Best DODONPACHI DAI-FUKKATSU Deals

Customer Ratings:

DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu 1.5 is a port of the shmup arcade game by developer CAVE. Note that this release works on Japanese consoles. If you want to play it on a North American or PAL console, see DoDonPachi Resurrection which is the localized version. I use a Japanese 360 to play this disc.

Daifukkatsu is the most colorful CAVE shmup to date, full of bright eye-popping visuals and over the top bullet patterns. It also has some really cool enemy designs, such as boss fights that transform from space ships into robots in smooth transitions. It's absolutely gorgeous in motion.

This is also the most forgiving game in the DonPachi series. Players who were frustrated with the difficulty of previous DonPachi games will find this one more palatable. But don't worry, scoring is as hardcore as ever, and even the best players will be hard pressed to maximize their scoring potential. Sure, I got the one-credit clear, but I'm not going to pretend my score isn't rubbish.

Several game modes are included. Out of the box, you get the original arcade version and two arrange modes (Arrange A and B). Two more arrange modes are available via DLC, version 1.51 (a DLC card included with first-print copies) and Black Label (standard DLC). These arrange modes drastically change up the game and scoring mechanics; at times they barely seem like the same game. Definitely give them all a try at least once.

The only arrange not playable on this disc is the second Black Label Arrange, or "Ketsupachi" as it's commonly known due to the Ketsui cubes. If you want that game mode you'll have to buy the Black Label disc. I like Ketsupatchi, but whether it's worth buying a whole second disc for is questionable.

The only real downside to this game is the cover art, or rather, the lack of cover art. I wasn't sure I even bought a video game when it first arrived. Given the quality contents though, I can forgive this.

In conclusion, this is a great game for both shmup newbies and veterans alike. If you're at all interested in shmups, this is an excellent package.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Cheap Dirt 3 - Xbox 360

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $47.49
Today's Bonus: 21% Off

I've been pumped about this game for a while. I loved the first DiRT, liked the second DiRT, and the third, so far, is everything that I expected it to be. The menu layout and overall feel of the game is a lot better than DiRT 2 in my opinion. DiRT 2 focused too much on the "cool" factor and rallicross, rather than actual rally racing. While I like it, it's not what I wanted in a game. The cars in this game do not disappoint, from classics to new. While rally racing in general has felt a little boring to me lately (WRC has lacked in the variation of cars, IMO), the level of detail afforded to this project is amazing.

The damage model, weather, environment, and car details are by far superior to the past two games. If you enjoy racing games, you will love this. If you enjoy rally racing, you will love this. If you enjoy mudding and making cars dirty, you will love this. If you have a 2-year old child who likes to eat Cheerios, you will love this. Essentially, anyone who enjoys controlling a vehicle in any capacity cannot help but love this game.

Side note: I am still at the early stages of playing this game, so bugs and issues may come up. I will report and alter review if anything dictates a change. For now, the options seem to make this game work well for any gamer level. I look forward to finishing the career mode.

This is how a racing game should be made. Instead of pretty cut scene videos being passed as the gaming experience, DiRT has always relied on making a game that works well to sell more copies. This is NO Shift 2, Hot Pursuit 2, or any other huge let down of a racing game.

*UPDATE* 5/31/2011 After playing the game for a while, I'm still really enjoying it. I am going to bring the star rating down to a 4-star on account of Dirt 3 falling into the whole "drift" phase of racing games. This annoys me because while I enjoy drifting and having fun, they make it crazy difficult for people to achieve the medals. I can hit gold after MANY attempts, but platinum... just insane. Anyway, drifting is judged, it's not racing. They should just make a drifting game so I can stay away from it. It doesn't take away too much from the game except that I now know there are achievements I will NOT be able to get. Also, the rally racing is a little disappointing. While I like the way the cars handle and the overall feel of the game, the rally races are all like 1-2 miles long, which isn't much fun. I miss the good old days of the huge hill clibs and multi-mile rally races. It seems like in this day and age, DiRT 3 is no exception to this shortage of content to come out with games, leaving too much room for a full priced release to have DLC in the future. 4-stars now for making a great game that is still lacking.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Dirt is back and this time, its back with a vengeance. Dirt 2 showed up a couple years back to dazzle us with the mainstream, flashy bigtime rally feel, leaving Dirt1's essential based, hardcore hill climbs behind. Dirt 3 tries to take it up a notch by taking what worked in both games and intermingling them. Does it work? Lets find out.

First of all this review is highly in depth, if you want to know the jist of things, i'll have a small section at the end for you guys, (use "find" Ctrl + F in your browser and type in: "Wrap up" without quotes to get a summary.) Now with that out of the way, we can review this bad boy.

Dirt 3 relies on extreme simplicity, and in a way this is great, the simplicity applies to its racing, and its approach to menus. With that said, Dirt 3 also does some amazing things despite this, because despite its simplistic features and driving arcadey style, it grows on you very quickly. Before I get ahead of myself, lets just stick with the menus for a bit.

MENUS:

Gone is the trailer, while I liked the trailer, it was slow, dirt 3 prides itself on navigating menus quickly, there's career, options, my dirt etc. all at the main menu, move up and down and you're all set to go. Before you get to the menu, be sure to put in your online activation code to unlock youtube, 5 cars and more bonus stuff like playing online, after that, you put in your name, your spoken name, (code masters is still one of the only companies that allows you to select an actual spoken version of your name or nickname) and your youtube credentials. This will allow you to directly apply things from races to youtube. Cause a 8 car massacre or just kick some royal butt and you can upload it straight to the internet. Yay, now all your friends can see how awesome you are, or how much you suck. Now, the menu is a lot like dirt 1, its a spacious nothingness with floating text, that gives way to floating triangles (pyramids) When you select these, they open up into four events, the three satellite triangles from left to right to top, unlock (in that order) based on points earned in events, selecting a triangle, opens up its list of events shown in right facing rhombuses, that describe the events, select the event, select your car, and you're good to go. This entire process is streamlined and will take if you're rushing a good 10-20 seconds. (main menu to race load) When you've beaten all of the races in a triangle, it will turn gold, and its on to the next triangle. When you've earned enough points, the middle triangle will open, this is the finale of the Pyramid, race it to finish off the Pyramid to turn the whole thing gold. From here on out other Pyramids may appear as you progress, but this menu is easy to get, easy to navigate, fast and easy to use. The one minor gripe I Have is livery selection. When you want to change the look of your vehicles, you have to do it in My DiRT > Garage > select class > Car to change > highlight livery to use > View car. It's a bit irritating but its not horribly detracting. The menu before the race is straightforward as well, speaks for itself and pretty much doesn't need much of anything, its good, it works. Moving on.

LOADS:

Loads in this game are infrequent really, the menu doesn't have any lag and the load to a race uninstalled takes about 20 seconds. The visuals for the load are nice, showing the car you'll be using, but aside from that, its a bit bland, only showing the same foreign beige space the menu resides in. The loads aren't excessively cumbersome, and are completely nonexistent on chosen menu reload during race (choose restart race). Its instant back to the starting grid. However this does not happen if you complete a race and then choose restart, as it will return you to the staging area where you can set up your car. This offers a bit of load, but nowhere near the time it took to initially load the race.

GRAPHICS:

On this 360 console, Dirt 3 as a whole is a wonderfully put together game, the scenery looks very real, the dust, damage, snow, cars, and lighting are all very highly detailed, with minor jaggies throughout. Mostly the shadows in particular. The colors are rich, the bloom is relatively low, (take a look back to dirt one to compare) and the game plays wonderfully. I have had a few hiccups, but I have not had any serious frame rate slowing. Dust, crashes, bits flying off, and several cars on screen does not seem to bother the xbox's graphics or processing units enough to lag the picture. Great job, its immersive and looks excellent.

CONTROLS:

Handbrake has been switched back to B. If you're wondering why the Handbrake doesn't work, that's why. Odd choice going back to dirt 1 control scheme, but I guess its not too bad. Most companies use A for handbrake but its not a problem. Change views with RB, go with RT Stop with LT. Turn with Joy L. Simple controls, easy to use. Joy R can be used to pivot the camera in any direction (useful in cockpit) and Y can be used to look back.

