Buy Sonic Mega Collection Plus - PC

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $16.00
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I ordered mine from another retailer online yesterday with 1 day shipping. I got it in this evening and I must say this is one fantastic collection on the PC that never gets boring. There are a few buyer beware points that need to be made before you purchase this:

1. The game is a DVD-ROM version for the North American Release, not a CD-ROM as shown on the box and disc label. Sega did not change the packaging and this may lead to many unhappy people that this game does not work in their machine.

2. The localization for this version of the game seems to be the European Localization and not the North American Localization found on the XBOX and Playstation 2. Sonic 3D Blast is known as Flickies Island in this compilation. Shows MegaDrive Icons too next to each game.

3. The roms they use in this compilation seem to be the PAL versions , as shown in the file folder directories.

4. The XBOX 360 Controller for Windows, and any controller that does not have dual analog sticks will not function properly in Sonic Mega Collection Plus and will exhibit behavior as if the DPAD is stuck in one direction. A controller such as the Logitech Dual Action or Rumblepad 2 will work just fine. There may be other dual analog ones that work fine too.

On the plus side, you can save an unlimited amount of save games for the classic games something that had a limitation in the XBOX and PS2 versions of these games.

Overall I am satisfied with my purchase and reccomend this to anyone who has wanted to play this game before but do not own a PS2 or XBOX and could not play it before....

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Finally, the games that established SEGA in the home console market are available for the PC. Included are Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic 3-D, Sonic Spinball, along with various Game Gear games. There are unlockable extra games as well.

The graphics look rather out of date on today's HD monitors, but the colours still look vibrant. The sound is exactly the same, although it pails in comparison to the surround sound available on many modern games.

Bonus features include comic book covers and character designs as well as all the original game manuals.

Overall a decent collection for any Sonic fan or anyone harking back to a simpler time.

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Ah, Sonic. How well so many of us remember that little blue blur. How many of us are gamers becuase of Sonic, and other stars of the 16 bit era? In this terrific value bundle, you get an excellent assortment of classic Genesis, and Game Gear Sonic games. Included are: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Spinball, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, plus 6 of the original 12 Game Gear Sonic games (Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic Drift, Sonic Chaos, Sonic Blast, and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine). There are also unlockable games, but I won't spoil it for anyone. For the record, Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut contains all 12 Game Gear titles as unlockable mini-games, and remains readily available for PC, PS2, and Gamecube.

In general, the games are visibly dated, and simplistic comparatively speaking to modern games, but have been nicely re-mastered, and look sharp and vibrant. The sound can't compare to modern games either of course, but is just as you remember it, and even sounds good with surround speakers. Native gamepad support is included (but no rumblepad support), and the button layout is customizable. Keyboard controls are customizable (the mouse is not used), but I don't use them, and can't speak to how intuitive, or well implemented they are. I use, and strongly recommend a dual analog gamepad since this game prefers, and plays best with one. Also, please be aware that this game will require an older type, DirectInput gamepad (like the Logitech Dual Action, or Rumblepad 2 for example) for full, and proper gamepad support. Even if the game will recognize an X-Box 360 controller for Windows, there is a good chance it will not behave correctly since the game pre-dates, and therefore does not support Xinput. The game's system specs are modest, and it seems stable and well behaved. On the down side, there are a few bizarre omissions like Sonic CD, Sonic R, Sonic and Tails 2, and Knuckles Chaotix. Perhaps most significantly for hardcore fans, it does not contain Sonic CD, or Sonic 3 and Knuckles, the classic Genesis two cartridge lock-on game. Their absence is disappointing since they were fan favorites, but in the case of Sonic 3 and Knuckles, the lock-on feature enabled certain features like exclusive cutscenes, and Super Emeralds which are probably difficult or impossible to replicate through emulation, so that could offer a partial explanation for it's absence. Unless it was an issue of inadequate space on the DVD, I can see no good reason for Sonic CD's exclusion, but I guess this is forgivable given that the old Expert Software PC version (which avid Sonic fans will most likely have anyway) is still readily available, and runs fine on Win Vista/Win 7 with a user-created compatibility fix which is just as readily available on numerous fan/tribute sites and forums.

Lacking a jewel case, presentation quality isn't anything to brag about either, but that isn't uncommon for a low budget value title these days, so you can't smack it around too much for that. However, in-game presentation is much better, and you get plenty of extras like original concept art, character designs, and comic book clips, along with a PDF containing each game's original user manual. The game does include a user manual (for once), and in it, the games are laid out chronologically, and each game is pictured with it's original box cover, a brief plot summary, date of launch, and a couple of screenshots. The game has also been spruced up a bit with a save function, modernized front end menu, and in-game interface. Another aspect of this bundle's appeal is that even though there are user-created compatibility fixes available for most of them, older Sonic PC ports are often incompatible with newer operating systems; whereas these are XP/Vista/Win 7 compatible, and don't fuss when you try to play them, or demand scouring the internet for a compatibility fix. There have been some reports of Vista and Win 7 users having trouble running this game even in compatibility mode, but I haven't personally encountered these problems. At worst, I've only had to run the game's installer in compatibility mode to get it to install correctly, and use Vista compatibility mode for the game to run. The headline here though is that PC Sonic fans have never had a better chance to rack up on so many old school Sonic games all at once. Make no mistake: this is the best Sonic value bundle the PC has seen in years, and PC Sonic fans won't want to miss this. All said and done, I'm satisfied with my purchase, and am going to give Sonic Mega Collection Plus a good grade with minor dings for the low production values.

UPDATED EDIT: Sonic Mega Collection Plus is Windows Vista/Windows 7 compatible.

Honest reviews on Sonic Mega Collection Plus - PC

Playing these games for hours on the Genesis is one of my fondest memories, and playing them again is good indeed. This collection comes with Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic and Knuckles. It does NOT contain Sonic 3 and Knuckles, the classic two cartridge lock-on game. This means that you do not gain the advantages of having the lock-on ability, like certain cutscenes and the ability to get the Super Emeralds. You can still obtain regular chaos emeralds twice however, in Sonic 3 and then Sonic and Knuckles.

One advantage of getting this collection is that it is an emulator that has a save function, so you can stop and continue at any time, and play those Chaos emerald missions over and over if necessary. This collection does seem to have a Sonic running speed problem though, he seems to accelerate and run about 4/5 of normal, but everything else is the same (I double checked with online videos). According to other reviews there is a patch available, but I was unable to find in on Sega's website, probably due to the age of this game.

If you want to play your favorite Sonic games again, then this collection will let you do that.

Compatibility: On Windows 7 64-bit I was able to get this game to run in compatibility mode for Vista Service Pack 2.

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I've always loved the old school Sonic games. I've played and beat them countless times and never really get tired of doing so. That's why it's so nice to have them all compiled on a single disc. This collection also includes the Sega Game Gear games, debug cheats, and some bonus character and comic artwork and video clips. My only real problem with Sonic Mega Collection Plus is the required hours of game play needed to unlock certain games. Seems a bit much and can be a little frustrating. Other than that, it's totally worth the buy!

Buy Red Dead Redemption

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While Rockstar is mostly known for the Grand Theft Auto series, they've done another game series that immediately grabbed my attention. As a fan of the Western genre of film I had always wondered what it would be like to run through the American Old West gunslinging in the most dangerous saloons this side of the Mississippi.

Bringing the same scale to Red Dead Redemption as was featured in Grand Theft Auto IV gives the player the ability to run endless missions on the Frontier. Instead of cars and cityscape the player is given a thoroughbred of their choosing to travel across the harsh Western landscape. The game implements several core themes from the Western genre, undoubtedly inspired by some of the great films of the time period. From setting up camp to rest for the night on a long journey, to being able to take stagecoaches from town to town.

As usual Rockstar brings the story. The plot of Red Dead Redemption is an intricately weaved tale of exacting revenge. You get to choose the alliances you form and the rivals you make. During this epic journey to the stunning conclusion of the game, John Marston, the tough sun of a gun you play as, does anything and everything he can to put zeros behind his bankroll.

One of the most fun aspects to the game is the showdowns. At any random point during the game a local rummy may call your reputation into question, at which point you will be able to decline or oblige him to a duel. However, if you do decide to accept his challenge, you'd better make sure you're ready.

