Reviews of NFL® Tennessee Titans Vinyl Skin for 1 Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $11.24
Today's Bonus: 44% Off

Make sure that you notice this only comes with 1 paddle skin not 2. It was easy to put on and we have had these for a year and they are still on there. The color looks good on them. No problems so far!

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Discount Corsair Vengeance 1500 USB Connector Dolby 7.1 Gaming Headset

Customer Ratings:

I writing this review after only a little bit of time with these but this is my first impression. The headset this is replacing is the Plantronics Gamecom style. Compared to those, these feel like a dream. Much lighter than you might expect which indicates that they have used a lot of plastic in the contsruction. Anyway, they look large but they don't feel heavy at all in my opinion. The memory foam cups feel really nice even with my glasses on. The one complaint I have in terms of comfort is that I prefer cloth to pleather and Corsair does not include the cloth ear cups in this like they used to in the HS1A. Mic seems fine but I have yet to try it in game. Cord and volume controller seem well constructed.

The articulation on the ear cups is a little odd. They will swing forward to almost flat but do not articular backwards barely at all. They seem comfortable on my head so there are no complaints about it. Just something I noticed.

As for the sound, I can tell that most people complaining about this have probably had audio experiences in the past where they simply plug a headset in and it works and sounds fine. When you throw some 50mm speakers in there, things get a little complicated because you need some juice from your audio source to get the things moving. I am using a Creative X-Fi Go! USB soundcard and I was able to achieve pretty good results. At first, I will admit, they sounded hollow and lacking in bass. However, with about 10 minutes fiddling with the equalizer software, I was able to achieve just as good sound quality as my JVC monitor headphones which are a nice set of headphones for music and movies. The point is this don't expect plug and play. You will have to mess around a bit with these and I would highly suggest not using these with onboard sound chips. I haven't tried it yet but I would suspect that doing that would create mediocre results. For my part I had to boost the 62, 125, 1K, and 2K Hz levels to get this to have some kick and not have the voices sound hollow. As I am listening to music as I write this, I am noticing a much more precise sound reproduction than I am used to. Less inherent muddy/echo effect in the sound reproduction. I am hearing things in recordings I am very familiar with that I have not noticed before. That is a plus in my book.

My biggest issue with virtually every gaming headset I have owned is that they tend to break in under a year and sometimes within 6 months despite being wellcared for. If Corsair's 1300 holds up with regular use, they will have exceded my expectations in many ways.

In the end, it is so hard to know how to take reviews of audio equipment because it is so subjective and because in the age of MP3s and compressed audio files many people don't even know what "good sound" is any more...

EDIT 11/6/12: After a year of use I can easily say this is the best headset I have ever owned. I have tried Logitech and Plantronics headsets but none hold a candle to this one. After a year the memory foam is holding up like new and they are as comfortable was they ever were. The pleather grew on me quite a bit. I noticed that this material is MUCH easier to clean than cloth cup pads and this has made me a pleather convert. In terms of durability, these are as good as the day I bought them. They hold up really well. Best money I have ever spent on a set of gaming headphones. Heart to Corsair. They are definitely one of the best computer part and component manufacturers in the business.

Update 5/14/2013: After a year and a half of use the hinge for the right earcup finally cracked. It is still hanging together barely and I can use them but soon it will give away completely. This may have been from repeated trauma somehow but I would say that this was typical use. I am not hard on my equipment. That said, this is approximately 3 times the lifespan of my previous headsets. I liked this one so much I will be replacing it with the same product.

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Back on September 16, Corsair introduced their new Vengeance line of gaming headsets and peripherals. The Vengeance 1500 headset is the follow up to the Corsair HS1, one of the best gaming headsets available, at any price. The new Corsair Vengeance 1500 USB gaming headset is based on the Corsair HS1 USB headset and now looks as good as it sounds.

PROS:

Great sound quality

Very comfortable

New aggressive appearance

Replaceable earpads

Large, accurate 50mm drivers

CONS:

None

COMFORT

When I reviewed the HS1 a few months back, I wrote that it was supremely comfortable, but that they were just a tad heavy and loose on my head. I'm happy to say that the 1500's fit better than the HS1 and stayed put during my testing. The 1500's still use the uber-comfy memory-foam earpads and have very good padding on the headband. I wore the 1500's for two to three hours at a time and experienced very little discomfort.

SOUND QUALITY

Like the HS1, the Vengeance 1500's sound crisp and accurate--just the way I like `em. For those who prefer a more custom sound, the 1500's respond well to EQ settings in the Corsair software.

I listened to a lot of FLAC-encoded music files and LAME-encoded VBR MP3s with the 1500's, spread over multiple genres like rock, classical, dance, rap, and trance. They all sounded great with the EQ flat, but responded pretty well when I switched EQ profiles in the software. Pumping up the bass was fun on certain songs, but it sacrificed some accuracy to allow for artificial bass. When I left the EQ flat, I felt the bass was nice and tight.

I put on my favorite test movies, Saving Private Ryan, Star Trek, and Tron: Legacy, and really enjoyed the Dolby Headphone setting. Positional cues were accurate and dialogs were easy to hear. The 5.1 surround effects worked well and enhanced my listening enjoyment.

Playing games on the 1500's was a lot of fun. I could hear every detail while playing F.E.A.R. 2 and the location of the sounds were spot on. Gunfire and explosions were satisfying too.

The mic worked fine in my Skype tests. I could hear the person on the other end perfectly and was told that they could hear me clearly as well.

SOFTWARE

The new control panel and drivers also work with the HS1, so if you're an HS1 owner, you should go download it. The control panel is easy to use and not overwhelming or complicated at all. If you want to fine tune the 5.1 or 7.1 settings, you can customize the sound to your heart's content. The EQ supports profiles and includes a few presets that work well out of the box. Also, I had no issues with the 1500's on a Windows 7 64-bit system. There were some HS1 owners who had problems with the old HS1 software running on Windows 7 64-bit.

BUILD & DESIGN

The obvious difference between the HS1 and the Vengeance 1500 is the all new styling. The 1500 bares very little resemblance to the HS1, other than being a circumaural, closed back headset. The HS1 didn't look bad by any means, but I think to some, it looked bland for a gaming headset. The 1500's are anything but bland and I personally love the new styling. I'm also a sucker for accent stitching, which Corsair uses on the headband in their signature blue. The headband now has a textured appearance as well.

The ear cups have also been changed from a silver/gray matte plastic to a combination of matte black, glossy black with a strip of blue. The brushed chrome appearance of the lower section of the headband also give the 1500's a sleeker, stylish appearance.

The folding mic has been moved from the outside of the headband, to the inside. The move is not only a cosmetic improvement, but it moves the mic even closer to the user's mouth. The mic also doesn't make a cheap clickety sound when rotated, like the HS1 did.

The cable and wired remote on the 1500 is identical to the HS1. The long, tangle-proof headphone cable still controls the volume and mutes the mic. The individual volume up and volume down buttons light up blue during normal use and change to red when you press the mic mute button.

CONCLUSION

Corsair took an already great headset in the HS1, and made it even better with the Vengeance 1500. It's comfortable as hell, sounds great, and looks awesome. I'm not sure you'd find a better headset in its price range, or any other price range for that matter. If you're looking for a new gaming headset, the Vengeance 1500 needs to be at the top of your list.

* Review unit provided by Corsair

Best Deals for Corsair Vengeance 1500 USB Connector Dolby 7.1 Gaming Headset

So I was looking for some 3d Surround Sound headphones and being a fan of corsair, I decided to ignore some reviewers and go with the majority opinion which seems to be fairly favorable.

When I first got them, they sounded all right, and an EQ in the driver console really brought out some great sound. Not heavy booming bass at all...nice clean sound. I was also very pleased with the sound of the microphone which is crystal clear and appropriate volume.

1 problem I had was that...being a former Razer Barracuda owner, when I read surround sound headphones, I took this to mean there are multiple speakers in the cans. Unfortunately this is a "simulated" surround sound..not a true surround sound...and I was a little disappointed because the surround experience I found to be very very lacking compared to the barracudas. (Dont buy the barracudas though, they have their own problems like bass unless you have razers soundcard or an x-fi)

Anyway they were fairly comfortable day 1, and I played for a couple hours and I was fairly happy with them.

Fast forward 1 week.....

These things hurt my left ear... no matter what I do....my left ear just is very irritated by these headphones...the cushions are nice memory foam but they evidently remembered to be more collapsed than at first and now they dont push out far enough to keep my ear from rubbing against the speaker grating inside and its most unpleasant. (My ears do not stick out at all)

Its something I can passively use for 30 minutes maybe...but extended gaming sessions were a painful experience.

Also when I first got these headphones they felt a bit tight on my head at any size adjustment..but they have since worn in or ive gotten used to them... perhaps if you have a large head..avoid them...this may also be why it bothers my ear.

At first I was really tolerant about it but overtime one BIG dealbreaker for me is the control box....its uselessly close to the headphones themselves and it cannot sit on a desk..it can only dangle...this adds so much weight its obnoxious and pulls to one side of my head. When will headphone companies learn that we actually need to use these things and want them to be practical for extended gaming sessions?

Also Im not fond of the way the headphones pivot in their design. If I have to answer my phone, they tend to snap awkwardly as i try to pull them off and have the tendancy to fall backwards off my head.... the way the pivots pull causes this and its just sort of obnoxious. Why did they do this? Did they test this stuff at all in a practical setting? strange.

For the money they are very disappointing. I made the mistake of "liking" them on day 1 and throwing away the packaging..so I cannot return them...and by day 7 Im here shopping for a new headset.

So to sum it up...

