Cheap Battle vs Chess (Xbox 360)

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Just picked this title up as there are no other chess games available for the Xbox360! First off, the game is not user friendly, you can't make hardly any adjustments to the look of the game play (remove hints, only 3 piece styles, etc.... The fighting "battle" mode is COMPLETELY LAME and almost unplayable!! There are no mentor/teaching modes available in the game. No chess library for playing through classic games etc, it's like the dynamics of chess wasn't even really addressed or though of when they designed this turkey!...overall it is a LAME game title. If you're a chess enthusiast, PASS on Battle Vs Chess! Save your money for a REAL chess game for the Xbox360, IF they ever release one, that is!:-(

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This is a preliminary review, but I wanted to share some first impressions. First of all, although the disc & packaging says PAL (European) only, it works perfectly well in an American Xbox 360 -provided parental controls are disabled or set to allow M+ rated games. It's the same game as Check VS Mate [Download], but it's unclear when if ever it will be released with that title for Xbox 360 in the US. My advice is to go ahead and get this international version if you want to play on your console.

There is a LOT of game modes/features and variations for both single-player and multiplayer. Here are some examples:

* Classic game (just thought I'd mention it in case people think there isn't "normal chess"). Still, classic game has some innovative options for placement such as "Randomized" (for major pieces only), "Tactic" (AI has presets, player has control), "Madness" (all pieces' placements randomized), "Recruit" (point values of pieces, random number and type), and "Madness + Recruit." There are 6 options for boards/settings, and 10 options for AI difficulty.

* Battlegrounds "Slasher" (3rd person action) & "Duel" (2-D side view beat-em-up). I haven't tried them out but the rules and "how to play" appear different for the different modes, so it's likely more than just the perspective difference.

* Minigames Treasure Hunt, Puzzles (various types, lengths, and difficulties)

* Campaign Mode Missions for the Order or Chaos armies (puzzle-like challenges)

* Multiplayer features There is a lot here: Local ("Head-to-Head"), Xbox Live, and System Link multiplayer. Modes include Classic, Reserve (captured pieces join your side), Suicide (goal is to lose all your pieces), Double (move 2 pieces in a turn; "Marseillais" variant, Duel. There is also a "Fog of War" option.

* Tutorial I haven't tried it, but the topics are basic (i.e., how the various chess pieces move). I was kind of hoping for something akin to Majestic Chess (Jewel Case). The Campaign Mode (see above) sort of approximates an adventure game, but it's not instructive like Majestic Chess.

The animations, etc. are very impressive (miles better than Majestic Chess, which I mentioned above), and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys puzzle or board games.

Best Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus - PlayStation 2 Deals

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Don't let the title of this game throw you. Almost undoubtedly, many PS2 owners will overlook this game, thinking it's simply kid's stuff. Well, know now that Sly Cooper is the most original game to come along in quite awhile, and for kids and adults alike, it's one of the best titles out there, hands down. Everything, from gameplay to presentation, is perfect, and it's truly a rewarding gaming experience.

The game is a typical 3D platformer, with the hero, Sly Cooper, master thief, trekking through various locales in hopes of restoring the five pieces of his "Thievius Raccoonus", his family's great book of stealing. The book was torn apart by the group known as the Five Fiends, and now, it's up to Sly and his buddies to overcome the villians and steal what is rightfully theirs.

The graphics are splendid, taking full command of the PS2's capabilities with gorgeous -and fitting -cel-shading. The voice-acting, while a little hokey, has its moments, but the real prize of the game is its overall presentation. From opening credits to cut-scenes, Sly Cooper weaves a fun, truly original tale that can only beg for more sequels.

The gameplay is precise, with Sly a cinch to control. A quick tutorial mission acts as the first "stage," so novice gamers will have no problems figuring out how to make Sly climb, jump, swing, and do other marvelous things with his unique cane. Special "Super Sneaky" moves are available with a simple press of a button, and special techniques can be unlocked by finding "clues" (bottles) throughout the levels. These special techniques are fun to use and add some flavor to the game, but they're not necessary to complete your missions.

With colorful characters, memorable villains, rewarding gameplay, rich graphics, and a terrific story, Sly Cooper should find its way onto your PS2 soon. It won't take many days to finish, but the ride through is well worth it!

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I was lucky enough to pick this up used at Blockbusters for a very reasonable price. I bought it based on the reviews I had read here. My 7 year old daughter immediately began to play it and has been going at it for a few days now. She has reached 40% completion now, so it has not been a terribly difficult game up to this level, but she has had to replay several sections more than once in order to continue. The game save works very nicely and you can start your saved game up quickly with a minimal load time. The fastest I have seen so far. It also hasn't sent her back to the beginning after Sly dies, avoiding frustration. We also have Ratchet & Clank as well as Jak & Daxter, but this one seems to hold her attention more. It may be that this is a more linear game, where she doesn't get stuck wandering around on an island, wondering where to go next. With this game, you just keep going forward and the obstacles appear right there, sort of like the old style Crash Bandicoot games. This game is also a pleasure to watch as the graphics are so nice. Put this on your list of games to buy, but be patient, find a good deal on it to make it all the more enjoyable.

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Hmm... I wonder. Can I still give this game a perfect 5 stars despite the fact that it is not perfect? Sure I can! Why? Because the flaw is only in your mind!

Ok ok, now that I have you all confused, I guess I'll just have to explain myself. Everything about this game is utterly phenomenal, the Graphics drip with style and flair, the Sound is exceptionally well done, Gameplay is pure gaming goodness (my second favorite kind also, platformer), the Plot will grasp you tight, and well.. then there's the Replayability. I will break everything down individually though, so that you can see more clearly what I think of this masterpiece.

Graphics: 5 stars

For all those of you who have been living under a rock, in a cave, or on the moon these last couple of months, a new kind of graphics craze is headed to gaming, ''Cell-Shading.'' Cell-shading is a technique that makes 3d animations look like cartoony sprites, but still retains a sharp crisp look. Unfortunately, many of these games end up looking like a kiddy title because of this. Sly Cooper however is able to master this design by mixing cell-shaded characters and objects with pure three dimensional backgrounds. The result is quite astounding and you'll even enjoy watching other people play the game (but you'll like playing it more yourself). Every level but one runs at a fantastic 60 fps, beautifully sharp and quick. There is a little slowdown in the swamp level of Mz. Ruby due to the enormous amount of detail, but that hardly makes the level unplayable. With this great level of detail and a useful first person binocu-com view, you'll often find yourself staring at the beauty in amazement.

Sound: 5 stars

There aren't really any scores of music, but rather on-going dynamic tracks or themes for the levels. What I mean by dynamic is that the current situation affects the way the music is played. Many games have used this idea recently but SC&TR really masters it, creating an almost emotional result. I truly got frightened when I was seen by one odd looking guard in the haunted swamp; the music turned from its eery low flow to a blaring roar of sounds that quickly got my attention to the fact that I was in trouble. The music really also sounds like spy or thief music, which is a pretty impressive feat, it quiets down when you're in ''sneaking'' mode, and it just makes you feel like an overall badass. The main draw here I would say, is some of the best voice-acting ever done in a game. This is probably third in quality on the ps2 to MGS2 and FFX (sans Yuna). The characters voices match their personality and don't have any of the trademark videogame awkwardness.

Gameplay: 5 stars

In all honesty, I have never felt like I had this much control over a game, despite a rather simple 3 button setup. The triangle controls your specials, the x controls your jump (or double-jump), and the circle controls everything else. I have to admit I thought it was going to be too simple just using the circle button for all action, but I quickly grew accustomed to it, and was clinging on rails, hooks, and pointy tower tops like there was no tommorow. It's a very comfortable way to play a game, and an ingenious setup. The superb graphics allowed you to see the clear route along each level. The game managed to be linear but without fault as it didn't make any levels exceedingly easy. It also presented some nice variety in every boss level.

Plot: 5 stars

The plot was much, much more than I was expecting. I actually felt attached to the characters, angry at the villains, and excited to be a part of such a cool family (the Coopers). The story was basically about recovering you family's ancient thieving book, the Thievius Raccoonus, and the shenanigans along the way. That's about all I can say without giving away any spoilers, but believe me, it's very well presented. The plot is relayed through animated scenes as well as in-game cutscenes, along with some of that great voice-acting I was telling you about earlier. Without being a behemoth RPG-type game, the plot manages to keep you excited for more, and in the last level, you'll be on the edge of your seat.

