS

I had played the original Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen by Silicon Knights years ago, and was a bit hesitant to get the sequel because the first one was a bit boring. Finally, I realized this game was completely different from the first (namely because of a different development team, Crystal Dynamics), and got a cheap copy of it new (you gotta love this Greatest Hits series that PSX is running).

The only real connection between the two is in story, but the two games are spanned centuries apart. At the end of the first game, you as Kain are given the choice to either sacrifice yourself and bring balance to the world, or bring imbalance by becoming the dark ruler. You choose the latter. In Soul Reaver, you play as Raziel, one of Kain's lieutenants, who he has damned to an eternity of torment, only to be saved by the Elder Gods and given the mission to destroy Kain and your bretheren.

This game plays a lot less like Blood Omen and a lot more like Tomb Raider (also published by Eidos). Like Tomb Raider, it involves a combination of puzzle-solving, making your way through obstacles, and fighting enemies that get in your way (although a bit more violent). Another cool thing is since your are already undead, you can't really die. Instead of health, you have spiritual energy, which can be replenished by reaving the souls of your enemies. If you happen to lose all energy, you are sent back to the parallel dimension of the spiritual world, where your can regain your energy and come right back to where you were in the material realm.

The only problems I had with the game were that the fighting was kinda annoying, and never really gave you the oppurtunity to take all the ways of killing vampires (impalement,sunlight,water,fire) to your advantage. Also, it was a little confusing as where to go next in the game at some points, and the frame-rendering could be a little better. Nonetheless, if you liked Tomb Raider or Onimusha, or just looking to play some good cheap games, get Soul Reaver! Also, for PS2 owners out there, Soul Reaver 2 will be released for PS2 in late September, and Blood Omen 2 will shortly follow in early November, so make sure to play the original before playing these future releases, which will definately be amazing (don't bother with the original Blood Omen though, it's not worth hunting down).

Honest reviews on Legacy Of Kain 2: Soul Reaver PS

The game's first cinematic sequence shows why Kain casts you(Raziel) into the Vortex of the Dead. The reason he does so is because you grew your wings before him. As he circles you, you are suddenly drenched in pain as Kain rips your wings. As you lay there wounded he orders your vampire brethern to toss you into the abyss. After an eternity of pain and suffering you finally hit the bottom of the abyss.A voice suddenly summons you.He tells you he can help you get vengance on Kain. You tell him you don't deserve this fate and he replies by telling you that you have no choice. You find the cape that marked you as clan leader and cover up your face to hide the fact that your jaw has disintergrated off your face.You reluctantly agree to his offer to help.You soon discover that instead of blood you hunger fo souls.

PROS:

-Nice length(50-60hrs)

-Responsive controls

-No in-game loading

-Fantastic storyline

-Challenging puzzles

-Pulls out emotions that you normally don't feel in games.(like remorse)

-Fighting controls

-Gaining ablities by killing your enemies

CONS:

-Sometimes puzzles are harder than neccesary

That is all I can tell you without ruining anything. Just try the game and you'll be sure to love it.

-

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Legacy Of Kain 2: Soul Reaver PS

Soul Reaver is fantastic, but only if you're the right type of gamer. If you enjoy the dramatic; this one's for you. If goofy is your thing; dont bother.

SR boasts great graphics and equally great story, excellently interlaced cut scenes and voice overs, satisfying achievment levels, and absolutely wicked atmosphere. In fact, you might say it simply OOOZES atmosphere. Dark, ominous...vengful, atmosphere.

The only con of SR is its almost total adbandonment of classic big boss @$$ kicking. As most major opponents are invulnerable, the player must dicover his foes weakness. That, and several puzzle type situations that must be solved in order to progress may drive the player temporarily insane: But the game's drama content more than makes up for it.

A word about the ending: It's a little dissapointing. -the rising drama towards the climax of the game is exceptional, but the whole thing ends in a 'to be continued' fashion. Rather disheartening after so much fantastic gameplay.

Even so, this one is awesome. -Now Raziel, crawl up from the underworld, consume the souls of your brothers who cursed you, and the former master who cast you into the pit so long ago.....