Sound Quality 8 sound clear but bass is lacking even when EQ'd heavily. Explosions sound crisp and not like explosions in games and movies. Id like more versatility here.

Comfort 4 At first they are fine but a little tight...a week later they arent tight, they just hurt.... maybe your experience could be different but the memory foam seems to lose its bounce overtime and makes them uncomfortable overtime. after 1 week they are ok for 30 minutes but not ok for raiding.

Ease of setup 6.5 Downloaded drivers from corsair and plugged them into my USB port and they didnt work... I had to restart my computer..then they worked but the corsair consol didnt show up...i reinstalled and restarted again and then it finally worked. bleh....

3D surround sound 5 These try to emulate the effect but its dead obvious that adding different forms of reverb doesnt mean "directional" sound to even a semi-coherent listener.

Microphone 8 no complaints from vent buddies...sounds clear and clean, very nice mic.

Value 4 What can I say? if they are uncomfortable what gamer will actually ever use them?!

Personal Grade C(may not be the average sum or total of each part or whatever...this is just honest and direct perception)

Honest reviews on Corsair Vengeance 1500 USB Connector Dolby 7.1 Gaming Headset

Vengeance 1500

Corsairs foray into the gaming headset is a good one. The biggest complaint other than the general lack of sound quality you get out of most gaming headsets is "bass rattling". For instance, someone throws a grenade... a tank drives by and your headphones rumble and grind like a maxed out cheap stereo in a cheap car. Needless to say the 50mm drivers on the Corsair 1500 negate that common complaint. Highs are very nice and lows are decent. Nothing booming but crisp and balanced with the highs, voices come through clearly. Corsair includes a software set that is very slick and minimalistic that lets you tweak your EQ. There are plenty of sliders and options as well as panels to turn on and off Dolby/7.1. Under this pane you can also tweak each virtual speaker and create a custom 7.1 soundscape. Remember the best kinds of headphones are the most flat in terms of sound. This being so that the user can control the headphones to their liking. The microphone is good... tested on Skype and Ventrilo which both came back with thumbs up.

The headphones are seemingly well constructed with my only complaint is the fake metal construction. It seems to be plastic, or at least the lightest metal known to man. However, it still feels sturdy and no creaking. The pads on the sides of headphones cups are soft and help keep the phones off your ears. The braided cable is super long and when I say long, I mean longest headphones cable I have ever seen. Someone at Corsair knows I keep my computer several feet from my desk. The pads along the top are nicely done and the Vengeance 1500 has a nice overall has a clean look. The headphones fit firmly on your head so they don't flop around when you look down or from side to side. They are a closed set of headphones so outside noises don't permeate. I definitely wore them for a six hour gaming spree with no problems other than some sweaty ears sometimes and a bit of tension from the stiff band.

These headphones are plug in play... you plug them in, Windows installs them and bam... ready to go. The only thing you might have to do is set them to default in your control panel depending on your sound card/mobo set up. The 3D aspect works in games whenever you plug them in. Once plugged in the headphone attachment controller illuminates blue with a "+,-" for volume as well as a mute button. I have had them for about a week or so and got to play them with several different games and am so far impressed with the overall feel of these headphones. I got these as a demo unit from Corsair.

4.5 out of 5.

Pro's

Good Sound Closer to a audiophile headset.

No Bass rumbling!

Plug and Play

Comfortable with a long cable.

Con's

If you have a large head the tension on band may bother you.

Update:

Here you can see my youtube review. Please amazon make your vid. uploads bigger >.

Best Apex (Xbox) Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $24.40
Today's Bonus: 51% Off

i got this game as soon as i could because ive been closely following its development since i first heard about it two months ago. seeing screenshots and reading the previews only brought images of grand turismo and my favorite of all racing games, tokyo extreme racer zero.

the game is beautiful. the courses are gorgeous. the cars are realistic. blah blah blah, youve heard it before and you will hear it again.

the gameplay? its very fun and challenging. Apex, however, is by no means a driving sim. true, the engine sounds are very close to their real world counterparts, and the licensed cars are meticulously cloned, but the driving is very biased, and elementary. but its very fun. imagine ridge racer with grand turismos looks. this is something that will split gamers opinions.

Apex, does have one big, and nearly fatal flaw. its AI. its the one AI in the playground that doesnt play well with others --that means you. ive played the game for 15+ hours now and i gotta say, getting started was extremely tough and the AI can become nausiatingly frustrating. if you show signs that youll ever have to attend anger management classes, consider Apex a rental first...youll save yourself a lot of money, because i was on the verge of throwing my xbox out the window. first of all, the CPU will never spin out. NO MATTER WHAT, THE CPU WILL NEVER EVER SPIN OUT. you may be able to get in front of a car and pin him against something else, but that almost never happens. second, if youre trailing, either the car in front of you will use his nitrous oxide tanks (which you dont get as far as i know) and will leave you in its rear view mirror, or get right in front of you to make passing very difficult. dont think of making the slightest mistake like a late breaking manuver, or the cars you thought were 4 seconds behind you will come out of nowhere (whoever was in charge of creating the AI should me smacked)

the music is boring and forgetable...some sort of generic, ambient, jazz techno...i dont know. but the sound effects are a lot better. their what youd expect, which is good engine noise.

despite Apex's AI with a god complex, you cant deny the unique gameplay, or its enthralling nature. from the start i was immersed and couldnt get enough. you get to name your company and choose a logo for it. the characters you hire for your production company are all charasmatic and quirky (as charasmatic and quirky as game characters get).

personally, i think rallisport challenge is the ultimate xbox driving game. the graphics are very detailed, and even ambiant at times (but you knew this). and the gameplay is a lot better. but what apex has that rallisport doesn't, is a very personal element that more than makes up for the things it falls short on.

oh yea, this game would have been rad with xbox live support.

** i recommend this game to anyone, even non racing fans, but if you are at all easily irritated, rent first**

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When I first loaded this game it looked great. The graphics are extremly good. The feeling of speed is there and both the tracks and cars are very detail. it works alot to drag you into feeling like racing.

It has a really great feature. You get this run down metal shack. As you win races and do well this building changes. Constant upgrades and soon you can have a complex. That coupled with personalities within. The builder, the designer, the pretty secretary and sales all goes towards adding that something extra. The cars themselves have 3 levels with the end one fully decked out in racing colors. you get to chose which cars are built. This made the game immensly fun.

But where it really counts the game falls short. The racing. Yes the speed is there. But I found it very hard to win races and I am not a bad racer. The other cars do not spin out and anytime you connect with them they will get the better of it. You can hit thier front bumper with your rear and they will slide infront. It can be extremly hard to catch the leaders and you will always start in last place and have to race through the field.

I like to race clean. I like to race and not have to bang off other cars. But that is not possible in this game. I found more often than not that the only way to get in front was to wait till they were braking at a slow corner and ram them to brake.

For all the good of this game it just keeps falling short. A tragedy really as this game was so close to being the most fun I have had in a car game since Gran Turismo 1.

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Apex definitely has a lot going for it: excellent racetracks, stunning graphics, great car control, custom soundtracks and cheesy-but-fun characters to "interact" with.

But--and this is a big one--even though the game *looks* very realistic, the gameplay is not. Not at all. Specifically, the game is constantly adjusting the other cars based on *your* performance. If you wreck badly and travel the wrong way, you can easily (very easily) turn around and catch right back up with the pack. As soon as you catch up to them, they start moving faster again.

That by itself might not be too bad, but the opposite thing happens, too. If you work your way into first place, the other cars will virtually always remain right on your tail--no matter what you do. The computer *adjusts* them to make sure they are right behind you. If you edge onto the shoulder for just a moment, expect to be passed by one car. If you get all 4 tires off the track, expect to be passed by at least a couple of cars.

So, the cars you are racing perform, not based on their stats or characteristics, but on *your* performance. Essentially, having a superb 3rd lap will guarantee that you will be passed lap 4, even if you are near perfect. The incentive--don't do *too* well until the last lap.

In most races, there ends up being less than one second difference in the top three spots. No doubt the designers thought this approach would make the game competive for all skill levels. And no doubt they thought it would make the game more exciting to always have the cars so close. But, really, it's more like being punished for doing well. (Lightly graze your bumper on the final turn... expect to fall into 3rd, 4th or 5th place.)

They have this disclaimer when the game starts: "Results of the game will only reflect the ability of the player." Why would they feel the need to say that?

The only time I was ever able to pull more than a few car lengths ahead was at the end of the Roadster level. On the track with the very long straight-ways, I was able to get significantly ahead. (My car's top speed was then apparently greater than the top speed of all others.)

For the record, I've played through Project Gotham *twice* and I've got over 260,000 Kudos. I breezed through Sega GT 2002 in a couple of days. I think I've got reasonable "ability". Sorry Apex, close but no cigar.

Ok, I'm done. :-)

Honest reviews on Apex (Xbox)

"APEX Racing" for the XBOX is deep. There's not one negative thing I could say about it. Lavishly smooth graphics with NO slowdown. That's always a plus in my book. The cars handle great. I love how the car never feels like it's going to spin into a fish-tail at every turn like many racing games. While it's a bit arcadish, it still has a fantastic feel to it. Lastly, there's 54 tracks(as it claims on the back of the game case). I'm sick of spending a fortune on a race game, only for it to have 8 or 12 tracks. I have a feeling I'll be playing this one for awhile.

2 thumbs up to Atari and Milestone for a fantastic racer.

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It is the best racing game ever because you create your own car company and race against other cars like Ford, Chevy, and Toyota!! When you win you get sales for the car you raced and can get better and cooler cars if you get enough!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Xbox 360 Officially licensed F.P.S. Pro Wired GamePad Deals

Customer Ratings:

I have always regretted goung with a aftermarket controller ad they are usually cheap feeling and rarely eork as well as the original 360 controller. I gave it one more try with this controller and I am really glad I did!

