Home - A Unique Horror Adventure Reviews

Customer Ratings:

"Home" is everything what home usually is not, this is a side scrolling adventure, short in duration but for sure innovative and intriguing one. In this horror game you are trying to explore an uneasy world but what separates it from the rest is how many times you finish it, trying to fill the missing parts you'll not be able to see complete story, because you are actually telling the story. Due to that reason experience of each player would be different even the actions were the same.

The game starts with your hero awaken by a gathering storm, finding himself in a strange room he cannot recognize. With your help he would try to find his way back home through the sequence of discoveries and mysteries uncovered. You will be challenged with a choice of action whenever you reach decision points and depending on your answer choice will be made, action would be taken. Each item taken, part of information will be gathered, story would be coming more close together and more often you'll ask yourself are the answers more complex than what you see. It's exactly that what you will learn will shape world around you, there are not correct answer to questions asked, at least I wasn't able to find them.

Before starting the game, it is suggested to play it in the dark and to dedicate an hour or two to complete it without a break. I can also suggest you to play it with the headphones, atmosphere will be even more appropriate. Fear is more effective when you are in the dark trying to hear each and every sound.

The biggest drawback is that player wants to try going multiple times through the game in search for some clues or different game end. With each play the atmosphere is gradually disappearing although it's fascinating to see how your possibilities are changing depending on different choices you make.

Home is a great game, especially when played for the first time. It is saying a lot about human perception and reaction to the fear.

Highly recommended for playing. In the dark...

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So it's not a perfect game, and the story gets a bit flimsy towards the end, but for $1, this game packs a ton of good scares, and genuinely creepy atmosphere. I got about three hours of gameplay out of 4 playthroughs, so I'd say it's worth every penny.

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A neat experimental game but not as creepy or as much fun as I was hoping. I think this could have done a little more to meet it's full potential.

Honest reviews on Home - A Unique Horror Adventure

I think I understand what they were trying to accomplish with the delivery of this game. Kind of like a choose your own adventure. My initial experience at the end of the game was a little confusing. I knew I was effecting the overall outcome but I wasn't sure how. And outside of one major plot point, i didn't see how the other turning points made any significant changes. The end game narrative rundown seemed disjointed, I think because of this.

The gameplay keeps you interested throughout the experience. And, like many, I was interested in the retro style of this game, which is pulled off perfectly. Not particularly difficult, the game allows you to enjoy the ride, which I did.

Only gave it four stars because of the confusion at the end.

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pretty good game, it's not something you're gonna play over and over, but it's worth buying considering the price. if You're a fan of creepy games definitely worth it.

Discount Two Worlds Epic Edition

Customer Ratings:

(I have not tried any of the online play, so this review is essentially for the base game with the included patches that are otherwise downloadable.)

I am a HUGE fan of single-player PC action/adventure RPGs, especially the Elder Scrolls and Gothic titles. Although I have yet to dig into Oblivion's Shivering Isles expansion, I have since tried to find a few "bargain bin" games to play in between Lord of the Rings Online sessions. The Witcher was fantastic, Fable too short and too buggy. I stumbled upon Two Worlds by accident, but I'm glad I did. As another game coming out of Europe, it isn't exactly a household name, and it's certainly not the most original game you'll ever play, but it is quite entertaining . . . if you can tolerate some of its shortcomings.

For starters, Two Worlds might not be quite what you'd expect from the box description or installation process, which is sometimes funny and sometimes frustrating. During the installation, there is a splash screen with a busty young woman. If you've played The Witcher or Fable, you might think that to be a hint of in-game "conquests" to look forward to, but it's your SISTER. It's also (after 50 hours of gameplay, anyway) the most revealing display you'll ever see. More on that later. There is a reference to four character classes, but unlike traditional RPGs where you pick a class and stick with it, Two Worlds doesn't adhere to strict character design limitations. For that matter, don't expect much guidance as to what path you take; after a lot of time spent playing, I have yet to find any advantage to straying far from the hack-and-slash route. Magic certainly has its place, and you can of course follow a more archery-heavy ranger approach, but sooner or later you're going to find yourself in the thick of a dungeon brawl where a sword and heavy armor are your best resources. Fans of a rogue/thief/assassin approach will probably be disappointed, as stealth and backstabbing are not viable for getting through most encounters.

Much has been said about the use of horses for travel and combat in Two Worlds, mostly negative. While a horse understandably can't scale a sheer cliff or jump over a castle wall, there are situations where your horse will abruptly stop in its tracks or change direction rather than continue where the path slopes a bit or a small obstacle blocks it. This is also true in combat, as your steed will charge headlong through a squad of orcs without hesitation, and then slam on the breaks as you ride past a single opponent. You might have the best armor in the game, but a couple of orc arrows or swipes from a dragon will kill your horse quickly. I also found myself being pursued by guards after my horse apparently trampled innocent bystanders. This wouldn't be so frustrating if the horse wasn't so bloody useful. Pathing issues aside, a horse will greatly reduce travel time, and the damage bonus available when fighting from the saddle can be quite significant. Carving your way through a pack of wolves or slaughtering a band of outlaws is very satisfying if you don't get hung up halfway through. Different types of horses (including orc lizard-mounts and armored skeletal horses) have varying cargo capacity, and are pretty much a must-have for any dungeon adventurer.

Other interesting features are alchemy and equipment enhancement. Alchemical ingredients can be found all through the land, generally fare less scarce than in Gothic. Gems can be found to upgrade weapon damage, and armor and weapons of the same type can (usually) be "stacked" numerous times to increase stats. Unfortunately, some of the gems used in alchemy have misleading stats, because they don't mix to create potions or enhancements, but rather traps and bombs that may not be of particular use to you. Even with your strength boosted by potions and level-ups, carrying capacity is limited, so it's often best to find a safe storage place (abandoned buildings are great for this) and place a portable teleport stone there for easy access. It won't take long for you to accumulate some serious wealth, but some items are best held onto for future upgrades.

In terms of story, look and feel, Two Worlds could just as well have the Gothic logo on the front. Seriously, someone unfamiliar with either game could read the plot synopsis from the first Gothic game and play Two Worlds all the way through without realizing they are different games. Orcs are poised to invade human lands, while rival human factions do battle in forests, mountains and villages. The orcs' god is imprisoned, necromancers are up to their usual business, and now an anonymous newcomer has arrived on the scene to do everyone else's dirty work while pursuing some noble plot. There are wolves, lizards, dragons and various other critters cluttering up the Euro-styled landscape, which is liberally stocked with healing shrines, magical monuments and teleport rings. All the standards are here.

Unoriginality aside, Two Worlds is fun. There are many, many quests in the villages and cities, and even in the wilderness, all in addition to the main storyline. I found myself engaging mostly in side quests, coming back to the main plot when it looked as though a particular mission might drastically affect faction standing or travel options. Although far more of the game world is dedicated to wilderness and wildlife than to villages, cities and dungeons, there are roads and trails crossing the landscape, with ruins, bandit camps and houses here and there. Even with a very modest hardware configuration and scaled-back visual settings, you can see for incredible distances, often being able to see a route from your current location to a fortress or city that appears to be miles away on the map. Caves, tombs and graveyards are often tucked away off the beaten path, so exploration is key if you want to see your stats and equipment improve without spending your hard-earned coin at the town vendors. The various dungeons are loaded with monsters who carry all sorts of loot, and treasure chests often contain some of the best spoils. This does require some skill with the lockpicks, which can be hard to come by early on.

There are few blatant bugs, although nothing as severe as was found in Gothic 3. Stability has been quite good I've only had one crash in over 50 hours of play. The main problem is that corners were cut here and there. The dialog is atrocious, and the characters' mouths don't even move in a lot of the cut scenes. The character models look quite good in third-person mode, but not so good close-up during the cut scenes. Remember when I mentioned the woman during the initial installation? This far into the game, she's the only female who isn't wrapped up head-to-toe in some overzealous attempt at modesty. This isn't a game that needs to rely on T&A to make it interesting, but in a world where male characters are encased in staggering suits of armor, the females are extremely uninspired. What's worse is that almost none of the female denizens will talk to you, which is something right out of the original Gothic. Your sister? She communicates you mostly as a ghostly greyish apparition via cut scenes. I wasn't expecting The Witcher's level of interaction, but every woman in every town need not threaten to call the guards when I approach. Because of the way the inventory screen is arranged poorly, as is typical of the genre dealing with vendors can be a huge hassle. The save-game menu isn't very intuitive either, when it comes to overwriting or deleting old saves. Definitely don't skimp on the saves, as the autosave function works on a timer rather than when you enter new areas.