Replayability: 5 stars

A perfect 5? I thought I was saying that this was the flaw with the game before. Well, to some extent it is. I could beat this game over and over and not really get tired, but that's not exactly the type of replay people look forward to. No, the replay that makes this game great is found after you beat the game for the first time, in the Master Thief Sprints. These are basically times to get through the level in as fast as you can, for a reward, mostly pride though. The reward is a dialogue about the level going on while you play through that particular area again, and some of the stuff is pretty cool to hear, especially if you're interested in making games (mostly design type stuff, which kept me interested even though I'm more of a programmer). But the flaw that I said was in your mind, and which may draw some people away from playing these Sprints, is the difficulty. For novice gamers, and on some levels, even for experts, these challenges can prove to be just that, challenging. But in the end, the feeling of pride you'll get to reach 100% will guide you through all of them. And don't worry, it's no Battletoads!

The Bottom Line: 5 stars!

Overall, I'd have to say this is definitely one of the best games I have ever played. I rented this, and kept it long enough to rack up a 7 dollar late fee, so that tells you something (if you know me). I'd suggest buying it, as I'll no doubt feel the urge to play it again soon.

Honest reviews on Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus - PlayStation 2

This game is a very, very simple platform game. But it's also pretty darn good. The cell shading graphics are simply amazing, and the gameplay is consistent, fun, and easy to begin with. It's a little platform game that combines elements of stealth and action. Sort of like Metal Gear Solid 2, but actually fun.

This game is a short game. It means that maybe they could have added another element, but it also means that there isn't needless repetition in any of the levels, except for the last boss.

You are this raccoon from a long line of thieving relatives. You're mission is to find all parts of the secret family thieving book, all while running away from a female cop who is constantly on your tail (I'll let you decipher the meaning of that sentence yourself).

The thing that strikes me most is the presentation of the characters. While the background consists of 3-D objects, the characters are smooth, cartoon like, cell-shaded animals. It's a nice change. It's especially pleasing since the new, unreleased Zelda is going to use this type of "revolutionary" technology.

The game itself is straightforward. You have to jump, attack, and sneak your way through levels to eventually reach a boss. Then once you realize how to defeat the boss, it's on to the next level. Nothing original at all, but then again, it didn't claim to be. The beauty of this is that you rarely go through the same level more than three times, and you don't have to refer to walkthrough to pass any of the levels.

I would recommend this, it's good, clean fun.

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At first, I'll admit, I didn't like Sly Cooper too much. My initial reaction was that this was just another ordinary action platform game. After playing it awhile, I soon realized it wasn't your 'ordinary' action platformer. Developer Sucker Punch proves you can still innovate in a genre that's beginning to get old and show its' age. By combining stealth with great platform action, you got one killer game on your hands. You play as Sly Cooper and, with the help of your two friends:Murray and Bentley, you go on a quest to find pages from your family heirloom(the Thievius Raccoonus)which is a guidebook for thieves. Rest assured, it's not teaching anything bad here as its' taking back what is rightfully yours. Everything from plot to presentation to control and gameplay, everything is dead-on in this game. Even the cel-shaded graphics compliment the games' cartoony atmosphere. No boring sleep-inducing fetch quests here...Oh no! You can collect clues to unlock new moves to use in the game but it isn't neccessary just to finish the game. Sucker Punch keeps thing fresh and simple in this game. You can tell this was a labor of love for them because alot was put into this game and that's why it is so great. I, personally, look forward to a sequel. It's easily the best action platformer on the Playstation2 thus far.

I highly recommend this game to everyone, young or old.

Reviews of Dance Dance Revolution Multi-Platform Super Sensors Energy Deluxe

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I did quite a bit of research on dance pads and although there were no reviews of this item on Amazon, I bought this pad for my son for Christmas because the reviews at other sites about its durability, responsiveness, and quality of play even on carpeting were positive. We have been very happy with it for the most part. It is indeed very responsive. The padding is thicker than many pads and seems tough and durable. The sensor panels are raised and easy to hit. Our only complaint is that the vinyl along the edges of the raised sensor panels tore immediately. We thought about returning it but decided that this tearing was going to be an inherent problem with the raised pad design and figured that a little duct tape would take care of the problem. We haven't had to resort to the duct tape, however, because the pad has not torn further beyond the first problem. My only remaining question about this pad is how long it will last. It has only been three weeks; if we get a year out of it at this quality of play, I will be very happy with this product.

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Worked flawlessly with my PC out of the box. No joystick-axis problem! WinXP recognized a "USB Dance Pad".

After 5 days of continuous heavy use by myself and young daughters, the pad began to malfunction. The left button would not always respond and would sometimes stick. When the problem started affecting my performance, I returned it.

I'm buying a metal pad instead.

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The kids had great fun with this. The mat took a lot of abuse and never seemed to miss a step. Setup was really easy, plug in and go.

The extra thick foam made it comfortable and the top seems extremely durable. The mat does not slide around at all.

Putting it togerther I managed to tear the rubbery material on the underside of the mat which is not particularly strong. However with a little less impatience it should have been fine.

Honest reviews on Dance Dance Revolution Multi-Platform Super Sensors Energy Deluxe

I had been looking to get back into DDR/Stepmania but needed a new dance pad after my sturdy Red Octane pad bit the dust a while back.

The first day, everything worked great and I felt good about my decision. I plugged it into my computer, the pad was recognized immediately by my Windows 7 x64 computer and I was dancing away with Stepmania having tons of fun.

And on the second day, things broke down. The left arrow button started acting up by not reacting to my steps all the time, as well as registering when I didn't even press it. On a beginner mode this may be tolerable, but when you do 4-7 Step difficulty like I do, this results in numerous failed combos and general frustration. This will be going back to Amazon for a refund.

Speaking of, whenever you buy one of these pads, always check the manufacturers' warranty and the return policy of your store. With Amazon doing the selling this isn't much of an issue, but since many of these pads are sold via third party vendors, you need to make sure that you don't get screwed over since these pads are very mixed in terms of quality. Some pads will last for years while others will last for days. I have had experience with both. YMMV with this and other models, but just know that the risk of a dud is very high.

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My 8-year-old son uses this mat with the freeware program Stepmania on our home PC. I wanted to avoid bringing a game system into the house.

The mat worked great right out of the box. I just plugged it into a USB port on the PC, and we've had no problems with it. My son's only complaint was that it doesn't have arrows printed on the diagonal buttons as some other mats do. At first, he also complained that the foam was too firm, again, compared to other mats he has used. This complaint went away after several hours of use. The plastic on the top of the mat is shiny, a little bit crinkly and wrinkly, and will smell of unpleasant chemicals for several days after it's unpacked. It stays in place well and doesn't slip even when subjected to enthusiastic hoofing.

My only complaint is that the product description suggested that the mat came with DDR software. I was extremely annoyed when the package arrived with no game software included. I've since discovered that Stepmania is an excellent alternative to DDR. It will run many DDR themes and songs, both legal and illicit, that are available on the web.

The seller was very sympathetic and accommodating, but strangely, they told me that Amazon would not let them modify the inaccurate listing. This doesn't reflect very well on Amazon.

Reviews of Evolve360 Controller Faceplate *CHROME*

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I finally got the xbox 360 controller faceplate and when I was putting the controller back together I realized that the faceplate that I had just boughten doesn't have any threading inside the screw holes. This results in it being impossible to screw your controller back together so it does not stay together very well while playing. DO NOT BUY THIS UNLESS YOUR POSITIVE THIS ISSUE HAS CHANGED!

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When this piece showed up, the finish was a perfect mirror, it really looked incredible. Installing it involved disassembling the controller which was a pain but not too difficult. The screw holes in the new faceplate didn't seem threaded as the screws were nearly impossible to get started. Overall, the install was something I don't want to do again.

The finished product though made me feel the whole ordeal was worth it....however, after 20-30 hours of gaming, the finish started to fade. Now, after 60 or so hours, the sides of the controller where your palm contacts the faceplate, is a grayish white with no chrome left on those sections. Anywhere on the faceplate where your hands/fingers come in constant contact, such as near the thumbsticks, has no chrome finish left.

If you are a casual gamer that digs mods, it really looks great. If you plan on puttin in some hours, I'd look to a different product.