SOUNDS:

Sounds in this game are great, the car's interaction with the road on every surface is wonderfully portrayed and mixed, the engine notes are top notch and both co-drivers are great on either setting The soundtrack has been scaled back top be less "In-your-face" than Dirt 2 as well, sporting a large number of songs and musical genres, but only playing them basically when replays are being shown. This in my opinion settles things down in the menu and keeps things feeling more serious than an arcade romp through the woods. The mood here is one of focus and coming into a race, and the music and tone is good at conveying that. However, the game feels less fast paced and fun this way, but its a trade off. The main problem here is the voice talent. You talk to a guy, your team manager, and your mechanic. I like the mechanic, he's pretty down to earth, gets ticked if you ding your car up a lot, but conversely is very happy when you don't. The manager is okay, she has that "I'm acting feel" to her voice but its fine. Its the last guy I have issues with. The guy is hyper happy, always positive and says amigo and a few other chosen names in the Spanish language. None of it sounds realistic, none of it really makes sense, it seems very 90's or earlier, and its feels out of place in a game like this. I want to punch myself when he talks. But its a small gripe at best, aside from that single blemish, this game's sound is truly spectacular.

DRIVING

Finally! okay sorry for making you wait, here we go. Dirt 3's driving is great, its not a Sim like GT of Forza, but its not really Need for Speed arcade either, if anything its kind of like Need for Speed Shift, if you could take shift 2's driving style and make it work right. Dirt 3 has a very easy to pick up style of play, and on low difficulty settings is very easy to drive and play with. However, on advanced, this game's totally different, the car is harder to handle with no assists, can be wrecked (this must be turned on in difficulty) every corner turns into a battle, its you and machine vs. the course, and in rally, that's all that it should be. Cars are in general pretty tight and get a little more loose around what I like to call their sweet spots. When a car hits its sweet spot, it will require very little coaxing to turn it or keep it straight, Faster or slower than this area and the car will become either much more loose or tight than you are used to it being, and thus may cause you to crash, but don't fret, if you do there is always this:

Flashback returns: Just like in Dirt 2, you can rewind the race to "flashback" to before you made a mistake. If you do this, you're docked a bit of EXP for using a flashback and get to start from there. Penalty and reward, right there in a nutshell for you. Obviously as you progress in your career, you get to use faster and faster cars, and get better and better deals. Dirt 3 drives like a champ, the controls allow for a wonderful almost sim like experiance on the hardest difficulty like dirt one provided, while still allowing a lot of easiness if you need it like Dirt 2 did. The driving is best when assists are off, but it will get frustrating at times, so don't be ashamed to turn down the AI if you need to. Turning in and out works like it should, drifting works better than it should but hey its fun, and cars take a lot more mechanical damage in dirt 3 than they do in 2, meaning that bump might have been well, bad. Dirt 1's damage model makes a stronger return, becoming considerably more unforgiving with damage but still not quite as hard to oversome as Dirt 1, 3, does allow for extensive damage to engine components, Suspension as well. Tires can be popped, making you ride on rim, and cars can still be drivable, but, "well, you're not winning with them" damaged.n Every aspect of the driving in Dirt 1 and 2 has been mixed and refined, to the point its pretty much perfect for the type of game it is.

LENGTH:

From what I can see, Dirt 3 will last a week or more playing intermittently, but I'm sure I haven't played enough to unlock all of the events, and has a lot of features that will keep you playing, But as it stands, Dirt 3 should last a while and should be worth the current price.

PACING:

Dirt3 doesn't move too quickly, but its doesn't move at a snail pace either. The events are kind of short in the beginning but they do get a bit longer as you go, as with any racing game. To further point out things, Dirt 3 has added a "fun mode" which is basically the X games with vehicles, Gymkhana. Donuts, drifting, smashing stuff, burnouts, jumps, you name it. It breaks the monotony of Dirt 3 if it wears on you, otherwise, its just fun crap to do. Dirt 3 doesn't wear itself out, and that's an impressive feat. Keeping you playing for that length of time at the same level of happiness is always a good thing.

MULTIPLAYER

As a whole, multiplayer by codemasters pretty much stays the same, its dedicated server, its fast, fun and awesome, and as always its completely community driven. Some minor changes were made however, Jam session isn't race by race anymore,and runs for several before coming back, but playing ranked is about the same. Multiplayer runs well for the ones I played, no lag problems. One thing I miss is voting. One great addition, Couch battles. Yeah SPLIT SCREEN. As everyone axes it, go head to head with your buddy while everybody else on every other game has to go online to do it.

REWARDS AND UNLOCKS

This is where things might get sketchy for you, you don't buy cars in this game, they unlock by livery, basically meaning that you can't use certain vehicles until you have unlocked their first livery, every time you gain EXP, you gain more towards your next driver level, when you level up, you gain more opportunities with more companies, the better companies you unlock, the better and harder missions in race to beat for EXP become. Basically as you level up you earn more vehicles and liveries. In past dirt games you bought them. In many ways this is intuitive, but in many ways this is a poor choice. You can't specifically target certain vehicles, if you like the Fiat Punto Grande Super 2000 and plan on using it online all of the time, you can't buy your favorite livery for it to use. You have to reach a certain level for it to unlock, AND you don't know what any liveries look like in the future either. In addition the game doesn't like you to play favorites. When you play a a freshly unlocked car or livery, that livery or car's team will give you more exp to do a challenge than a previously obtained one at a lower level. Netting 200 EXP for doing 91 MPH on a track vs 400 or more for the same thing. Sure your ride looks cooler riding faves, but you level less quickly. In my opinion, this was a very poor choice, though it makes sense, it just makes the game feel less personalized, like you have to play it their way. But what balances this out, is multiplayer, playing in multiplayer earns EXP towards one driver level, yep the career and online driver levels are integrated, and therefore using your faves is okay because in a few short races, you've earned back all you missed in career mode by using your favorite Castrol sponsored Celica versus the kicker one. Makes you happy.

WRAP UP

DIRT 3 is a good length, great paced game with quite a few unlocks, it also boasts great sound, and great driving gameplay, while looking wonderful with virtually no graphical issues to speak of. It does have some annoying voice acting and a minor-ly problematic unlock scheme, but all in all its fast fun for single player, online multiplayer or even multiplayer in the living room. Dirt 3 has it all, and takes the best from Dirt 1 and 2 and intermingles it for one awesome rally experience that everyone can take a piece from and enjoy, whether they're first time racers, sim racers, arcade racers or just chewing on the controller enjoying the vibration function, Dirt 3 has something everyone can enjoy. Five stars.

Best Deals for Dirt 3 - Xbox 360

First, a little background on myself; racing games are all I play. I have been playing racing games since I was a kid, everything from the original Driver and Grand Turismo titles to my previous all time favorites, Richard Burns Rally(PC) and Forza 3(Xbox360). I play with a MadCatz wireless wheel because I'm not about to dish out $300+... In real life I am involved in the local rally community and am currently building a road course STi, so I know a little bit about how cars should behave on gravel and tarmac surfaces.

I have to admit that I never bought the previous two Dirt titles based solely on customer reviews. I haven't been able to play an arcade racer since I was 14, the physics and goofy gameplay turn me off where the expert physics of Forza 3 can keep my tuning and racing for hours on end. While Dirt 3 may still have its arcade-style (keep in mind, I don't even like European-style rally-x in real life) races to please the younger crowd, the stage rallies ooze realism and clearly have a lot of effort put into the physics engine. I'm hooked!

~Pros~

Near RBR-quality stage rally simulation for the Xbox360!!

Awesome car selection; race everything from the same cars you seen on WRC stages to classic stage rally car legends, even the trophy/stadium trucks are a hoot!

Track selection; I'm not that far along in the game, but I've already been blown away by the rally stages...lots of effort to detail here! Nice cambered corners, ditches to hook, power poles in trouble spots, realistic crests, etc.

Huge event range; stage rally, European-style rally-x, drifting, gymkhana, trophy truck racing, etc. I haven't even tried playing online yet...

Graphics; looks and runs great on my 50" TV.

Menu soundtrack; love it or hate it, but if you're a dubstep/modern techno fan you'll enjoy the menu music.

Car tuneabilty; gear ratios, shock damping, ride height, differentials, and brake bias are adjustable and actually make a huge difference on-stage.

~Cons~

Some arcade-style gameplay during circuit races, many early rally-x races are won by avoiding the monstrous pile-up caused by all the AI racers ramming each other into the corner. Tapping other cars doesn't seem to have much of an effect on them, but when they tap you it is fairly hard to maintain control.

Graphics; this is a SLIGHT complaint! If you catch the guy in front of you on stage, the dust he kicks up is pretty splotchy and makes it hard to see (in real life the dust gets crazy, so it's not like you'd be able to see any better...). The helmet cam is a good idea, but for some reason feels "off" compared to the hood view, it's just a little too distracting. Maybe if I "remove" the avatar hanging from the rear view and give it another try I will like it more.

Most cars are fairly hard to drive out of the box, which might make for a few low ratings. Hint: turn down your steering sensitivity, run the differentials fairly loose, and move the brake bias forward. Gravel and snow are hard to drive on in real life, do everything smaller and further in advance than on tarmac, use the brakes and the car's weight to turn the car.