If you're still reading this, you are probably very patient, which is a good thing if you're going to get the most out of Two Worlds. It really is a good game if you don't mind the generic world and plot, but it takes some time to get used to the quirks and move past them to the good stuff. I like games where I can wander freely, and still get many hours out of the quests. This is definitely more open-ended than The Witcher or Fable, more on the scale of Gothic or Elder Scrolls, and there is more room for replaying due to the reputation system and its bearing on faction and quests. Basically, buy this if you have the time to dedicate to a huge game and are willing to work around the problems.

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I'm a gamer. This is a well made game. It's a bit linear as you have to do certain story parts to open up new areas. It does have replayability however, as you will pick one path and then try another path the second, third time. It's great to be a caster and attack a horde of orcs or a dragon with 8 conjured minions. I have primarily played a mage in this game up to a pretty high level. I did fighter for quite some time as well, but it gets repetitive and is actually tougher than the mage. Thief is useless. The game doesn't force you into one of these archetypes, you are free to mix / match skills, but a hybrid in this game is weaker than a pure character. The game is good enough that I bother to write a review so that others will try this game. At $5 it's a steal. Skip the $5 cappuccino and buy this game instead.

Flaws: I ding this 1/2 star start for the magic card system, and 1/2 star for the flawed sneaking/thief system.

1) Magic card system is weak. During combat, a caster is opening the magic window every few seconds to swap spell cards or enhancement cards. That said, the magic in this game is well thought out and looks great. I love firewalls!

2) Item collection becomes tedious and at higher levels you just give up on it. Early in the game you almost obsess over it. Later, you ignore all but the most intriguing items.

3) AI is weak. Mostly get bushwacked and charged. But, combat is interesting and looks great.

4) Sneaking is useless. Take it from someone who primarily plays thief/rogues in games like PnP D&D, D&D Online, Everquest, Neverwinter Nights, Oblivion, Morrowind, Daggerfall, you name it. I gave up on thief here after 1 hour.

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Let me clear the air right off. I do not own this edition of the game. I own the first PC edition. The only difference between the two is the addition of a few more multiplayer maps and options and the improvements in the 1.7 patch which can be downloaded for free if you own the previous version. For that reason, I will not be discussing the mutiplayer beyond what I have experienced in the original.

This game got a pretty bad rap when it first came out for PC and 360 in August of '07. It was buggy, rough, and very prone to crashing. The multiplayer was an empty wasteland due to the poor connection issues and aimless gameplay.

Fast forward to a year later. Is Two Worlds any good? Well, it's not a bad game. It's a surprisingly fun (but mindless) romp through thick euro-fantasy tropes and hack & slash gameplay.

Your character wakes up after being attacked and having his sister kidnapped by ne'er-do-wells. You gird yourself in a gravelly voice and oversized armor and head out to chop your way through the countryside. That's about it for the story. It suffers from the normal complaints in the European low fantasy genre, namely that the VO work is stilted and hammy and the plotline makes little sense. But you didn't really pick this game up for the stirring script did you?

The game shines in the implementation of a completely open world similar to Oblivion with simplistic action RPG combat. As you level up in your quest to rescue your sister and defeat the overdramatic Evil Force, you'll ramble over the landscape and trounce enemies using either magic or weaponry and your upgradeable skills.

The skill system isn't quite as advanced as the one in Oblivion, but it's deeper than many other action RPGs. You'll definitely not be able to max out all the skills in a playthrough, so you'll have to allocate points wisely with each level.

The loot is widely varied and very cool. You can upgrade your weapons and armor by imbuing them with gems that add various effects. In a very innovative move, you may keep adding the same type of gem to a previously upgraded item, so you can keep improving the stats on a low level piece of kit beyond the point at which you normally would trash it. You can also "meld" the same type of item to improve the base stats if you pick up a repeat of something you already have. This is something I wish more loot heavy games would do.

It appears SouthPeak wisely took the picture of the protaganist astride the warhorse off the front of the game. Mounted travel and combat was a feature marketed in the prerelease of the game, which turned out to have all the attraction and practicality of building your own Model T Ford. Stay away from the horseback riding. You'll save yourself a lot of stress.

The bugs have been ironed out for the most part. there are still a few quest glitches and random graphical bugs, but there's nothing too upsetting at this point. I haven't crashed yet since upgrading to the latest patch.

If you play this game as a simple action RPG rather than some kind of epic roleplaying story, you'll have a blast.

Honest reviews on Two Worlds Epic Edition

Let me start by saying that I am an RPG fanatic, having fallen in love with such titles as "Gothic" (all 3 titles), "The Witcher," "Baldur's Gate I & II," "Morrowind," "Drakensang," "Soulbringer," "Planescape: Torment," etc. I also am in love with mods, and love to mod the heck out whatever game I can.

That being said, I like Two Worlds. It is a fun romp through a cliched world, and the plot threads are enough for anyone to get tangled up in.

GRAPHICS

The graphics match anything "Oblivion" can throw at you, and not only that, but the stone structures in this game actually outdo "Oblivion's" buildings. And the graphics equal or outstrip "Oblivion" without the ridiculous minimum system requirements. Reflective water was a bitch to get working in "Oblivion," with several mods being downloaded to try and remedy what was default in "Morrowind." Two Worlds pulls it off without a hitch. Not only that, standing on the shores of the oceans, you can see the tides come rolling in. Everyone looks fuggly, but that's okay. Your character (for some reason) reminds me of Arnold Schwartzeneggar, facially.

SOUND

Well, the sound is pretty standard. Swoosh! Splat! etc. The voice acting ranges from okay to bad, but at least it doesn't sound as hideous as some others ("Crusaders of Might & Magic" comes to mind). I don't expect Oscar work from a video game, so I guess I'm more forgiving there. Your character's voice isn't too bad -there are a few lines that didn't stack up but that was due to poor direction and lack of experience more than anything else.

The musical choices were interesting, at the very least. There's folk-rock vocal work in the soundtrack as well, which is a change from the usual strict symphonic scores that have been the standard since "Baldur's Gate." At least it kept things slightly interesting. The ambient music was better than some ("Drakensang," "Hard to be a God").

GAMEPLAY

Once I customized the controls to the configuration I always use I was really never lost. It plays a lot like "Morrowind," "Gothic II," or any other game of its ilk. It does suffer the RPG curse when it comes to horses. "Oblivion" and "Hard to be a God" have similar issues when it comes to controlling your horse. I have some tips: Try and move your mouse to face the direction your horse is facing. I've used a horse quite a bit in Two Worlds to great effect.

Hitting someone is just a matter of hitting the left mouse button. The RMB is left for the selected hotbar item (usually a spell of some kind). Movement uses the mouse for facing and the keyboard for actually moving. You can attack anyone in this game -just don't expect to be able to beat many of them.

Getting bad @$$ is a combination of finding loot and improving your abilities. You constantly get experience as you whack bad guys and complete quests. When you gain a level, you gain stat points (to pour into Strength and such) and skill points (to place in Pick Locks, or Alchemy, etc). Every skill has a place, and a use. Some skills (like Alchemy, Necromancy, and Stoneskin) need to be "unlocked," by talking to the right person and doing what they want you to. The skill points can be placed wherever you like. You could be an archer, an alchemist, a warrior, a mage, a thief, or some hybrid. The only restriction is that the skills can only go so high each level.

The bad guys don't scale to your level. Even on Easy, expect everything to get medieval on your buttocks. The nice thing is, you can't die. You auto-respawn at the nearest "shrine." Shrines also regenerate your hit points, making a battle somewhat one-sided if you can lure an enemy near one and constantly regenerate while smacking your foe silly.

I haven't seen any show-stopping bugs in this yet, and I'm running this on a Vista rig.

Why does this get bad reviews? I've read what others have written, and I don't really have the problems everyone else does. It's a solid, well-conceived game. The side quests are usually more novel than "find the foozle." The world is HUGE -and you can run all over the place. There are teleporters, for those who don't want to walk everywhere. I could use more variety for the monsters, but I suppose that's okay.

Haven't tried multiplayer, and I don't intend to. Haven't found anything to compare to LAN gaming in "Neverwinter Nights," "Dungeon Siege," or "Dungeon Lords" yet. Probably won't for a long time, either.

As for activation, yes -it's a headache. But you can activate by phone, or email support (by now, someone, somewhere has an internet connection, go the library or a university computer lab, for heaven's sake. E-mail response was very prompt).