Overall the story is filled with deep character development and more twists than a pretzel, which makes it one of the best in the medium. At the time of it's release the graphics were at the top notch, for this generation of PS3 games it is still considered to be graphically superior. The sound effects and music were all taken straight out of an old Western, so they are as authentic as can be. All the dialogue and voice acting is perfectly done and up to par with what you might expect from Rockstar. Finally to match, the gameplay is so silky it allows you to seamlessly go from a trot on horseback to intense combat in the blink of an eye.

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Buy Catherine - Alternate Boxart -Xbox 360

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List Price: $59.99
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As I am writing this review I am at about 5-6 hours of gameplay and past the 3rd stage. So almost halfway through, this review is to give those considering buying this game a sense of what it is like.

There are 3 difficulty modes: Easy, Normal, and Hard. I am playing through on Normal because the puzzles can be frustrating at times and I have died on Normal many times already.

The puzzle gameplay is the main focus of game when you are in the Nightmare stages which you have to push and pull blocks arranging them in a way so you can climb higher and get through to progress the love triangle between Vincent the main character we are in control of, Katherine his longtime girlfriend, and Catherine the mysterious blonde who works her way into Vincent's life. Each puzzle has a time limit which is imposed by either the lowest line of blocks falling off one after the other or a Boss that chases the player as they climb higher, although a Boss is only on the final level of each Stage.

After each Nightmare stage is completed you wake up to progress the story in the real world through text messages, conversations with your friends, and spending your nights drinking in the bar called Stray Sheep.

So far each Nightmare stage has two levels and a final level, each stage and level has had varying obstacles and traps to stop you from progressing and frustrate you as you try to solve each puzzle. But along with this frustration I always feel great satisfaction when I find the correct route and narrowly escape death. After beating a level you end up on in an area with other "sheep" who also have to climb to survive like Vincent, here they will give you tips on climbing and you can purchase different items to help you in the puzzles although you can only carry you item and picking a new item up replaces your current item.

In Stray Sheep there is a mini-puzzle game called Rapunzel which mirrors the game of Catherine except the character in that game is saving Rapunzel by climbing blocks to reach her long hair. In this mini game though you have a limited number of moves you can make, but you don't have blocks falling from under you and you don't have a time limit either.

Overall this game is for those seeking an actual challenge from a game and don't want to just be along for the ride while the game basically plays itself. I have played Portal and ilomilo, both of which are great puzzle games, but this game might be above those in terms of great story telling combined with great animation and incredible and difficult gameplay.

On a side note the alternate artwork looks great and I liked it more than the normal artwork cover shown online, my pre-order came with a bonus sound disc with songs from the game and a 20-page artbook which both are great, the music in the game is perfect for the nightmare tone using orchestral music like Chopin and Beethoven.

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Even after many years of having games made for all ages, some people still believe that games are made primarily for kids. Catherine is a prime example of why this belief is completely and utterly wrong. Catherine is a very adult game and I'm not talking about adult as in adult movie or adult magazines. Catherine is an adult game because it deals with adult themes and doesn't shy away from uncomfortable topics.

The game starts out with the main character, Vincent, in a rather awkward and uncomfortable relationship. After a series of events leads Vincent to being unfaithful to his girlfriend, he starts suffering very bizarre nightmares where he must climb a giant staircase or fall to his death. It becomes increasingly clear that this is not an isolated incident and that if anyone having these dreams falls, they die in real life as well. Vincent must not only figure out how to end these bizarre, deadly dreams but he has to figure out how, in the real world, to deal with his unfaithfulness and choose between his girlfriend Catherine or his lover, Katherine.

The plot may sound ridiculous but it strikes a very solid emotional chord whether you have been in a similar situation or not. As you switch between making decisions for Vincent in the real world and helping him survive in his dreams, it's easy to form a strong attachment to these characters and the game never allows you the comfort of easy choices. While you may have very clear opinions on the morality of cheating, the situation becomes increasingly complicated as things continue and it doesn't remain a clear black-and-white decision. Also, just because the story revolves around a male picking between two females, doesn't mean this is a game just for guys. I played this game with my girlfriend and she become engrossed in the story as well.

Many story-based games start to disregard gameplay to a certain point and while Catherine certainly seems repetitive after a while, the difficulty ramps up quickly. In the dreams, Vincent is wearing nothing but his underwear and has goat horns but is otherwise the same Vincent. Each staircase is made up of large cubes that must be pushed and climbed to reach the top while the rows start dropping below Vincent. If Vincent doesn't move quickly enough, the floor beneath his feet will drop out and he'll fall to his death in a rather shocking display of spikes and blood. These puzzles are extremely simple to understand but become extremely difficult to complete especially by the end. While some players will become frustrated by them, the sense of reward from completing each level is something very few modern games can provide and the subsequent cut-scenes act as the prize, making the storyline even more interesting as time goes on.

Many anime games suffer from stereotypical characters and mediocre writing and acting. Catherine does not have any of these problems. Characters are some of the most memorable and three-dimensional characters this generation and the voice acting is spot on for pretty much everyone.

Many people will ignore Catherine for what it is. A relatively obscure title, made in Japan with anime stylings, a puzzle game, the list goes on. Still, many people would be making a mistake and would miss out on one of the most unique and interesting titles to be released on the Xbox 360 or any other console. If you shy away from difficult games, this may not be the game for you but if you are willing to fight through and persevere, you'll be greatly rewarded.

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The idea is simple.

Move blocks in a tower to climb to the top.

You're constantly racing against a "timer" as the levels below you fall after a certain period of time while you're climbing to the top.

I was worried that this would become frustrating, as I usually like to take time and plan my moves in advance.

It actually turned out to add a lot of excitement to the game and kept me moving.

Along the way, you'll run into obstacles, such as sheep (other men like you who are trapped in this dreamworld).

Different block types keep you thinking and planning your route to the top. Very fun action puzzles.

The real brilliance of the game is the story and the beautiful animation.

Your time is split between the dreamworld (this is the block/climbing portion of the game) and the daytime (the dating sim portion of the game).

Your decisions during the game have an impact of what happens towards the end of the game. The game packs a few alternate endings, so multiple playthroughs are warranted, although the main story itself remains mostly unchanged no matter what decisions you make (but the endings vary wildly).

The story is well crafted, exciting, and engaging. Even the time spent at the bar talking to patrons and learning more about this world and your friends is interesting.

The music is also incredible. It is constructed of remixes from various classical songs.

One of my favorite games of the year. If you like puzzle games and have patience (you will die. A lot.) check it out.

Honest reviews on Catherine - Alternate Boxart -Xbox 360

This is such a great game. It is a Japanese puzzle type game in which you must climb up through Vincent's (the main character) nightmares.

I would describe the entire game as Cubert meets nightmare on elm street, meets japanese anime. I was very impressed with the story as well as the gameplay (no I'm not including any spoilers so don't worry). And there is also plenty of playing time, but be careful because of its addictive story line you may even find yourself up all night playing a game like this. I'm not to partial to puzzle games infact the only ones I've played are Tetris, and a brief spell of Cubert and Dr.Mario. But this game manages to stand out among other puzzle games due to its beautiful animated cutscenes, like able characters whom you may even be able to sympathize with, and overall just fun gameplay that actually makes you think for a change.

Now on to the Alternate Box art. I must say I very much prefer it to the standard box art. It seems a bit classier to me but then again that could just be personal preference. However if you don't like it you can always just pick up the standard box art anyway.

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There are many games today that all fall in line a base set of expectations. Catherine is different from everything else and that's a very good thing. Not to mention it seriously likes to mess your mind. In a good way of course.

STORY:

The baseline is this. Random men are dying in their beds and no one has a clue how to stop it, thus fear spreads through the populace. Meanwhile Our 30 year old protagonist Vincent Brooks spends his days toiling in the tech industry and his evenings getting blasted with his friends at a local bar. He also has a girlfriend of several years, a nagging-but-caring woman named Katherine. She has been pushing Vincent as of late to take their relationship to the next level, prodding him to solidify their bond. But Vincent's unsure of what he wants to do. One night while he drinks in the bar alone he meets a younger lass by the name of Catherine and from there everything spirals out of control leaving complications with his real life and nightmares that threaten to end him every night.

The story is intriguing and in my opinion it's one of the best in a good while. You keep guessing who's guilty and whats what the entire time. I personally was never right in any of my assumptions.