I wish the cars were more tunable... They were right to have the car setup locked (all cars are already built to perfection), but I would have liked to see a tuning system closer to Forza where I could alter my alignment geometry and tire pressure...

Why the heck didn't RallyAmerica hop on this?!? I would have loved to see more American rally stages in this game!

I just hope they release more games like this so that America can catch rally fever instead of the JDM-Y0 drift insanity that has been going around lately...

5/5, if you like racing games, buy this now! I had to go to 3 different Best Buy locations to find this one on the shelf during Memorial Day weekend.

Honest reviews on Dirt 3 - Xbox 360

First, some perspective so you can judge if my review is relevant to your gaming interests. I have a Fanatec GT2 wheel with ClupSport pedals which I use on both my PS3 and Xbox 360. I cannot drive a car using a joystick, never could and never wanted to. I'm looking for immersion and, with the right game and sitting in front of my 65" TV with surround sound, I can experience it. The most important thing to me is that I feel the cars respond accurately to my wheel input. Of the games I've played: Dirt controlled terribly with my previous wheel (Logitech DFGT); Dirt 2 once I adjusted to the feel of off-road racing, felt great with both the DFGT and GT2; Need for Speed Shift and Shift Unleashed these games are seriously flawed as I could never get them dialed in with either wheel, even after updates; F1 2010 controlled beautifully with DFGT (alas, I found F1 racing not to my tastes but the game was great technically by my standards); Gran Turismo 5 handled spot on with DFGT and just the slightest issues with GT2; Forza 3 hands down, the best driving experience I've ever had. When in cockpit view, the hands on the wheel of the car move in unison with my hands and the cars respond as I would expect them to. When I reached 100% completion I had over 124 hours of driving time in the game (never hired a driver).

I have never raced a car in my life and the only off-roading I've done was in my Jeep CJ5 and Wrangler, which were low-speed experiences. I don't get hung up on whether the game is a true simulation as I have no clue what racing, on track or off-road, really feels like. If the game feels like what I think it would feel to drive a 2008 Nissan #23 XANAVI NISMO GT-R (probably my favorite fast car in Forza 3 it just tracks so beautifully) or a 1993 Mitsubishi Pajero Dakar (a fun vehicle from Dirt 2 competitive in spite of its age and size), then it works for me, pure and simple.

Technical I drive with no assists in Dirt 3, as in Dirt 2. I'm not a great driver and I do use the lowest AI difficulty settings but I want to feel the track as it was designed and judge the speed of the curves without a suggested drive/braking line. I use the automatic transmission simply because, as immersive as the experience may be, I've never developed a feel for shifting a virtual car like I have for a real car. I also do not use flashbacks. If I spin out that's part of the experience so I get myself back on the road and keep going. I use the hood view as it provides me the best view of the road (in Forza 3 I alternate between hood view and cockpit view depending on the car I'm driving).

Review for Xbox 360 if you have a Fanatec wheel you will find countless game and wheel settings online to try. I truly believe that the optimum settings vary with each driver so I won't list mine, unless there's some demand for them. What's important is that, with some trial and error, I have found settings that work for me. As my son said of Dirt 2, what you're striving for is controlled chaos and I'm just about there now. I work harder in race at controlling cars in Dirt 3 than Forza 3 but then I'm racing off-road rather than circuit race tracks. The best comparison is when I'm on tarmac in Dirt 3. The cars float just a smidgeon more than I'd like but I don't know if that's a controller-tuning issue or what's to be expected when you take an off-road vehicle and put it on pavement at high speed (my Jeeps would never win any awards for road handling). So, with one and a half hours of actual driving time invested so far, I find the cars sufficiently controllable to satisfy my standards, although I'm still playing with the game's wheel weight setting; my upper back was aching last night from the tension of steering the cars over multiple runs.

Does it meet my expectation of what driving a car fast off-road would feel like? A resounding yes! Again, it may not be a true simulation but that doesn't matter to me. When I race I feel the adrenaline pump and there's a smile on my face. I usually know when I've had a good run and when I've been a bit too sloppy. It's as real as I need it to be and, most importantly, it's F-U-N.

I rarely watch replays in Forza 3 but in Dirt 3, as in Dirt 2, I frequently do. The graphics are equal to the best I've seen (I don't game on a PC so I can't compare to that platform) and the action lends itself to viewing multiple times. In the middle of a rally run you may not realize how much air you caught coming over that hill but in replay you can just enjoy the view. I've impressed myself on more than one occasion. :-) The only thing missing is the ability to save a full run for playback but if it's important to me I just capture a replay with my digital camera. Not perfect but it works.

I had read online reviews about the menu interface and brought an open mind to the game. I can now say, although I don't know exactly why, that I like it. In the abstract, the idea of triangles floating on screen sounds a bit bizarre but it works for me. I won't say it's terribly intuitive but I like the aesthetics of it. I do miss the table in my RV from Dirt 2 that laid out the world but change is good, right? As for the music, I generally turn off music in all my games but, go figure, I like it in Dirt 3. Until I don't I'll keep it playing.

As for load times, which some online reviews have complained about, have they ever played Forza 3? I can take a bathroom break while a Forza race is loading and I never had an issue with it. Dirt 3 races load faster than Forza 3 races.

I love that they've eliminated money and purchasing of cars. Perhaps I got burned out with GT5 and its 1,000+ cars but I really like that I don't have to think about that. Just let me get in a car and drive. As for liveries, it's all good. I generally don't play around with those. I dabbled in detailing in Forza 3 but aside from changing the body color now and then it was nothing I had much interest in.

Some online reviews say that there is always an optimum car to select for each race which means there are cars you'll never drive. That's not how I approach the game. This is my hobby. I'm in no hurry to rush through the game or shorten the experience in any way. When I'm presented with four cars for an event (each with different bonus objectives, btw) I start from the left and race each car until I place 1st with each one. Not only does that allow me to experience each vehicle but it allows me to learn each course a bit better with each run. And I continue to level up in the process. Unlike Dirt 2, it doesn't appear that a race's XP decreases with multiple runs, though I may be wrong about that.

I have not gotten to gymkhana events yet. On the surface, it does not appeal to me (I've never been much for drifting in Forza 3 or GT5) but I'm open to it and will give it a try. Good or bad, I don't anticipate my reaction to it impacting my review. Rally racing is what I enjoy most and Codemasters has nailed that for me.

As stated earlier, Forza 3 has provided me the best overall driving experience and I look forward to Forza 4 (if head tracking pans out I will probably get a Kinect just for that) but for unadulterated fun I have to go with the Dirt series, of which Dirt 3 is the best so far. Everyone's tastes are different so it can be risky to recommend a game to countless unknown readers. I can only hope that my review helps you judge for yourself whether Dirt 3 is worth the purchase price. For me it definitely was.

Happy racing!

Update: I'm not sure if load times are less than Forza but Codemasters breaks them up by offering different views of cars and landscapes rather than have you staring at a static screen with a progress icon spinning. That makes the wait seem less even if it isn't.

A reviewer laments the shortness of the races but I actually consider that a plus. In Forza, once you hit the 6-race events, races average 12 to 14 minutes each so you're looking at well over an hour to complete an event. In my busy, hectic life, I like being able to complete a race event in 4 or 5 minutes. But, if Dirt 3 proves similar to Dirt 2, later seasons will have more races in each event so the time commitment will increase.

Raced on snow for the first time. I was pleased that it felt much more realistic than GT5's snow racing, which is terrible. I live in the snow belt and drive a Subaru on snow-covered roads. It really isn't that bad if you have the right setup. Heck, we plow lakes and race around in circles on the ice.

Although I miss the in-race banter of Dirt 2 (driving can get lonely at times) I do like the fact that when I hit a car in a Rally Cross event, I don't have to listen to an angry driver telling me I'm going to pay for that.

Dropped my wheel weight from 50 to 30 and it made a big difference. I'm very happy with the controls right now.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dirt 3 - Xbox 360

Dirt 3 is the perfect balance between realism and fun. Sometimes I'm whispering "I'm amazing" to myself as I slide around a tight corner, considering buying a rally car because I swear I'm gifted. As long as I don't look at the time trial leader board, I can keep thinking that.

The rallying itself is a bit of a less-is-more ordeal. It's true there are a lot more stages, but you do repeat a lot of portions in different ways. However, the varied weather, time of day, and car handling make up for it. The sheer terror of Group B at night is wholly different from the calm Sunday afternoon drive of a 60s Mini.

The other events are nicely mixed in with the standout being gymkhana. I was not looking forward to 'Tony Hawk's Rally' but it's not like that. Gymkhana events are quite enjoyably varied but the best is the DC Battersea compound, which is basically a playground in which to completely destroy your car. Yes, it's awfully childish, and that's exactly what makes it so entertaining. You'll spend 20 minutes in there and have no idea where the time went. (I'll tell you: you spent it jumping, rolling, flipping, spinning, crashing, drifting, and flying into the river.)