It's not perfect, but nothing is. It's still the same kind of fun I had running around in "Baldur's Gate" with 2-D sprites. Only now it's 3-D, and the role-playing system is a heckuva lot better than Dungeons & Dragons in any incarnation. I'm definitely looking forward to Two Worlds II: The Temptation.

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Thanks to something like 30 updates. Two Worlds is now a perfectly playable game for the PC. Epic Edition takes care of most of these updates. When it was first released on the PC and 360 world. Two Worlds was a barely playable stuttering flaw riddled mess. It got hammered pretty bad by reviewers and rightfully so. The 360 version is still quite flawed, even with all its updates. Essentially this was made for the PC and ported to the 360. It was rushed and done poorly. But since it was made for the PC, the developers were virtually able to eliminate the most offensive problems with the PC game and turn this game into what it should have been on day one. The 360 to this day still fares worse because it was a problem riddled game, ported onto a system that gave it even more problems. So the best they could do with the 360 version was make it run a little smoother, try to prevent crashes from occuring as often as they did. Not to mention, control wise, this game is just meant for a keyboard and mouse.

So what is this game here, Two Worlds. Its Oblivion but with lesser graphics and gameplay. Thats still pretty good though. You get a huge open world environment. Side quests, main quests. You can teleport. Fight all sorts of beasts, thieves, warriors, golems, dragons. Action/RPG, you know the drill. The game only really supports third person, the first person gameplay doesn't allow for fighting, not much use in it really. They don't try and reinvent anything, they just try and throw as much "RPG" as they possibly can into this game. I tell ya, I love that Necromancy. Nothing like conjuring up the dead to help you. Thats my favorite part of the game, the spell casting is really fun. Unlike most RPG's, casting spells doesn't really require much learning or skill. You can still be a "Warrior" and do a wicked spell. You also get two added multiplayer dlc in the Epic Edition. Don't expect to find many people playing these though.

It's sad really, a $5 game thats basically got all the stuff you'd see in a Grand Theft Auto IV, Oblivion or Fallout 3. All the nearly limitless possibilities like those games have. Had it not been for the terrible initial release of this game, maybe it would still be a well liked game. Instead its a bad joke amongst many video game fans. Sure its great now, some 30 updates later, but the damage is done. To many people remember this as that unplayable mess.

But if your willing to look past all those horrible reviews, get a fully updated version such as the "Epic Edition" and accept the fact that this is an Oblivion clone...You may really enjoy this game and for just $5.

Buy Red Dead Redemption

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

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

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

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

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

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Madden NFL 11 - Xbox 360 Review

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I, like most, have been a huge Madden fan throughout the history of the game but I learned a very valuable lesson early on; NEVER BUY BACK TO BACK YEARS!! NEVER!! I did. And I'm sorry for it.

Madden 10 was pretty good, I thought NCAA 10 was better and after playing the demo for 11 I was hooked. I wanted the updated rosters, I wanted gameflow and I was really getting use to the new running scheme. What I figured out after I bought the game was how much the hype failed. Gameflow is ask Madden without pushing buttons. You can always go in and make custom game plans, which I think is a really cool idea, but this takes forever. You're just as good off using the playbook during game play, at least then you have every play you want without forming habits. No complaints with the running game, I think it's pretty solid. If I had a complaint it would be that it is far to easy. I'm no Madden God but this running game makes me feel like one. Passing is hit and miss. I LOVE receivers staying in bounds for the catch or dragging their feet, but that is IF they catch the ball. So many times I've thrown a ball (from a highly rated QB) to an open, slant route running receiver (also highly rated) just to watch the ball bounce in front of him. How about a one handed catch? How about a dive? Where is my coach "give me more effort!!!" button?? The D pad option is just horid. Whoever in game development had that brain storm of an idea should be beaten. On offense it's barely "ok" and I only say that because you can control the clock. On defense it's almost impossible. Just trying to change out of a play is cutting it close, let alone pushing a d pad to cover a certain receiver, ball snaps before I'm ready every time.

Defense goes a little something like this. Open Madden 10, select all, copy, paste to Madden 11....ad D pad frustration. If a developer is reading this....you're an idiot. We don't pay this much money for cut and paste options, and as soon as EA sports stops buying out NFL rights I will never buy another Madden game again. I love defense and I hate that EA hasn't made defense a priority in years. Superstar is another cut and paste job. That portion of the game could be so much better and I've waited for so long to see it evolve. EA sports, I hate you. Franchise is also cut and paste, also another game option that could be amazing through and through.

Online. First off, I never play online. I can understand why some do, I'm honestly not good enough to play against the big boys. But this doesn't stop EA sports from driving me crazy. Nope, this year you must pay for the privilege of playing online, after already paying for the privilege from x-box. Nicely done EA, I loath you. So even though I do not play online, if I want future roster updates I sure will have to pay for it. But that's not all....want dumb coins to buy fake football cards? Better buy those too. Want to have an edge on your franchise? Better buy those options as well. Games are expensive enough. I love game addons like the next game junkie but c'mon man! No other game on the market does this. Fable 3 isn't going to put out a new game every year, make you pay for all the cool stuff while at the same time pushing out a crap product. There would be anarchy on the streets!!!! Madden does it year after year.

The graphics are great, as always, and the Superbowl finally got a face lift. All in all I think it would be a good game if I had gone a few years without purchasing a new Madden. If that sounds like you, or you're waiting for something to push you over the homicidal edge, I bet you'll love the game. If you see a used Madden 11 game on Amazon for $12....that's me.

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I admit, I'm a sucker for Madden games. Every year I go out and buy it so I can have updated rosters and a few new features. This year the game took a significant backwards step. The game plays well. Cool animations and the commentary is much improved. The graphics are still decent but seriously, how hard is it to make the crowd look realistic? The crowd looks like someone put a bunch of cardboard cutouts in the stand. It truly looks awful and it's a shame in the year 2010 the developers refuse to fix this issue. The gameplay is your typical madden. Your QB throws a crazy number of interceptions, the computer DB know what routes your WR are running thus you can NEVER throw a curl route without getting intercepted. On defense, your guys will blow a countless number of coverages as they let WR run all by themselves. The improved blocking is a nice addition, but how come my special teams players can't block. I watched 1 of my blockers watch a guy run past him then chase after him. How can you implement improved run blocking yet it can't translate to special teams? I'll get to the kicking aspect of special teams in a minute. The franchise mode is exactly the same. It's a disgrace to not even pay attention to the franchise mode or be a pro mode. There is nothing to do between games during a season. The franchise mode has been untouched for years and I just wonder if the developers have no clue what they can do to add to it. I garuntee if you ask Madden players for input, you will get more than enough suggestions.

Madden 2011 is Madden 2010 with a few new animations and completely dumbed down. Their gimmick this year is you can play a game in half the time with Gameflow which the computer will call plays for you. Was anyone really asking for that? If you want to play a game faster, lower the number of minutes in a quarter. 2nd of all, hardcore football fans and madden fans like to call their own plays. It's part of the strategy and you take pride in calling plays that work really well. The special teams has been dumbed down. Seriously, can you actually miss a kick this year?

Overall, Madden 2011 was made to help attract new gamers and spat in the face of hardcore madden fans. When will the loyal madden fans get a game that adds new features for them? Instead, it seems EA wanted to attract new people to make more money rather than please loyal fans. It's a shame.

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In today's tough economic times, Madden 11 is the latest release from a major corporation in the consumer goods sector to cross the line of absurdity. You would think that with a growing adult aged audience, increasing negative publicity via social networking, at the very least the love of football would motivate them to put together a product to be proud of. I do not have much to add to the reviews here. The game is simply not fun anymore. Still have my copy of 2005, would love for Microsoft to release the emulator so I could play it on my 360. Things I hate about this game:

Gameflowplay calling sucks at least ask madden I had three to choose from or could back out and choose my own play

Streamlined Menus/ Pre play controls (d pad) Just absurd, how is making selecting things and navigation more difficult "streamlining" You never have total control of a menu and pre-play takes too long is awkward 2005 was better at this

Fight for the Fumble How did this get green lighted for another year?

In 2005 I could save my game at any point of a game. Why the !! can't I do it 6 years later on a next gen console.

Gameplay Is boring, choppy

Franchise Mode Used to be what made this game addicting, Teams moving, expansion draft, sick draft picks, holdouts, players demanding trades, progression with otas. Every year this gets leaner and I find less of a reason to keep playing. Good Riddance I can find better things to do with my time and money. I would rather mow my lawn and mulch around my house.