GAMEPLAY:

Catherine's main gameplay consists of block puzzles. You must try to position them in a way that will get to the top of the tower while each layer of blocks slowly falls to oblivion from the bottom up. It mixes it up with different block types, unbelievable positioning, and boss battles (Awesome boss battles). After you complete a tower of blocks you get put in a break area called the landing. Here you can talk to people and when ready, proceed to the next area but not before your asked a question. What you answer will define your morality meter that helps to determine what ending you will get and what Vincent thinks throughout the game. The meter isn't really GOOD vs EVIL as Vincent is a nice guy all around, it's actually more CHAOS vs LAW. Chaos being Freedom and excitement while Law being dedication and Strictness. Once the question is answered it's the next puzzle for you!

How hard the puzzles are of course depends on the difficulty you choose. There's super easy (Hidden, I'll explain later), Easy, Normal, and Hard. On the easy modes you are able to get base achievements but are unable to unlock other game modes like couch co-op or the Babel tower (Challenge mode). Those are reserved for getting gold ratings (statues) on normal and above. There are many tutorials and tips but make no mistake some people won't be able to get anywhere on normal and easy will be a huge challenge. The developers saw this and implemented a secret easy mode for those of you who are at their wits end. At the main title screen hold the select button until everything flashes white. Then start a game on easy. Don't expect any good scores for doing this. But it makes things easy enough so my friends and family could play it while I go crazy on normal (Can't even fathom touching hard). It's also good if you wanna just do a speed run to see the stories multiple endings.

So at night you have Nightmares of block puzzles but what about day? During the day (after you pass through the cutscenes) your put in a bar called the Stray Sheep. Here you can listen to music, Play the Rapunzel game which is basically block puzzle practice, Drink (which increases your speed in the dream) and talk to the people in the bar (you can also answer texts and questions which effect the CHAOS/LAW meter.) Talking to people is its own sidequest because your fellow patrons will also appear in the nightmares. Encouraging or ignoring them decides whether they live or not.

ENDING COMMENTS:

Give this game a chance. Some gamers might be put off by the difficulty but for others it will be a major plus. The story is excellent and I at least believe it to be worth your time.

AVERMEDIA C281 Game Capture HD Record Xbox 360 and PS3 in Real Time Reviews

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List Price: $138.13
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Before I start this review I'd like to mention that you DO need an external or internal hard drive in order for you to be able to save your recorded content. Now on with the review. The ease of installation is amazing! Simply plug into your console, and there you have it. The component itself is very lightweight and extremely portable. Out of all the hd pvr's I've owned, this one stands out because of how user friendly it is. In a push of a button, your recording sick gameplay footage in full hd. This was meant and designed for video game recording. I cannot stress enough how easy it is to use, Its like you have a personal guide with you through the whole recording process with on screen instructions and notifications telling you how to make the best of your recordings. After your content is saved on the external or internal hard drive, all that's required then is a simple transfer from your hard drive to your pc or mac, and you'll have your vids streaming on youtube or facebook in no time. I can see this product being extremely useful for those looking to create a successful channel on youtube of commentary gameplay. That seems to be very popular in the youtube community. Also, I can see this product being very useful to the casual gamer who wants to show an awesome replay through social networks and what not. Considering the price, your getting a really good deal. Some of the previous hd pvr's I've owned cost me $200 and over. Overall this product is outstanding! It gives you great hd gameplay recordings with little to no hassle. I'd definitely recommend this product to those seeking to share their gaming records or amazing gamplay footage with either small social communities or even the world!

Please leave a positive vote if you found this review helpful. Thanks. Also, feel free to leave any comments regarding this review or the product itself. I'll be happy to respond to any questions or comments posted.

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I've had mine about a week now and can report how awesome this device is. Recording in HD without a pc is of great value! There is no lag in video quality whatsoever. I DID see a slight audio synch issue at times BUT a firmware upgrade seemed to take care of that (from the Avermedia website kudos to them for jumping on that quickly). I use mine for tv recordings as of now. Once recorded, the avi format is easily converted to any other format you may need. This device really is amazing and can't believe it's really so affordable. I'm using an external hd formatted in ntfs (recommended by vendor). Satisfied consumer!

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I've tried a number of capture devices over the years. The Happauge HD PVR while great when I could get it to work had a frequent tendency to crap out on me. Later on, I decided to get an AverTV USB HD DVR. It worked great for me until I bought a new Windows 7 PC a few months ago. About a week into being linked up with my new PC, I started getting Capture Failed dialogs whenever I'd try to record, and haven't been able to get it working since. AverMedia support even sent me a replacement, but we were still never able to get the issue resolved.

Ultimately, I ended up purchasing the Game Capture HD. After a couple years of dealing with USB devices, I was a bit skeptical about using a standalone device. I didn't want to have to worry about buying additional storage. Plus I thought it'd be inconvenient to have to swap a flash drive between the device and my PC every time I wanted to start editing. Once I got into the swing of things though, neither were a problem. I might even say I prefer it now. Keeps my PC's folders tidy, and I don't have to worry about having the device attached to my computer's hip at all times.

The good about this device:

1. The Remote: AWESOME idea. I can't tell you what a relief it was to be able to just press a button and instantly get right down to business (as opposed to having to fire up a computer...and then a capture program). There's also a handy screencap button and a nice settings/playback menu accessible through the remote.

2. Comes with a component cable that works for 360, PS3 and Wii. I didn't need it, but was impressed to see that they went the extra mile by including it. Many companies don't.

3. Has an auto on/off mechanism tied to whether or not it detects an input signal. So if you turn on your PS3, for example, the device will turn on along with it. If you turn off your PS3, the device will shut itself down 10 minutes later. Pretty cool feature, considering many other devices don't even have a manual on/off button, let alone something like this.

The bad about this device:

1. Video Quality: It noticeably degrades the video feed, both on your TV and in your recordings. I'm a longtime PS3 user and like I said earlier, I've been around the block a few times with capture devices: so I know what my console's picture is capable of, and I also know what a decent recording looks like. This device drops the ball on both. I'm guessing the pass-through components are just really cheap (the device as a whole feels cheap, actually). The picture quality it reduces you to is something like a poor medium between 480p and 720p. It takes away a great deal of crispness from your console's raw feed, and produces slightly fuzzy recordings (though you probably wouldn't notice the latter much, once you upload to YouTube). I've never seen anything like this in any other capture card I've used, so I was pretty disappointed. I ended up returning my unit solely because of this issue. It's a shame too, because this device really has potential. It may not be a deal-breaker for some, but for me, I've spent way too much money on my TV and on Blu-rays to have this thing hooked up to my TV, giving me some crappy "600p" quality on my PS3. I'm thinking about ordering a replacement in hopes that this is just a fluke. If so, I'll update my review.

2. Recording Options: This device gives you options of 12mbps, 10mbps and 8mbps. I would've liked to had seen a wider range. Using other devices, I've been able to skate by at 4mbps (which helps me preserve storage space). Even 1mbps doesn't look too bad on my YouTube channel. With that said, I think the choices provided are overkill. Even its lowest setting eats up twice as much space as I'd prefer. I have to wonder if they only allow these higher bitrates to help keep the aforementioned poor picture quality from getting exposed even further.

3. Lag: There seems to be occasional lag with the audio and/or video when using this device. Nothing to be overly annoyed about, but it's reminiscent of playing an online game (even when you're not).

4. Recording Format: I have no idea why AverMedia continually insists on using these godawful formats in their devices. I put up with it on the USB HD DVR (and had to convert each file just to begin my editing process). I figured since the file container is the fairly-common .avi this time around, maybe I'd get some relief; but I suppose the way it's encoded still makes their files incompatible with my editing programs (Sony Vegas, for one). To the company's credit though, I can import the audio of my recordings into Vegas; just not the video. I guess that's a step up from the files that their other devices produce, which simply make the program freeze and crash. Who knows: maybe a few years from now, I'll get something that works completely. Seriously though, would it really be that much trouble to at least give consumers the additional option to record in a flexible mp4, wmv or mpg format?

5. I had some trouble getting the device to recognize my 2GB flash drive. I don't know if it was the unit's fault or mine, but that's just a heads up to you guys working with smaller storage space. My 16GB drive worked just fine though.

Overall, I really want to like this device. I just can't get over the video quality issue though (new firmware and cables didn't help, btw). If the company can ever get that worked out, I'll come running back to this product. But in the meantime, I'm yet again looking for a new capture device.

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I've had the device for nearly two weeks, giving myself enough time to test two different consoles and the recorded footage from separate games. I'll include some tips I've discovered to make this device even more simple once it arrives for you. Yep, I'm sure you'll want this after reading some customer reviews.