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I got this gift for my boyfriend for christmas and he loves it more then Halo 3. Perfect gift for any person who loves xbox live games.

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This works good, it works better than the stickers if you know what your doing.

Tomb Raider Review

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After being forced into a corner of mediocrity and shameless attempts and polygonal "sex appeal" the Tomb Raider franchise is finally given the chance to start anew with a fresh look at the beginnings of series protagonist Lara Croft.

To keep a long story short, this series reboot showcases Lara's transformation from an inexperienced young woman in search of adventure into a strong and unstoppable survivor. This isn't the unrealistically large-breasted Angelina Jolie look-alike who runs around in short-shorts with her belly button on display to appeal to lonely fanboys. This is Tomb Raider matured and honed to perfection. Adventure, danger, suspense, terror. And all centered around a well-rounded character (yes, Lara is finally a real character now).

Visually Tomb Raider is magnificent. Sure, there's a lot of browns and grays in many settings, but when the game opens up to the island the graphics showcase the wonderful designs crafted with such care at Crystal Dynamics.

Voice acting is great. Lara's portrayal (in both voice and motion-capture) is ahead of previous games by leaps and bounds. Sound design and music are generally excellent.

Finally, we have gameplay. Tomb Raider offers a welcome mixture of shooting, platforming, sneaking, and cinematic quick time events (QTE's). Many gamers dislike QTE's, and I understand why, but I personally welcome them when they are placed sensibly within the game. Tomb Raider gets it right, using these events to keep you on the edge of your seat. One wrong move and Lara dies, sometimes rather graphically.

On the whole developer Crystal Dynamics and publisher Square Enix have crafted a gem of a game that can be enjoyed by a new generation as well as series veterans. Tomb Raider is a force to be reckoned with once again, and I pity the next big action-adventure game that tries to do better.

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Square Enix has been pushing the envelope lately. Last year's Sleeping Dogs blended Grand Theft Auto-style driving and shooting and classic "True Crime" grit with elements of classic martial arts films, and Hitman: Absolution dropped players into the shoes of Agent 47 for the fifth time with stealthy gusto.

And then came Tomb Raider. Having a video game series spawn nine direct sequels is no small feat. But to hear it told on the internet and in a couple of magazines months before its release, this would have easily been one to pass on. Lara Croft is young, naive, fragile and vulnerable, not the dual-gun wielding, ass-kicking bombshell she has been for nine games and two movies now. Let me reassure you, there is plenty to love here.

After being shipwrecked in southern Japan, Lara Croft is knocked unconscious and taken prisoner by the indigenous tribe. Her crewmates are lost. She is alone. When the dust settles and Lara opens her eyes, she finds herself bound upside down, hanging from the ceiling with several corpses. In the first five minutes of play, she escapes her bats nest, falls a good thirty feet to the ground and lands on a broken femur, which pierces her through the side. From that scene, I was hooked. Even through the stumbling and near-misses that Lara experiences in the first 10% of her journey, I found myself unable to leave her side. Her struggle through the hardship makes a bond with the player that few games can match.

The first and foremost part of this game is survival. Lara will occasionally get hungry if you aren't keeping on top of things. Fortunately, food caches are so frequent in the game and wild animals are everywhere, so this shouldn't be an issue. Stealth can be a key factor, too. A couple of stealth kills can save you a good 10 minutes of combat in the late game.

There are some areas where the game falters. Combat is repetitive as hell, and the game doesn't reward diversity in combat like Devil May Cry, nore does it really nudge you into any particular tactics. Bullets and arrows kill things, and dynamite hurts when it blows you up. That's really all there is to it here.

The multiplayer portion of the game seems unnecessary, and unless you're a bored fanatic of Call of Duty, you won't find much to please you here. Most of the DLC available now revolves around online multiplayer (weapons & maps), which seems like an oversight in a primarily single-player game, and the modes aren't very diverse. As good as the single player game was, I feel like it could have been that much better had Tomb Raider not shipped with online multiplayer.

The game's setting is a small string of islands in the Dragon's Triangle in southern Japan. The tombs are diverse, from the dark underground tunnels to the World War II testing facilities to the makeshift shantytown. The optional ones don't exactly jump out at you: the game alerts you when you're near the entrance to one, and you can either continue on with the story or search for that hidden entrance. The rewards for completing tombs are just as you'd expect: a fancy ancient relic, some insight into the island's history, or both. Just as rewarding are some of the death sequences. Should you lead Lara Croft down the wrong path she will die, sometimes in an amazingly gory fashion that would make LIMBO proud.

Tomb Raider sounds amazing. Every bit of it. The voice acting was fantastic. Lara's every gasp, whimper and grunt seem unique, as if SEE had captured dozens of hours of Camilla Luddington falling down the stairs. Her dialogue is hilarious at times. After opening a sarcophagus near the middle of the game and reaping her putrid reward, Lara blurts out "I hate tombs!" The other crewmates and villains have equally great voice acting, but the standouts are the samoan Jonah Miava (voiced by Earl Baylon) and the cult leader Mathias (voiced by Robert Craighead). Just as important, the musical score is astounding. Jason Graves (composer for the Dead Space series, Alpha Protocol and F.3.A.R.) brings the story home with a mix of tribal drums and chilling strings.

After beating the game tonight, I came away only slightly disappointed. The final boss fight turned out to be misleading, and the final sequence of the game was a QTE. Unless you're a completionist or an avid fan of mediocre online shooters, you can be done with Tomb Raider in as little as 10-12 hours. For those who take the time to explore, though, it can be extremely rewarding.

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Tomb Raider: The Final Hours Xbox 360 version

Visual effects: 10/10

Voice acting: 10/10

Musical score: 11/10 (outstanding!)

Brutality and Gore: LOTS (probably too much for some people)

Humor: 1/10

Xbox controller usage: 10/10

Frame rate: 10/10

Software stability: 10/10 (zero crashes)

Cut scenes: 10/10 (seamless)

Load pauses: NONE (amazing!)

Boot/splash time: FAST

Internet DRM: No

Worth the $60 price: Absolutely

Honest reviews on Tomb Raider

I played a few of the Tomb Raider games and really didn't get into them much, i'm not sure if it's because I was playing as a girl? Not to sound sexist, or i just preferred Indiana Jones, and Drakes Fortune over her. I really enjoyed the Uncharted games and could probably go through them again. I think this game is actually better in different ways. Graphically I do find it to be better, and Square Enix have always been known for great graphics and atmosphere. One of my favorites being Just Cause 2. The game mechanics are smooth as silk, the aiming and shooting accuracy are much better than Drakes Fortune, along with the controls. Not to discredit those games, but this game seems more plausible (for a game), and has more of a humanistic side to it. You really feel what Lara is going through, and it has a lot more emotional in a survival sense. This game is more staying alive then just searching for things and shooting people. Although there is a lot of that as well. The hunting is great, even when your just doing nothing you can simply shoot rabbits, deer, birds and wolves to gain skill points. And find salvage to upgrade simple things like a knife or axe. Even though i'm somewhere in the middle of the game, i don't see my opinion going anywhere but up, but it's already as far as it can go.

This game, much like Drake, Resident Evil, Dead Space etc. is "extremely" engrossing, and just a joy to play. Without having some of the tedious tasks that the for mentioned games have. Yes there are many quick time events, but they are easy, and not nearly as frequently annoying as say Resident Evil 6. Save points are all over the place, and the autosave does more than enough so that you don't have to continuously repeat a task over and over. And the game is "fairly" easy. On another note when i say Mature i mean it, this isn't the innocent Lara portrayed in the other games, or even the movies. The is the rated R version. There is LOTS of violence, cursing, and other elements that make the game for adults. Which is great. It's about time we have an adult platforming adventure game, without going so overboard it's not enjoyable. Well this is the game. The graphics as i said are just amazing, i have it on PC, so i could test out my rig, then got it for 360, to enjoy sitting on the couch in front of the big screen with surround sound. Both look amazing, but of course the PC has higher resolution, and the detailing while amazing, can make it, well, almost unrealistic looking. Also platformers are much more fun on consoles IMO. I use my rig for FPS mostly. So pick this game up, there is plenty of gameplay time, and even downloadable content to keep you busy for many hours. I rarely buy "new" games, i always get used or wait till the price comes down. But Tomb Raider is definitely worth it. The only other game i plan on purchasing "new" is Bioshock Infinite, which looks also to be amazing.