The reasons I tried it were bc of the remappable buttons in back and quick response triggers and each were up to par. The triggers feels so much more responsive than the 360 controller, which is awesome since its the button for shooting in Halo. The remappable 'combat buttons'

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The FPS pro for Xbox 360 is a good sturdy product. The plastic rubber on the sides has a good feel, and provides extra traction, especially if you are playing a game for an extended period of time. The basic shape is the same as the traditional Xbox 360 control, and all of the controls are in the same basic place so there is no high adjustment time.

The layout of the control is the same as the normal control, with the added feature that you can adjust gameplay wit the combat buttons on the bottom of the control. These buttons add the extra ability to change combat mode in gameplay, which is great for serious players. There is also a port on the control that allows you to use the control on your PC for PC gaming. This is a great advantage if you are playing on a PC, because you can use an Xbox controller on your PC.

Overall a good controller for serious gamers, and those who are planning on playing for an extended period of time.

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Very fast over wireless like the way it fits in my hands I like the 10 ft cord I have tride others but none are like this

Honest reviews on Xbox 360 Officially licensed F.P.S. Pro Wired GamePad

The Combat buttons are to far up! They are useless! If this is the reason you are going to get this controller don't buy it!

That's it played a few more games it is going back, went back to my Power A controller, what a huge diffrence!

LED does not remember what color you chose, it resets to green when you turn off the console, and you have to change the LEDS back to the color of your choice!!!!! More not to like about this product!!!!

I really thought this was going to be a great product, again don't waste your time and money!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Xbox 360 Officially licensed F.P.S. Pro Wired GamePad

It is as good as it says it is in the description, all of the features are there, it is comfortable, and precise. It is also designed with FPS games in mind, and the features reflect that. I would HIGHLY recommend this over the standard Xbox wired controller if you want a wired controller. The form factor is about the same as a standard controller as well is the price.

Pros:

Everything in the description.

Wired; so no batteries and faster response times.

Multi-Function buttons on back are a nice touch.

It lights up, because why not?

Cons:

Multi-Function buttons on the back are a bit to high to use comfortably, but one can get used to their position.

There isn't a wireless Xbox version for people that don't like wires all over their room.

Best Pokemon Battle Revolution Deals

Customer Ratings:

I admit, it's my fault. I got excited and I assumed. Hopefully by now, you know what happens when you assume.

First: There is NO, I repeat NO real single player game on this!! This is not Pokemon Colosseum or XD!! And that's where I made my big blunder. I assumed that this game would be similar to those extrodinarily enjoyable games. I guess if I had gotten on to the right websites, I would have known this, but I didn't. Though the back of the box never promises anything like Colosseum, honestly, I never really looked at the back. Lesson learned.

Second: If you don't own Pokemon Pearl or Diamond, and haven't played through either of those games, there's really not that much reason to own this game. Yes, you have 12 pokemon available to you, but they never get better, and have NO manner of customization that I have encountered so far.

Third: The focus of the game is on battling other people over the net. While I assume this can be quite fun (I haven't done it, because I don't really fancy getting my backside handed to me by people with huge numbers of very customized pokemon from the aforementioned DS games), it's not really why I've played the Pokemon games in the past.

In the end, I really don't care for the focus of this game. And I sorely miss the single player game that I boneheadedly assumed would be there. I'm very disappointed in this purchase. I don't want other people to make the same mistake.

E.

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Pokemon Battle Revolution is anything but a revolution. It feels like a step in the wrong directions sometimes. Mostly, however, you just feel like the game wasn't complete... like it could use a lot more than we got. Simply put, Battle Revolutions isn't bad, it's just a glass that's half full. This is a game for only the most die-hard of Pokemon fans only.

Let's get the first big annoying thing out of the way. If you don't have Pokemon Diamond or Pearl, then I highly suggest buying those before you actually dive into this game. Otherwise you'll find your experience to be a pretty daunting one. If you don't, you get passes with random Pokemon on them. This is pretty sad considering other Pokemon games in this genre let you rent Pokemon. Instead here, you're given six random Pokemon with random stats and moves. You've no say in the matter, and that's just lame. At least transferring your Pokemon from your DS games is no pain at all.

Let's get the second really annoying thing out of the way. The menu is alright and everything, but your guide through the menu is really really annoying. The guide has to explain everything. And when I say everything, I'm not kidding. If you're a seasoned gamer, you know what most of the stuff the guide is going to tell you is, yet you still have to sit through it anyway. The good news is you only have to sit through it once.

Previous Pokemon Stadium games also gave you a more RPG like experience. There was actually more to battling than just the sake of battling. Here in Battle Revolutions, that's all you're doing. You're battling just to battle... and you're battling endlessly. There's no real reason why. Of course, this isn't a HUGE problem, though, because in the long run battling is quite fun. I just wish there was some kind of objective here, and some kind of reward to show your achievements to your friends. Not found here. Of course, there will be some who really love this. After all, the point of battle revolutions is to do just that: Battle.

Seeing all your favorite Pokemon from Diamond and Pearl is a real treat indeed. The game has a cartoon like look, but that doesn't mean it isn't impressive. In truth, it is. It doesn't take the Wii to its limits, but again, no Pokemon game ever really pushes a system to its limit. But the game looks good for what is. Visually the game is great. It's the other aspects of the graphics that I sometimes find pretty lacking. It suffers from the same thing Pokemon has suffered from for years. There's hardly a whole lot of animation going on. You simply watch your Pokemon step forward and perform the attack, and then you see the other Pokemon take damage. There's no interaction between the Pokemon. It's a limitation that doesn't make combat less exciting, but over the past few years you do kind of wish your Pokemon would actually... you know... look like they're battling each other rather than just standing there idly. Regardless, combat is still pretty solid, and much like the DS games, pretty addictive.

As far as DS and Wii connectivity go, this game shows that it can be done. As you can transfer your Pokemon from your DS to your Wii wirelessly. However, you get the feeling so much more could've been done with it. Unless Nintendo plans on making a "DS Player" for the Wii, I can't imagine why they wouldn't let you play through your DS games on the big screen. Again, it's not a big set back, but it is a step back from other Pokemon Stadium installments. There's also the excitement over using your DS as a controller, but even that feels incomplete sometimes. Simply because you can't use your DS as a controller in the main game. You CAN, however, use the DS as a controller when playing against a friend. It feels limited, though. Otherwise you can use your Wii-Remote like an NES controller or use the motion sensor controls to point and click.

Now there's the online experience. This is the first real true taste of an Online gaming experience on the Wii. Unfortunately, like the rest of the game, it feels a bit... incomplete. The only thing you can do online is battle. And the battles are all random. To be honest, if all I wanted to do online was battle... I'd just boot up my DS copy of Diamond or Pearl, and they let you do more online than this game does. It just feels like the online mode in this game was a test to see if they could actually do it. The test is a success, but the experience is pretty stale overall.

This isn't the kind of game you buy for curiosity's sake. A lot of it really does feel incomplete. There's so much potential here, but the overall product feels as though it were rushed. Previous Pokemon Stadium games had a lot more substance to them. Pokemon Battle Revolutions is, for the most part, fun. It just doesn't include a whole lot of content worth getting excited about... because the things that we were getting excited about aren't really all that exciting. You're pretty much only going to buy this game to battle... but why spend 50 bucks to do so when you could just as easily spend 35 bucks on the DS games? Besides, without those DS games you can't enjoy the full experience of battling in this game anyway. It's a good "test" to see what the Wii can do, but hopefully the next Pokemon Stadium game will actually push the structure to its limit.

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This really seems like a Wii expansion pack for the Diamond/Pearl DS games. Great graphics make your beloved pokemon come alive. For a full-price game, a solo quest really seems like it would be appropriate. For those with D/P the worst problem is Nintendo's on-line match-making system which requires extra friend codes and doesn't even give you a game lobby so you can find someone you'd think might be a good match for you.

If you have the DS game already this is a great purchase. If your kids and their friends have them, this will make your house the game center of the universe! But if you don't have pokemon playing friends, I'd recommend finding a web site of other players to connect up with so you don't have to rely on the game's match making ability (or lack of it).

And if you don't have Diamond or Pearl I don't think it's worth the price.

Honest reviews on Pokemon Battle Revolution

Pros: Beautiful 3D Graphics, Excellent representation of the battle system we know and love, Great Character Customization, WiFi Battles, Transfer of Pokemon from Diamond or Pearl

Cons: No RPG-like Single Player Campaign, Must own Diamond or Pearl to completely experience the game (If you are buying this as a gift, make sure the person you're buying it for

Pokemon Battle Revolution is an excellent game in that it does exactly what it has been advertised to do: battle in three dimensions, use Nintendo's WiFi connection to battle all over the world with others, and offer an excellent character customization. However, this game is really only worth purchasing if you already own (or are intending to buy) Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearl for the Nintendo DS handheld system. Owners of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are able to transfer all their Pokemon to the game using the WiFi capabilities of the Nintendo DS. If you do not own Diamond or Pearl, you are forced to use "rental Pokemon," which have fixed stats and movesets. They are harder to use than Pokemon you may be used to, but using the rental Pokemon does make for a challenging single player experience. It just isn't what the developers of the game intended this is not a stand-alone game.