I could go on about what it does better than the previous Dirt or Colin McRae games, or express a lament or two about what I miss from older games, but I won't. Rally is great. Gymkhana is great. Everything else is good enough. I don't regret my purchase and I probably won't stop playing it until Dirt 4 comes along.

Buy Battlefield Bad Company 2 - Greatest Hits - Playstation 3

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $6.39
Today's Bonus: 68% Off

If you are like me and just enjoy working your way through a campaign (rather than getting involved in all the multiplayer aspects of the game) then this is too short. My assumption is that most people buying now, way after BC2 was originally released, fall into the same category of buyer as me. However, that being said, it's only $18 and the graphics and overall gameplay are great.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Okay the game is fun, but anyone who plays Battlefield or Battlefield Bad Company, knows that most the fun is online play. However EA crippled the greatest hits edition by not including the VIP code for "first hand purchasers" so that you can't download new maps. Which means you can play all of 4 maps online. It sucks badly. Seriously I spent forever looking for my code and couldn't find it, then had to search the internet to find out this version didn't come with it.

Best Deals for Battlefield Bad Company 2 - Greatest Hits - Playstation 3

This game is only okay. The actual game is good, but it is easily beaten within a short time. However, the online gaming experience is what really makes this game good. The places are great and I like how there are different online games to play.

The one player game: Okay.

Multiplayer: Great.

Honest reviews on Battlefield Bad Company 2 - Greatest Hits - Playstation 3

I love the battlefield series, but hate that EA didn't include the VIP code, that means you can only play 4 multi player maps, if you buy Greatest Hits, buy it used, because it won't have VIP anyways! It costs 10 dollars to unlock the other 12 maps, not including Vietnam

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Battlefield Bad Company 2 - Greatest Hits - Playstation 3

It is a fun game. But it is very very short. It is finished in a week with around under 2 hours of playing each day. Of course, if you play online with other people, you can play much longer.

Masters of the Universe: He-Man: Power of Greyskull Review

Customer Ratings:

Introduction:

Masters of the Universe is one of the best action-adventure games I have played in a long time. The stylish graphics and wonderful gameplay provide many hours of heart felt enjoyment.

Gameplay:

Masters of the Universe has all the gameplay you expect from action-adventure games. Packed with tons of enemies, bosses, power-ups, and a huge sword.

The game enemies are anything from slugs to spiders to giant beasts. Then there are the bosses. There is a boss at the end of almost every level. Each boss has different weapons and abilities and each level the boss gets tougher (obviously!). These levels consist of riding on the back of 4-legged animals through a course. As you move throughout the course there are obstacles to jump over and move around. You also must collect different items on your way. I found these levels to be the most fun of all.

Graphics:

One thing I did like about the graphics was when you your character move's behind objects, the object whatever it be turns semi-transparent so you can see the character behind it. This helps a lot when playing levels when it is imperative to hide behind objects.

Lifespan:

Masters of the Universe has a very long lifespan. Not only does the game last a long time, it is very fun to go play missions over again. I can't get enough of some missions and I go back and play them all the time. This game is definitely great if you want a game that lasts a long time.

Closing Comments:

If you're looking for a good game in the genre I highly suggest this one. While it may have it's flaws it is one great game.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This game is much better than I thought it would be! I just got the game on the first day it came out, and even though I haven't beaten it yet, the graphics, gameplay, music, the whole shibang is above the rim! The chracters are amazingly detailed, and the levels are also detailed, but small. Clawful, the first boss, is a little hard for me to beat right now, but I will eventually find a way. This game has gone above my expectations and is a game no Masters of the Universe fan should be without!

Best Deals for Masters of the Universe: He-Man: Power of Greyskull

This game is really awsome.It is full of action and adventure.It takes a while to beat though because it almost took me a week.But if you have real trouble look around He-Man sights for cheats.It shouldn't be that hard for you though.

L8er,

Clayton

Honest reviews on Masters of the Universe: He-Man: Power of Greyskull

I bought this game because I'm a fan of He-Man. I didn't expect much from it, and I got even less.

Let's start with the graphics:

The in-game graphics are computer models made into sprites, meant to give a 3D look. It looks like they set the lighting way too high though, since some of the sprites have large areas of white. It's hard to even tell what some of them are a lot of the time. If there's anything good I can say about the graphics, it's that they did make use of artwork from the cartoon in menus, character portraits, etc.

Sound and music:

The music is pretty forgettable. The sound is repetitive and slightly annoying. Hey, at least they got Cam Clarke's voice for the opening though. "I have the power!"

Gameplay:

I could look past everything else if the game was fun. It isn't. At all. It's annoying. You wander around the levels, finding one thing to open something else, collecting crystals and moving from one island to another, the isometric view making jumps difficult to gauge. All the while you're being attacked by hordes of uninteresting monsters, almost none of them coming from the show.

That would be okay too, but for some reason it takes the strongest man in the universe several strikes with his magic sword to kill the simplest monster or robot. That wouldn't be too bad either, if it wasn't so slow. Oh, but you can charge up your attack to deal a more powerful blow. Oh right, that's even slower, so you have to run away from everything while you're charging it, and it's still not enough to kill most things in one hit.

Oh, and if the game wasn't slow and annoying enough to begin with? Don't worry, a lot of monsters can poison you, making you move even slower while they pick away at your life. Fun, right?

There's a bonus level or two that breaks up the monotony and frustration of the regular levels, where you ride on Battlecat through an autoscrolling field collecting crystals, jumping over obstacles and shooting monsters. It's a nice change of pace at least.

Conclusion:

This game is a textbook example of licensed shovelware. It looks bad and it plays worse. Avoid it unless you just plan to display it next to your He-Man figures and never play it.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Masters of the Universe: He-Man: Power of Greyskull

Since I used to play with He-man action figures, I was thrilled to find this game for the GBA system. It is an exciting game with tons of cool characters.

Best PlayStation 4 Killzone Launch Day Bundle Deals

Customer Ratings:

DOA, BLOD, tried different tv's/hdmi' sand nothing but a $500 paperweight. Amazon will refund me as soon as they get it back and process which will take weeks. Called sony and all they can do is repair it but at least I qualify for the extended warranty... Needless to say this is very disappointing that sony can't expedite the process or at least exchange the bad unit they sold me for a working one.... ******Edit after taking my ps4 to the sony store, they replaced it they had awesome customer service to they tried it out in the store to make sure it worked and I went on my way. Ps4 for the short time I played it is an amazing machine and is working flawlessly so far. Well worth the price.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Unlike others... My console works. I put about 14 hours on it on 1 day.

I'm using a 2011 TV ( Panasonic ) and 2011 receiver ( Onkyo ). Also using a Monster HDMI cable I bought back in 2006. My FW has been updated to 1.50 as well.

As for the console, I like it. It has promise. The OS needs a fair deal of work and features need to be brought up to PS3 levels.

The games are great on the system. So much better looking then last gen. Really excited to see future games.

4/5

Best Deals for PlayStation 4 Killzone Launch Day Bundle

Unit arrived on time and in expected condition. Checked the HDMI connector and cable for any defects and saw none. Unit powered up promptly without incident and setup also was smooth. PSN, Store, Digital Games, Disc Games, Blu-Ray and streaming all work as expected. System and game updates worked just fine. Controller had about half charge out of the box (not suprising); but, reached full charge in expected amount of time. Sadly, the wifi does not support 5ghz (only 2.4ghz); but, the connection speed is still fine (faster than my internet connection). Don't know if the 5ghz can be enabled via software at a later time (depends on chip and antenna support). In short... I'm happy with the PS4!

Honest reviews on PlayStation 4 Killzone Launch Day Bundle

I received yesterday at night, the console runs smooth and fast.I played Kill Zone four hours and not problems, the DS4 is amazing, an evolution of DS3, the graphics are INCREDIBLE, looks like reality, I ll recommend you at all.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for PlayStation 4 Killzone Launch Day Bundle

We had 3 different consoles shipped from Amazon to our address. All of them are setup, updated, and have been working flawlessly all day. Killzone is a beautiful looking game and I am excited for the start of the next generation. Overall I am very impressed with the quality of the system itself. The unit is smaller than I thought it would be and has a nice matte finish. It's got a very slick look to it when setup and has run quietly and cool for about 12 hours today. The controller is slightly larger and much more comfortable than the last generation. The light bar that changes color for your health or player indicator is a nice sensible addition and the touchpad is surprisingly responsive and useful. Everything feels rock solid and has an air of quality about it; it's the little things they improved across the board that really add up. I am very impressed with the purchase overall.