Other perks

Using the bow, climbing, scaling cliffs, weapon upgrades, the thrill of the kill, the will to survive, and oh yeah. This is one of the hottest versions of Lara to date. You're just wanting a scene to watch her bathe, even though she's a bunch of pixels and polygons. HA. Maybe that will come later, or we'll have the Naked Raider DLC. Either way, incredible game, which i'll probably go through again, sometime in the summer. ;o) Play on!!

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I am the type of gamer that is pretty loyal to my favorite game franchises Gears of War, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Tomb Raider and I tend to overlook a lot of problems with them because I love the stories, characters, feel. You know what to expect when you put one in and sit down to play. That being said, I feel that this effort in the Tomb Raider series was a bit unexpected for me. And even though it was fun to play, it didn't deliver all that I love about the previous Tomb Raider games.

I will start by listing what I didn't like about the game (these are in no particular order). MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS:

-It was very short. I rented this one instead of buying it and had 95% game completion in 10 days and finished it in 12 on Normal. I am a mother of 2, work a part-time job, help my daughter with homework, do house work, cook meals etc. I only play a couple hours of XBOX a night after my kids go to bed. To have 95% of the game completed in that amount of time means the game is very short. No joke.

-There wasn't enough of the puzzle aspects to the game. One thing I LOVED about the previous Tomb Raiders is when you are in a massive tomb or space and you can see all the levels of the ruins and you have to figure out how to traverse the space. A lot of climbing, jumping, puzzling over how to get where you need to go. This one was missing that. There were large spaces but they didn't have the same feel and certainly didn't have the challenge to them that previous Tomb Raiders did.

-The tombs were a joke. Come on. Seriously.

-I absolutely HATED the sequences when you had to push the Y button to prevent being killed or escape an enemy. You know, the ones where it is like you are watching a video and then the Y flashes on the screen and you have to hit it at the right time. Those are the times I died the most. Over and over again. I couldn't seem to get the timing down my first time through, although now I'm getting better at it since I'm playing it my second time. There were just too many of these sequences and the sliding sequences as well.

~~SPOILERS~~

-I thought that the glimpses of the Oni were pretty terrifying. I DREADED the time when I would have to defeat them because I knew I would. Then, in the final battle there is...ONE of them. Seriously. ONE. I do not like boss battles. I typically struggle with them. But I was seriously let down on this one. To build up the tension so much, starting with being in the monastery and seeing them dragging the big club, hearing the sounds they make then hearing the Solarii discussing how they kill people and how deadly they are and finally to thinking I would have to confront one on the bridge and having it blown off, postponing the moment of battle. All of this raised the tension and really filled me with trepidation at the thought of having to fight them. But there was ONE. I didn't even die in the battle. Not once. I kept thinking, "Was that it? That couldn't be it!" But that was it.

-This is a minor dislike but I thought that some of the scenes were just so disgustingly gory and gross. All the blood and bones and rotting deer and people. Turned my stomach at times. I'm sensitive though so maybe that was just me. But I really though it was much grittier and gorier than other Tomb Raider games.

-Finally, and this isn't really a big one, but there were so many times when I was like "Do not leave her alone!" "Stay together!" But then if the survivors of the Endeavor always stayed together then there wouldn't be much of a story, right? ;)

Now, what I liked about the game (in no particular order):

-It was fun. Just overall, I enjoyed playing it. It wasn't difficult but it was worth playing through. I didn't get bored. I wished there was more sometimes and kept waiting for something more to happen. But when I looked and was 60%+ through the game, I realized that was it. I stopped waiting for the game to start and just played.

-I like her various weapons, particularly the bow.

Ah, I'm really trying to say something else that I liked but I guess that is it...

Multiplayer:

I do not typically enjoy multiplayer games. I am not great against other players. Now, Horde mode in Gears of War is my type of multiplayer. I can handle computer baddies but I'm just not fast enough or skilled enough to take on people who play multiplayer all day every day. I get about 2-3 hours a night AT MOST to play. That being said, I did like what I did play of the multiplayer. Of course, I kept being killed pretty much instantly after respawning which wasn't very fun. But I like how there are three rounds and you alternate between being the survivors trying to get medical supplies and Solarii trying to kill the survivors and preventing them from taking your medical supplies. There are traps that you can set to trip other players up and high-powered special weapons you can find in the level. Pretty cool. If I owned the game, I could see myself playing a little more of that.

I don't like it when game achievements require you to play player v. player. That typically means that a gamer such as myself will not be able to get all the achievements from a game. That is always a bummer.

Overall, a game that wasn't very challenging but was moderately fun to play.

Nascar Thunder 2003 Xbox Review

Customer Ratings:

I thought EA had really improved with NASCAR 2002, but this is much better. Due to that, I had to go back and edit my rating for 2002 (5 to 4 stars). This is truly the best NASCAR game ever made. EA took all that was right from the 2002 version and made it tremendously better. You still race 43 cars at a time (1 player), you still get to upgrade your equipment, you still get to work out sponsorship deals, etc. However, now you get to to do R&D, hire your own crew and builders, and build your own engine and chassis. Not only those improvements but also better physics, more realistic racing action, fantasy tracks, and the best new additionLightning Challenges. In these, you actually get to recreate exciting moments that real NASCAR drivers experienced, such as taking over for DE Jr. on the last 2 laps at Talledega.

Gameplay: 9.5

If you like NASCAR and racing games, then this is the one. Get yourself an excellent steering wheel controller and it is that much better. Career mode is the tops: sponsorsand keeping them happy, hiring your own team and keeping them motivated by finishing well, and building new cars (including the engine and chassis). Also: unlocking fantasy courses and legend drivers, getting used to the tracks through Thunder Plates, and the Lightning Challenges. Also excellent multiplayer mode as well.

Replay: 9

Once you are ensconced in career mode and you have got yourself a steering wheel, you will keep coming back for more... and more. Excellent game.

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I played last years version and was pleased with the progress it was making. This year its 2002 version times 10!

Pros: 1. NASCAR is better than ever!

2. last years tweaks are fixed

3. an improvement in graphics

4. outstanding career mode

5. so many modes, that it will keep you busy for months!

6. the ability to import songs is available

Cons: 1. physics take some time to get used to

2. first years of career mode are frustrating due to crapiness of car and crew

Final Verdict: A definite buy! as i said earlier, it will keep you busy for months

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Where to start? This is easily the best racing game I've played for the xbox. One of the primary reasons is because before this the best was NT 2002, and this easily tops that.

The game has been stepped up so much, it has a lot more replay value than NT 2002. There are "Thunder Plates" which are similar to "Madden Cards" if you play any of the newer Madden games. You may not be buying them, but they do the same thing, just attained differently. More to add, they have a Lightning Challenges where you can relive great nascar moments to earn more thunder plates. There's a Thunder License mode where you can get what is basically a practice mode. Last of the new things (that i've found so far), there's more then one song on it, and it's the first EA Sports game (that i've played) that will let you use the songs saved on your xbox.

It's still got the Quick Race, Season, Career, Create a Car modes that are the same as they were last year. Career may have newer options to change to fix your car, i havn't gotten that far yet. But there's plenty of new things that add a lot to the replayability that made people tire of NT 2002. EA fixed that and added.

To shorten it up, if you liked NT 2002, or have ever like a Nascar game in the past, or any other racing game, buy it immediatly.

Honest reviews on Nascar Thunder 2003 Xbox

"NASCAR Thunder 2003" is really an excellent game. There is a variety of modes to play and a lot of different things you can do to keep your interest piqued.

"Thunder" lets you race at every track NASCAR races on as any one of the drivers on the Winston Cup circuit. There is also a Create-A-Car mode that lets you design and build your own car to race, as well as a career mode, where you start a team from scratch and race to the top over 20 years. You have to research new technology, sign sponsors and crew members, and meet certain goals in order to make money. It's a very deep mode, and you have to go through a few frustrating years before you really start to get good.

Part of what can help you is the Thunder License mode, which allows you to race by yourself at every track with the help of the driver of your choice. Richard Petty instructs you on how to race the track and then you try and complete laps in a certain amount of time. It sounds easy, but it's really not.