I spent a few hours testing what the game has to offer. Its strongest point so far is the integration of random battle matchups using Nintendo WiFi. While you are still able to battle a specific friend using a friend code, the option of a random battle with a random person is appreciated. The creation of a character is also very fun, I spent about half an hour on my first battle pass. The character customization goes so far to even let you customize catchphrases for when Pokemon enter the battle, return to their PokeBall, etc. Not to mention that transferring Pokemon from my Diamond cartridge using the DS was seamless and easy, taking only a matter of seconds to see my beloved Pokemon appear in all their three dimensional glory. In addition, when you earn currency in the single player campaign, you are able to buy items and send them to your Pokemon Diamond/Pearl game using the Mystery Gift function.

Many critics of this game may say that it suffers due to lack of a deep, RPG-like mode present in the handheld games and it's Gamecube predecessors, Pokemon Colesseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. While I'm the first to admit that I would have enjoyed a single player RPG campaign like in the handheld games, that is not (and never was) what this game was designed to do. It is a Wii and DS specific representation of Pokemon Stadium for the Nintendo 64: It focuses on battling on a very broad scale, and very little else. The graphics are better, they've improved many aspects of the formula, but at its core, it's just a game for people who want to have the major satisfaction of seeing their carefully raised Pokemon battle in three dimensions. This is a wonderful game to use if you or your child enjoy the battling system, or if you simply want a new way to battle competitively online beyond using your DS. Just be aware that the single player campaign is not what you may be used to from the handhelds, and that most of the advantages come from owning a DS and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl.

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If you do not have a DS do not buy this game. It is next to useless. Sure you can go online in 3D and do a couple of canned battles, but there is no real collectathon. However, if you have a DS this game is pretty darned cool, if for no other reason that you finally have some connectivity for that awesome wii and awesome DS. You can use your wii to see the DS guys you have found and put them in battle on the WII is stunning 3-D. Again, the short of it is that if you are a huge fan of Pokemon, you probably have a DS and are ying to go online with your diamond and pearl guys you have collected. If this is the case, buy the revolution!

Discount Xbox 360 250GB Holiday Value Bundle (OLD MODEL)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $299.99
Sale Price: $275.99
Today's Bonus: 8% Off

I own a PS3 and I am happy with it. I wasn't going to get a Xbox 360 until this bundle came along. I mostly got it for the included Halo Reach and the new Xbox 360 Slim console, which doesn't seem to have the overheating issue or Red Light of Death that older Xbox 360 consoles had.

Pros:

-Comes with a 250GB hard drive. This is necessary to play games smoothly. Installing the game to the hard drive makes the Xbox 360 run quieter and cooler.

Built-in Wi-Fi. You no longer have to buy an adapter to connect wirelessly. It's built into the system.

Built-in Kinect port. This Xbox 360 Slim has a special port just for the Kinect so you don't have to buy an adapter.

3 Free Months of Xbox Live Gold. Xbox Live is the reason to get the Xbox 360. Its extensive online service is more user-friendly than PSN, but you will have to pay $60 a year after your 3 months are up (Amazon has some deals to get a Xbox Live membership around $45-50) for it.

Halo Reach (downloadable token). There is no physical disc. Instead, they give you a code that you download from the Xbox Marketplace to your hard drive.

Fable 3. It's an RPG game. Not my kind of game, but if you enjoy role-playing, you might like it.

Official Xbox headset. It's a mono headset, which means there's only one earpad to hear voice from. It works fairly well, but I have the Astro A40s so I don't use it.

Cons:

Have to pay to play online.

Does tend to get hot when playing from the disc.

Fans run much louder than the PS3.

To summarize, this is a great bundle for someone who doesn't have a xbox 360 or would like to have both systems. If you already have a xbox 360, there's really no reason to get this one. Most Xbox 360 owners will probably already have Halo Reach and Fable 3 isn't really a console seller. Now, I can game with friends on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 with ease.

Also, I purchased the One-day shipping (which was $10 bucks for me) and it really did come the next day, just in case you were wondering about pushing your delivery date up.

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I scored this at Target for the Black Friday deal of $199.00. Still worth it at $299.00 though. Easy to set up, has HDMI and WIFI, although I oppted to run my eithernet wire into the back of it via my router so my signle would always be strong.

Also a little trick the sales guy said was when installing, DON'T enter your 3 month XBOX LIVE code when prompted. The system itself comes with a 1 month trial, so you end up with 4 months of XBOX LIVE GOLD!! Enter the code after your 1 month expires.

Already played Call of Duty MW3 on it with 3 other friends, LOTS OF FUN!!! Havn't tried the 2 games that came with it yet.

The sound a picture is amazing when run through a sony 5.1 surround amplifer(HDMI)and played on a 46" Sony Bravia 240hz lcd. I was extremely happy after the hookup and downloads.

ron

Best Deals for Xbox 360 250GB Holiday Value Bundle (OLD MODEL)

Being a first time Xbox owner, I want to say that this is a great buy. I was about to buy a Xbox 250gb without any extras for the same price. You get two games valued at at least $25 each plus a three month Xbox live card again valued at $25. So you're basically paying $225 for the Xbox itself. I was able to receive $50 Amazon credit with my purchase which is another awesome thing. Also, no tax in California? I mean c'mon, great deal.

The games, Halo reach is a download which took about an hour but it is almost 7gbs. From what I've played so far it's pretty fun. Pretty easy to get into without knowing any background information. Fable III, I love how cinematic this game is. Love the graphics and love how your actions shape your world. Also came with DLC which I thought was pretty neat.

Now, the Xbox itself IS matte black which I rather prefer to the shiny black which can get real messy with fingerprints. I leave it on its side on a raised platform to keep it from overheating which i hear can occur often but finding something to leave it on wasn't really a problem. Wifi built in which is awesome.

This is my first review on anything, so if my structuring is wrong or off I'm sorry xD

Honest reviews on Xbox 360 250GB Holiday Value Bundle (OLD MODEL)

My advice to current XBox owners: Never purchase a new console. Always send your old one in for repairs. This will help you avoid the aggravation I have been forced to endure.

Back in February, my old XBox console started having longer load times and randomly freezing up. Realizing that it was several years old, likely on its last legs and long out of warranty (meaning I'd have to pay to have it repaired) I decided to purchase the newer S model. I also bought the hard drive transfer cable, moved all of my content to the new one, then ran the license transfer process to assign all of my downloadable game licenses to my new console.

Except... it didn't work. For some reason all of my content is still assigned to my old console. If I purchase something online, my download queue shows the message "Assigned to other console" and will not download it. Even if it's a new item I've never purchased before, it still gets assigned to the old console. Also, I now have to be signed in to XBox Live to play any previously downloaded games on my hard drive. If I'm offline, it shows up as the trial version, since the paid unlocked version is still assigned to my old console.

I have tried clearing the cache. I have tried deleting my profile and downloading it again. I have tried deleting the latest system update from my console and downloading it again. I am unable to attempt the license transfer again because of Microsoft's ridiculous limit on how often it can be performed. Which I understand is to prevent chronic miscreants from jumping to new consoles without penalty every time their current one gets banned, but in my particular case it kind of completely sucks.

Microsoft has proven themselves spectacularly useless in helping me get this fixed.

The first support representative I talked to was very friendly and assured me the problem would be fixed, but it could take up to 72 hours. Perfectly satisfactory answer. I wait three days. Nothing happens.

I call back and am told by another equally friendly support rep that, no, it actually takes up to 25 days. Why the first guy told me 3 he does not know, but all right, fine, I will wait 25 days, what other choice do I have.

25 days pass, and... still nothing. At this point I am exceedingly tired of this nonsense. Back into support chat where friendly support rep #3 helpfully asks for... my console ID for the new system. Because apparently they need it to do a manual license transfer. And they cannot obtain it on their own. And for some reason did not, oh, I don't know, actually ASK me for it during one of the previous two chats. So now I am waiting ANOTHER 25 days for them to resolve this. In the meantime I am stuck with a not insignificant amount of purchased content that I must be connected to XBox Live to even use. I'm sure anyone who has ever purchased a PC game with invasive DRM that requires a persistent online connection can understand my frustration with that.

At this point my confidence in Microsoft's ability to fix this is pretty much zero. It feels as if they are utterly incompetent and dragging their feet every step of the way. I have been a loyal Microsoft customer for years, and am not asking for anything big. I just want my content back, the content which I own a license to use. I just want what is mine. That is not too much to ask.

I will post an update on April 20th, which is the end of my current 25-day waiting period.

I wish I had paid for a repair and gone without my old console for a few weeks. I deeply regret buying this new one.

This could happen to you.

UPDATE, 5/10/2012:

See the comments section. Amazon has a 1000-word limit on reviews. And oh my gosh is there ever more to tell. Seriously, get popcorn.

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We have had an Xbox 360 in our home since the system first came out and I can easily say that the last 6 years with this console has been the best 6 years I have had yet with a videogame system and that is saying something as I have had just about every console released since Pong was released back in the mid 70's. Microsoft, a company that I was never too fond of given the fact that I am an Apple computer user, has really done an outstanding job with this system. While there were some hardware issues with the earlier consoles, I can safely say that the Xbox 360 S is a top notch console with none of the problems that plagued earlier models. Its superior in almost every way to previous models.