All of the 1 star reviews of people freaking out and returning the console are overblown. Take a breather and do a small bit of googling, I'm sure you can have yours working within a few minutes. Make sure there isn't any loose metal in the HDMI port and verify that your cables are properly seated.

I would not hesitate to buy additional consoles from amazon as their shipping and service and are always excellent.

Reviews of BLUE CHROME/WHITE Xbox 360 Modded Controller (Rapid Fire) Call of

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $189.99
Sale Price: $99.99
Today's Bonus: 47% Off

i love this controller it looks good and plays better than it looks its real easy to put it in modd mode and its set up great

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Please Gadget Customs, I expect more from you! I've been a loyal customer buying 4 of your controllers! They're all great...except this one. The LED lights currently don't even light up. I can't see if my controller is turned on or what mod is selected. I'm very upset with this issue and should be addressed. I expect some sort of refundable controller or something in return. This is unexceptable.

Best Deals for BLUE CHROME/WHITE Xbox 360 Modded Controller (Rapid Fire) Call of

this is the best Controller i have ever had and i have used 20 different xbox gaming controllers for halo and call of duty and this is the best

Honest reviews on BLUE CHROME/WHITE Xbox 360 Modded Controller (Rapid Fire) Call of

I have been buying way too many controllers lately. I had to ass this one to my collection. Feels perfect! The white buttons and trim really make this controller pop.

Buy Multi-out AUDIO VISUAL A/V CORD CABLE TV CONNECTION (Bulk Packaging)

Customer Ratings:

I have been looking for a SNES for Years. I finally found one and needed the cords. This cord is awesome and should fit any newer tv. AWESOME!!!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I happy this nintendo av cable! no from china av cable!

I hooked my black gamecube use cheaper av cable from made in china and not look good picture on console!!! i order for "nintendo" brand. got picture awesome!!! and no problem!!! thank you!

Best Deals for Multi-out AUDIO VISUAL A/V CORD CABLE TV CONNECTION (Bulk Packaging)

Simple cheap buy. Works as intended and serves my purposes well. Does everything I need it to do and I couldn't ask for more.

Honest reviews on Multi-out AUDIO VISUAL A/V CORD CABLE TV CONNECTION (Bulk Packaging)

Completely satisfied with the product, it is well constructed and perfect for my usage. Yep, yep, now I can play Zelda again.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Multi-out AUDIO VISUAL A/V CORD CABLE TV CONNECTION (Bulk Packaging)

We can resume playing my girlfriends' nintendo 64. We shopped around at different locations and finally found a brand new cable at an affordable price. Thank you!

Buy Xbox 360 Official NFL San Francisco 49ers Controller Faceplate

Customer Ratings:

This was a really nice faceplate. I bought it with the controller in a dual pack. My boyfriend really liked it.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This is lovely. It snaps on and off easily and it's pretty durable. It looks great too. The only thing is that it doesn't fit on if you have a 360 chatpad on your controller.

Reviews of uDraw GameTablet with uDraw Studio - Nintendo Wii

Customer Ratings:

Ours came today. Set up was simple, just connecting it and then putting the Wiimote into the tablet. Mostly it was just doodles but when we started looking at all of the different options and things you can do with it we realized we are really going to have to spend some time with it. I'm going to try to get everyone to draw a Christmas card and then go online to use it as our Christmas card! You can do all sorts of things with saving the pictures you draw. And we played a full game of Pictionary, which we ordered too. We all LOVED THAT. It takes a while to get used to drawing and seeing it on the screen and also the drawing pad is a little small so you have to practice, but part of the fun of drawing is making mistakes and drawing silly things. Our next door neightbor is a graphic designer and I want to have him over this weekend to show us what he can do with it. Great choice and it would be a really great holiday gift. If you're seriously worried about being bored, then know that this is NOT A "GAME." It's a really great drawing/art device and we are really happy we bought it! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This is much more than "just a game."

So far everyone in the family, from a 3 y/o to myself have had great fun with this.

It is extremely simple to connect and start using it.

The software includes enough tools to actually some nice artwork. The tools are fairly intuitive. Changing between them is a simple matter of pressing a button. Erasing mistakes is also simple. Once you're done, everything can be saved into an SD card and ported to a computer.

This is one of those "games" that are good for the whole family.

As an added bonus, the tablet connects to Pictionary for a few more hours of fun.

Best Deals for uDraw GameTablet with uDraw Studio - Nintendo Wii

Being grandparents of eight, we are always looking for things for grandchildren to do when they visit. I read about this and it sounded interesting. We have had our Wii for over two years. We also have the balance board and a few games.

We bought the uDraw thinking we might give it as a Christmas gift for some of our grandchildren. We tried it and showed it to our son. Our first thoughts were that it was too hard for the kids. Our son did not think so. So we kid tested it. We let three of our granddaughters try it at our house. The 7 and 10 year old fought over it. They had a great time and picked up the basic tools, etc. faster than Grandma and Grandpa did. Then the 5 year old had her turn. She didn't do too much but did have fun.

While we were doing this, another son and his family showed up. Our daughter-in-law was excited to see it work. They were considering buying it for their almost 8 year old son and their almost 6 year old daughter. Those kids tried it, too. They also had a great time. Our grandson is a heavy-duty video game player so we were surprised at his interest. Grandpa had read the tutorials by then and showed them how to do some things. Their Mom tried it later and thought it was great for them. We have saved a picture to an SD card and printed it from our computer. The picture was certainly acceptable for our uses.

In the end, Grandma and Grandpa bought uDraws for both sets of grandkids. We decided to keep the first one for ourselves. We have had fun with it and feel we can learn how to use more of the features and then help the grandkids learn how to use theirs in different ways. We definitely are not artists but this tablet is very relaxing to just experiment with.

We have not purchased any other games for the uDraw yet. We do see how it could be used in many other ways. Hope more games will come out soon.

We have alot of paper, color crayons, play doh, paint, etc. at our house. We have always believed that we would not use the TV as a babysitter and encourage other forms of play. That being said, there are video games, etc. that we do think are excellent for kids. This definitely is one of them.

Honest reviews on uDraw GameTablet with uDraw Studio - Nintendo Wii

First off this review is coming from a 40 year old guy with hardly no artistic ability when it comes to drawing or painting so I have to say that for the "fun" factor this is pretty cool for something that lets you draw pictures on your television. This uDraw tablet is nothing more than an overrated toy however. It is not by any means designed for high quality images. Great for kids, and can be fun for adults.

Three points I should mention right off.....

(1.) I discovered that there is a 35 minute time limit on your drawings. That is calculated by actual drawing time. So a stroke of your brush would only make a few seconds of time into your drawing. This is ok for kids and non-skilled artists, but for true artists looking for something to make highly detailed art this is not going to do it for you. Get a Wacom tablet for your PC. I wish I had done that instead of spending money on this.

(2.) The images produced by this software are very low quality. Yes you can save your images to a SD card but when you get them over onto the computer you will find they are small images (only 576 X ??? pixels) and the colors won't even come close to what you saw on your television screen. In other words if your Wii is hooked up to your HDTV with beautiful colors it's not going to look at all like that on your computer. The image will be drab looking on your computer as compared to what you saw on your television.

(3.) The uDraw tablet and Studio disc is not actually a game. It is just a tablet and drawing software. You have to either buy Dood's Big Adventure or Pictionary seperately to use the tablet in a game.

All in all this is a system you can have fun with but don't expect super high quality images if that's what your looking for. If your just looking for something to draw random things on your tv screen this is will do it for you.

I wouldn't exactly say it is worth nearly 70 dollars. Maybe 45 but not 70.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for uDraw GameTablet with uDraw Studio - Nintendo Wii

First off, let me state that I am an artist, and I've been wanting a tablet for years, but have never had the money. I've used plenty of tablets and borrowed from friends.

Although this product is not without flaw, it certainly is amazing.

The uDraw tablet drawing space is a lot bigger than I thought it would be (most of the pictures were angled, so it looked as if it was only a 3x5 space in the upper right-hand corner). I do wish the cord attaching the pen was just a little longer, but the convenience of being able to lift your pen and appropriately line up the pen to where you ended that line, and begin that same line seamlessly, is priceless.

The performance of it is wonderful and the feeling of it is smooth-not the least bit clumsy or bulky.

The features are amazing, cute enough (you can pick your drawing environment. I tend to pick the Beach, with the seagull sounds, or Art Class with the random ruckus periodically; Which you can also opt to silence altogether) and the tools are awesome, ranging from pen to sponge and down to marker.