Probably the best mode is the Lightning Challenge, where you take control of race cars in certain situations and try to meet certain goals. Most of these are "win the race" goals, but there's a few other interesting ones, like avoiding crashes and trying to make it through a race on a less than full tank. Each challenge has a call from the race and is introduced by a driver. If you complete these and other things throughout the game, you're awarded with Thunder license plates, which unlock extras, like the cards in other EA Sports games.

Graphically, Thunder's not the best looking game, but it's still sharp. There's sort of a grainy look to it, but the tracks and cars are very well detailed. Soundwise, there's not much. The cars sound like, well, cars and the voices over the radio say the same thing over and over again. There's no crowd noise and minimal announcing, but, in reality, you couldn't hear any of that in an actual race anyway.

The gameplay is where Thunder really shines. The controls are very simple to learn, but tough to master. If you push the brake or the steering too hard, you might spin out, although there are assists that help you when you start out. There's also other little touches that race fans will appreciate, like drafting and deciding what you need in a pit stop. You also have to qualify for the races so you get the best positions.

Overall, this is a definite buy for every race fan or just a fan of driving games. And for only [$$$], it's well worth the price, especially since it's current with the early part of the season.

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This is a great Nascar game if your are just a casual fan or a hardcore Nascar fan. The multi-player mode is a blast and the graphics are awesome. You can build your own car and hire your pit crew. The better you do, the better your crew gets, and the more money you make allows you to buy better engines and cars. I would recommend this game!

Review of Zumba Fitness Core - Xbox 360

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When Majesco released Zumba Fitness for the Kinect in 2010, by most accounts it was a groaner. It was clear that the game had been rushed to market to try to cash in on the Kinect launch. The result was a sloppy and forgettable game. In 2011, they made amends by releasing Zumba Fitness Rush. This version added much better motion tracking, real Zumba personalities like Beto and Gina Grant, an improved tutorial, and much more engaging graphics.

I'm happy to say that the newest iteration, Zumba Fitness Core, builds on the improvements and makes the game even better.

When you start off the game, you see stylized videos of a number of famous Zumba personalities, including Kass (Martin), Tanya (Beardsley), Nick (Logrea), Loretta (Bates), Gina (Grant), and Beto. Their animated counterparts will be your instructors throughout the game. While in the previous version they looked more "cartoony", with this version they're starting to almost look like the real person (almost).

Some of the options in the main menu are the same as previous versions, while others are new. They are:

"Single Song": You can choose a Single Song to jump right into dancing right away. You can scroll through songs and choose them by instructor (whom you can identify either by their picture or the color of the button), or by name, intensity (low, medium, high), genre (e.g., samba, disco, cumbia, hip-hop, etc.), or workout type (warm up, core, cardio, cardio with some core, core with some cardio, and cool down). 17 of the 33 songs are licensed tracks, and 16 are Zumba originals, an impressive ratio compared to past Zumba games. Here's a full list:

Ain't Nothing Wrong (Robert Randolph and the Family Band) Pop

Alegria Pa Zumbar (Zumba Original) Samba

Bailamos (Enrique Iglesias) Pop Salsa

Balans (K-liber4life) Reggaeton

Bem Vindos (Zumba Original) Brazilian Funk

Boogie Shoes (Juptier) Disco

Brokenhearted (Karmin) Jazz

Crazy Love (Mara) Samba Techno

Cumbia Flow (Zumba Original) Cumia Reggaeton

Dancing With Myself (The Donnas) Pop Samba

Desert Groove (Zumba Original) Bellydance

Drop It Low (Kat DeLuna) Hip-Hop

Ella Me Copia (Zumba Original) Bachata Flemenco

For You (Zumba Original) Axe

Gati Bongo (Orchestre Baka de Gbine) African

Ho Jayegi Balle Balle (Daler Mehndi) Punjabi Bollywood

Hola My Friend (Zumba Original) Polynesian Rhythm

Jamming (Bob Marley) Reggae

Jhoom (Shankar Mahadevan) Bollywood

Jump Jive And Wail (Charlotte Swing Band) Swing

Kazachok in Habana (Zumba Original) Russian Folk

La Bomba (Zumba Original) Techno Cumbia

Las Gatitas (Zumba Original) Hip-Hop

Lift Ya Leg Up (Spice and Company) Soca Calypso

Magalenha (Carlinhos Brown) Samba Capoeira

Mirage (Naked Rhythm) Bellydance

Nyana (Tiesto) EDM

Paris (Oh La La) (Grace Potter and the Nocturnals) Rock Burlesque

Quiebra (Zumba Original) Quebradita

Roll Wid Di Don (Sean Paul) Stepping Reggaeton

Shake It (Anane featuring Mr. Vegas and Tony Touch) Hip-Hop Reggaeton

Suave (Kiss Me) (Nayer featuring Pitbull) Salsa

Sugar Plum Fairy (Ryan Franks) Ballet

Surf to the World (Zumba Original) Surf Rock

Sweet Girl (Zumba Original) Techno Merengue

Taki Contry (Zumba Original) Celtic Bluegrass

The Trip (Tres Mundos) Arabian Reggaeton

Vamos Pa'La Pista (Zumba Original) Salsa

Vem Vem (Zumba Original) Brazilian Funk

Zumba (Don Omar) Latin Pop

Each song has a venue associated with it, which you can change. The venues range from city nightclub scenes to open air stadiums to scenes reminiscent of Las Vegas, Niagara Falls, and Hawaii.

Dancing works pretty much the same as previous versions of the game. You have one Zumba instructor whom you'll mirror the moves of, reinforced by other dancers in the background doing the same moves. Animated visual cues will come on the screen to let you know to get ready for the next series of steps. You'll also see a little silhouette of your body in the lower left hand corner that you can match against the instructor. The one thing I thought was missing was some kind of status bar to tell you how much of the song was left.

Some reviews have complained that the choreography can be repetitive, but I think these fail to understand the nature of Zumba: repetition of certain "classic" dance steps is by design, as it helps make the class accessible to both beginners and advanced alike and helps people start burning calories quicker. In other words, it's an exercise program first and a dance program second. If you're looking for more elaborate choreography, I'd stick with a dance game like Dance Central or Just Dance.

I was very, very impressed by the motion detection in this game. For the most part I found the accuracy to be excellent, even down to detecting which arm and leg you're moving (something the Wii, for example, could never do). When I tried most songs for the first time I usually scored about a 50%, which was enough for 3 of 5 stars. But as I repeated the songs and started to memorize the moves, I found my score and my accuracy going higher. One other little detail they've added is that if you really mess up on a song, the instructor at the end of the song will let you know with a shrug or a little head shake, unlike previous versions where the instructor would jump up and down excitedly no matter how you did. I also really liked how I could play the game even though the Kinect sensor is only about 6-7 feet from me; with other games I have to rearrange my entire living room.

At the end of each dance you'll see your level, your score, the calories you burned, and the percentage of moves you got right. You'll also see a rating from 1 to 5 stars. You'll have the option of taking your picture (thankfully it doesn't randomly take pictures of you without your consent), as well as sharing your progress on Facebook.

"Full Class" lets you take virtual Zumba classes, which are basically single songs strung together. You can choose Short Classes (about 19-25 minutes), Mid-Length Class (about 44-48 minutes), or Full-Length Classes (about 57-62 minutes). You can also put together Custom Classes choosing your own duration and song lists. One major improvement they've made is the inclusion of low intensity songs that can help you properly warm up and stretch before exercises as well as cool down afterwards.

"Learn The Steps" is Zumba Fitness Core's tutorial section. You can learn four basic steps for Salsa, Merengue, Samba), Bollywood, Reggaeton, and Cumbia. After you select a style and a step, you need to match Beto dancing that step in slow motion. As with Dance Central his arms or legs will glow red if you're completely missing the target. Once you get the steps right you can try it in real time. The nice thing about perfecting the moves in the tutorial is that a lot of these basic steps are used throughout the songs.

"Progress Tracker" is a much improved section of the game that helps you see the progress you're making and helps keep you motivated to come back over and over. You can view running statistics of time played, accuracy, and calories burned by day, week, or month. You can also collect Xbox achievements for various set goals, as well a define goals for yourself, which you can share with your Xbox Live friends and tackle them as "Community goals". Strangely and disappointingly, it doesn't look like the game is supported by Kinect PlayFit at this time.

Overall, I was extremely impressed by what Majesco did with Zumba Fitness Core. They could have easily phoned it in and basically released the same game as Zumba Fitness Rush and still made boatloads of money. Instead, they effectively moved the platform forward with better graphics, more instructors, more songs, and more features to help incentivize you to come back to the game again and again.