My single favorite aspect to this system is without a doubt Xbox Live and all of the things that come along with the service (you get 3 months included with this holiday pack). Basically Xbox Live gives you the ability to play games online and lets you download arcade games, game demos, trailers, TV shows, music and movies. Out of all of the things that MS has done, putting so much focus on the development of Xbox Live is, in my opinion, the smartest thing they have done yet in regards to this console. Xbox live has really become a fantastic part of the Xbox gaming experience. In fact, I couldn't imagine Xbox without Xbox Live. In particular, both my son and I love Xbox Live Arcade. There is now a massive assortment of games on Xbox Live Arcade and the nice thing about the games, besides the lower cost, is that they dont require the time investment that most of the regular Xbox games require. Its a more casual gaming experience and I really appreciate that, especially during my busy season with photography as I simply dont have the time to invest in big games during that time of the year. I love that every game available on Xbox Live Arcade has a demo available so you can actually try it out before making up your mind on whether or not to buy it. Xbox Live also has an on demand game section, which are regular disc based releases that you can buy and download over Xbox live. I personally dont buy on demand games as the prices really aren't competitive and I just cant justify buying a download version of a game when I can actually buy the physical version for the same price or less. Of course, buying the physical copy gives you the ability to sell it later on. This isn't possible with downloaded versions. Given that aspect alone, on demand games should be at least 5-10 bucks cheaper than the physical version and unfortunately that just hasn't been the case and this is one area where Xbox live can be significantly improved.

Xbox live also offers additional services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, ESPN, Zune, and LastFM. We currently use Netflix and ESPN and we love both services. Its important to note that Microsoft recently announced that 40 additional entertainment partners will soon be joining the Xbox Live experience including Comcast, HBO GO, Syfy, Verizon FiOS, Bravo, and Xfinity. This really isn't surprising given the fact that Microsoft has stated many times that their vision for the future of Xbox lies in it becoming a hub for entertainment in your home, not just a videogame console. With the announcement of 40 additional entertainment services being added, MS are now one step closer to making this a reality and I expect the list of services will only continue to grow over the coming years. Basically this gives people the ability to individualize their TV experience through Xbox live. I only watch about 5% of the channels I receive through cable, and pay a hefty price to be able to do so. So I am very interested in where this console is going in this regards.

I also really like that MS has been focusing more and more on the family side of gaming as my wife enjoys gaming and we have an 11 year old son. In particular, we really enjoy Family Game Night which highlights a different family game every Tuesday. The number of games suitable for younger children has increased substantially over the last few years and the console itself has parental options that allow you to lock out certain content from your children. This includes games, movies and TV shows. I travel a lot so these options are very important to me. I dont have to worry about what content my son is accessing while I am away.

As for regular gaming, Xbox certainly doesn't disappoint. There are so many great games available that I literally dont have time to play all of them. Just look at the games released, or being released, in the last quarter of 2011. You have Gears of War 3, Forza 4, Battlefield 3, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Saints Row 3, Batman Arkham City, etc. Those are just the high profile games. Of course, Xbox has a huge catalog of titles already available and many of those games can be purchased for 20 dollars or less. You can even play a large number of original Xbox titles on the 360, many of which are amazing games and could easily be found for 10 bucks or less at used game stores. Most people have a limited amount of time that the can devote to playing games and given the sheer number of great games available....well, lets just say that the vast majority of people will have the same problem I have, that you dont have time to play all the games you want to play.

For those that are looking to get their first console, this holiday bundle is a great deal. It has the 250 Gig HD and comes with 2 of the biggest games released this past year, Halo Reach and Fable 3. Its important to note that the you dont get the physical copy of Halo Reach. You get a code that gives you the ability to download it from Xbox Live On Demand.

Bottom line Microsoft has really done a remarkable job with their Xbox gaming system. They have had a few bumps along the way but overall the Xbox is a top notch gaming system that now offers far more than just gaming. Whether your looking for casual gaming, hardcore gaming, online gaming, family gaming, or even motion based gaming, the Xbox has more than enough to fit the bill. As I stated originally, the last 6 years with the Xbox 360 has without a doubt been the best 6 years I have ever had with a console. Xbox 360 has become a staple in my house in regards to my families entertainment. Whether its for gaming, movies or TV shows, the Xbox doesn't disappoint. I really couldn't possibly give this console a higher recommendation. Its just a top notch entertainment device.

5 Stars!!

Reviews of PS3 Call of Duty Black Ops First Strike Content/Map Pack 1 Bonus

Customer Ratings:

bought this for my little brother couple of weeks ago at first he thought it didnt work but figured out he missed a letter so it did work. for those you who are skeptical, dont worry it works.

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this bonus card was awsome i installed it sucssesfully but are there bonus cards like this for anhiliation,rezzurection and escalation?

Best Deals for PS3 Call of Duty Black Ops First Strike Content/Map Pack 1 Bonus

it came just like it said 2 days, it came faster than something i orders like 5-7 days ago. ive heard good reviews about the game but if the games not good its not this users fault. so great overall

Honest reviews on PS3 Call of Duty Black Ops First Strike Content/Map Pack 1 Bonus

PS3 Call of Duty Black Ops First Strike Content/Map Pack 1 Bonus Card (game NOT included)

Bigger map than the offered maps (Kino and 5) and it gets intense pretty quickly. I noticed that if someone is on the far end of the map opposite where I am, if I don't make my way to them immediately, there is little chance of saving them. So it's better to stick together unless you can hold your own. I love the weapon where the zombies are pulled into a sort of space portal. That really helps in the later rounds. Great map pack. A lot of fun. I can finally stop playing Kino for a while now.

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It was awesome and it actually worked!

Its a very good map pack especially ascencion! The ascencion map kicked ass!

Review of Zumba Fitness - Kinect - Xbox 360

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $32.95
Today's Bonus: 18% Off

I was a little suprised to see so many bad reviews. I actually thought this game was pretty accurate to the classes I had been taking. It definitely gives you a work out. The menu options are a little basic and uneventful but if you are using this game for work out purposes, for me anyway, it worked amazing. I worked up a sweat just doing the 20 minute classes (on easy). Because I've taken Zumba classes before, I knew a majority of the steps. I think the people who are claiming that it doesn't pick up their body movements could be misguided. Even on easy, and with a little experience, I found the dance class to be quite fast and with little instruction. This being said, if you are not a pro, it's not going to pick up every single step you do. it's just too fast, there are too many movements from head to toe. I don't have a problem with this personally. It doens't pick up every move I make but I realize the moves are very complex so most likely it's ME who isn't getting it right and not keeping up the pace. It's a lot harder than Dance Central which I noticed a lot of people are comparing it to. If you want a good work out, this is also a good thing. The harder the dances, the harder you work to keep up, and the better workout you get. If I want to have fun with friends I play Dance Central, if I want a work out, I play Zumba.

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Zumba Fitness Kinect

First, I am a total newbie to the Zumba world. That said, I am having a great deal of fun getting in shape using this title. In trying to reach my fitness goals using my Kinect, I have currently tried out EA Sports and Xbox's Fitness Evolved (neither of which I am a fan of after using the similar title Wii Fit), Kinect Adventures (fun, but not really geared towards fitness), and Dance Central (also fun but also not really geared towards fitness).

The Zumba title comes close to meeting all of my personal high level criteria for a great fitness title:

+ Tiered Cardio Workout (*****)

+ Fun Workout (*****)

+ Multiple Activities (***)

+ Workout Calendar (****)

+ Tracks Weight and Calories Burned (0)

What I love about Zumba:

+ I'm only at the beginner level and I'm (grinning but) SERIOUSLY TIRED within 20mins!!

+ I have a lot to learn and am having fun learning it.

+ I look forward to my workouts.

+ The workouts are varied even within the workout so you don't get bored.

+ The 'trainers' and online indicators of 'success' help but don't hinder your psyche (i.e. FUN is the key factor).

+ If you slow down, the music doesn't stop, so if you get tired you can jump back in at full speed at any time.

+ It follows the overall workout rhythm of warm up, high intensity, cool down without ever sitting down.

+ The music is fantastic and so are the dance moves!!

What needs to be fixed or could be improved:

+ The menus are a catastrophe and need to be fixed, but I have learned to navigate them.

+ It would be great for a weight graph feature to be introduced.

+ An estimated calorie burning feature would also be great to see for the same purposes.

Otherwise, this is a great overall body workout and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dancing. I can't speak for those who already know the Zumba moves, but except for the belly dancing (which I already know fairly well and LOVE to do), I found it very challenging, and I love a challenge.

I know some people have complained about it not tracking body movements enough. Personally, the stuff I'm not good at yet, I can't really tell, but it seemed to be more or less on the mark with the belly dancing.

And, really, I'm looking to get a fun, high intensity dance workout, so that's what I'm really concentrating on, as opposed to being completely exacting regarding the moves of the dance instructor at every single second.

Anyway. I hope this review is helpful to Zumba newbies!! If you are ready for a challenge, you'll get one!!

And word to the wise: If you are using Dance Central as a workout, you ain't seen nothin' yet!! Get ready to SWEAT!! I still love Dance Central...but I now only use it to cool down if I still have energy after my Zumba workout (but not enough for more Zumba LOL) and also to play with friends at parties ;)

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are a lot of negative reviews about this product. I can't say for sure, but I very much suspect that those users either do not have Xbox online memberships, or that they wrote their reviews before the online product update came out. As soon as I put the disc in, Xbox Live asked me to download an update, which I did, and I haven't experienced ANY of the logout issues or serious body tracking issues mentioned in the one star reviews.