Honest reviews on Madden NFL 11 - Xbox 360

I decided to give Madden a shot this year, and it was a huge mistake. In short, EA knows they have a cash cow and do everything very sloppy. There is no reason that NCAA Football come out a month earlier and always offers a more polished in game and out of game experience. This game has a shocking 2.5 star on Amazon, and more people need to get the word out to NOT BUY THIS GAME AND FORCE EA TO FIX THE FRANCHISE!!

First the short positives. The graphics are gorgeous, EA keeps perfecting and perfecting the look of real football and has this game looking fantastic. Also, the updated engine (a modified version of the FIFA engine) has the physics of the game looking much more believable and simulation-worthy. Last but not least is the 'locomotion' running game. The two stick running game is very intuitive and offers fantastic control whilst carrying the football. Unfortunately, my praise ends there.

Overall, Madden is a poor offering, and here's why. First of all, they haven't done anything with the franchise or superstar modes, both have been the same since virtually the PS2 era. The price is horrific for a yearly release title, and then to beat more money out of used game sales, they charge ten bucks if the online pass has to be used just to play online (or get roster updates). And while the physics are great, they still managed to pile on the legacy issues and unrealistic gameplay by 'warping' receivers making impossible catches, players dropping easy catches, and seemingly telegraphed picks/completions/runs, etc. My Madden 09 has the same problems and nothing has been done to correct them. The sloppy presentation is broken and illogical. Everything is very broken up on the commentary, there are slight robotic pauses in nearly everything Gus Johnson says. (i.e. they weren't willing to say 'first down', 'second down', and 'third down', but 'first', 'second', 'third', and 'down' and piece them together.) Also dumb comments like Kevin Kolb being one of the NFL's primere passers when he's barely played had me laughing. All-in-all the presentation and commentary is horrible, unless you like to listen to overly emphatic pitches for Old Spice (Be a man...MAN!). And also EA botched Ultimate Team badly. The mode that is great in FIFA and NHL is miserably handled in Madden, which just further shows the developers of Madden's laziness and carelessness. (i.e. they have a cash cow, so why bother?)

But my biggest beef with Madden is now that each game is just a pile of advertisements. Having sponsors of the game or ads on the field are fine, but every play of the game seems to have a sponsor. You're littered with ads from the stats, to the reviews, to the commentator. You really cannot get away from it. And now once you hit the two minute warning, it will take forever to get to the end. You've got to hear all about Verizon, Old Spice, Doritoes, Gatorade, and others. Every. Single. Game. It really hampers the fact you're playing a game and it's more like a chore to sift through advertisements.

All-in-all this year's Madden is bad. Really bad. The additions, sans the running game and engine, are handled poorly. The legacy issues are still there, so you should just play '08 or '09 where they still are there, but the advertisements are not completely running rampant.

But in all honesty, EA has no reason to fix this game. It will still be the best selling sports game in the US, so they'll remain complacent and not fix things that have needed to be fixed and continue adding in more ads year after year. The only way to get them to fix this heralded franchise is to hit them in the wallet and DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!

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These new changes to bring casual gamers in really hurt the game. None of the features added were requested at all but let me summarize the added features.

1. Gameflow(Ask Madden 2.0)-You press A and it picks a play for you good i guess if you can't do it yourself or dont care what play you do but is this really the main new feature added???

2. Improve Blocking and Catching Awesome ive been waiting for the good blocking and catching for a while.

3. Defense All i can say the hell happened? The defensive AI is worse than last year maybe even 09, playing online on all-pro the score has been over 40 points each game. I like scoring but this is ridiculous.

4. Online Ok so if you quit while playing a ranked before 1st half ends you get no penalty and your opponent gets no win, yea EA what the hell where you thinking on this one.

5. Franchise Mode, Superstar, Madden Moments The same as last year

Im sorry if you disagree but how can you rate this higher??Since I am a Madden fan I hope they fix the issues with a patch because this will have a short life span if they don't.

Update Online quitting is somewhat fixed helps improve ranked game play.

Buy Secret Service: Ultimate Sacrifice - Xbox 360

Customer Ratings:

Maybe my opion is jaded since so many downright BAD games have come out for the 360, but this game is not bad. The controls seem pretty realistic, not twitchy or loose, actually the guns all have a lot of recoil so running around and shooting can be difficult, you really are better off finding cover and picking people off. There is a decent assortment of weapons, a pretty diverse assortment of levels, actually in all honesty, the final level takes place on Air Force One, and I would argue that although this level is probably the shortest in the game, and the final 'boss' may be very well one of the easiest ever, the level itself was very very fun and unique.

As far as first person shooters go you can do a lot worse (games like Legendary, Turning Point, Wanted etc). This game will take you about 8-10 hours to beat, and you may want to play through again to touch up on some of the achievements and collectibles etc, but the 8-10 hours really will be enjoyed since this game does offer something a little different.

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Games Alright. Basic Next-Gen Graphics that look nice. Your Average FPS Gameplay and a Great story to top it all. Some cool looking Weapons. I think its the Only game on the market based on the Secret Service.

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I bought this game simply for the Gamerscore. It takes 1-2 days to max it out. The game itself is a sub-par shooter, but does have some cool elements. Tracked miniguns, cool music and the setting of modern blockbuster films lends this title some credibility despite its poor game mechanics. It is an FPS, but again, the core of this game is not sound. So, but this for some quick and somewhat easy achievements. If you are looking for a better game without regard to achievements, try Bioshock, Call of Duty or Halo.

Honest reviews on Secret Service: Ultimate Sacrifice - Xbox 360

I purchased this for my 15 yr old son. He seems to like it a lot. I find it annoying because of the sound track and all the violence.

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you play as a part of secret service and you gotta protc the presadent who is being attck by even people from other countries. you get to use bombs, guns, rpg and more. it is very much fun with nice graphics and stroy. there is level where you flies in hellichopper and one where you are on a plane. i really reccomend this to anyone who is shooters fam. also it has online were you do 8 on 8 and one side is presadent sand his family and one side is terrorrorists.

Best Ghosts of Onyx (Halo) Mass Market Paperback Deals

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As usual, Eric Nylund delivers.

Lets face it. If you are a huge Halo universe fan, 'Ghosts of Onyx' is a must-read. The games don't give you the full picture of what's going on in the Halo-verse. Without reading the books (of which there are now four), you'll never know the full story behind the genesis of the SPARTAN project, Master Chief's origin, what started the conflict between us and the Convenant or the scope of the Forerunner's domain.

And if you are like me, you were pretty annoyed with the ending of Halo 2 and MC's cryptic statement "I'm finishing this fight, sir."

'Ghosts of Onyx' brings you up to speed with what's been happening to the other SPARTAN warriors whilst MC galavants around the galaxy throwing monkeywrenches in the Covenant's plan for universal suicide. He details the creation of yet another SPARTAN unit (the SPARTAN III) from orphans left behind by our war with the Covenant. He brings back some familiar characters from his previous Halo novels (Dr. Halsey, Col. Ackerman) and continues his penchant for giving these brave SPARTAN warriors overly simplistic names like Tom, Kelly and Kurt.

If yer a Halo fan, you'll be pleased as punch. Maybe its a bad thing that to get the full picture of the Halo-verse, you simply have to read the Halo books. But hey, it'd be kinda hard to cram all of that narrative between every reload of your assault rifle. Me? I'm of the mind that anything that gets you to read is inherently good. Maybe this series will get a few kids to drop their XBox360 controllers and head to a bookstore.

This book whetted my Halo appetite, if only for a little while. Finishing 'Ghosts of Onyx', you feel as if we are one step closer to finishing the fight.

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EPIC. yes yes that's the word. This book is packed with action, packed so hard that you'll trip! Picked it up yesterday and could not stop reading it. For those of you who have read the first three books, you will not be disappointed. This book will answer some key unanswered questions. Love the way Eric Nylund describes the battle/fight scenes, the intensity of fire fights and the brotherhood of SPARTANS. Stories of courage, valor and heroism from the farthest reaches of space. Rock on!

Other books you should read first or you'll be lost:

Book 1: Fall of Reach

Book 2: The Flood

Book 3: First Strike

Book 4: Ghosts of Onyx

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This book is great. The action and fight scenes come to life in you mind. Eric's mastery of describing a characters emotions and thought is perfect. This is a must read for all Halo and non-Halo fans. Can not wait for the next one!

Honest reviews on Ghosts of Onyx (Halo) Mass Market Paperback

Honestly what can I say that already hasn't been said about this book? The writing is superb. Anybody remotely thinking about passing on this one because its major connection to a videogame property should think twice.