Another cool option is to watch you re-draw the entire portrait in a recording, pause it where you would like to go back to, and continue drawing from there. For example, if you drew something, sponged it, and colored it in, you can play back the recording of you drawing it line by line, then sponging it, and watch it become colored. You CAN fast forward it to 2x, 4x and 8x speed, but once you do, you still have to watch it draw the whole thing, because it's loading the entire video up to the point you chose.

Also, another mentionable: "Save" and "Snapshot" are different; "Save" allows you to save it to your uDraw gallery, while "Snapshot" saves it to your SD card. It saves in .PNG format for high resolution images.

Another cool bit, especially for the kiddies, is the Coloring Book. You can pick a page from a couple of genres, such as Fantasy, or Science for instance, and...well...freely color!

For 70 dollars, this tablet is amazing. It's good for artists with an open mind, great for kids (I'd let my 6 year old cousin have at it) and including all the neat games they'll surely release in the near future along with the ones already out-like Pictionary?

This thing is an awesome steal.

Optical Audio Adapter for Xbox 360 HDMI AV Cable Review

Customer Ratings:

This has the dreaded reboot issue just like every 3rd party dongle. If you're unfamiliar, what it does is reboot your XBox if you have both an HDMI cable (for video) and this dongle plugged in for optical audio (maybe for your Turtle Beach headphones or home theater system) at the same time, and THEN try to switch inputs or shut the TV off. I found it very irritating whenever I wanted to pause a game and turn the TV off to avoid burn in or switch over to cable to see what's going on with the hockey game or whatever. The Xbox would always reset when I did this. This is caused by a wire they left in that should have been taken out. Not a HUGE issue but it's pretty annoying it had to shut it off every time I wanted to go do something really quick.

(note: everything else does work fine if you don't care about rebooting/ if you never shut the TV off or switch inputs anyway)

Now like I said, only 3rd party dongles are wired like this. So if you want to avoid this you'll have to buy a genuine Microsoft branded product which can be expensive since they don't make them anymore. HOWEVER, after a bit of research I found another one that's much cheaper at $2.79 and doesn't have the reset issue. It's a Monoprice branded one.

Link:

Ok, can't put link on here so just google:

"Monoprice RCA / Toslink Audio Adapter for Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Slim"

You can also crack it open and take out a certain wire to fix it, but why waste your time on a badly wired product when you can just buy a cheaper, correctly wired one from Monoprice.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Bought this adapter after purchasing a Turtle Beach headset for my xbox and PC. I had my xbox running through surround sound system via a receiver and found out I wouldn't be able to use my headset and receiver without this adapter. Worked well after set up, headset and surround sound would both work while plugged in except I did need to get a HDMI cable to hook up to the TV.

Only issue is while switching inputs the xbox will reset. I never leave the console on while using other inputs, so this really didn't affect me.

Best Deals for Optical Audio Adapter for Xbox 360 HDMI AV Cable

Cheap and effective! I was unable to use my surround sound and keep the HD picture at the same time, but this did exactly what I wanted. It provides enough room for the HDMI cable to slide underneath the hook up. I can now play games and watch DVD's through the X-Box with excitement!

Honest reviews on Optical Audio Adapter for Xbox 360 HDMI AV Cable

Bought these expecting to have the problem where the Xbox will reset on input change.

This didn't bother me as I only use my TV for my Xbox, so the input doesn't change.

However, I was pleasantly surprised when I changed inputs (out of curiosity) and the Xbox didn't reset.

The product itself works fantastically, though these really should be provided by Microsoft or Turtle Beach.

Overall, I would recommend the cheapo brand.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Optical Audio Adapter for Xbox 360 HDMI AV Cable

I purchased this for my xbox to connect it seperately to audio and video . The adapter works perfectly and great value for the money .

Best FPS Freek Legendary by KontrolFreek Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $23.99
Sale Price: $19.99
Today's Bonus: 17% Off

I keep seeing these adds more and more, and once they showed up on my favorite game news sites with a thumbs up, I decided to try a set. They were about $15, so what the hell right?

Well, I snapped them on and threw in Halo Reach, and at first I found them awkward, but I knew this was due to them being new to me.

MAKE SURE YOU RAISE THE SENSITIVITY OF YOUR GAME, or you won't get the benefit of how these work.

After a few games, and getting destroyed online by REAL people I started to get better, and better. I'm not a bad player by any means, but since I had not used them before I knew going in I would have some crap games with these and would loose until I got used to them.

Now that I am, I can honesty say I am more accurate than before due to the larger range of motion. I can snap to a target quicker and better than the standard stick. I tested this by going back and I did worse than when I started with them HA HA :)

Give 'em a try, and don't be discouraged the first 10 games you play. You will need time to re-learn movements, but after that you will see a positive difference.

I like them.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

It was odd getting them onto the ps3 controller and odd first playing with them; however, now that I have played using them for the past week, I think my game has improved. Hard to believe this stupid little thing could make a difference, but it has. I recommend getting a set.

Best Deals for FPS Freek Legendary by KontrolFreek

My son had me get these for him, and he likes them alot. He says it improves accuracy while playing HALO... I don't play first person shooters so I never use them.

Honest reviews on FPS Freek Legendary by KontrolFreek

i have the original, legendary, and cqc along with these so i have tried quite a few. i have used them on the ps3 and 360 controllers. they plain out rock. i like the sniper more than the legendary just due to the symbol on the legendary feels kind of weird, they are the same thing otherwise. they dot work if you like playing on high sensitivities. well it really allows you to play on a higher sensitivity and it feels more controlled. i didn't think these would be that great but i got them and i love them. my favorite set up is the sniper on the aim stick and the cqc on the movement. (this is for fps games like mw3 and black ops ect) i love them and i am not sorry i bought multiple kinds the ones i didn't like i sold or gave to friends for christmas.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for FPS Freek Legendary by KontrolFreek

The KontrolFreek products are great! Installation is super simple. Don't let the initial feel discourage you, you'll play like crap for a few games. After you get use to them you will get more headshots and sniping is a breeze. If you play a wide variety of games I don't recommend these as they make many games more difficult. However, if you are a first person shooter fanatic get these. You will not regret it.

Cheap Tomb Raider Trilogy

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $18.99
Today's Bonus: 37% Off

For old school adventure game nostalgia, I always go back to Tomb Raider 1 & 2. Here, we have the excellent remake of the original Tomb Raider in Anniversary, the fantasic Legend, and the not-half-bad Underworld. It's great to finally see Anniversary and Legend in 720p on the PS3. Graphically, all three of the games look great, with Underworld being the standout of the bunch in this regard. Sound design is nothing special in any of the games here, except in one department: the soundtracks. Orchestral music has been a staple of this series since the beginning, and these entries do not dissappoint. As with all of the Tomb Raider games, the controls and camera angles will at times get the best of you, but these issues aren't deal-breakers here (unlike the bug-riddled Angel of Darkness back in 2003).

Bottom Line: For long-time Tomb Raider fans, this is a no-brainer: Pick it up; it's a must-buy. For those who have never played Tomb Raider, this is the perfect place to start.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

It's simple really, if you loved the two PS2 games then you should buy this game. The updated HD graphics are beautiful. And it's a lot more convenient to play the games all on one disc than have to load them into your PS2. Also, if you don't already have Underword, it's another reason to get this. Great value.

One thing I am NOT happy about is that they didn't put Underword's DLC on this game. Once again PS3 users get screwed. Maybe Microsoft put up the cash to make it exclusive to them, but Eidos should have given to it Sony since it's always been Playstation users who have been loyal to the Tomb Raider franchise. Or just give the DLC to EVERYBODY! I really hate this exclusive business. It just seems selfish and unfair to the gamers in my opinion.

Best Deals for Tomb Raider Trilogy

While we wait for the next official installment of Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics has compiled its first three Tomb Raider games in one convenient package. The result is a compilation that is 1/3 amazing, 1/3 good, and 1/3 mediocre.

Legend is the oldest of the three and it really shows its age on the PS3 version. The upscaling on the PS3 looks really weird thus making it the ugliest of the three. The game is also criminally short with 7 main stages that take mere minutes to finish once you get the flow. It's the most diverse of the three featuring bike riding (yuck), turret shooting, and lots of action sequences. Variety may be the spice of life but Legend is not what Tomb Raider fans necessarily want in a Tomb Raider game, Anniversary explains it why.

Released in 2007, Tomb Raider Anniversary is a remake of the original 1996 classic Tomb Raider. The crown jewel of this collection, Anniversary is clearly the game with the most polish of the three. The game boils down essentially what a Tomb Raider game should be, lots of platforming and death defying stunts, little to no human-on-human violence, and an excellent sense of being alone in a desolate place. Of the three it sits in the middle for best looking, it is upscaled much better than Legend with a much cleaner look. While nostalgia freaks of the original scoff at Anniversary's trimmings of the original, the end result faithfully recreates the original while brining it in to the modern age. With less long stretches and non memorable areas removed.