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This is my third Zumba game. Having lost over 50 pounds just using Zumba and some dieting tweeks, I'm completely sold on this product as an exercise tool.

What I was not convinced of, was that a cardio tool could really do any core work. Personally I do between 100-300 sit ups a day, depending on what else I'm doing. I honestly didn't think adding "core" to the title would assist with any additional "core" work. I'm happy to say, I was wrong.

I just got this product 2 days ago, so I've only done 3 routines (maybe 56 songs), but I can actually feel the workout in my core. If you're someone who doesn't enjoy floor work in order to get a core workout, this is PERFECT for you. I abhore getting down on the floor, on a mat, on a ball, etc. Gyms are dirty places, floors are dirty places; combine them and you may as well be sitting in a cess pool. So to find a workout where you can get some core work in without having to be on the ground is phenominal. I'm SO impressed.

Will it replace sit ups; probably not. But, can I foresee it doing more than just working cardio--absolutely.

I'm living proof that this franchise does what it says it'll do---it has you working out without realizing you're getting a work out. I finish the workouts drenched in sweat. And now I'm looking forward to finishing drenched in sweat and with tighter abs.

Thanks Beto and crew. You've done it again.

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Just tried it the first time. thought I jump in the shallow end of the pool and tried a short session. (MISTAKE) The first jitterbug routine KICKED MY ASS.and subsequent 4 dances were slightly better. It did have a label of High intensity. So I survived the full 20 minute. Felt pretty cool. I think they have some serious Crumping inspired moves. great for the core. So I move to the longer session next, it was 44 minutes. This one is labeled medium intensity. A lot better. It's a whole workout in one. including warm ups and cool down, And it's so diverse! from what I see, (I'm no dance major, so pls forgive me if my terms are incorrect)Boot Camp type martial arts move, Paso Doble, Hip Hop, Rock. aerobics, belly dancing, the aforementioned crumping and some folk dances of various global origins. So I don't think one will be easily bored by this game. I do like this better than Dance Central 2, DC2 does not have the same intensity like this game. This will keep you at high intensity for a longer duration. But one have to get over looking silly. Especially for a guy.

4th session Update.

It's even more surprisingly diverse. I have one song of Ballet, Irish Jig, and some country type square dancing, not to mentioned some good ol fashion Russian Dance. It's a lot of fun. I'm sub 200lb guy trying to lose weight, by a website calculation, I lose around 700 calories per session of medium intensity workout. pretty amazing.

After 3 sessions, it gets easier after. I got some 5 stars songs already.

By the way when you are in full cardio mode, your problem area (fatty area) get real cold to the touch. I found out that this game makes your core workout a lot harder. I don't feel the belly getting cold during Kickboxing sessions, but in here. It was ice cold, so the game makes you dig deeper to get toned. Interesting.

After 9 sessions, I went to the Gym today and I can crunch twice the weight that I can before I started Zumba, I was crunching 80lb comfortably, now I can crunch 160 lb after 9 sessions(30 reps * 3). really works so far.

After 12 sessions, Did a 1 hour long class on high intensity, beat it. and 73% score. Tummy 60-70% gone. Back arch above the small of the back is arched more. Addicted and doing it daily.

Beat the game (all 1 hour long session completed with 5 stars ratings) after 45 days.

5 months update, No longer doing it on the Xbox, I've regularly attending live Zumba classes 2-3 times a week, In the front row, dancing on the stage with the instructor! lost 36 lbs, Fit in a waist size 33 inch jeans, (from waist size 38)Starting to do insanity, and yoga and pilates and biking and swimming...Phew. All because of starting from this one little program.

Honest reviews on Zumba Fitness Core - Xbox 360

I received my Zumba core yesterday, The music is better than previous games but many of the dance steps are the same in each song, not much new cretivity in choreography. If you've bought other Zumba Kinect games , you might want to wait because the only difference is the kicking that builds the core. I don"t regret buying it because I was getting bored with the Zumba Rush routines, The kinect seems to be more responsive. Graphics are great. They have calories in the game but you don't add your weight or height so how accurate can it be. The biggest disappointment is you can"t take the dlcs with you from the other game like you can do with Dance Central. A definite buy if you didn't buy Kinect Zumba Rush.

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Zumba Fitness Core has great songs, fun bonus videos and is INTENSE. Of course, I'm um, writing this from my wife's perspective.... yea, that's it!

Reviews of Bluetooth Wireless Headset For Sony Playstation 3 PS3

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List Price: $19.99
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This headset is probably the best value for $20 if you're just wanting to voice-chat with other players online. It is VERY responsive and very clear on default settings. I suggest you lower the output volume via PS3 "Manage Audio Devices" settings (somewhere on the XMB screen). If you don't, other players will hear you breathing, hear your family members/friends talking, and/or hear the sounds of gameplay coming from your TV/controller.

It charges pretty fast. The device manual recommended at least an 8-hr charge before its first use if not an overnight charge, but it must have been pre-charged before shipping because it took less than two hours for it to completely charge with the PS3.

To charge, simply connect the USB cord to the PS3 and the other end to the headset. It will continue to flash a red light until it is completely charged.

***This package (at least from e-Forcity), does not come with an AC charger.***

I started panicking when I opened the contents and found that there was no wall charger, because even the manual stated that the contents would include the charger...but it must not have been updated because the only "charger" it comes with is the USB cord.

This headset is NOT for any type of surround-sound environment. First of all, there's only one ear piece. It can get a bit uncomfortable after a few hours, simply because the ear piece doesn't cover the entire ear, making it push against the tiny bones (you'll feel what I mean after removing the headset after long gameplay sessions...). But the good thing is that you can just switch the headset around so that it covers the other ear. Perhaps switching between each ear every hour will help. Just don't leave it on one ear for so long.

Overall, this is a good headset. I'll give it five stars because of the quality I expected for $20. It's easy to use, players will definitely be able to hear you [and clearly], and it's wireless.

*Edit (5/6/12)*

For those that are experiencing problems with the mic, you have to remember that it may be the game itself or your internet connection that will affect the quality of sound both on the sending and receiving end. If you have dial-up (if this is the case, I don't even know how you're gaming online) or a slower version of DSL, playing a game and using a mic will cause a split (sometimes uneven) with your bandwidth (internet speed being used).

For those who are familiar with VoIP (i.e. Vonage) while having a "not-so-fast" internet connection, you may have experienced a slow-down while surfing the web if someone else is using the phone (or vice-versa) even though there are ways to avoid this (Quality of Service a.k.a. "Traffic Control" via your router = controlling how much bandwidth each device gets).

The same goes with gaming on your PS3 you are basically "talking on the phone" while playing, except that the PS3 can prioritize the bandwidth usage for gameplay instead of for the mic. The bulk of the bandwidth goes towards the server you are playing in.

So, if your maximum internet speed is 756 kbps (I used to have a slow version of DSL and understand the pain), your PS3 could be using almost all 756 kbps (servers require a minimum connection speed different for each game/server) in order to keep a steady connection (so that there is minimal or no lag). However, this leaves little or no bandwidth for your mic.

When I mentioned "the game itself" could be causing the problem, that's because I experienced mic issues with Borderlands (PS3). My friend and I had difficulty hearing each other with incomplete sentences and stuttering on both ends. We then tried Uncharted 2 and Battlefield 3 and had no problems.

I did upgrade to Wireless Stereo Headset, but I still use this when I'm charging the Sony Official Wireless Stereo Headset.

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At 1st glance, I was skeptical on the sound quality on the PS3 and with my cellphone. The sound quality is 5x better than your above average Bluetooth. I played for about 2 hours and it is very comfortable and hardly noticeable from user end. I you want a great, inexpensive Bluetooth headset, this is one to get. Oh and pairing is super duper easy!!!!

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For BF3 all the comm chatter now comes through the headset and the sound effects and stuff still come through my TV, which wasn't what I was expecting but works out even better. Lets me turn the volume down when my room mates are sleeping, but still hear my homies loud and clear. Never had any reception complaints from them either, we all use the same headset and everyone hears fine. Great for the cheap price.