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My husband and I just bought the Kinect and Zumba Fitness game today and I have to say I love the game! I don't usually review products but I felt compelled to do so since the Kinect version of this game got so many bad reviews on Amazon and I didn't want people to get turned off by that. I didn't have the problem of the game signing me off when I did turns as other reviewers did nor did I have an issue with the game not recognizing my movements, the feedback (red circles that appear around your shoulders, knees, etc.) seemed right on. I had a blast playing this game, the dance moves are sexy and fun, the music is great and on top of it all you get a great workout (I was pretty sweaty at the end and I'm fairly athletic). There was an X-Box update on the game that took place the moment I popped it into my console so perhaps the issues others had with the game have been resolved? I skipped over the tutorial and went straight to the game, starting at the beginner party level, yes the moves start to get more challenging as you keep going through the routine but the moves are repeated and I found that I was able to catch on pretty quickly. I'm looking forward to using Zumba as my morning workout on mornings I don't go to the gym and seeing what the results are! (Plus I may even be able to get the hubbie to join in, get him learning some new dance moves!) ;-)

Honest reviews on Zumba Fitness - Kinect - Xbox 360

I would rate this lower if the scale would allow it. This game does not, I repeat does not recognize your movements. Avoid this game like the plague. I also have Fighters Uncaged and it is 100% better than this title. I am very very disappointed in this title and I can't believe they actually released it in this buggy state. The game repeatedly locked up, and then would sign you out during moves that it instructed you to do. This game did not recognize body movements, and the menu system was incredibly hard to navigate. I took this game back after only having it for 1 hour. I even argued with the pimple-faced Game store idiot to take it back. The game is too buggy to even play. For all the game studios Please create other Zumba games because we want them! Fellow consumers, trust me, this game is terrible. Please save your money as it doesn't work.

We have Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports, Fighters Uncaged, Dance Central, and Your Shape fitness and they are all better games than this one. I will give you an example of the buggy activity.

The game will ask you to do a spin maneuver, but because you stop facing the camera for a second the game signs you out. Since it signed you out, you then have to go through 5 or 6 menus to get back to where you are.

Here is another example, you will start like we did by going through a little tutorial, but after being on turtle speed for 5 seconds she (the virtual instructor) ramps up to Dancing with the stars speed. What's worse she expects you to try to follow along without providing you any instructions besides "Let's go". To make matters worse, the game then completely stops recognizing your movement. In fact, I just started doing whatever I wanted to do (knee lifts, jumping jacks, punches, hip shakes) and the game thought it was great.

I'm sure that some people will post negative feedback about my review, but honestly avoid this game. I love Kinect and this is the crappiest title on Kinect or any other system that I have every tried. Contact me on Amazon and I can tell you about the other much better Kinect games!

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I really like the workout and the music. I had read all the bad reviews and was hoping that they were maybe just user error but the game is glitchy. I found that if anyone walked behind me or around me during play the game would sign me out. Which is difficult with young children. I could just sign in and hit continue but it was really frustrating and disappointing because the game itself seemed great. I have only played it once so far and did the 20 minute routine. I have never done Zumba but have always been interested in trying it. So far I am impressed, the music was great and the moves are so fun. They don't give instruction, it is more of a watch and learn type of thing. I read reviews for the dvds and they said pretty much the same thing and it is not as hard as I thought it would be to catch on. Plus, the game gives you a little feedback I am not sure how accurate it is since like I said the game did have some glitches. I read there might be an update coming to fix the bugs I hope it's true because then it would be a five star rating for me. I might also try to use the calibration card before my next use

Update: December 20I did the update that fixes the bugs when it came out. I put the game in and the option to download the update pop up first thing which was cool. I saw major improvement right away. I can definitely tell when I am not hitting the moves right. The instructor lights up yellow and green when your doing good. Orange and red when you are off. Also it doesn't sign me out if one of the kids walks into the sensors view anymore, sometimes it picks them up and will say Guest 2 or 3 but it doesn't affect the game play at all. The only time I get signed out now is if I leave the area for a minute, like to go get a drink of water or something. Then all I have to do it hit "Done" on the sign in screen and "Continue Game" on the next and it picks up right where it left off. Basically it takes the same amount of time as hitting pause on the remote. So all in all I think that it is a great game and fun. It's a good way to try Zumba if you already have an XBOX 360 and Kinect, since the DVDs can be pricey and this game is only about $40.

Review of Skylanders Spyro's Adventure Pack: Dragon's Peak

Customer Ratings:

Fans of Spyro the Dragon, rejoiceSparx has returned! One thing I always joke about with Skylanders is that it's called "Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure", yet his name isn't spoken even once, and he isn't even in the center on the game's box art. The poor little guy gets his first major game in years, and you can hardly tell he's in it! While Dragons Peak might not remedy that, there are definitely some tips of the hat to old school Spyro fans with this pack. Dragon Peak brings back Spyro's great dragonfly, Sparx, and has a whole level where the focus is dragons. Complete with dragons turned to stone, anyone who has fond memories of playing through the first Spyro game will get a little nostalgic with this stage. Also included are the Winged Boots and one of the most visually striking Skylanders: Sunburn. It's about time we get a fire type that isn't human-ish or bulky.

When placed on the Portal, Dragons Peak becomes accessible to the player on the left side of the Ruins in plain sight. You won't have to go hunting around for this level like the Empire of Ice one. An evil dragon has taken over the dragon kingdom after the original king left his throne for a bit. Its up to you to face the dragon and set things right. For the most part, this stage is standard Skylanders fare and can be completed in under 15 minutes. There aren't any puzzles or challenging parts aside from new enemies that blow themselves up and deal huge damage to you if you're within their range. It's a straightforward level and finding everything (hats, treasure, Soul Gem) isn't very hard. You even get to leave the ground for a while with several flying areas. Unfortunately, it's not as cool as it soundsyou're stuck avoiding rocks and collecting gems while on the back of one of the dragons. Control is a little weird: move the left analog stick to move, but you'll always reset back to the center of the screen when you let go of the stick. It's a bummer that these parts are VERY short too. I would've loved for them to have made these more like the old flying stages in Spyro the Dragon just to take you back a little more. And just a little heads upthe boss fight is very, very underwhelming. That and the short flying stages are the reason I'm giving this Adventure Pack a lower score than the others.

But everything else here is great. Sparx is a handy little 'item' that attacks enemies (until his time runs out, like all items). It's nice to have something can interrupt enemy attacks in case you're trying to get away and regroup. The Winged Boots make your Skylander so fast that it becomes funny. Placing this item on the Portal speeds you up big time, giving you a chance to deal tons of damage while enemies are helpless, or make a fast escape. The timer on this item runs out faster than any other I've seen, so use it wisely. As for Sunburn, he's a cool dragon/phoenix creature that has some nice tools. His primary attack is flame breath, secondary is a kind of teleport and his third is a dash move very similar to Cynder's. The flame breath attack pushes enemies back a little bit, and his teleport is unique. When used, Sunburn deploys 4 flames around him (up, down, left and right). Move the left analog stick in any direction, and he'll go there instantly, arriving in a burst of flames that damage enemies. When fully upgraded, Sunburn becomes very powerful, though the recovery time on some his moves may leave him a little helpless in Battle Mode against the stronger Skylanders.

Now that the figures and Adventure Packs are becoming easier to find, there shouldn't be any worry about paying too much for these. The standard price for this one is a great deal, even if the level could've used a little more work on the flight portions. My daughter and I had fun playing through it (she thinks the evil dragon is really cool looking), and Sunburn has become her favorite Skylander, tied with Whirlwind.

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Dragon's Peak introduces a new adventure where an evil dragon has usurped rule in this new area of Skylands; the former, venerable dragon wants your help in restoring order and peace. You traverse through the level with the help of a simple-minded red dragon between platforms you actually fly him around to avoid huge boulder obstacles and shoot fireballs to destroy sky mines that try to impede your progress. The platform levels themselves are just like the rest of Skylanders, although a little more challenging with rotating platforms and stationary dragon statues that intermittently burn extremely damaging flames in your wake.

The new fire element character, Sunburn, is fun to play and shoots flames as his primary ability. His secondary ability allows him to teleport which, once upgraded, can occur in 4 directions.

And to second the other reviewer's comments, please stop supporting these scalpers. Activision IS actually catching up and stores are becoming better stocked every day. I got mine at Toys 'R' Us for $24.99...don't pay a penny more. A lot of these opportunists are digging their own graves as other characters have become so plentiful that some "used" prices are beginning to drop below retail price. Keep it up and wait patiently...Activision is not going to miss an opportunity to make money, so don't waste it on others.

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Over all this is a great expansion to the Skylanders game. However, DO NOT support the greedy gougers on Amazon. I purchased at a TOYS-R-US for $24.99. Wait out the stocking issues caused by the popularity of Skylanders rather than purchase from the price gougers.

Honest reviews on Skylanders Spyro's Adventure Pack: Dragon's Peak

I love this pack it is just so awesome! but don't pay this price. I got mine at Toys r us for $25. But it is still an awesome pack!

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If one were to take a sampling of games I currently own one would find RPGs, FPSs, and RTSs: most of which marketed for adults and hard-core gamers. When my wife (also a gamer) asked me if I wanted to play the Skylanders game, at first, I thought: "Sure, I will give it a go, for her." Not really expecting to enjoy myself or play the game past the end-game (which I expected to arrive at in a matter of hours); I was amazed at the fun I had while playing this game and collecting all the figurines. I have now completed the game multiple times and have leveled almost every character I own to its maximum level, on top of now having almost the complete set of figurines (I am four away...). Love this game. Love the concept. Cannot wait until my kids are old enough to play so I can pass the baton to them and watch them enjoy themselves anew (and live vicariously through them :-)).

Review of Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 - Xbox 360

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I'm going to get this out of the way first: Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is an excellent game. The character roster is expanded, the fighting engine is fine tuned to achieve a better balance, and online play is enhanced significantly from the previous incarnation. If you have friends at your palce often (or even if you don't, since you can play online), Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is a great game to occupy yourself with. Finding the perfect three-combatant team and using their abilities to complement each other is, as always, very rewarding and fun. My personal team is Phoenix Wright/Frank West/Deadpool for laughs, and Zero/X-23/Strider Hiryu for actual rounds as you can see I used quite a few of the new characters, so they're definitely not just filler characters as some might say.