Tomb Raider Underworld is the native HD game of the three and story-wise is a continuation of Legend's tale. While it is the best looking, Underworld sets itself as the worst of the three games for various reasons. Lara has more animations in this game but none of them feel right. The controls are iffy at best and glitches are everywhere. You would think that the developers would have fixed Underworld's numerous flaws by now but that's not the case. Falling 15 feet seems to mean doom for Lara in this game and there are times where you'll even be stuck in mid-air for no reason. Again this is to be blamed by adding a bunch of animations that did not need to be done. They were going for a more organic, realistic game but this is not the case. On the Xbox 360, Tomb Raider Underworld got two extra levels as DLC, none of them appear on this PS3 re-release which really makes the game and package half-assed. Add to the glitches and bugs, Underworld does not have even a third of bonus content that Legend and Anniversary posses. No Time Trials, no Croft Manor puzzle stage, no unlockable costumes.

The compilation is priced right and you'll get some fine adventuring here to last for a while. Legend and Anniversary will keep you replaying stages (especially Anniversary's Time Attack on its later stages) and extra content while you'll probably just fly through Underworld and never touch it again.

Honest reviews on Tomb Raider Trilogy

I should begin by admitting that I really loved these games when they were first released. Playing through them again has really brought home the fact that gamers are quite spoiled these days. We expect amazing everything. And most of us grow weary when games don't deliver. In their time, these games were the best of the best; they offered unique gaming experiences and were responsible for a great deal of what is common in today's platformers. That having been said; these are all showing their age. There are simply a vast number of games which have come along that look, control and please much more than these will. They aren't bad games. And the fact that they're being bundled at such a decent price makes it a worthwhile investment. It also doesn't hurt that there are three decent platinum trophies to be had here. But just don't expect to feel the same fondness for these titles that you may have when you initially played them. Titles such as these have the unfortunate disadvantage of being unlike certain other platformers (think Mario or Sly Cooper), in that they've been shown up a number of times since their creation. I played the Sly Collection recently and it (much like the original NES Mario games would) still felt worthwhile. Games like this weren't choppy and overly pixelated, the controls were near-perfect, and the direction was usually pretty clear. The Tomb Raider Trilogy can't really claim most of that to be true. They don't look great comparatively, the camera and controls are certainly not the greatest, and the game isn't always good with directing players to their next objective. Even I have to admit that that last complaint isn't always a bad thing. The frustration of these once-groundbreaking games is something that many of you may consider its greatest strength. And I'm on board with that. Some of the puzzles were simply too unclear for my tastes. And that really saying something, considering I just finished playing and loving Portal 2. Regardless, I think the game rests somewhere between a 3 and a 4. It's certainly no 5. And newcomers are likely going to agree with me on the 3. Nostalgia, trophies, and an excellent package price drive this ever closer to a 4 for me. But the look, camera, and controls wedge this one much closer to a 3 than a 4, in my opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree. I just know that there are better games out there to be played at this point in time. There are even better PS2 re-releases to be found (the god of war collection, for instance). Again, these are decent games. Playing them, you'll quickly realize where most puzzling elements in newer video games had their roots. Those newer games owe lots of credit to these groundbreakers. I gladly admit all of that. So invest. It won't be the worst gaming purchase you've ever made. That much I know. But, as a consumer, I must admit that these have not aged well. As much as I hate admitting that fact; I still feel it right to give fair warning.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Tomb Raider Trilogy

Quick note: this trilogy seems to have been made primarily for one of three groups of people those who have/had a PS2 but not "Legend" or "Anniversary", those who have a PS2 and a PS3 but no longer have "Legend" or "Anniversary", or those who have a PS3 and were wary of playing "Underworld" due to the lackluster reception and sales. Well, rest assured, your worries are unfounded: this is quite possibly one of the best collections I have ever seen.

Crystal Dynamics' impression of the Tomb Raider series is an impressive one, to say the least. While all three of these games can be completed in less than ten hours each, they are never anything short of enjoyable or fun. "Legend" begins the trilogy by providing a creative, compelling backstory and heavily story-driven gameplay.

"Legend" takes Lara all around the world, from an ancient underground castle to the chilly mountains of Nepal, boasting breathtaking scenery, fantastic music, and an intuitive control scheme that rivals many of the other games I have played. The story is surprisingly personal and rarely boring, as Lara begins by looking for "an ornate stone dais" in Tiwanaku, Bolivia, that eventually expands to include Arthurian legend and an old Soviet project called "Carbonek". The ending both provides a sense of closure and a sequel hook, proving a short but wholly engrossing experience that only Lara can provide.

"Anniversary" is an expanded reimagining of the original "Tomb Raider", revamped to fit with both "Legend" and "Underworld" while providing tighter controls and a wider moveset for Lara, set in as a series staple beautiful crumbling ruins and lush, hidden jungles. Lara now has the ability to use her grapple for wall-running. Some levels from the original game have been compressed into one another, some streamlined, and still others made bigger to account for Lara's new abilities. The story takes Lara from Peru to the lost continent of Atlantis as she searches for the fabled Atlantean Scion, a device her father had been searching for, and one he had hoped would discover where Lara's mother disappeared to. Lara continues his quest, leading into the last and, in my personal opinion, best entry in the trilogy.

After hearing so many complaints about "Underworld", I was reluctant to pick it up, but this collection forced me to, and I am very pleased with it. Although graphics don't necessarily "make" a game, they help with the sense of immersion, and "Underworld" does exactly that: immerses you in a huge, unbelievable, gorgeous world with a story so tight and twisting that to mention much about it would give away plenty of spoilers. Varied enemy types, massive underwater complexes, and intricate puzzles will keep you fascinated for hours. Lara looks, moves, and acts like a real, living woman, and her expanded range of moves not only makes her believable, but also gives some unique answers to puzzles and gameplay. All in all, the game gives an awesome wrap-up to the series while providing a bittersweet sense of closure both as Eidos Interactive hands off Tomb Raider to another developer, and for Lara and going on twenty years of pure awesome.

Technical details:

The trilogy includes some media for PlayStation Home, a PlayStation theme pack that changes the wallpaper and icons to a Tomb Raider style, and making-of videos and trailers all accessible from the trilogy's main menu. Each game also launches individually while all being loaded on one disc my guess is that the disc is dual-layer and Square Enix packed all fifty gigabytes full of content. It shows.

"Legend" and "Anniversary" are indeed the Xbox 360 versions of the games transferred to the PlayStation 3. After having heard this mentioned once, I double-checked using bug notes and screenshots and discovered that this is true... meaning that these two games come with all the bugs and glitches the 360 version has. This includes a potentially game-busting bug in "Legend's" England level that requires you to load an earlier save if you happen to come across it. Replaying this level after completing the game, though, does not re-trigger this bug.

"Underworld" has its share of bugs, though I encountered none of them due to having a walkthrough listing the game's bugs handy. If you find one of these and follow it carefully, you won't have any problems at all, especially some of the game-breaking ones in Mexico and Croft Manor. In spite of complaints to the contrary, I rarely had issues with the camera and mostly fought with the controls. If, however, one keeps the pace down and is patient with Lara rather than rushing through the game, you shouldn't have many issues with the controls at all.

The Xbox 360 exclusive downloadable games, "Beneath the Ashes" and "Lara's Shadow", are not included.

All three games run at a maximum of 720p. Upscaling to 1080p will cause some anti-aliasing issues, while upscaling to 1080i will cause blurring, at least on "Underworld". All three look perfectly fine in standard definition and nothing is lost if that's your only option.

Load times for "Legend" and "Anniversary", but particularly the former, are surprisingly long. Considering the capabilities of Blu-ray, I was very surprised with the waiting, especially after accidentally killing Lara. "Underworld" has long load times when first beginning a level or loading a manual save, but considering each area is essentially one massive level with cutscenes splitting it into manageable bits, this is understandable. Load times after sending Lara to her death are refreshingly brief.

Both "Underworld" and "Anniversary" have a manual save limit, which is unfortunate.

Overall, the collection is a great buy for any fan of Tomb Raider from those who began with Lara's very first adventure to those who never got the chance to play it way back when, for those looking for the thrilling conclusion to Lara's tale, for those looking for a graphical paradise and a great sense of immersion, and those who never got to play the first two when they were released on the PlayStation 2, Lara never fails to disappoint in her many globetrekking adventures. A great swan song to the old series, and a great example of a three-part story done very, very well.

Cheap NBA 2K10 - Xbox 360

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $9.75
Today's Bonus: 67% Off

Well I waited awhile to review this game until I got a real feel for it.

I must say it took me about a week to really appreciate the subtle changes that 2k10 has made.