Honest reviews on Bluetooth Wireless Headset For Sony Playstation 3 PS3

I bought this for gaming with my PS3 and I paid around $18. I LOVE the bluetooth wireless technology and set up is very easy. One thing to note is that you only get voice through the headset and not the game audio. That isn't a big deal for me as the only reason I wear the headsets is to hear my friends. It is light and comfortable and doesn't take up a lot of space. I would also bet that it works with my phone and car if I wanted to connect. I can hear my friends just fine and they can hear me. My buddy bought $85 gaming headset the same week I bought these I think I WIN!

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this headset is GREAT! comfortable and works better then advertises. AND for under 20 bucks!! i wished i got this before i spent alot more on a turtle beach that blew a speaker. delivery faster then listed... overall .... for ps3 gaming.... CANT BEAT IT

Death Note: Kira Game (Japanese Version) Reviews

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is great, I LOVE IT, i haven't PLAYED IT, but knowing any DS/DSI game, this is nice, the case ansd all the original papers and guides, game as no scratches, case is nice, its lovely and cant wait to buy a new DSI to play this

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My sister wanted this games for forever so I got it her but it took along time to arrive also it got stopped by customs i had to pay to get it out and I don't know how she plays it being in Japanese but she loves it.

Buy Fallout 1 / Fallout 2 Bundle (Jewel Case) - PC

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I just finished both games, and I highly recommend this bundle set to anyone who likes (1) RPG games, (2) Post-apocalyptic themed anythings, (3) games that don't make you do anything or (4) science fiction in general. The basic premise of both games, as recounted by numerous previous reviews, is that you have to make it in a world defined by the typical nuclear fallout (ahem) disaster. However, there are so many ways to make it, and they're all such fun, that these games should appeal to most people. Fallout 1 is a shorter game but in many ways is more elegant; if you play it conscientiously you'll have a feeling of satisfaction at the end for having seen and done most of it. Fallout 2 is much larger in scope and in time commitment, and unfortunately suffers a bit from it.. there are more bugs, more 'dead' items and quests that were intended to have some purpose in the game but never did, and so on. Some could argue this, in fact, merely adds to the gritty reality of a game where everything doesn't end up in a neat little package at the end, and there aren't answers to all the questions. Or maybe the programming staff was just overworked. In any event, the games are addictive and reward curiosity. High points:

1) Emphasis on character development. A karma counter keeps track of your overall good/badness, and as you progress you are offered various 'Perks' that enhance or define your character, such as Salesman or Demolition Expert or Kama Sutra Master. Others you earn through gameplay itself. Multiple avenues of play exist for any type of character..while your first character in both games is probably going to emphasize gunplay and high Agility, later on you can try a diplomatic or manipulative or pure thieving character as you see fit, and play what amounts to an almost completely different game.

2) So many explosions. These games have lots of fighting, on a turn-based system allowing for micromanagement of both yourself and your 'friendly' NPCs. Use burst fire to take out packs of charging wolves, aim your scoped hunting rifle at someone's leg to keep them from chasing you, send a rocket down a corridor into a pack of unsuspecting guards. It's all there..and the death animations are not for the faint of heart.

A few negatives:

1) As is typical in RPGs, making 'bad' or 'evil' decisions or dialogue choices tends to screw you. If you want, just pretend your evil character secretly enjoys the hypocrisy of agreeing to rescue someone's orphaned kitten with a boo-boo on its paw; it would be nice someday if RPGs rewarded evil characters for doing evil things.

2) Armor. Basically the goal of both games is to get your first suit of Power Armor. This transforms both games from a grueling, constantly-reloading ordeal of random accidental deaths and burst-fire horrors to a breeze. This, of course, makes perfect sense...once you're a walking tank, most things bounce off. However (although Fallout 2 handles this a bit better) there is very little middle ground..even with Combat Armor II (the next step down) you get mauled a lot.

3) Uncontrolled NPCs. Sure, by definition you shouldn't be able to control an NPC, but it can get truly annoying when one of your NPCs blasts something, and then moves 1 space directly in front of your other NPC for no reason, and then that second NPC, naturally, fires a machine gun directly into his head. It makes you wonder if 'friendly fire accidents' are really accidents. Depending on your party size, you can spend a lot of time watching your allies gun each other down like post apocalyptic three stooges.

Those aside, the games are very detailed and can be played as quickly or as slowly as one wishes, with numerous subplots branching off the main plot. The first game does have a timer for the completion of the main task, but that can be extended during the game, and in fact the game goes on (sans timer) once that task is completed. Fallout 2 does away with that completely, allowing you effectively all the time you want to explore. So if you always wondered if how Mad Max would have done if he'd had more ammo for his shotgun and access to the occasional flamethrower, pick them up.

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Fallout, originally released in 1997 by Interplay, shook the world of computer roleplaying games. Quite simply, it redefined the structure of the computer RPG. Most CRPGs followed simple linear scripts: King Groo needs the Sword of Spork. So you go to the Cave of Fear to get it... et cetera, et cetera.

Fallout shattered all preconceptions about story progression. In Fallout, you can go where you want, do what you choose. Unlike other CRPGs, you don't spend your time playing "delivery boy" for other characters. There is a guiding storylinean extremely good onebut how you accomplish your goals is entirely up to you. The plot will change and adapt based on your actions in-gameit's like a new story every time you play it.

Every obstacle in the game has numerous possible ways to surmount it. Need a nice gun from a local arms dealer, but can't afford it? Do the gun merchant a favor and he might let you have it. Sweet-talk him into giving you a discount. Or steal it when he's not looking. If all else fails, blow him away and take the loot from his steaming corpse. Fallout really IS that open-ended.

The possibilities for character creation are extremely broad alsoinstead of a rigid "race/class" system, you can create your character from an incredible range of Skills, Traits, and Perks. Want to talk your way out of problems? Give yourself a high Charisma and the "Good Natured" trait. Prefer more direct solutions? Put extra skill points in Big Guns, and pick the "Fast Shot" trait for extra stopping power. Or create "combination" characterslike a friendly doctor who just happens to be a crack shot with his .44 pistol.

While Fallout 2 doesn't break any really new ground, it is almost three times as long as the first Fallout and takes place in a much larger game world. It's more of the same, but better. Getting BOTH of these excellent games for one super-low price is an incredible bargain. If you like science fiction, or you like RPGs, buy this software. You absolutely will not regret it.

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Fallout is one of the few games that is worthy of being made into a full scale movie, simply because it has the few ingredients that most other games lack, namely a realistic, utterly immersive setting, a powerful storyline and, more so than anything, pure class. Fallout is rather irritatingly addictive simply because the world is so vast, so varied and with so much to do. The game has character you can taste, it has a personality that is strong and only gets better as the bold storyline, which takes risks that most other games would never dare take, progresses. Fallout FEELS real, the characters in the game, as far as you are concerned, are real people, the world acts and REacts to you. I ask you... Give me a game that left you breathless at the end, sad to see it end, yet proud, amazed at what you have seen. Give me a game that, in its every niche and pore, shows just how moch love and soul its creators poured into it. Give me a game that YOU feel, should be made into a movie and spawn countless sequels NOT because you want more of the same, but because there is far too much potential NOT to explore the possibilities in a world as rich and tangible as this. Give me a game that you think about, reminisce and dream about years after you last played it. When you do, I will die happy, but for now, I give you Fallout. Full stop.

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The fallout series of games is the best computer role playing game I have ever had the pleasure of playing. One the greatist things about the game is it's setting. If your tired of fighting orcs and exploring castles let this game take you away from that. How about a tour of secert millity bases and burned out cities? Fallout does a wonderful job of taking role playing and setting it in a post nuclear-world. the fallout games really gives the player the feeling of advancing in power and maybe more importently of discovery. One of the things that kept me hooked was uncovering old secerts and visting long lost places. You really get the feeling of exploring and uncovering a wonderfully created world full of detail. The game also provides lots of quests and options. You can play how ever you like. A hero or a villain with out getting locked out of places because of your choices. The game also plays very well. the fire fights you get into are fun. You have a lot of control over how you want to fight. For example you can even chose to fire your weapon in diffrent ways depending on what it is. All in all this is a great game for anyone who enjoys computer roleplaying and would love to explore a post-nucler world filled with mutants, lasers and power armor

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Only**** for 2 excellent games. Fallout won Role-Playing game of the year back in 1997. With fantastic graphics, a good story, and good game play, this was very enjoyable to play. In this game, you learn about the Vaults that were built when nuclear war became imminent. Years after the war, you are sent out as many others were to find a water chip as your supply depleting. You have a time limit to find the water chip, but when that task is done, the game is not. There is much to do in the Fallout world where you will find friends to help you out and will have many weapons at your disposal. Fallout2 take place 80 years after the first. You are the Chosen one. A descendent of the original character from the first game, you are sent on a mission to find the Garden of Eden Creation Kit which will restore the land in your village. This is a very large game. More area to cover, more missions to accomplish, more weapons, and more enemies to thrash. The gameplay and graphics are slightly better than the first, but this is also a very enjoyable game. Both games are turn based when fighting and you can create your own character. There is lotsa blood and very graphic when killing an enemy and there is plenty of adult themes and adult language, but you can tone it down with the adjuster. Overall, you will not find a better value and will be hard pressed to find games that are much better than these.