That being said, let's get to the obvious elephant in the room. This game comes just half a year after the original Marvel vs Capcom 3. Those who bought the original game (or, heaven forbid, the collector's edition) are now in possession of a useless copy less than a year after buying it. This is the latest in a long line of problematic business decisions by Capcom, who have by-and-large really dialed it in in regards to their game releases; recent games have been carbon copies and blatant cash grabs in an attempt to make as much money as fast as possible.

Though 12 characters larger, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is no different while other companies fix their fighting games through patches and downloadable characters (see: Mortal Kombat), Capcom has returned to its Street Fighter 2 days by rereleasing slightly updated versions of the same fighting game over and over (we're already seeing this in Street Fighter IV) something that actually led to the devastation of its fighting game franchises years back. Back when game systems had virtually no internet connections and games came on cartridges, this was defensible if not acceptable; now, with modernized game system constantly linking to the web, it's completely unacceptable.

On its own merits, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is a five-star game. A great lineup, a fun fighting system, and literally hundreds of hours worth of gameplay as a result of arcade, mission modes, and online features makes it one of the best fighters in recent years. Unfortunately, given Capcom's track record, I have no choice but to dock it one star for being an update that could've been relegated to DLC, and another star for coming out less than a year after the last game, making many players' previous investments worthless. Even at the $40 price point, it's still ever so slightly insulting. Still, I'd recommend a purchase if you, like me, didn't get the original upon release, or even if you did, because the new characters are honestly really great.

If you're still on the fence about this game either because you disapprove of Capcom's practices or because you bought MvC3 back in March, but still want to try out the new characters and enhanced online I say just bite the bullet and grab this game. However, once you do, send an email, snail mail, or message to Capcom's Twitter telling them that you disapprove of this kind of business practice and that they will lose you as a customer if they continue in this manner; you have a voice, use it!

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As the title speaks for itself if you have bought yourself a copy of regular marvel vs capcom 3 you don't really need this unless you really would like the 12 characters that are added.

Much like it's predecessors the characters require much time and discipline to understand and master so if you have the patience & time then this game is for you. The gameplay is very fast paced, and requires much knowledge of being able to read your opponents and being able to respond to what they may throw at you....Whether it is spamming from a far with lances (Arthur from Ghouls n' Goblins), or people comboing the living daylights out of you in a corner.

There are 3 modes included with UMVC3:

*Offline Mode: Here have you your basic Arcade, Training, Versus, and Mission mode (mission mode containing a staggering 480 combos to learn and do) at the final stage of arcade you have much to look forward to in battling Galactus and his Heralds (minions). *sidenote* there are 6 stages before the Galactus battle.

*Xbox Live: Here is where your skills will be put to the test where you can look for player matches or ranked matches, much time will be invested in training before you can plan on competing in this mode not to discourage anyone from buying this game.

*Heroes & Heralds Mode: In this mode you have 3 decks (A,B,C) each deck contains 3 slots for a card, each card has a perk that will aid you in battle where you can pick a main card for extra effects, as the name implies you pick either the heroes or heralds where you can save the earth, or takeover the earth. Each side has particular cards exclusive to each side.

Graphics:

* Nothing has changed from MVC3:FO2W, so don't look to this for improvements on graphics if it was one of your gripes about the latest installments, the style and texture of the graphics are completely appropriate for the gameplay being presented here.

Characters:

*With the original 36 characters in place UMVC3 adds 6 Marvel characters & 6 Capcom characters:

on the Marvel side you have: Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange, Rocket Raccoon, Hawkeye, Ironfist & Nova.

on the Capcom side you have: Firebrand, Frank West, Nemesis, Vergil, Phoenix Wright, & Strider Hiryu(for those that loved Strider in MVC2 you might still love Strider here)

In all the game is extremely fun and as mentioned is very fast paced UMVC3 piqued my interest and has instilled much adrenaline during each battle, it is that intense. Although I definitely don't recommend this game to those that aren't that great at fighting games and have a super competitive ego, to those people you have been warned.

*EDIT* One thing I did fail to mention as it was not an issue for me, was the lag while playing online you have little to no lag, and even before proceeding with a battle you have the opportunity to screen your opponent's connection and decide whether or not you still want to battle said opponent.

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More characters, more balanced gameplay. The online matches now have spectator mode. My only complaint is that all these features should have been present in MvC3 but hey, better late than never. Bare in mind that YOU MUST PLAY WITH SOMEONE ON YOUR SAME OR SIMILAR SKILL LEVEL or practice against the computer. Marvel is not like so many other games where a new player has a fighting chance if he button mashes or tries really hard. Spending time with this game and learning the nuances of each team really pays off. So if youre new and you jump into online matches, you will probably end up whining and crying like the little b****es that gave this game 1 star. There are NO 1 minute combos. Just sit back with some friends, and prepare to have a blast : )

Honest reviews on Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 - Xbox 360

This game is amazing! The new characters,stages,and gameplay tweaks are well worth the price.To be honest it feels like a brand new game. It actually is starting to have that mvc2 feel to it again,but with a more up to date improvements such as graphics and gameplay mechanisms. Like any capcom fighter you have to put the time in to get good,so don't expect to just be lights out right away. If they bring back more mvc 2 veterans and add some new fighters,this may be one of the best fighters ever.

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Another great PvP fighting game from Capcom! This game is essentially a more robust re-release of the Marvel VS Capcom 3 game, so if you already have a copy of that game, you don't really need this one. The only real difference to this game is the inclusion of more playable characters.

If you are not familiar with Capcom fighting games, you may be a bit surprised, at first, as to how fast-paced this game is. It is possibly the fastest-paced game I have ever played. Each character has their own signature moves and combos that must be executed perfectly and at just the right time to maximize their effectiveness. Due to the high amount of skill needed to pull off these moves, some players may find it frustrating at first. They will most DEFINITELY find it frustrating if they jump into the fray against a skilled opponent. Seeing an opponent give your character a smack-down with a 50+ hit combo that nearly vanquishes them in one assault will be more than a little intimidating and humbling. This is a game that really takes some invested time to master, and Capcom HAS included the option to play a "Simple" mode, that will allow most players to pull off some devastating moves without fully learning the controls and the nuances of the game. Once players get the hang of the game play and learn the strengths and weaknesses of each character, the game becomes much more fun to play. This is a game where there can be tremendous swings in advantage within mere moments. At one moment it could like like you're getting blown out and the next moment you could be on top. This adds to the fun of the game for me. I don't like games that are too easy or require no skill to play.

This game has three modes of play:

1) Offline Mode: Just as it sounds, this is where you play against the computer (Arcade), play against a friend (Versus), play through an advancing story line (Mission), or learn the moves of your character in practice sessions (Training).

2) Xbox Live: Once you feel as if you have an adequate grasp of the game (or have friends who are not-so-skilled that you feel like schooling, you can use this mode to go online and play against others.

3) Heroes & Heralds Mode: This mode of play was not included in the actual release, but was a part of a free download from the company to expand playing options. In this mode you have 3 decks (A,B,C) each deck contains 3 slots for a card. Each card has a buff that will aid you in your fights by boosting a stat or giving your character the ability to do something it would not normally be able to do. You can choose to be a Herald of Galactus or a Hero of Earth and you collect cards to build up your deck as you win battles. Each side has particular cards exclusive to each side.

In this game you have a variety of villains or heroes from each respective universe that you can choose to play as/against. (In a fight, you choose three characters for you "team" and you will fight against three opponent characters. You don't have to choose all characters from one specific universe, but can mix and match at will.) With the addition of 12 new playable characters compared to the original MVC3, there are a whopping 48 characters to choose from. The complete character roster is listed below, by side:

MARVEL:

New since MVC3: Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange, Rocket Raccoon, Hawkeye, Ironfist & Nova.

Previously released: Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man,Storm, Wolverine, Deadpool, Magneto, Iron Man, Doctor Doom, Dormammu, Super Skrull,M.O.D.O.K., Phoenix, X-23, Hulk, She-Hulk, Taskmaster, Sentinel.

CAPCOM:

New since MVC3: Firebrand, Frank West, Nemesis, Vergil, Phoenix Wright, & Strider Hiryu

Previously released: Ryu, Chun-Li, Dante, Trish, Crimson Viper, Viewtiful Joe, Spencer, Amaterash, Chris, Wesker, Zero, Tron, Morrigan, Felicia, Haggar, Arthur, Akuma, Hsien-Ko.

As you can see, there is an incredible diversity of characters, here. While there are a few characters that are conspicuously absent (such as Megaman from Capcom and Green Goblin or Venom from Marvel), the appearance of several characters that have never been included in a video games before was really nice to see. Each character has several alternate costumes that can also be chosen. Some of them are comic accurate and some aren't, but it's a nice little touch to add a bit more diversity to the game. I would suspect that there will be a fair amount of Marvel comics fans who will purchase this game based solely on their love of these characters. In fact, I'd say it will be a safe bet that the majority of people purchasing this game will be comic fans.

This game is a lot of fun to play, and any fans of fighting games are sure to love it. In my opinion, this is one game that is a MUST BUY title for the Xbox 360.

This game has a Teen rating due to cartoon fighting violence, a few instances of profanity (mostly from the character Deadpool), and some skimpy costumes worn by a few of the female characters (Felicia & Morrigan). I would personally say that a "T" rating is the proper rating for this game.

Breakdown - Xbox Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I remember a lil' game that hit stores a few months ago called "Breakdown". The game was suppose to be revolutionary and all that stuff but I see this game didn't get very "great" scores if you know what I mean, and seeing this is from Namco(the same people who braught us the awesome SOUL CALIBUR)I decided to finally buy this game 4 days ago(and man was this a good 14 bucks)and I must say, anyone who didn't like Breakdown for its story or visuals are just plain STUPID!