First off, make sure you update the FIRMWARE! You will run into some hiccups if you're not running Ver. 1.7.2, the latest update for the device. It's simple to find the update by going to AVerMedia's webpage for the product and clicking the "AP & Driver" tab. Scroll down, download the file, put the file on an EMPTY (helps the device locate said file) USB flash drive, and done.

Lets actually get into the product and its components though. As you may be aware, this device is very lightweight. Even after adding an internal hard drive, the AVerMedia Game Capture HD is very portable. It does need to be plugged in, but it's not a demanding piece of tech because of the method it records your game footage. Rather than being dependent on a PC/Mac, plugging in a hard drive (internal or external) or USB flash drive is all that's required to store recorded footage. I personally went with an internal hard drive as after upgrading my PS3 to a 250GB hard drive a year ago, I had a spare 80GB 2.5 SATA internal hard drive laying around. I also have a handful of flash drives, so keeping one for transfer purposes isn't a hassle.

This may be a negative for some of you, but this doesn't record 1080p due to no HDMI ports. You'll be using component cables for the console and your HDTV. What's fantastic is that the Game Capture HD comes with a handy 3-in-1 console component cable. Yep, on one end you'll have a connection for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo Wii! However, as a tip, in my experience I had to leave the cable plugged into only one console at a time. When plugged into both my Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3, the Wii would only receive video input, not audio. With the PS3, nothing was displayed. This could be dependent on your HDTV though as, well, I don't have a wide range of HDTVs as my disposal to test this further.

Finally, I'll talk about the video files. You will want to download AVerMedia's "MP4 Builder" as the AVI files the Game Capture HD records can be either incompatible with video editing software, or simply a hassle to work with. If you have outdated video editing software, like me, I've found changing the extension to M4V will allow the MP4 file to import and not hinder the file's properties. Now ANOTHER TIP! If you do plan on recording Nintendo Wii footage, you must know that the Wii doesn't actually output 16:9 widescreen. It's anamorphic widescreen, meaning that the video is horizontally squeezed to fit a 4:3 aspect ratio. Maybe you haven't noticed this before because HDTVs tend to automatically fill in empty space. Some low-end HDTVs will require you to manually fill in the screen. What does this all mean? If you want that 480p widescreen, you'll have to edit it either through aspect ratio correction in a video converter or stretching it with video editing software.

I could talk further about the quality, which is rather great, but I would suggest viewing some footage on YouTube. I will say though that the picture does dull a bit when recording. I believe I've covered many points, but if you have further questions feel free to ask. I'll be honest, there do exist better capture devices for the purposes of recording video games, but as I'm being honest here, you would be paying at least another $80 to have a high maintenance device that works optimally if you have a high-end desktop PC. I dunno about you, but I've got a laptop. For $140, you can't find a better product to record your video game footage.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for AVERMEDIA C281 Game Capture HD Record Xbox 360 and PS3 in Real Time

The AverMedia Game Capture Device without a doubt My Favorite and Highly Recommended Game Capture Device for this Year. I once Owned the Roxio Game Capture and it while it was nice to be able to play in HD, It had Issues Recording, Sometimes it would lag in either the video or audio, but Not the AverMedia Game Capture. Neat thing is you Don't need a PC or Mac To Record, all you do is hook up a flash drive or extended hard drive, press the "record" button and Boom your recording in either 720P or 1080i!! On top of that you Get a spare of Universal Component Cables for all Systems and the Size of it is very small. It weights less and more compact than the HD PVR

CONS: You Wont be able to Stream with this device because you can't plug in the device via USB to USB if you so choose, Doesn't Bother me since i Don't Stream :)

Verdict: Heck yeah Buy it So far My Favorite Game Capture and its Ideal for any inspired YouTube Gaming Channel!

If you Are intrested in watching the AverMedia Game Capture Review then Here you GO!!

Best UFC Undisputed 3 Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
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I'll do a somewhat quick run down of what there is to do in UFC Undisputed 3.

You have your standard exhibition mode where you can choose UFC rules or Pride rules. Being a fan of MMA you should already know the differences. Anyways, when choosing Pride for instance it isn't 100% open weight but you can choose Ex: BJ Penn (UFC) vs Anderson Silva (Pride/UFC). Fighters that fought in each organization will be featured in both, for instance Wanderlei Silva has a higher overall rating in Pride than he does in the UFC. And Anderson Silva has a lower overall rating in Pride than he does in the UFC. Also, you can choose either rule set then (UFC/Pride) then choose fighters from either. The entrances and locations are also different and the Pride entrances are badass!

Then you can either create your own event/ tournament or play in actual ones Ex: Play the main card of UFC 115 etc.

Create a fighter is pretty in depth with the customization abilities. The biggest is obviously the face and facial features. Then you have body build, hair, tattoos, stance, fighting back ground, age, height etc.

Career mode, you start out with creating a fighter. Your first few fights you are given instructional tips (from Mike Goldberg) on camps, training, sponsors, choosing fights, rankings etc. As you work your way up in your division (choose while creating your fighter) you earn title shots and options to fight for bigger organizations eventually ending up in the UFC. You are able to move up and down one division to earn multiple title shots as well.

Classic fights modes is pretty cool, Ex: Rampage Jackson vs Wanderlei Silva, you are given certain tasks for the fighter you select during the fight to complete (don't get taken down for 1:00, land 20 strikes, don't take more then 5 strikes etc.) upon completing them you unlock videos and progress towards achievements for your gamerscore.

Highlite reel modeBasically a theater mode where you can create videos of cool KOs, takedowns, submissions or whatever else you can think of. You can share these with all other gamers then they can be rated 0/5-5/5 stars. And you can also make highlites with multiple fighters.

The graphics are excellent, all fighters look very realistic and move and act just like they do in real life. Whether it's JDS's uppercut, Bones Jones spinning elbows, Anderson Silvas front kicks or GSPs ground and decisions (IM JUST KIDDING :P); they are all very realistic.

New improvements and some changes are more usuage of the cage and an entirely new submission set up of 'Chasing the submission', I wasn't a fan of it but you'll get used to it. And there's also different control sets, can't really remember what they were called maybe rookie and veteran but basically rookie is push up or down to advance in transitions and veteran would be flick and rotate to advance.

I'm sure I forgot a few things, but fopefully this review helps!

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The failure of UFC Undisputed 2010 to capitalize on the success of the first entry in the series forced THQ and UFC to reevaluate the viability of their product as a yearly release. The result has been a nearly two year gap that now culminates with the arrival of UFC Undisputed 3. The extra time has paid some substantial dividends but one design decision in particular and troubled online performance remain concerns.

UFC Undisputed 3 carries with it a solid amount of content. There is the standard exhibition fights in UFC or Pride, Career, Title, Tournament, and Event modes along with Online which are all pretty straight forward in what they offer.

The Ultimate Fights mode is intriguing in that they attempt to recreate popular fights from the past while including video packages about them. There are tasks set up to complete throughout the fight at specific times and a percentage grade is given based on how much is achieved. It can be tough to fight in that manner though trying to complete the tasks rather than just do what is necessary to win doesn't feel completely natural or even necessarily make sense contextually at a given time. Career mode has stripped out frustrating elements while pushing the focus more on the fights and progression making that much more enjoyable.

Pride is a blast and a valuable addition to the series. Everything from the presentation to the varied rule sets and unique venue make it a lot of fun to play. It won't at all be surprising if fans tend to prefer playing in Pride vs UFC. Presenation has been enhanced elsewhere too and the new camera angle, though not going to feel drastically different, does bring the action much closer and the perspective works well for the fights.

Gameplay wise there isn't much to gripe about at least on the surface. Refs tend to stand up fighters a bit early this was probably done on purpose rather than just becoming an unexpected issue as maybe casual types don't want to be stuck maneuvering on the ground with little success whether they're on the offensive or stuck blocking transitions. Ultimately though the big problem comes down to the flawed submission system which, going back to E3 last year, was the most cited gripe with the game and for good reason.

What amounts to a mini-game of `cat and mouse' not only takes the user's eyes off the fighters in these critical moments but the success of submission attempts remains inconsistent and unrealistic. Against the CPU it seems nearly impossible to submit them at the same time there is little concern that the CPU will actually complete a submission against the user. There has yet to be a situation where either "caught" the opponent with a submission but instead the one in danger almost always escapes easily under the system. It's been the same way in head-to-head (both off and online) fights too with submissions easily escaped by evading in the mini-game.