This is exactly the type of book that after you read you wish you are alive long enough for there to be a movie on the exact same subject matter you just finished reading or if that is too out of reach you atleast want as many people to read it as possible so they can (like you) understand just how great a piece of work it truly is. This is coming from someone that has never touched any of the Halo Novels, but I'm thoroughly impressed and because of this I plan to go back and read the previous entries into the series by Eric Nylund.

You get a take on the story from so many different perspectives its the complete package. You get to experience the story from the perspective of the Spartans, various UNSC ships and troops, Covenant, the genius that is Dr. Halsey.. just there is an all around variety to this book that I love. Now after becoming so impressed with what was happening with a specific group of characters naturally you'll be a bit disappointed when they go away from that group and start concentrating on another group, but as you read it becomes more clear as to why the author chose to present you with their perspective and you'll come to appreciate their inclusion.

This book will get you to care about the characters and what is going on the universe. this book firmly puts Halo up there with the best of them if there were any doubts before. The Halo universe can be just as popular if not more so than the likes of Star Wars. It really does feel fresh, interesting and new. When I say this book will get you care about the characters and everything going on around them I really do mean that. Without spoiling too much there is one character in particular that will leave you in awe and command your utmost respect and that is Kurt.

I may have singled him out, but that doesn't mean there wont be many other characters that you find yourself thoroughly impressed by, but Kurt's character will blow you away. This book is vivid, emotional and full of action. If there is anyone out there that is remotely interested in the games they'd be a complete fool to not read this book. I know there are some people that don't like to read, but I firmly believe that after reading this book it will be the catalyst that convinces you that books are just as entertaining if not more so than television.

This in my opinion is a great book and when a book is very well written there are things that you can get from a book that you can't get from a game or television and sometimes its the very simple practice of seeing how a writer describes what is going on in a scene of their book that really sells the vision to you tenfold and its so well done that at so many critical points during your reading you just have to stop and tell someone around you how great this book is or atleast read a specific part of the book to them.

So again let me finish off by saying you WILL care about the universe of this book, you WILL care about the characters and you WILL be tempted more aggressively as you progress through the book to keep on going even when you think its time to stop, but the book is so good that it gripts you and you WILL most certainly want more.

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Please let me explain. I wish there was a 4.5 star selection. Eric Nylund is one of the best writers out there. He has that "I can't put this book down" touch to his novels. The Fall of Reach was an awesome read, and it had so much information. So did First Strike. You never felt lost, and you always had a grasp of what was happening, where it was happening, and who it was happening to.

Ghosts of Onyx was a good read, with that hard to put down effect. I feel as though the book was a little lacking on the new information, and also stretched out. Sure it gave us new information about "things" (im not going to spoil it for you!!!), but it took those "things" and drew it out too long.

Also, the book was 380ish pages, but the book itself was bigger, and the font was gigantic compared to the other two, so it's a faster read.

Please don't think of this as a negative review, because it's not, I'm just allowing you the luxury of knowing what you are getting when you read it!

Thanks! Chris

GOLD Xbox 360 Modded Controller (Rapid Fire) COD MW3, Black Ops Review

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List Price: $159.99
Sale Price: $99.99
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I honestly did not know about the rapid fire feature, I was just looking for a gold controller because my boyfriend had mentioned wanting one. He is an avid gamer and he loves it! It is kind of squeaky, but it makes no difference to him.

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Son loved receiving this a his b-day gift,

only he found it hard to program.

He did watch the you-tube training but still

felt a little lost, I will say that tech support were more than

willing to teach him over the phone. He loves it

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Wonderful product you guys put together. I bought a mod kit that was a pain and never worked. Your controller was plug and play, great set of instructions, and delivered exactly what I was expecting. Great Job and great controller!

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This controller is awesome! Its worth the price and looks super cool.The rapid fire is also sooo good. I really recommend this controller.

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i got this 2 months ago & its works . kinda hard to figure out the different modes but the controller is legit oh yea its works on mw3 but only on certain guns.

Buy Wii with Wii Sports Resort - Black

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List Price: $199.99
Sale Price: $189.95
Today's Bonus: 5% Off

When we first decided to buy a Wii, I didn't realize that there is more to it than that. White or black? How many remotes? What is Wii Fit? Is it the balance board, the software, what?

After reading a handful of reviews, I decided that this configuration was the way to go -and I still believe I was correct (not always the case). The black box fits nicely with our other TV components. The Wii Resort software that comes with the package is so cool as a starter set that I haven't felt the need to purchase other software (yet).

One game in particular has been the source of many hours of fun: Island Flyover. Why? Because it was easy to learn (I'm 55) yet well designed enough to keep me engaged looking for landmarks, white balloons to shoot, etc. Hey, is anyone aware of any other games like this one? If not, somebody should design one or more. I'd buy them!

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So the wii is the interactive game of the decade, blah blah blah, everyone says that. But why should you buy the black wii with the Sports Resort package? First, I'll say this is my second wii, (lost my first one in a split up), so the wii itself isn't a new thing to me, so I'm reviewing this package deal.

Well, I bought the black wii to match my tv and other electronics, and was planning on painting the base black to match (does come silver), but after setting it up, it matches the silver speakers built into my 2 TV's perfectly! That ensured the 5th star for Nintendo.

Getting a basic wii years ago, you'd get a basic sports disc that was short lived, this wii sports resort is a full set of games and challenges, this could keep you busy for quite some time. The inclusion of the Motion Plus is indeed a nice touch also, this is the full package for 1 player.

My recomendations may as well pick up a second Motion Plus Controller and Nunchuck with your order so 2 people can play from the start, and unless you like changing/charging batteries all the time pick up an Induction Charger like the one I got: Wii Energizer Flat Panel 2x Induction Charger

It's a wii, you love them or hate them, but this package and color option are well worth the money.

**and don't forget, Amazon sometimes gives rebates with these, I got a $ game credit when this purchast finalized, very useful!!**

Best Deals for Wii with Wii Sports Resort - Black

I am not a fan of video games, but I must admit that this is the best one out there, especially bundled with all the sports software. My family, from the preschooler (age 5) to the great-grandma (age 80), and everybody at every age in between, really enjoys playing the sports games, either solo or even better competitively. Now this includes a lot of couch potatoes, including me, so I am very happy to see everybody physically active, no matter how limited. The variety of games also allows for various levels of physical and mental abilities, depending on age and disability, and it permits individual and "team" choice and preference based on natural interest in one sport over another. This might just be the best thing to ever happen to "family togetherness" since the invention of television, which tends to isolate people from each other. Just from the standpoint of physical and mental exercise and challenge, the Wii is truly a bargain. And this bundle is an incredible bargain, combining so much hardware and software in one package. (I do wish there were a second Remote substituted for the Nunchuk, so as not to have to keep passing the Remote from player to player during the games. But I suspect Nintendo figured that this is a good way to increase profits, practically forcing people to purchase a second Remote for convenience sake, and I have to admit that at the Amazon price they may even be justified in taking that tack.) Of course, various family members also are puchasing their favorite arcade-type games as well, but again I have to admit, as a non-gamer, that those games also appear to be lots of fun and worthwhile, if you're into that type of entertainment. Finally, the design of the entire system looks and feels sleek and modern (especially in black), as well as sturdy. This is a real winner and a great deal at Amazon.

Honest reviews on Wii with Wii Sports Resort - Black

As you may or may not know already, the Nintendo Wii is not designed to be played sitting down like most other game systems (XBox, PS3 etc) and even though some practice with the remotes will teach you that big extravagant moves don't always get the best results, boy they are fun!

With games for all ages included in both Wii Sports, and Wii Sports resort (both included with this new system) there is enough to keep the whole family amused, and entertained for hours.

Some of the games require a little more dexterity to get the hang of, and can prove difficult for younger players, but we have had a lot of fun already in only a few short weeks.

Whether you are standing up to bowl, jiggling from side to side to wake-board, or pumping your arms to cycle, this has to be good for you as at least some form of exercise.

I like the black color and stand arrangement, it fit's nicely next to my home theater set up and is discreet and unobtrusive.

The new "Motion Plus" controller utilizes Bluetooth technology and works effortlessly from most angles it seems, with very little drop off of control as was sometimes an issue with the older controllers.

So, does the Wii satisfy the serious gamer? My answer would be probably not, this is a fun game system, and although there are a lot of titles including some M rated fighting and RPG games, this is not comparable to a PS3 or XBox.

Why?

Well for a start there is NO HDMI output, so no matter how good your home theater you won't get full HD, not even 720p really why this is not included when you can stream Netflix through it with an internet connection escapes me, but this is one big difference for gamers.