Lets get to it..

Breakdown plays in FPS mode through out the whole game with no visual cutscenes or nothing like that, it's all in Real time. I'm not going to get into the story but you can just read that for yourself from gamesites or gamemagazines. Besides the fact that Breakdown acctually has a great Story, the visuals were suppose to be like the way they are. I don't understand why it's getting all this bickering over the visuals, what!? Were you expecting Doom3 visuals???..Jeez, other then the superb story and great visuals the gameplay is both awesome......and very frustraiting..

The gameplay is what got this game mixed reviews for most, I must start off by saying you ONLY get 3 weapons, 2 of them are pretty useful(which is the rocket launcher and the pistol)but the most usless and somewhat frustraiting weapon is the SMG, my god...this gun WILL NOT kill the person your aiming for unless you're like 5 feet away from him!!! And maybe it's just me but I want to kill those idiots at Namco for making such terrible controls for the hand to hand combat, you will die so manytimes from the frustraiting learning curve that it's not even funny...There were times(such as the first time I met 3 T lans)were I'd throw my control on the floor in anger, this game can get very, very frustraiting EVEN ON EASY MODE.. And why is everyone complaining about the lengh, the lengh is pretty decent, not great...but decent...same lengh as Halo 2, if you ask me...Other then that...

Good

-Great Visuals

-Great hand to hand combat engine

-Superb Story that is being bashed on by alot of gamers

-Great sound, very detailed and great characters

-Unique, original and very very wierd...

-Decent length, took me about 9 hours and 50 minutes..

Bad

-Terrible, terrible, frustraiting hand to hand combat learning curve

-60% of the game, or even more, is just mostly opening doors, running to the next linear hallway, open the next to door, ect..

-Most people will get turned off by it's extreamly Linear gameplay levels..

-Frustraiting enemies like fighting 3 or 4 enemies at once might push some gamers to throw there controls on the ground in anger...like myself..and trust me, it ain't pretty

Other then that, if you got 10 bucks to spare, get this game, it's not only an awesome game, but it's pretty original and has great visuals, great story and great action....the only bad thing about it is the frustraiting controls. Alot of people will hate this game and Alot of people will love this game...I personally enjoyed this game(but I mainly got this to get my mind of Doom 3 for xbox) Overall...I give this a

4.1 out of 5 stars

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I must be losing my touch; This is the second game in a just a few weeks that I'm accusing of being "too hard" on normal difficulty. To be fair, most of the game is good. It might seem like a first person shooter at first, but it's really more of an action/adventure game. It has far more exploration and environment interaction than most FPSs. Also, in the final analysis the combat system is more geared towards hand to hand combat than shooting.

While the first person immersion is one of the highlights of this game, sometimes it's taken too far, to the point where it inhibits the fun factor. Simply interacting with an object involves up to THREE separate commands: 1) Extend your arm 2) Pick up object 3) Examine/keep/discard object. That becomes tedious very early on. Furthermore, during combat you're often knocked down. While they did a good job of simulating the first person view of someone being punched hard enough to be sent reeling to the ground (believe me, I know what that's like,) the process of falling down and then getting back up takes far too long. Again, realism at the expense of fun. Adrenaline rush subsides into pure aggravation.

Some of the problem solving in this game is completely counter-intuitive. There are occasions when there are simply -nohints or clues as to what you must do in order to progress and you're left to twist in the wind until you somehow figure it out on your own. Example: You're being chased through a maze by an unstoppable foe who will kill you outright if he catches you. Your only hope is to escape the maze before he catches up to you and snuffs you out. When you finally reach the end of the maze, the exit door won't open. Why? Figure it out, stupid. Want a clue? Too bad. Just figure it out somehow. Eventually I got fed up and had to check a FAQ. Once I knew the solution, my one thought was "Now just how in the hell did they expect me to figure that out?" Maybe I've been spoiled by games like Metal Gear Solid that hold your hand through every obstacle in the game, but I think there should have been at least some little hint to point me in the right direction so I could have figured out how to get the door open. Aside from this sort of situation, there are some occasions toward the end of the game where you're expected to fight groups of enemies that just beat the living tar out of you time and time again until you get lucky. I spent over three hours trying to fight my way through the last few sections before I finally succeeded. I had stopped having fun long before I finished the game. To add insult to injury, towards the end of the game there is something you can interact with that will dispense arguably the most important plot information and exposition of the entire affair. This is something I would think most people playing the game will miss. I myself would have missed out on it, if not for a friend telling me to look for it. This is not good game design, Namco.

Frustrations aside, I have to admit that a lot of Breakdown was fun and I don't necessarily regret playing it. As someone mentioned in an earlier review, it's obvious that the creators of this game were influenced by Half-Life and The Matrix. And perhaps 12 Monkeys.

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Give "Breakdown" the credit it deserves. It's a genre-defying first person action game with shooter elements, but an emphasis on hand-to-hand combat. That sounds strange, and it IS strange, but it actually works, if you can believe that! Add to the mix the most immersive 3D game mechanics I've yet seen, and you've got yourself a game that comes recommended despite its disappointments.

The setup is strikingly similar to "Half-Life," with a few twists here and there. You're Derrick Cole, and you come to in a glossy research facility that is being overrun by genetic freaks from another dimension. In fact, you're a bit of a genetic freak yourself, which makes you the only one capable of saving the day. It also means that you'll have to keep an eye out for armed soldiers who would like nothing more than to put a bullet in you. In all truth, the story doesn't make a lot of sense, but the game is so good at inserting you into its nonsensical setting that it becomes sufficiently compelling.

Initially, "Breakdown" feels like a first-person shooter. You must escape the facility, and firearms are in good supply to help you do just that. Things change, though, when you come face-to-face with your first mutant, as they are completely immune to gunfire. Avoidance is the only policy at first (and the game lays on the tension nice and thick), until at last you begin to morph into a being that is physically capable of taking on mutants in hand-to-hand combat. Because the shooter elements are so basic (you have a severely limited arsenal and targeting can be a chore), things start to get really interesting at this point, because, to my continuing disbelief, this form of combat works so well provided you're not juggling several opponents at once. Sometimes the game forces you to take on a handful of powerful opponents, and it just becomes frustrating. Fortunately, in most cases it's a simple matter to lure your stupid enemies from their positions and beat them to death one-by-one. Later in the game this is less of an option, since you're hurled into rooms you can't escape until you've pummeled all the mutants it throws your way. Getting hit in the back and watching a ten second animation of you dropping to the ground is less than amusing.

The early stages of the game are immensely well done, and are complete with some staggeringly cool set pieces. One, which introduces you to the game's appropriately scary villain, a half-man called Solus, is better than just about any scripted moment I've ever seen in a game of this type. There are several moments early on that are worth playing repeatedly, and take cinematic gaming to a whole new level. In particular, Derrick's hallucinations as he mutates are imaginative and eerie. Unfortunately, all of these moments are frontloaded, and there are few such bits as you near the finale.

Speaking of the finale, here's where a great games settles with just being good. It's as though the designers got tired of all the work it must have taken to make the first half of the game so brilliant, and just cobbled together the remaining portion. What's more, you have to go through one large area twice! Nothing changes, it's essentially just the same as it was the first time you experienced it. It's every bit as disappointing as it sounds, and will probably threaten to break the will of many players. It doesn't help that it's the worst part of the game in the first place, as the alien dimension stages are visually unappealing, repetitive, and downright frustrating. The game tries to transform itself into a first-person platformer here, and it's ill-advised.

I've been an avid gamer for over ten years, and I've never seen a game with such potential fall short of greatness by a mere hand's breadth, but that's exactly what "Breakdown" does. The initial game is brilliantly executed, and promises an experience that is not delivered when it's all said and done. Even so, there's nothing out there quite like "Breakdown," and I recommend it highly despite its shortcomings. After all, those shortcomings are only as disappointing as they are because the game is otherwise such a joy to experience. Don't overlook this one.

Final Score: A-

Honest reviews on Breakdown - Xbox

There is only a little in here that we haven't seen before. But it's all the Good Stuff with none of the drek.

The story will remind of Half-Life crossed with the Matrix, with shades of Bio Forge. But it's all presented in a fresh, smart way that makes it all very compelling.

The 1st person view point is also not what you're used to. It's not just the barrell of a big honkin gun sticking up from bottom of the screen. You engage in hand to hand combat with an array of puches, kicks, strikes and latter special attacks and powers (I won't spoil anything here!) and your hands and feet flying into the view frame and upside the enemies' heads puts you firmly in the action.

I am not even a little interested in yet another FPS, but this isn't one. It's a totally new spin on 1st person gaming which I predict will be copied from now on. NAMCO has blended the 3rd person acrobatics of titles like Tomb Raider and Splinter Cell with the shooting action of Quake and the fighting of Soul Caliber (almost). To rip off a phrase first used to describe Battlezone's new type of gameplay, "I weep at the birth of a new genre."

Go buy 2 and give one to someone you love. This is worth buying an XBOX for. No need to wait for Halo 2!

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After reciving this game in the mail and nearly beating it after a straight week of play I really think this first person puncher could start a new trend for the better! The controols though sticky at first get much easier to use as new abilities are granted to you.

The graphics are top of the line and suttle details like rusteling leaves under your feet and nearly perfect shading for all objects give a sence that you are really inside of the head of the character.

The story is enticing and compeling and comes at you from no where. The game seems dull and acts like a normal game untill your execution is upon you then out of no where your partner Alex some how jumps out of thin air, saves you, then vanishes again! Though it has no multiplayer ability, this game just might pave to way for more hand to hand FPS games.

It is a very exciting game that I highly recomed to all people who like Halo, Final Fantasy, and Resident Evil.