That alters tactics and strategy greatly. Offensively I find there to be little reason to attempt submissions. Why risk advantageous position when the submission is likely to fail? Conversely I haven't found myself defending against submissions because they're easy to get out of and the result is actually a positive shift of positioning and momentum.

Otherwise the gameplay has proven to be fairly well balanced with counter-strategies to utilize based on any tactic an opponent could be throwing out there. There has yet to be any frustrating element beyond the submission system the clinch is handled much better and the ground game simpler to understand.

Fights have been challenging but fair. Those that I've lost I've never gotten upset about and in fact often been impressed by the outcome. That is usually the best indicator of a good game when the time spent with it is enjoyable regardless of a win or loss.

"Sim" stamina is an addition that the more hardcore crowd will enjoy. It makes a huge difference and forces fights to be much more realistic. Most will probably stick with the default stamina but the option is appreciated regardless.

The new "Amateur" controls have been a refreshing addition and something I quickly got comfortable with using. There is a slight advantage for those using the "Pro Controls" (as there should be) but in terms of simplicity and accessibility the "Amateur" set holds up well. The tutorials also can help get users accustomed to the game to an extent but aren't much more than just an introduction there are even a couple that took a while to complete because they weren't clear enough in what was expected. It's just tedious to go through them one to the next and invest that much time but it's probably worth it in the end.

Online performance continues to threaten the completeness of the product. Most of the fights have been so lag-plagued that they've essentially been complete wastes of time. It has been encouraging that at least there have been a few smooth and responsive fights and they've been recent ones but even then the masses haven't hit the servers yet so things are likely going to get worse before they get better. Quitters aren't getting losses or seeing DNF % rise either which means that'll be a serious problem to address and there's also no real reason not to choose the highest rated fighters so variety in match-ups will be sorely lacking. Since releasing the server has often been unavailable and the number of disconnects high. I'll update further in regards to online play in the near future.

Other notes: There is some sort of issue with installing the game to the hard drive on the 360 that requires being signed out of Xbox Live for it to begin the install. Tapping gloves at the start of the fight is seemingly dangerous as the CPU usually chooses to throw a cheap shot. The refs can be somewhat distracting as they vanish or appear out of thin air at times. They also don't end the fights as quickly as one would expect allowing for some awkward late shots. In replays collision detection looks iffy and there appears to be very little force on the blows. The "Highlight Reel" feature which was previously detailed is a nice addition but the best part comes with the game automatically storing the last 50 rounds of fights.

There is little doubt that UFC Undisputed 3 will be looked back on at the end of the year as one of the strongest efforts amongst the crop of sports games. Hopefully it won't fall into the category of "almost great" because of poor online play so that'll have to be monitored in the days and weeks ahead. Otherwise THQ has delivered a winner with refreshing accessibility, increased authenticity, stronger content, and fun balanced gameplay.

Best Deals for UFC Undisputed 3

Overall, UFC UNIDSPUTED 3 improved over its predecessors and is still the best MMA game out there. If you liked the previous games, it's definitely for you. If you didn't like the previous games, well then the gameplay is nearly identical.

What's new

New submission system-Instead of shining (rotating the analog stick as quickly as possible), there is a new minigame. Upon initiating a submission by pushing in the analog stick, an octagon appears on screen. Both players are given a "bar". The player trying to submit attempts to trace his bar over the player's bar being submitted while the other player moves his bar trying to avoid from being traced. If the player can keep his bar over the others long enough, the submission will be successful. There is an onscreen display of how successful the submission is. The better your UFC fighter is at subs in skills, the longer you will have to sink in the sub, or vice versa. I like the new system better than the prior system. It takes more skill to sink in a sub and you can actually tell whether it should or should not work. I am looking forward to having a callus free hand from not having to shine but it is definitely going to take some getting used too.

Pride Mode-The third installment features PRIDE mode. Pride (a MMA league based in Japan) was bought out by Zuffa a few years ago but the game brings the ring fighting back to life. In PRIDE mode Foot stomps and knees to the head of grounded opponents are allowed. Yes please. Bas Rutten delivers some pretty funny commentating. Old Pride fights like Mark Hunt, dan sevren,Kevin Randleman.

Ring entrances

Bantam and featherweight divisions

Leg TKOs

Amateur controls-instead of rolling the right analog stick to transition, the player just hits up or down.

Career Mode-You can play through with UFC fighters now. The overall feel of career mode is different but extremely repetitive. There aren't as many menus and stats to implement. Instead, there is a focus on the actual fights. To me this is kind of a bad thing. I make my CAFs for online. It is a slow a tedious process to make a good online CAF when you have 2 times to improve your fighter before a boring fight with the computer.

Cutscenes with real UFC fighters are pretty cool

You can design your own logos

Online-Fight camps are back and improved. They have added the ability to share your fights with other online players.

Review

Graphics-The fighters look great as they are again based on real rendering-you can see your punches and kick show damage on your opponents pretty quickly.

Controls-If you liked previous versions of the game, then you will be accustomed to the controls. Noobs can try out the amateur controls. Myself, I like the normal controls. It's not a perfect system, but I prefer it to any other MMA game out there

Sound-The commentary gets old pretty quick but again it is improved. Bas Rutten and Stephen QUadros are added for pride mode.

Career mode-Some improvements but overall very tedious to create a good online CAF.

Online-much less lag than in previous games. Problem is there a ton of disconnects. I'd say one in three fights disconnect for me and I have cable internet. I have no problem with other games online like COD.

Honest reviews on UFC Undisputed 3

Warning: This is NOT a Button Masher! You need to practice!!! But after putting in the hours, the game becomes fun and feels rewarding because you earn every win. I'd recommend the UFC games for fans of the sport and fans of fighting games. There's a good deal of strategy here and the game is so realistic that you'll actually be able to get more enjoyment out of watching the UFC if you learn how to play this game. You'll have a better understanding of the strategies and how the techniques work together.

Concept: 9/10

Sports games fall on a continuum of Difficult Simulation and Fun Arcade Game. This UFC Game is right in the Middle. It's got all of the current weight classes, fighters, personalities, graphics, introductions, from the sport, so it feels really authentic. The gameplay is complicated and takes about a week to learn. But, MMA is complicated because it combines punches, kicks, wrestling body control, and jujitsu submissions. All of these disciplines play pretty well and after you learn how to play, the game is fun.

Game Modes:

Exhibition 1 fight pick a weight class, 2 fighters, and go at it.

Title take a famous UFC fighter and fight your way through the contenders to become the champ.

Title Defense Once you are the champ, fight the best of the best to keep your title.

Career Mode Create and Manage your fighter, train to become better in certain aspects of MMA, and fight your way to the top.

VS Mode fight a buddy (Offline ONLY)

Gameplay: 8/10

It feels like there are so many ways to lose in an MMA fight. You can get beaten down for 3 rounds and lose a decision. You can get beaten down severely and get KO'ed. You can get hit with a flurry of powerful strikes in rapid succession and get a flash KO. You can get thrown onto the ground, dominated, and KO'ed. You can get thrown to the ground and submitted. But all of these techniques can be used on your opponent, too. Knowing when to use the techniques is as important as knowing how to use them.

Striking: 9/10

Standing and trading punches and kicks. You can target your opponent's head for a KO, the body to drain your opponent's stamina, or the legs to slow them down and nullify their takedowns. You get BONUS damage for excellent timing. If you catch an opponent coming in and beat them to the punch, you do more damage. If you dodge their attack and counter, you also deal Bonus damage. This takes a while to get used to, but once you do, it's pretty fun. You can also catch kicks by grabbing your opponent's leg and counter punch them in the face. Not only is this rewarding, but it also deals bonus damage. On the easier difficulties, the game is almost 100% striking. It's a good way to learn. As you play harder difficulties, the AI starts incorporating other aspects of MMA like grappling, transitions, clinches, ground and pound, and submissions.

Grappling: 8/10

You can grab your opponent in a clinch, deliver knees, elbows, and punches, or throw them onto the ground. Once you're on the ground, you can move the R Stick in semi-circles to change your position. You can pull the right stick to "block" or cancel an opponent's transitions and keep them where they are. You can grapple from the top and bottom while delivering punches and kicks to ground and pound your enemies. Certain positions on the ground yield better results. For example, if you are in your opponent's guard, you can't punch very hard because you can only swing your arms. If you get on top of them in a full mount, you can deliver haymakers to their body and head and go for a KO. Grappling is pretty easy once you learn the positions and how to block your opponent's transitions. But it takes a while to "get it."