There is also only RCA output for audio, I have mine hooked through an AV receiver with forced surround, but the sound quality is limited again this is no big deal for games maybe, but for internet and movies, not so good.

So you want to connect to the internet, well again NO LAN???? you need an LAN to USB connector I would recommend USB 2.0 High-Speed 10/100 Network Ethernet LAN Adapter Wii Compatible or a good wireless USB drive.

It also uses Bluetooth technology NOT infrared for the remotes, so you will not be able to program it to a universal remote.

Yes the system is exceptionally priced, and for those wishing to add games, or the excellent Wii Fit workout platform and software, there is no real comparison.

However, this set does not include everything additional items to buy in the near future should be :

A 2nd Wii Motion plus controller, and 2nd Nunchuk controller this is not essential but 4 people or even 2 always using the same controller gets tiresome.

The aforementioned LAN to USB connector to get online

You will need to order a Wii disc DIRECT from Netflix, and the disc must stay in the machine while you watch movies

A rechargeable battery pack (usually sold as a twin pack) and charging station, if not, and you play a lot, you will be buying a lot of AA batteries.

Overall, an excellent system for a lot of fun the family can enjoy together. Probably not for hard nosed gamers who want the latest HD shredding graphics and sound though.

5 stars

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We are probably one of the last families in our neighborhood to buy a Wii but I am so glad that we waited until now to buy it. 1st, the price is lowered to $199 AND it now includes the motion attachment as well as Wii Resort which we think is loads of more fun than Wii Sport (which it also comes with). 2nd, it's now available in Black which is the color of my TV, blu-ray player, cable box etc. Color, in itself, would not have been a deciding factor but I am happy that we now have a choice! 3rd,you can order a disc from Netflix and with their $7.99/mth membership, you can download movies directly to your TV, using the Wii Wi-fi...how cool is that?

The actual set-up was super-easy. It took 10 mins for me to not only set-up the Wii console but also sync it with my Netflix account (with the disc they mailed me). The children are having an absolute blast. My 9 year-old loves archery, and my 6 year-old loves golf and table tennis. The basketball game (Wii Resort) is very realistic...my shoulders were sore after playing it for awhile. The girls don't really play Wii Sports, so I am glad that I opted for this package with Wii Resort. This is truly FAMILY entertainment at its best !

Finally, I debated a long time between the "New" package with Wii Resort + motion attachment or the traditional console (which can be found on Sale for $150) but in the end, I opted for the New Black Console Pkg and am thrilled with my decision. I would have been ecstatic if they had included an extra remote controller (a girl can dream right?) but it is an Awesome Deal ! And the new "look" is very sleek and blends in nicely with the rest of our electronics. I am happy that we finally joined the "Wii" bandwagon!

Thor: God of Thunder - Nintendo 3DS Reviews

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List Price: $29.95
Sale Price: $16.89
Today's Bonus: 44% Off

This is the wii version gone portable and really it makes more sense as a hand held game. It's straightforward room to room game play ,beating on hoards of foes and frequent save points really makes it a pick up and play game. Combat relies on buttons for attacks/blocking while touch screen dose your special powers. The analog stick moves Thor as well as helps to chain together combos. Combat is fast paced simple and really fun to do. The higher your combo count the more powerful Thor gets. You get experience points for every enemy that you can use to unlock health upgrades, upgrade your power meter, and slots for the perks you find. Levels are nice and long and offer bonuses for destroying everything like art and perks that power up thor during certain conditions. To be honest the combat can get a little repetitive as the hoards just keep coming and even unlocking moves it can get a bit stale so it's best played in the right doses. Luckily big bosses battles really mix up the combat and theres even flying levels that play out like a rail shooter. The game has a good amount of content levels are nice and long and theres about 15 of them and offers replayabilty as you can play on higher difficulty with your unlocked upgrades as well as challenge arenas. Finally the 3D is a bit all over the place. it's not on during the comic book like cut scenes and is hardly noticeable in some points. Other times it look good, real time cut scenes has things popping out, and adds depth to the areas as well has things flying out at you at points. over aal Thor is a solid action game and i recommend it to any 3Ds fan who wants a naction game with good content.

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As other reviewers have pointed out, this is a direct port of the Wii version of the game, the one that got higher scores than the Xbox and PS3 versions. Therefore having a Wii game on a handheld has a high coolness factor. The game experience is simple/dumb smashing and bashing with little strategy required. There is a nice set of different moves that can be unlocked, but the basic moves work in most cases as well or even better than the fancy moves you can unlock by spending the in game earned tokens. The special moves are cool, but pulling them off requires a high amount of dexterity in the limited space available on the 3DS. The results of having to press certain shoulder + face bottom combos is cramp.

Visually the game doesn't improve on the Wii version, in fact it looks slightly better because the screen is smaller, but the resolution obviously takes a hit. The 3D helps a bit, but there isn't a lot of it. In some areas it is hardly noticeable and in some of the pre-scripted game sequences it looks really well. The cut scenes, artwork, menus and the cartoon dissapointingly don't have any 3D at all, which is a bit of a let down and cheap. The advantage of the 3 D not being pronounced, is that you can crank it all the way up without issues, except during some boss battle sequences and in small (cramped) spaces where there is a fair amount of clipping and headache inducing focussing issues.

The sounds are fine, especially with headphones. The two main characters are voiced by the actors that also were in the movie, so that is good.

There is a fair bit of content, moves and abilities to unlock, but even then it isn't a long game and also not a very hard game. Other reviewers have said that it can be finished in 4 hours. That is probably true if you don't care for the unlockables (moves, upgrades and artwork). Trying to collect everything will take considerably longer, even though even at hard mode the game doesn't get difficult until the final stages. It is probably possible to get everything unlocked within 8-10 hours, which is really short as there is no multi-player and also no brawl type of game play. wireless play is mentioned in the manual, but that doesn't give any details on how to actually select it. The manual clearly was a rush job, with only one page of control information and that's it! After beating the game the ragnarok difficulty is unlocked, but finishing the game at that difficulty is just for bragging rights (if you are into that sort of thing). There is a bunch of cartoon episodes that are gradually unlocked while playing the game. The same as for the Wii version. It would have been extremely nice if these were given the 3D treatment, but they are just normal 2D instead. Still that's a nice addition.

The touch screen is hardly used except for displaying what is enabled and for unleashing certain special powers. That sounds okay, except that some of the buttons are tiny and that all other menus are strictly no touching.

This is a lazy port, if you own the Wii version, don't bother it is the same, but less easy to play. The controls are a bit of a let down, not much thought was spared on how to make use of some of the strength of the 3DS. Essentially it is a cheap cash-in. Still it is very satisfying and fun to play even though it is very easy and tempting to resort to button mashing. Sega obviously are aware that this game is months too late and have decided to sell it for 30 USD, look a bit harder and wait perhaps a bit longer and you can probably pick it up for 20. That is about as much as it is worth, for a couple of hours mindless brawling.

Best Deals for Thor: God of Thunder - Nintendo 3DS

The Best THOR version on any console!

This is a GREAT comic book character, turned into a movie, and then a tie-in-game to boot. It is the best one out of any of the console releases. This particular version of THOR was made by a different developer and it is such a shame PS3 and XBOX 360 didn't use this developers. I am not going to go too much into the game details because it has already been said in previous reviews, but essentially this game is a hack and slash action/adventure game. It is very similar to God of War, Ghostrider, and Resident Evil. The player controls THOR, battles an onslaught of enemies, progresses, and then has a boss battle. It is nothing groundbreaking, but it works well here. It didn't work as well on the PS3/XBOX 360 versions. The player also gets to do some cool moves with the Wii controller that didn't bother me and controls are smooth and precise. It can get a bit repetitive at times because there is no variety with the minions that Thor fights. They are all the same character design, but that is to be expected. This game throws in a mixture of everything and makes it work. I wish the 3DS visuals were a bit more stunning because I've seen gorgeous games like in Mario 3DS and Zelda Orcarina of Time, so the 3DS is capable of it. The visuals are fine for me because game play matters more, but it is very PS2-esque and the cinematic scenes are just comic book images with spoken dialogue. Overall, this is a must have title and the price makes it all the more reason to get it. The Wii and Nintendo 3DS versions are the only ones worth getting. This is a direct port of the Nintendo Wii version.

Honest reviews on Thor: God of Thunder - Nintendo 3DS

i was pleasantly surprised with how good this game is. It's a huge adventure game with really good graphics. Kind of like the force unleashed but with thor powers. It's extremely fun. Glad i bought it.