1) The oops off the glass to a team mate or to yourself is a plus... and the Put back Slams are nuts.

2) The ratings of team are no longer high so there is no 1 dominant team, every team can be a threat.

3) Smoother Online play.

4) Improved defense... and the stamina meter makes is so people can't run around all day with KOBE, LEBRON and D WADE all game like in 2k9.

5) Smarter AI this year it actually feels like you're playing a real person... The computer ain't dumb no more they'll make the extra pass to the open man or make you pay for a blown defensive cover.

6) My player mode gives the game more playability no longer just a season or online game and it actually improves your basketball IQ for playing in Crews mode or Team Matches.

7) Being able to use your created player online is also a plus .

8) The dribbling is crazy you can literally break defenders down, make them slip trip and everything else and it looks real not all arcadish.

Cons:

1) GLITCHES... you got a fast break going in for the stuff and your dude takes the slowest 2 steps to the basket in the world... Not all the time but it takes away from the smoothness of the game.

2) There are other delays here in there sometime the Ref and the Person taking the ball out tend to play Catch back in forth for like 30 of 40 seconds.. whats that all about. And there are a few other things that can affect game play here and there.

All in all I like this game it just feels more real to me than other B-Ball games. In my opinion it provides for the most realistic NBA experience. The game play is spot on. All though there are Glitches they are not a deal breaker plus 2K is releasing a PATCH for it soon so this game will be the Premiere game it is always been.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

It feels like basketball is the red headed stepchild sport to video game makers. 2k10 continues the disappointment. The graphics are improved, as they are every year (although the players do have a weird chunky look to their bodies sometimes, but no biggie), but the fun of playing hasn't changed much. Scoring is a little broken toward the inside and the defense is still no good. There's just no realness or enjoyment to running your defensive looks.

My biggest complaint is that the game doesn't have great responsiveness with the controls. Everything works alright (the dunking is not really all that an amazing feature), but when you press buttons on the controller it's like you're making plans for the future. You hit the button to juke out with your player, run to the board, time the layout just right, except by the time you're done your player on the screen has just started to make his juke move. T-T-T-Today Junior! It makes the game feel awkward and I wish 2k sports would have it worked out by now.

If you need to play Xbox basketball there aren't many options. Maybe that's why this game is so uncompetitive.

Best Deals for NBA 2K10 - Xbox 360

I've been playing the 2k series for years, and while 8 wasn't a giant leap forward, and 9 had some issues, nba 2k10 is just a bad video game. It's created more problems without solving old ones. A few nice features like association mode or the gimmicky myplayer mode don't fix this game's glaring problems. First, online play is terribleif you need confirmation, just check out any number of other reviews. It was released broken and hasn't been fixed. Second, the AI is still awful. The four guys you are not controlling regularly blow assignments, don't challenge shots, never play passing lanes or go for the ball: some of this can be fixed with sliders but the default settings are flat out broken. The controls are also awful: players you control act on a delay (that increases in online play) so that often you make an open pass to a guy running towards the basket and he will patiently wait for the opposing player to catch up before making a move. Defense is unintuitive and needs to be re-built, period. It's actually gotten worse than it was 2 years ago. The most inexcusable thing is the lageven in offline modes lag creeps in, taking an already frustrating game and making it ten times worse. 2K needs to stop focusing on slightly improved graphics and re-recording audio and actually fix what's wrong with this series. Right now it's a basketball simulator that doesn't accurately simulate basketball AND isn't fun to play.

Honest reviews on NBA 2K10 - Xbox 360

For a long time I was a devout NBA Live player. A few years ago the franchise went stale and little was changed or improved upon from year to year. That was when I switched over to the 2K franchise. Every year I found myself getting excited for October because that's when the much anticipated new version of the 2K series is. It pains me to say it, but it appears that 2K has fallen into the same slump that Live was in a few years ago. Other than minor improvements on a few mundane details, this is the same game as 2K9.

THE GOOD:

The new NBA Today feature that gives a breakdown of each day's real NBA games and their results.

The graphics are better than last year, but the difference isn't as profound and jaw dropping as in years past. Nonetheless, players do look more realistic.

The commentary by Marv Albert and Clark Kellogg is the best of any sports game I've played. While a lot of it is recycled from past years' versions, there is a surprising amount of new stuff (if you're familiar with the NCAA Football franchise from EA Sports then you know how annoying it can be to have the same commentary every year, especially when it doesn't add anything to the gaming experience). The banter between Albert and Kellogg is very believable and it doesn't sound like they are acting.

2K has done a total overhaul on the in game menus. This is going to be a matter of personal taste, but I like the way these look.

By far the best change is the addition of the "My Player" mode. It allows you to create a player of any position who has a specific set of strengths and weaknesses. Here is the general synopsis:

You start out playing in a summer league and try to make it to an NBA training camp. If you get an invite to training camp then you try to avoid getting cut. If you do you head to the D-League, if not then you play in the NBA. Along the way you earn skill points used to improve any aspect of your game from mental toughness to scoring from the post.

In each game you are assessed a "Teammate grade" for what you do on the court. Taking good shots, setting good picks, rebounds, assists, getting good position on your defender, running a fast break correctly and a number of other things will raise your teammate grade. Turnovers, excessively calling for a pass, letting your match up (the man you guard) score, taking bad shots and not staying with your match up will lower your teammate grade. Before each game you are given three challenges to complete during the game. For each one you complete successfully you get additional skill points. For example, you might be asked to hold your match up to 51% shooting from the field, make 4 baskets in the paint, and finish with a teammate grade of B+.

The My Player mode is a lot of fun if you can get past the idea of only being one player on a team. You have to work to get open and its not a good idea to shoot the ball every time you touch it. If you stick with it then you will enjoy this game mode. It is a good addition to this franchise, but it certainly isn't enough to carry the game. Which brings me to...

THE BAD:

The online play, or should I say the lack thereof. A quick history lesson: 2K8 had a great online feature complete with leagues, quick games against any random person who was online and ready to play, and game lounges for all different skill levels. After such a great and expansive online option the previous year, 2K9, for some inexplicable reason, did not have game lounges. This meant who you played and how good he or she was was totally random. A beginner playing an expert meant the beginner left feeling frustrated and discouraged and the expert got to pad their stats. Not to mention connecting to an online game was unacceptably difficult. In my experience, over 3 out of every 4 attempted online games wouldn't be able to connect in the first place. It was very frustrating.

Well, that was nothing compared to the problems 2K10 has. The main reason I play sports games is to play online. I have owned this game for over a week and I still have not been able to connect to an online game. I have tried every day and every single time it reports a connection error and refers me to a website that offers no help and a FAQ that is blank. I have heard a rumor that 2K is planning on releasing a patch to fix the online problems but I am not holding out much hope; they did the same thing last year and it didn't help.

The gameplay is almost the exact same as last year. The look is a bit different, but the first time I played it I dominated my opponent because it is essentially the same game I've been playing since October of last year.

It is unbelievably easy to score inside. Playing as the Hornets, I was able to have Chris Paul post up Kevin Garnett on several occasions and only get blocked once. I had Mike Bibby dunk on Tim Duncan. My jaw dropped as the laws of physics were suspended when Allen Iverson went for a layup and the ball traveled through that's right...THROUGH the arm of Shaq as he made a futile attempt to swat the layup into the next zip code.

In the game manual it claims that you can control the different dunks the players do. It could be user error, but I haven't been able to make it work. I have talked to others who have complained about this too.

The shot stick is counter-intuitive and largely unnecessary. It has been a feature in the 2K series for a while now and I know they are trying to answer NBA Live's manual dribble moves but not all of the shots work and the one's that do are confusing and take practice to get down. When you're in the middle of a game and you are driving to the basket, you don't want to think about which direction to point the shot stick. It would be better to hold the shoot button and then use the movement stick to control how the player releases the shot. To me that seems like the more natural way to play.

IN CONCLUSION

2K has a great tradition of producing top of the line basketball games. While this newest version certainly isn't a bad game, the game makers left way too much room for improvement. It is a disappointment mainly because I expect better from this franchise, especially considering this is its 10 year anniversary. Instead of taking time to innovate the gameplay itself, the makers of 2k10 spent most of their time and energy on aesthetic details like the menus and commentary. With the exception of the My Player mode, this game is no more than a brightly decorated version of 2k9.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for NBA 2K10 - Xbox 360

So I bought this awhile ago, and it took too long for me to review. Overall 2K10 was a solid addition to the franchise. Graphics were crisp and game play felt nice, I simply am not good at this game though haha. Online features were nice, but I felt it lagged a bit, perhpas my connection speed. Season and Franchise modes were the same ol thing as previous installments and don't offer much fun. This is a game to brush up on alone and then school friends when they come over.