Submissions: 8/10

When you are grappling, you can click the R stick to go for an arm bar, choke, etc... This brings up an Octagon with a Player 1 BAR and a Player 2 Bar. The length and speed of the bar is determined by your grappling skill and current stamina. Each Player can move their bar around the octagon shaped track. (like 2 trains) In order to submit your opponent, you just have to overlap part of their bar with part of yours. This is easy when you both have large bars. To make an opponent TAP OUT, you have to keep your bar over theirs and a gauge starts to fill. But you have a limited amount of time to fill it, otherwise your opponent escapes from the submission attempt. The bars can pass through each other, so you can try to move away, or move through the other Player's bar to escape. It's kinda fun, and very suspenseful.

Training: 7/10

In career mode, there are training exercises to boost your stats. These are 2 minute mini-games where you practice your moves. Depending on how well you did, you get stat boosts for your next fight! But training in opposite disciplines may actually lower your stats in the opposite discipline. So if you are a striker who wants to learn grappling or submissions, your punch and kick stats may drop a little bit. When training, it's important to be well rounded, but not abandon your most effective techniques. Most of the games are easy, but you don't get to practice them. They just throw you into them and you have to do your best in 2 minutes. It's frustrating at first, but gets easier later on.

Graphics: 8/10

The graphics look pretty good and authentic to the UFC. The venues, octagons, and crowds look great. The fighters all look like their real life counterparts, but they could look a bit better. When the fighters take damage, their face swells, they bleed, sweat, and their body and legs turn reddish-purple from the repeated hits.

Sound: 7/10

The music is great and the commentary is from Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg. Most of the time, the commentary is on the mark, but sometimes, they'll say something strange.

Multiplayer: NONE

The THQ servers are down because THQ went bankrupt. There was online support, but not anymore.

Maturity: Teen

If you like the sport, you've seen blood and fighting. There's no profanity or anything that you wouldn't expect while watching a UFC.

Replay Value: 8/10

Since the game takes a while to learn and even longer to master, you'll be playing it for a long time. However, the lack of an online multiplayer mode really hurts. I'd recommend going through the tutorial, then a bunch of exhibition fights first. Then take a pre-made fighter and fight your way to the title. Once you are familiar with ALL aspects of MMA, try the Career Mode.

Overall: 8.5/10

If you are willing to put in the hours, the game is fun! Because it's so difficult, every win feels great! You can enjoy the UFC game for at least a month, even without online mode. I'd recommend it if you are a fan or casual observer of the UFC.

Unfortunately, THQ is no more and EA bought the UFC license. Hopefully the EA Curse won't affect the UFC and hopefully, they'll make great games.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for UFC Undisputed 3

This game is the best for right now for 2012. The gameplay is a little tough but you will get use to it. The graphics are awesome. Better features than last year. You can do so much with your career fighter. This game is the best. I recommend everybody to get this game.

Cheap Star Wars Darth Vader Empire Vinyl Decal Skin Protector Cover #11

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $18.14
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It was better than I expected real easy to put on and worth it. So go out and get one of your own now it's a must buy!

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I love how this makes my system look. It arrived on time and was exactly as described. It is a great product!

Best Deals for Star Wars Darth Vader Empire Vinyl Decal Skin Protector Cover #11

There aren't a lot of books depicting Vader in his put down the rebellion stage as the dark lord being first on the field to lead the storm troopers into battle. The ominous figure is cast as either a liberator or destroyer, dependent on how you view the political regime of the empire. This decal can be placed on very easily, what I did differently than how the instructions described was a sponge with soap water squezzed almost dry and lightly slid across the sticky side of the decal to make it less sticky before applying to my PS3. Very easy and it looked great. Highly recommend to purchase, if you like cool Star Wars drawings or just like an epic battle scene which can let your imagination run wild. Like buying a mega lottery ticket, only it serves a practical purpose of protecting your expensive PS3 that kids touch when they come by.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Reviews

Customer Ratings:

This is a one of the few games that can be made for xbox, gamecube, PS2, and PC, and is still awesome on GBA! The grapics aren't as good, but I really can't blame Ubi for that. On all of the other versions of Splinter Cell, the graphics are 3-D. This game would be hard to play with 3-D graphics for GBA. The missions are slightly different from what I have been told.

If you are a person who gats a game and expects to be good at it the first time you play it, this is NOT the game for you!

Splinter Cell takes alot of time to learn. The entire game is about being able to be stealthy. You don't want to use up all of your amunition. That is why there are dark spots you can hide in to jump out and use your fighting skills to knock your enemy out.

Pros

1.Same basic objective to the game.

2.Lots of fun to sneek around and knock out people.

3.Lots of cool moves that you can use on Sam Fisher.

Cons

1.Can't get all of the old weapons

2.Very difficult!

3.Frustrating to have to play the missions all over again if you lose!

The A.I. in this game is pretty good.

The problem with it is, your enemy can react to you to fast for you do do something. If you are move to fast you get detected, if you move to slow you get detected.

One of the most frustrating things of this game is the fact that if you get deteced, the enemy will, A. Shoot, or Stun you. B. Will flip the alams and you you have about 6 sec. to find the switch before the mission is over.

All in all, I found this game to be challenging but rewarding if you win.

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Okay, you are not going to get the same game as on the Xbox, PS2, or Game Cube, but in and of itself, this is a great GBA game. And there ARE stealth aspects to the game, but game play is much simpler than on the consoles. Graphics are super detailed.

Best Deals for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

You are Sam Fisher,a Splinter Cell,and your mission is to stop terrorists.

This is a very good stealth game.It doesn't much the greatness of the game for PS2,X-BOX,GAMECUBE,and PC,but it's still very good.

It feautures the best graphics I have ever seen in a GBA game so far.It's levels are great,and the moves that you can accomplish are spectacular.

So why am I rating it four stars,and not five?

Because of the control.It [disappoints].

Most of the times you will loose,it will not be your fault, but the control's fault.

And the boss levels...imagine the worst control you can have for a sniper rifle...now double it!

Four stars means ''VERY GOOD'' and this is how I rate this game. I suggest you rent this game first before you decide if you will buy it.

Honest reviews on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

We've played Splinter Cell on the XBox and PS2 and loved it. Even though the GBA version is far simpler, it's still quite fun!

First off, where the XBox and other platforms had an incredibly detailed 3D shooter with amazing lighting effects, this is the GBA. So you get a 2D side scroller. You have to accept right off that this isn't quite the same detail level.

Once you get past that hurdle and accept this as a "fun stealthy game", it really is quite enjoyable. There are the same general mission aims as in the other versions, so you have hostages to rescue, contacts to talk with and enemies to kill. You have to use stealth as much as possible, shooting only when necessary.

The graphics are reasonably good for the GBA system, and the music works quite well. The controls are extremely simple to master, so there isn't a lot of button mashing. Most areas are more like puzzles, trying to figure out exactly what the best way to get past an obstacle is.

Highly recommended for spy and stealth game lovers.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

If you've played Splinter Cell on the PC or any of the home systems, than you allready know what a fantastic game it is. When it was announced that Splinter Cell would be ported to the GBA, a few eyebrows were raised questioning how much of the game's substance can be crammed into a little 32-bit cartridge. Well, Ubi Soft did a better than expected job with porting Splinter Cell to the GBA, and while it may look like an average side scroller to the naked eye, there is more here than one might think. First off the graphics are nicely done, and everyone's favorite secret agent commando Sam Fisher is fluidly animated for the most part. The gameplay tries to incorporate aspects from it's bigger console bretheren such as using stealth to your advantage, while mixing it with basic 2-D platform elements. Splinter Cell for the GBA is nicely paced and action packed from beginning to end, but the game is rather short in length and really doesn't offer anything else. All that aside, Splinter Cell is a much better than expected game for the GBA that attempts to carry the spirit of the original game, and while it has it's flaws, it surprisingly holds together well.

eForCity PS2 to PS3 Playstation Controller Adapter USB Converter Reviews

Customer Ratings:

Quick and dirty, this is what you need to know about this adapter:

[*] I experienced some initial trouble using my PS3 controllers to play PS2 games, but have since found that they work for most games. So this USB adapter is NOT necessary to play all PS2 games on your PS3.

[*] This DOES enable use of your old PS2 analog controllers to play MOST PS3 games. However, any PS3 game requiring the Sixaxis functionality of the new PS3 controllers and some that require R2/L2 sensitivity will not function perfectly. Also, since PS2 controllers do NOT have the Playstation/Home button that PS3 controller's have, you cannot easily exit out of games to the PS3 menu screen as you can with PS3 controllers.