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It was a really good movie based game. Lots of fun, long and good story. Looks good in 3D and 2D.

Discount Konnet Xbox 360 / Slim Power Pyramid RCS series Charger, Charging

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List Price: $39.99
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Today's Bonus: 9% Off

This worked great. Our old charger you had to remove the batteries and there was always batteries laying everywhere. This solved the problem. It seems to work fine the batteries are always charged.

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Great Space Saver! I don't even use it as a Charge Kit, Simply a place to store 4 Controllers! !

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Easy to setup and works like a charm. I now have my controllers in their own place. No more lying around on chairs, floors or couches. NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honest reviews on Konnet Xbox 360 / Slim Power Pyramid RCS series Charger, Charging

This is probably the coolest looking way to not only store your controllers but also charge them. The unit itself is very modern looking and well made. It has 4 charging lights that turn from red to blue to let you know when an individual controller is done charging. It also has a light at the peak that stays constantly on letting you know the unit has power. The lights are very bright and stay on constantly, much more so than an LED you might find on a TV receiver, so be warned it will draw attention to itself.

Worth the money, I loved it so much I bought once for my PS3 controllers too.

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I bought this for my son last Christmas and it has worked like a trooper, I would recommend this product

Review of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Xbox 360

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For many real time strategy (RTS) games, the Command and Conquer franchise is something akin to Final Fantasy of the RPG genre or how Madden is to sports; they ARE the standard in their respective genre. Since the mid 1990s Command and Conquer set the bar high on how RTS games should be with building menus, console interface (ever tried to command whole units with just a cumbersome controller?), cut scenes, and story. Command and Conquer traditionally also have a stellar cast of characters played by big Hollywood actors including James Earl Jones, Michael Beihn, Michael Ironside, Billy Dee Williams, etc.

That said, after finishing up the last of the Empire of the Rising Sun (Japanese) campaigns, I am happy to say that Red Alert 3 lives up to the tradition set forth by its predacessors.

For those of you, who are not familiar with Command and Conquer or are a casual gamer, here is what you need to know. Red Alert 3 is a real time strategy game where you, utilizing a bird's-eye-view, build a base for your faction, raise an army and quell your enemies into proverbial dust. Simple enough?

Well, RTS games are typically for more advanced players (unless you're playing Starcraft j/k) but Red Alert 3 has an easy enough interface and, better yet, a multi-part interactive turtorial where the tanks from each faction teach you how to play. Despite being an avid RTS gamer, I thought I'd utilize the tutorial to see the new changes made to the interface (that and you get a gamer score for completing all tutorials) and it was worth it. Between the witty banter between the tanks (I swear, the Allied tank sounds just like Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear) and the gamer score, listening to what they had to say was worth it.

Once you have memorized how to play, you'll realize that Electronic Arts really improved the console interface. One of the largest problems with RTS games on a console as opposed to a PC is a loss of control. Ever tried to simultaneously command numerous units with a cumbersome controller? It can turn a great game into a nightmare and by that I'm refering to Supreme Commander. You feel like a lobster with oven mits on as you would traditionally try to carefully select the units you want, which would necessitate you move individual units first into a staging area to be selected in one group. Meanwhile, some 14-year-old in Germany is kicking your backside and cursing at you like some demon child in a foreign language.

EA considerably simplified the interface by allowing the player to hold down the "A" button and a small green circle appears that the user can move around the battlefield and select any units he or she wishes. Now, if you want to control a specific kind of unit, while having the units selected you hold the right trigger and a menu pops up allowing you to only select that kind of unit. As opposed to other interfaces, this makes things a LOT less cumbersome.

*On a side note, I have not yet played Kane's Wrath so I am unfamiliar with their interface so anyone feel free to correct me if they did it first*

To makes matters more simplified, EA fixed several issues that have riddled RTS games for well over a decade. One of them was that in many RTS games if the unit is moving to a location they will blatantly ignore everyone firing at them or plow clean through them. With Red Alert 3, a player can select a fire-move order that allows the unit to engage any unit they encounter along the way but continue once they have eliminated said unit. This makes a bounding overwatch movement (one covers while the other moves than roles are reversed) and other movements MUCH easier.

So, the controller interface is very much improved for console systems and makes commanding individual units and smaller squads MUCH easier. The next interface issue is the balance of power between the three factions. In Red Alert 3 you have the option of playing as the traditional Soviet Union or the Allies but EA has introduced the Empire of the Rising Sun or the Japanese. This makes the game much more interesting as you now have to rotate your tactics MUCH more now although I anticipate more gamers will play as the Japanese given their unique nature (that and, for some reason, gamers are obsessed with that bloody island of copy/cats).

Normally, RTS games with more than two factions fail due to a lack of balance. Even Starcraft possessed balance problems with the three factions they had. For once, the balance seems almost perfect whether it be the advantages and disadvantages of how buildings can be placed or how some weapons have secondary weapons. For instance, the most basic display of balance is how the construction yards work. For the Allies the construction yard takes a traditional method as buildings are built out of site, then you can place them on the field but they take a while. Meanwhile, the Soviet buildings are built out in the open but take less time. Lastly, the Japanese buildings are transported using core vehicles that unfold and deploy the structures. As such, they are highly mobile but also highly vulnerable.

Without going into insane detail, here is the basic run-down on all three factions. The Soviets have brute force power with cheap mass production, the Japanese are an expensive lot with highly technological equipment that requires a mastery to utilize effectively, and the Allies are a decent in between mixture of firepower and technology.

Now, there are some hilarious cultural, but not racial, stereotypes played out in all three factions. No where is this more noticable than the Japanese side. The Japanese have mecha and giant robots. The Mecha Tengu ships have a striking resemblence to Veritech fighters from Robotech and even transform into two of the same modes (Guardian and normal mode). Their giant robots are... well, giant samurais and their doomsday weapons are even larger giant samurais that feed on tesla coils. While this may seem silly, EA does do a good job of balancing the unit's abilities. Not to mention Red Alert 3 is known for its over-the-top nature. Even the units say witty things such as, "beats being in a gulag," or, "I heard the emperor's geisha girls will be there."

On to the more aesthetic elements. Graphics wise, Red Alert 3 is nothing truly remarkable but nothing to sniff at either. Good graphics on RTS are fairly few and far in between and for good reason as you don't want to slow down the console to a crawl since there can be up to hundreds of individual units doing their own thing on the battlefield. Unit animation is very smooth though with one exception. When the commando or spy goes from the water to the ground they can get glitchy and require the player to move them twice. Nothing truly annoying but a glitch all the same.

Next is the music. Marvelous! It inspired the title of this review! Between the heavy guitar music during battle sequences, that isn't overbearing, and the heavy Soviet chanting music I was very much impressed. The only song I did not like was the building music in the Soviet's New York mission. Saxaphone?! Give me a break!

Lastly are the cut scenes with the big Hollywood actors. There are a lot of them and the casting is hilarious. Between Tim Curry as the Soviet Premier, J.K. Simmons as the American president, Peter Stormare (the Russian astronaut in Armageddon) as the time scientist.. and Star Trek's George Takei as the Japanese Emperor, it's just priceless. Aside from the hot girls, who obviously were NOT chosen for their acting abilities (and by that I mean Jenny McCarthy), all the cast members really got into their roles. Heh, the game even includes a poster of all the pretty ladies. Gotta love fanboy service!!

My only beefs are that the endings are too ambiguous. Nothing truly amazing. Red Alert 3 was a very impressive game in terms of evolutionary innovation but still is nothing remarkable. Nonetheless, the beefs are very few and ranks this suck among some of the greater games this year. A must buy for any RTS fan.

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I have been a long time RTS player on the PC and played and mastered skirmishes in games like AOE, AOM, Star Wars RTS, Red Alert 2 among others. This game stands its own among these. I would say compared to these games on the PC, options like number of factions, or unit types, or even buildings are few. Also resource collection in the Red Alert series is lame (have only one type of resource and an ore collector most probably there will be a resource crunch throughout). Having said that I would still highly recommend this game for the skill level and the fun factor. The factions are very well thought out and designed. The graphics are great too. This game requires channelling all the resources to the war! So beware and be ready...

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C&C RA 3 returns you to the battlefield in the franchise's latest fashion: a 3 way showdown. In C&C 3 it was the GDI, Brotherhood of Nod and the Scrin; in this warfare you find yourself with the forces of the allies, the soviets and the new empire of the rising sun.