Astro Boy: The Video Game - Nintendo Wii Review

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List Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $22.88
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What a waste of a game for an awesome movie. I bought it b/c it was only 14.99. Within the first 10 seconds of playing it I realized why. The game play is only side to side and the graphics and story line are terrible. My 7 year old enjoys it, but she would not be able to advance on to the next levels unless I played with her. It's very difficult for that age range. Very disappointing overall compared to other cartoon movie games and the lego games.

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I bought this game for my 6 y.o. son who loves the American movie and books of Astro Boy and the original comic stories from Japan. It is rated E 10+ which I didn't realize, thought it was just E, and was unhappily surprised w/the level of violence. I still don't want my kids, even 10 and over to play violent video games. **The game is challenging though at least, the graphics are neat, and my son loves to play it. For my purposes though, I wouldn't have gotten it had I seen the game ahead of time, just because of the "fantasy violence."

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My kids love this game!

Pros: Easy setting gives you infinite lives. This game also has two player anytime you just jump in. It offers hours of fun for any player.

Cons: A little repetitive, and not exactly like the movie.

Honest reviews on Astro Boy: The Video Game - Nintendo Wii

Quite simply, one of the worst Movie-tie ins I have ever played. It harkens back to the old school side scrolling shoot-em up/beat-em ups from the original Nintendo. Yes, the graphics are better, but the gameplay is worse, and the story is all but non-existent and boring. Got this as a gift for my 5 year-old, and he would rather play Super Mario Bros (SMB) 3 or New SMB Wii. We have a few Wii games, and this one has seen the least screen time b/c all the rest are so much more fun.

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This was purchased for my grandson and this is what he told me to say. He took it to his dad's and he is hooked.

Thank you

Gears of War: Judgment Reviews

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List Price: $39.99
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I've been a GoW fan since the first game was released back in 2006. When I look at the previous Gears games and then play Judgment, I feel as if they changed too much too fast. They took a lot, now I mean A LOT of things out from the previous games and mixed it up with a ton of different ideas. Only one primary gun, Cog v Cog multi-player, Frag/Ink grenades as starting grenades, no active reload, and so on and so forth. Judgment is a GOOD game just not a great one. I would recommend this to any Gears of War fan, but wait until the price drops. For anyone who has never played a Gears game before, I recommend playing any of the previous games to understand why this game doesn't live up to it's predecessors.

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This is the NTSCJ (Japanese) version of the game. The product I received had been opened, did not contain an instruction manual, and had printed material from within the box insterted into the shipping material. Since the product had been opened I put the game in and it seemed to work just like the normal version, but beware that the cover has japanese writing all over the cover and other related materials and there is no instruction manual. In my opinion this is false advertising since there is no mention of this currently in the ad or in the picture of the game (US version pictured). I have put in a complaint, but figured I would let everyone know before they order the game like I did.

Note: The rating is not related to the game and is only related to this seller. I haven't even played the game other than to see if it worked.

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-Campaign review-

The rest of the review is for the multiplayer but I gave the campaign a try and here's my review.

So far iv really been enjoying the campaign. I hated gears 3 story, didn't find it interesting at all but something is different in this one.

For some reason almost everything missing from multiplayer is in the single player.

You can tag walls with grenades, execute locust, damage boost from drive reload which is all great and I hope they add this stuff back online.

So far iv played a few missions and for the most part iv liked them, but they are very very repedative. It seems they have added a horde type segment to each mission where you have to hold off the locust for a few waves which brings back good memories.

I also very much like these declassified missions which are a extra challenge to each extra xp, for example can only use pistoles, or the map is filled with smoke and you can't see well.

Another thing I like is the voice acting. It reminds me of max Payne 3 for some reason. How your playing and you character is taking in the background. The whole story is kind of weird and cool. Your playing memories and telling the leader of the cog what you did during your mission Ina court since your team disobeyed orders or something. It's new, and and I like how different missions you play as different characters which give a cool insight to your squad.

Overall it's really good and I like it a lot. Took me 6-8 hours to beat(can't really remember exact time)

-Aftermath review-

Anyone who doesn't know aftermath is an additional mission that takes place during gears of war 3. Sounds great, but it doesn't feel like gears 3. New weapons and enemies that are in judgment campaign are in aftermath which is really stupid. But you will see some old locust though. Well after math isn't long, took me about an hour to beat,

-Multiplayer review-

I have been really excited for this game for a while. I loved gears 2 and 3 but this game isn't the same at all.

I guess epic thought since it was a prequel you can take out basically everything that gears is and restart. Well that doesn't work

First I will list what they took out or changed from gears 3.

-active reloads no longer give your bullets more damage if you hit it at the right time-

this was a great thing in the gears franchise. I loved active reload. It was unlike anything in any other games so why take it out?

-no more rifle-shotgun duo-

maybe this is for the better but I don't know. I did like having a shotgun and a rifle in the same set up. When your far away use a rifle, when your up close whip out the shotty but it was overpowered. I won't ever use a shotty anymore

-limited character selection-

You start off with 4 characters to use online, and can only unlock 5 others! So only 9 fricken characters to choose from?

-spawn with frag grenades-

This isn't call of duty! You shouldn't spawn with frags!

-maps are so congested and small now-

I loved the style of gears 3 maps but these maps are not good. Way too many narrow hallways and alleys.

Also there's a map where you fly around the map in a fricken helicopter shooting a mini gun. Who thought this was a good idea?

-no more reviving team mates-

Yup, you no longer fall to the ground and bleed out or get revived. You die automatically.

-only three fricken game modes and four maps!

Team deathmatch, domination and deathmatch and 4 multiplayer maps! That's it! What the heck!

-no more sticking grenades to walls-

Why take this out? I used to get tons of kills with doing this.

-Environment weapons are overpowered-

Can use rifles and shotguns while hiding behind boom shields? Please tell me how that's fair?

-no more locust vs humans-

Why? Just why? I don't want to kill humans. The whole gears of war franchise is based on gears vs locust!!

-it's nothing new-

Besides a few new guns, there's really nothing new at all. Heck even the fricken menu layout is exactly the same, the awards and ribbon system is exactly the same as well.

To me it feels like epic doesn't care what gears fans like or wanted. It really feels like they wanted to please call of duty fans, and make it more like cod. It's sad to say but it's true.

Graphics-8/10

Some people say it looks a ton better than gears3 but it really doesn't.

Gameplay-7.5

They changed gears so much that it doesn't play like gears any more,

Sound-7.5/10

Everything sounds exactly the same as gears 3.

Multiplayer-6/19

Limited modes and reduced functions make online a lot less fun and competitive like older gears were.

Campaign-8/10

Maybe the saving grace of the game. I really loved it and thought it was special.

Overall-6

Its just not true to its roots. It's just plain boring and it already feels old since there's only 4 maps online, and all the features we have come to love are all missing

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I love all gears of war games and this one is a good one, it also ranks with the cods and the other shooter games.

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I have been a Gear head since the 1st GoW and still find myself playing it. This game is awesome...

Review of XBOX 360 Component AV Cable 24K Gold Plated 6ft.

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You've bought your kid every video game system out in the last two years. But now you have a new problem. They want them all hooked up at the same time so they can easily switch from one console to the other. Impossible without buying 4 TVs? WRONG!

You can hook up all 4 video game systems at the same time, to the same TV. The only thing that could make this cable better would be a coaxial digital audio cable (or optical). But until such a device comes along, this one is the king.

This one cable eliminates most of the black spaghetti from behind your TV. I can't believe it's so cheap.

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