[*] This DOES enable use of your PS2 analog controllers to navigate the PS3 menu screens, PSN, internet browser, etc.

[*] This is NOT fully functional with your old PS2 Guitar Hero controller. It is partially functional, but that's not good enough for GH.

[*] This IS functional for using MOST PS2 accessories (eg, steering wheels, arcade sticks, DDR mats) on your PS3. But your device may not work 100% which is likely an issue with your device's compatibility with the PS3, not this adapter.

[*] You can order this directly from Eforcity, the manufacturer in CA, for a total of $6.25 through Amazon. Mine was packaged well and shipped very quickly. It arrived in just 2 days.

[*] A Playstation 3 Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller costs $50 & the 'old' Sixaxis cost ~$40-45. A PlayStation 2 Dualshock Controller Black only costs $20 + $6.25 for this adapter. Even a nice wireless PlayStation 2 Cordless Action Controller only costs $30.

I am very happy with the two eforcity adapters I purchased. They are small and simple, but they allow me to play old PS2 games on my new PS3 as well as use my old PS2 controllers with new PS3 games.

Hope this information is helpful. Please click 'Yes' if it is.

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A whole lot better then spending 50 bucks on a new ps3 controller because the ps2 controller works well on most ps3 games. Now I can play my friends without dishing out much cash at all. Just can't use 6-axis obviously. Also some games might not let you use the ps2's L2 and R2 buttons because the pressure sensitivity may be different, but I've only experienced that on one game so far.

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PS2 Controller Adaptor for Sony PS3

I originally ordered one because it was so cheap and figured if it didn't work oh well. I wanted to be able to play with three other friends on call of duty, but a new controller would cost $55. With this I was able to use an old PS2 controller and this $4 adapter saving a lot of money. It works perfectly even L2 and R2 (in call of duty at least) great way to save money!

Honest reviews on eForCity PS2 to PS3 Playstation Controller Adapter USB Converter

I wasn't too sure when I made the purchase that this controller would work, for the cost was inexpensive. I am glad to say that i can now use all my ps 2 hardware on the ps 3 with no hesitation. WAY TO GO!

Thank you

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for eForCity PS2 to PS3 Playstation Controller Adapter USB Converter

Unfortunately, this adapter did not completely work for me. I bought it for the sole purpose of allowing me to play PS2 DDR on my PS3 (I have the old one that is completely backwards compatible). It would not recognize stepping on two arrows at the same time, which is essential for playing DDR. I checked the dance pad on a PS2, and it was not an issue with the dance pad so it had to be the adapter. I was hoping this would work, as another reviewer said it did, but somehow it just didn't completely work for me.

Just a note that doesn't contribute to my rating of the product: I e-mailed the seller for a return, BargainCell in my case, but they never replied to me. However, I went through my personal e-mail so I will try again through Amazon. So I still have this adapter that I have no use for and am out $7. EDIT: The seller eventually e-mailed me back and refunded me even though I thought it was too late.

Reviews of Disgaea 3 Absence of Justice - Playstation 3

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $19.12
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Pros:

+A lot of good gameplay

+An overall charming story

+Lots of things to do off the beaten path

+A Huge emphasis on strategy

+Well done anime inspired art

Cons:

-Still a few problems with the camera

-By now the graphics need an improvement to better bring the story to life. The anime inspired art is really nice, but how about an anime scene or two to really convey a character's feelings or actions? Beyond that, the battlefield and character sprites look exactly like they did in the first two games. A graphical update would've been really nice.

In 2003, Disgaea came out and breathe some new life into the Tactical Strategy RPG. It quickly became a cult classic. Disgaea 2 came around and stayed true to the first by changing very little. In that sense, Disgaea 3 can be summed up as being a continuation of the things that worked in the first two games. If you enjoyed the first two Disgaea games, then you'll like Disgaea 3.

Disgaea 3 focuses on Mao as he tries to overthrow is Overlord of a father for destroying his game console. It's a joke of a story but it's meant to be such. In all honesty it isn't much of a bad story at all once it gets going. The story is told through still shots of the characters facing one another as the dialog pops up on screen. There's voice acting, although some of it is quite forgettable. But there's also a good sense of humor, mainly because the story doens't take itself so seriously. Disgaea 3 knows what it is and doesn't try to be anything more. It makes the overall experience of it fun and satisfying. But as the story progresses it actually becomes about so much more than a mere broken Slaystation Portable.

The story is charming overall, but the presentation of it isn't so much. Certainly character portraits carrying the story out isn't so bad, but by now Disgaea should be willing to take its production values to new levels with the Playstation 3. An anime cutscene or something to help bring some of the more dramatic moments to life would've been really nice.

Battling in Disgaea 3 is no different than it was in the previous two games. You move characters around the battlefield executing attacks. Disgaea has always had a huge emphasis on strategy mainly because of the Geo Panels. Depending on the placement of Geo Panels and the placement of Geo Blocks, characters can be granted certain bonuses ranging from an attack boost to even some that aren't going to help you at all such a hindrance to your defense. Disgaea 3 also brings back the bonus gauge where after a battle you can get certain bonuses depending on how much damage you've done or how many panels you've destroyed. Even by the third installment, the Geo Panels system manages to be unique. The Geo Panels also help to make a difference in your strategy. You'll find your level doesn't mean much if the enemy you're facing has a huge boost by the Geo Panel he's standing on.

Disgaea 3 also keeps the level cap incredibly high. You can go all the way up to level 9999. It might seem like the game puts more emphasis on level and brute force, but chances are you'll find there's still a lot of strategy involved in the game, and that's mainly because there's so much outside of the story to do, and the Geo Panels provide a neat puzzle element to the game.

The biggest problem, however, is that it doesn't look any different from the first two games. You're basically getting a Playstation 2 game on a Playstation 3 console. Tactical Strategy RPGs have never been the best looking games, but Disgaea 3, despite being on the Playstation 3, looks almost exactly the same as the first two games. There isn't a real noticeable improvement in the game's artistic or graphical design. The anime inspired character portraits are very nice and detailed, but the overall look of the game isn't much. It also still suffers from the camera angles. While you can rotate the camera you'll find that there's not much else you can do with it. Pillars and other environmental objects will still be in the way.

Disgaea 3 is a good game. Excellent for Disgaea fans. It may play the same way, but that isn't a bad thing at all. What may not settle well with some gamers, however, is that it's a Playstation 3 game that would've been better suited for the Playstation 2.

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I could not disagree with the three star review more: the current iteration of "Disgaea" is, IMHO, the best strategy game ever made, overtopping both of the original offerings in this series.

Why, though? What makes this offering stand out from its counterparts? It's simple, really: it's precisely the bizarre storyline of the main quest. Lots of people heaped praise on the storyline of the original "Disgaea". I wasn't one of them. I personally thought that, while the story had its moments, in the end, it was pretty blah (particularly considering the cast of wonderful characters appearing). The storyline for the 2nd "Disgaea" was less entertaining than the first (mostly because the cast of characters wasn't interesting in the least, until the post-game madness started). Yet, I loved the first two games, precisely because of what happened AFTER the game. The number of extras in the first game was impressive, and the extras in the 2nd game were absolutely stagerring.

But finally, I really enjoy the storyline. I won't spoil it, but it is incredibly strange, and wholly entertaining. Rather, I'll break my review into the typical pro and cons sections:

PROS:

1) Storyline It's funny. It's well-written. What more could you ask for.

2) Music At times, it's positively incredible. The music playing in the background while in the academy (i.e. while not battling) ranks among my favorite video game themes of all time, and the main theme is good as well. The battle themes are less impressive, but this is actually nice, if one attempts to beat the game with skill as opposed to level-grinding (I would rather focus my concentration on the battle at hand).

3) Voice-acting I enjoy it immensely. It works very well for the story present (although the Japanese voices annoy me).

4) Extras I'm not talking about in-game extras (of which there are so many, I cannot even begin to describe them). I'm talking about the soundtrack CD accompanying the product. I love music CDs, when they're free.

5) Price Most Sony PS3 games are sixty bucks, and most PS3 games stink. It's nice to get a fifty dollar offering that is enjoyable.

6) In-game extras You could easily play this game for 150 hours. There is so much craziness to end the game, it's not even funny.