Almost every unit has a secondary attack which is conveniently accessable via a hotkey option so you don't have to go hunting in sub menu's in the heat of battle. The command stick control returns from C&C 3 with little improvement but this is because it was so well handled last game there isn't much need for more.

The controls are great and in these battles you need it. Each side has very unique units with interesting abilities; for example the Soviet anti-air vehicle can also cross water AND shoot soldiers out from within to parachute to other areas. The land of the rising sun has units that can transform on the fly so your attack chopper can land and become a battlemech of sorts.

The acting in the game is the classic cheesy yet you-got-to-love-it style from previous games. The visuals are done very well and the in battle graphics hold up amazingly. The heat of battle is quick paced and you should be warned: within seconds your entire army can be wiped out. The superweapons are a huge game maker (or breaker) and while the computer can use them with uncanny accuracy you will find they dodge your super weapons with the same skill, putting you at a total disadvantage at times. In player vs player however, the superweapons are on equal ground.

If you are a fan of RTS games I highly recommend this title even though my personal top choice for RTS on the xbox360 is still Universe at War.

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Like the other command and conquers on a console , you use the command stick . There are 3 campaines , and each faction gets many units . Unlike other RTS titles water combat is well implimented . Fans of the series should recignize the trade mark silliness and the silly acting . The special powers , are aquired like in Generals .

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As a big fan of Red Alert 2 and the Yuri's Revenge expansion pack, I was eager to try out Red Alert 3 when it came out. I played it on a friend's PC in Fall 2008, but wasn't too impressed by the overt use of multiple commands. Also, a major factor in putting off the purchase of the PC version was the SecuROM issue as mentioned by other reviewers.

However, after a friend loaned me his XBox 360, I decided to take the plunge and picked up the XBox 360 version of the game. Needless to say, I had a blast playing the game. Red Alert 3 uses the CommandStick interface, which basically allows you to access all the game functions from a rotary menu which pops up when you hold down the right toggle. It does take a little getting used to, but the tutorials presented by the Guardian Tank, Hammer Tank and the Tsunami Tank make it easy to learn the controls. Not to mention, you get a few points, and an achievement for completing the tutorial.

Red Alert is known for its over-the-top acting and fancy units, and Red Alert 3 is no different. Use the tutorials to get a feel for all the units and factions and get an idea of how to play the campaigns.

If you have played Red Alert 2/Yuri's Revenge, bear in mind that the technologies used by the different factions are quite different. Without going into too much detail, the Allies use a similar build technology as in Red Alert 2, the Soviets: something like what you'd find in an Age of Empires game, and the Empire "don't need no stinkin' build radius!". Each faction also has different methods of upgrading their technologies.

The campaigns (which I'm in the middle of), are challenging, but so far I haven't found any situations which were impossible to beat. The units seem more balanced than those in Red Alert 2 (at least, I can no longer execute an effective tank rush with just Guardian Tanks). One new (and odd) feature is that if your commando unit is killed on the field, you can simply retrain her. With Red Alert 2, if you lost your commando, the mission was a failure. I don't know if this is the same case for the AI commando. Regardless, this doesn't take away any of the fun.

I did try a skirmish mission but lost almost immediately to an easy AI. I'd probably chalk that up to my inexperience with the new units, but I did read an earlier review which blasted the AI. With that said, I can't say I know enough about the skirmish AI to complain about it. I'll update this review after I play (and win) some skirmishes.

Overall, Red Alert 3 is a good (if campy) game for the CnC enthusiast.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Platinum edition - Xbox 360 Review

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I have read some of the other reviews listed and we all seem to have the same thing in common. We enjoy the gameplay, however the overall game falls severely short. I'm not going to go into everything I liked about the game, however I feel the need to list some of the shortcomings.

Maybe it's nitpicking, but none of the cinematics shown in the commercials or the original trailer are part of the game. It might not be huge, but that was what got me so excited to purchase the game in the first place. Apart from that, the game is cut severely short. I have seen reviews showing 7 9 hours of gameplay, however I work at night and take care of my newborn during the day. I get between 1 and 2 hours of "me time" to sit and enjoy my xbox. I started the game on Wednesday and finished on Thursday. At most, a good 4 hours. I was shocked that the game ended when it did, during the "final" battle, I actually thought it was the mid point and very disappointed when I realized it was already over.

Don't get me wrong, I did love the gameplay, graphics and sound, but someone definitely dropped the ball when it came to content. If you are going to buy this, make sure you either wait for a price drop or use a promotional credit from other games to offset the cost...

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I was very much looking forward to this game, being a fan of the first in the series, and a huge fan of the Star Wars saga in general.

As far as positives go, the gameplay is significantly improved. Controls seem more precise and the combat can be a lot of fun. Graphically the game is 100% better than the already attractive first installment, and one of the better looking games I've played on the 360. Sam Witwer again reprises the role of Starkiller and does a fantastic job, as do most of the voice actors (though many of them don't get a chance to do much.)

The bad is pretty much anything and everything else. This is one of the shortest games I have ever played, and I've played a lot of games. An experienced player could probably do this in about 4-6 hours, and anybody that's not very good still won't get 8 out of it. There are 4 (four, IV) levels. Let's take a moment here. This is a 60 dollar game with 4 (four, IV) levels in it. So, I'm not really going to go any further into that. They are rather long, but you know, it's just...well, yeah.

The story is disastrous. There's way too much going on, except none of it gets developed. So there's not really anything going on, just a feeling of jumbled and rushed trips to planets and familiar characters. All of the growth into a good person that Starkiller did takes a step backward in this one, as he selfishly searches for Juno Eclipse, almost totally disregarding the Rebel Alliance that he started! Kota was in the game, but other than saying "boy" a lot he wasn't much like the wise old Jedi I remembered. Proxy has about four lines, and I'm not sure if he beats out Juno in the dialogue department. Boba Fett and Yoda do appear in the story, but if you've seen the trailers featuring them, you've really seen all they have to offer.

The story (if you will) ends right where it seems it should get interesting. It feels like you're playing half of a decent game, and then halfway through it just stops. No ending, just a crappy set up for future DLC and a third installment. Which means I paid 60 dollars for a 4 hour half story that makes no sense, and I have to spend more money to see if it even goes anywhere.

Now the game was fun, I did enjoy playing it. I just think it's a rental at worst, borrow at best. The fact that I spent $60 dollars on this disgusts me.

I'm usually a big Lucas fan, but you know how everybody jokes about Lucasfilm just being a money whore, with no interest in quality or content?

In this case, they are right.

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Ok... I have never reviewed a game before, but this one was SO EPICLY TERRIBLE... it has to be given 1 Star. Where the hell is the rest of the game? Just when I thought the game was going to fork in two directions (finish the game by going to the darkside or finish the game by sticking with the Jedi)... IT F'ING ENDS... done... finished... kaputt... OVER! Were talking in like 4 hours here. I set aside a whole weekend for this garbage. I beat it Friday night... Seriousy! Where is the rest of the game? I loved the first one so much I preordered this one. Totally disappointed. What a waste of sixty bucks...

Honest reviews on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Platinum edition - Xbox 360

I have to first identify myself. I am a huge Star Wars video game fan. The first Force Unleashed game was fantastic with some minor issues...but overall a fantastic game.

With that said I was extremely excited to play the sequel, and now that I have beat the game already (around 7 hours on hard difficulty) I have to say it was fun but lackluster.

The biggest complaint I have is the story isn't on par with the quality narrative we got in the first game. I don't want to spoil any aspects of the story for you, but believe me when I say you won't come out of this game feeling complete like you did with the first. I got the same feeling playing this as I did with Halo 2, where the story doesn't seemed finished and they are MAKING you wait for the next game to get the final pieces...that should have been in this game.

The game play is definitely improved over the last game. Some of the game mechanics were pretty tough in the first Force Unleashed, but they have made them a lot easier to use. Control of the character is easier and the force abilities are easier to use.

The graphics are fantastic! This game on a HD tv is absolutely gorgeous and run very smooth.

Bottom line this is a great game still even with its short comings. If you played the first game you should still play this game. Even though it is short it is still fun. Even though the story is below the quality of the first game, it is still enjoyable.

Is the game worth paying $60 for? Well, that is up to you.

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Save your money. It ended so fast. And the fight with darth vader was like playing on a old PS 2 version. Graphics are great but the first one kills this game. Now I want to buy back the first one for epic memories. Definitely a classic. This new one is garbage, boss fights are less epic because you dont fight beings of equal or greater power....beating vader in this one was so easy. Beating vader in the first one was tough and hella epic. My point is.....this game is trash...I dont think I will ever pre order anything again because it seems preorders are never worth it.