CONS:

1) Graphics Yes, I know. It's not really important to the main offering. But come on. Most of the time in the game is spent either in battles, or in the school. There's really not much to illustrate here. Why not go the extra mile and make some interesting NEW character designs? I mean, these are the EXACT SAME monsters we saw in the original "Disgaea".

That's about it. Really.

This game, however, will not appeal to anyone. Action gamers, stay away. There's nothing wrong with that, and the comment isn't meant as an insult. Some people don't like the slow pacing of strategy games, or the level grinding madness that ends each "Disgaea" game. Strategy gamers, come one, come all. Let's face it, we haven't gotten many strong offerings recently (I deplore the DS "FFTA" game, and the Wii's "Fire Emblem" was a pretty frail offering as well). "Disgaea" fans well, I don't even have to tell you, do I?

Good stuff.

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This is my first Disgaea game in the franchise. I certainly hope it isn't my last. I've put in about 6 hours into the game, enough to give me an idea of how the game will play. I have to say, it's been fun, great fun.

It's like playing a saturday morning cartoon, except it has a lot of content kids won't get. The game starts with Mao, who wants to defeat his father the Overlord, because his father ruined his video game system(sound familiar?) that cost him millions of hours worth of data. And so our quest begins. The voice overs sound like something off of Fox Kids saturday morning shows.

The game offers so many little things to do and manage. I was actually quite intimidated by the options it gave me when I started playing because I was pretty clueless. After some experimenting I'm slowly understanding parts of it. It is an srpg, but it is like no other srpg I've ever played. The levels are usually small and offer some traps, and puzzles as you traverse the area. I have a feeling this game is going to offer me a lot of great hours. There's so much to upgrade and different things to do.

I'm sure by now everyone knows this game has the look of a ps2 game. And honestly it does. But it's been such a good time, it doesn't bother me one bit. I love it. Rent it, buy it..I don't care. just play it

Honest reviews on Disgaea 3 Absence of Justice - Playstation 3

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories are Japanese strategy RPGs originally available on the Playstation 2. The original Disgaea has been ported to the PSP with upgrades and improvements. There will be a Nintendo DS port later this year. The original Disgaea is also being resurrected as a "Greatest Hits", somewhat of a milestone for a series like this.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice is the story of the demon Mao in the Netherworld and his quest to become a hero and overthrow his father, the Overlord while he attends the Evil Academy.

The story throws snorts, snickers and outright laughs at you from the moment you boot the disk in your Playstation 3. Wry, tongue-in-cheek humor is de rigeour for this series.

You start with a level 1 set of characters and have the possibility to progress through the story, with the option of restarting again when you finish it, to a level cap of 9999.

Damage to opponents can rise to the millions of points.

You can "enter" a weapon or other item in your inventory through the Item World to raise its attributes.

Homeroom and Student Council votes must be secured to have more party members, better weapons and armor available at stores.

The amount of customization and stat augmentations you can make are staggering.

You can choose to have Japanese voice-overs, should you desire.

Negatives include dated sprites. While the game is displayed on my 1080p television, the sprites (not the backgrounds or cut scenes) are a little pixelated, which I would like to have been a little more sharp. But this is a minor quibble.

If this is your first outing in the SRPG world, it is strongly encouraged to get the strategy guide or find a good wiki as you will need a leg up in sorting things out. They've crammed everything including the kitchen sink into this game.

If you want to try the cheaper Greatest Hits version of Disgaea, no one would fault you, conversely, the PSP version is highly lauded as well. The latest iteration is averaging a low to mid 80/100 scores from most sites, taking points off for the mild graphical upgrades, but cheering the deep replayability of the game.

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I don't write reviews at all for things I purchase on Amazon so if I'm writing this then I have a reason.

This. game. is. epic.

Yes, it's good. But what I mean is that the battle system, items, characters, EVERYTHING is so huge and deep that this game has more to offer than not only any other console game and most MMOs on the market today. I'm not saying it's the greatest game, I'm saying in terms of scope there are VERY few things that can rival this.

Now I will start to list random good points about the game in no specific order:

Voice acting I was about to cringe when I was preparing to hear the voice acting for the first time because there are a lot of times when Japanese media is brought over to the U.S. and the voices are murdered, but I was pleasantly surprised. The VO work is amazing in English. I even recognized some of the voices from various anime and other game work. I like the voices so much I have yet to switch over to the Japanese track and coming from a guy who usually does switch over, THAT'S saying something.

Battle system deep, deep, deep. I must say the battle system for this game is incredibly deep, so much so that there's so much to talk about I will only say it's awesome.

Story Some push the story aside for being stupid, but I beg to differ. It's so unique and so different that it's what everyone has been asking for something new. It's not serious at all, it's just fun and crazy. The Overlord's Son, Mao, wants to defeat his father because he stepped on his game console and game he spent 4 million hours on. Oh and it all takes place in the Netherworld......which is one giant school. Long story short it only gets better as you go along. If that isn't unique, then I don't know what is.

Items, character choices, customization, etc again, words cannot describe how much freedom you are given in this game. Choose some classes you like, give them weapons and armor, choose their skills, kill things. It's unbelievably massive.

Visuals in a day and age dominated by all the latest 3d graphics, it's a nice change of pace. Colorful, crisp 2D graphics with a little bit of 3D in the mix. It looks beautiful.

There are a few bad things about the game....

Lack of explanations I must say they don't explain enough to you in the tutorial of the game. There's so many things to take into consideration when making all the choices around the game that sometimes you have no idea what will happen or what's the point of something. It's never too bad though as you might be able to figure it out, or heck it may even be in the manual, but I haven't opened it so I don't know.

Scope yes I said the scope of this game is amazing, but for some it will be too much. There's just so much to do and see that not everyone will be able to do so. This really is personal preference though. I love the scope and depth of this game, others may run away...far away.

Various battles Some battles are just downright annoying. There are very few 'normal' maps when there isn't some sort of 'catch' to the battle(high ground, geo panels, high walls, super small maps, etc). Instead you are forced to fight on something new almost every fight which can keep things interesting, but others times I was just hoping for something...simple. Then there are downright cheap enemies and attacks. Enemies with super high dodging ability, enemies that hit 4-5 of you guys at once from across the pacific ocean if they felt like it, and many other things. To make it worse they might throw anywhere from 1-20 of these guys at you. Like I said, keeps things new and interesting...but sometimes you just want....simple.

All in all, you won't find a game for this price(I got my copy for $30) that offers this much. It's amazing how much content is on this disk. 9999 lvls, 30+ classes AND monsters to choose from, DLC, extra missions, 20-30 hours main story mode, customizable classes, weapons, etc. If you've been looking for an RPG that will last you a long time then look no further. This game might just last you a lifetime.

Discount Super Street Fighter IV FightPad - T. Hawk - Xbox 360

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This time around the fighting pads are much more well made. The D-Pad is much more reinforced and will last much much longer. The buttons come out faster and the bumpers haven't gotten stuck on me yet. It has the shape as the originals and still feels conferrable. The art work is great on all of the character choices, especially the T.Hawk design (hints why I got it). Overall, if you don't have a arcade stick or you wanna play Street Fighter in a new way, give these pads a try, they are pretty cool.

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Buy Xbox 360 NFL San Francisco 49ers Controller

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Hey 9er fans,

This is a great addition into your collection. Controller feels really good in your hand, it doesn't require you to adjust your grip for comfort it just feels right as soon as you pick up to play.Only adjustment is the (START and Back Buttons) they are under the A and B buttons insead of in the middle. the L/R triggers are crazy with one push= many and you must push both triggers to stop this thats the tweak mentioned in the title which is why I give it a 4 instead of 5 enjoy though this is a beautiful controller and should be high on your list !!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I got this for my husband as a gift bc he LOVES the team BUT after using it for only about 3 weeks the RB button started to stick and now just doesn't work. He was really upset and said "you get what you pay for".

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Worked perfectly and now the kids have voice on the Xbox again. Length and connectors are same as the ones that came with it originally.

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I got this cable because the one that came with my turtle beaches broke I am super happy about the price and because it worked so well it is very good

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Product came in great condition as promised and no issues with it so far.

Would consider this to anyone needing this cable

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I ordered this product and received it withing about a week. which is great considering it was Christmas time. However when I plug it into my xbox controller I have to make sure i have the chat volume on my headset turned down low because it creates a low static type noise when plugged in that my original cord did not. It's a bit disappointing considering the amount of money i had to get it but the Mic still works which is enough I suppose.

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This was exactly what I needed since my previous mic cord was damaged for my x11's and there was also fast shipping as well.