Skinit New York Giants Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Skin Review

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My kids really wanted a NY giant and a Raven's controller but did not want to steer away from the original xbox controller so this was a great alternative! They love the new skins and it's easy to know who's controller is who's!!!

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Buy Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Cynder

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This review is to counteract the first one. Whomever wrote the first review was misinformed and did very little research before purchasing. No where on this page does it say that this is a Glow In the Dark Cynder. The picture isn't even of GITD Cynder. GITD Cynder is only available from Walmart Skylanders Giants Starter Packs. She is not available as a single figurine (as of 1/18/13).

Now, I believe this figure is really well done and the symmetry is painstakingly beautiful. Cynder isn't my favorite character, but it is my niece's favorite. She loves the purple and the lightning.

All in all, good character, great figurine, not Glow in the Dark.

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This Cynder is the re-released series 2, redesigned & upgraded version of the original Cynder from the Spyro's Adventures game. She is an Undead element character and one of only a few female skylanders in the series. She is a pretty powerful character with very cool powers, everything from shooting lightning from her mouth, flying around, shadow dashing which allows her to quickly run past bad guys, to leaving ghost trails behind her for her enemies to walk through and she can be leveled up to 15 now and you have a choice of more than 1 upgrade path! She is my niece's favorite character not just for her powers she has but loves her purple color and personality with the phrases she comes out with on the game. Since this is a series 2 re-released version of the Skylanders Spyro's Adventures version of her, she now has a WOW POW power and she can be played in the original Sypro's Adventures game and the new Skylanders Giants game. Very very fun character!

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Happy to find another skylander in the mad hunt for them. Never disappointed with amazon. Purchased for a birthday present.

Honest reviews on Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Cynder

what she wanted

it is just what my daughter wanted they seem to be all the rage at school now

glad I got them

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My son recently received the game Skylanders Spyro Adventures and of course is needing characters. Love finding them on Amazon cause they seem to run a little cheaper then some stores.

NBA Street V3 - Xbox Reviews

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After 2 years since Volume 2, E.A. releases a very worthy successor, NBA Street Vol 3 is definitely worth your hard earned money.

Overall, Vol 3 is a must have for hoops fans, both casual and hardcore. It has enough new additions to warrant a buy even if you have volume 2.

The first thing I noticed is the upheavel in graphics. This game, putting it mildly, makes Vol 2 look like old school. The courts, the new dunk animations, the new motion captured moves, the teriffic new courts, and the best lookin' b'ball game I've ever layed my eyes on. Vol 3's grittier, darker look may be a downer to some, but one could never knock the time spent on it's graphical prowess. But the game's visual is not without faults however... For still some strange reason, Vol 3 does NOT support HD Tv's, widescreen is implimented thankfully, but HD support should be standard for every XBOX game, E.A. seems to be waiting for XBOX 2? Hmm, maybe next year. But even without HD, it still looks great, and most people with regular TV's will also be right at home.

The gameplay is a bit similar as last year, with the exception of a few minor differences. The big addition for XBOX is the addition of online play with XBOX Live. Collectively, you can play up to 5 other players online or 3 if you have 2 buddies to play at home with. 3 on 3 with each person controlling every player is quite a feat. Although it's early on, and I expect things to get busy online at first, I didn't notice extreme lag, but I did not play it at a peak hour so no final word how this game will really play online. NBA Live 2005 seems to continue to have issues online, so I was surprised how this game played a bit better with no lag.

Don't have XBOX Live? No problem. You can play up to 4 players with 4 xbox controllers. How cool is that? Multiplayer is where it's at and this game has it all for everyone. And don't think the game won't keep you busy, the street challenge mode will keep you busy for months.

Gone away is the "freestyle" stick, but don't let the game fool you, it's still there, they just changed the name to "trick stick". However, the trick stick allows you to do certain moves not while just dribbling, but also on defense, while shooting and dunking, passing, and even blocking shots. The more you use the "trick" stick the more points you score. Some killer moves like throwing the b'ball at opponents head, off of backboards, between their legs and even off spectators in the crowd. And never threat, the infamous "GameBreakers" are all back only this time you can change a dunk on the fly while the gamebreaker is interacting with the trick stick. With all new dunks and player celebrations, you're going to fall in love with this game from start to finish!

The game also seems to have a "home field advantage factor." The game requires you to create your "home court" in the street challenge mode. I noticed my players seemed to be more "in the zone" when I was playing on my home court I created compared to playing on other playa's turf. Speaking of courts, vol 3 offers 12 realistic courts (indoor and outdoor) from actual locations throughout Europe and the U.S each with their own unique feel. Each can be modified with countless changes like court time, location, colors, spectators, lights, etc, all can be completely customize to your liking. Even better, all courts can be played at different parts of the day including night and eve.

If the game disappoints, it's the absence of Jordan and Barkley. This is a big knock for some, not as much for others, but the fact is, the greatest player that ever played the game is not in the game and it truly is a disappointment. I'm sure you'll come across others that you were hoping to see along with Jordan, but there are certainly some other big names missing too. I understand it has to do with licensing issues but weirdly enough, Jordan was in NBA Street Vol 2, very weird. But although missing the greatest player in NBA history is a big strike, the lineup is still amazing as a whole. Spud Webb, Walt Frazier, Kareem, Magic, Bird, just to name a few.

To earn the dozens of old school ballers, you have to take your created baller and your amateur teammates (that you chose at the beginning of the game) through a virtual season in street challenge mode. Take your baller all the way to earn your rights to play the best players today in the NBA and the old school guys too. You earn the rights to earn new players and of course earn your shoes. The game still lets you customize your player (boy or girl) to-boot, jeans, baggy shorts, nba sweats, sweatpants, jean shorts, tank tops, NBA jerseys, shoes, socks, loaded with tons of customization. Change your hairstyle, change your eyebrows, nose length and width, ear size, chin, etc...

Word of warning, this game requires some serious playing time to get the items and attributes you want. It seems to take an eternity to earn skills and points to improve your player and get new ones. It took me a few games just to buy a new pair of shorts and shoes! As you keep playing, you can give more power and ratings to your created player too as the competion gets more fierce and eventually you'll run into NBA Players which really heats up the challenge.

New to the game, is the "morale" factor of your teammates. Do they get along, are they battling it out after hours? The morale factor keeps you updated between games on how your players are getting along. If you mix Rasheed Wallace and Reggie Miller on the same team, you might be more at risk for troubles. When the morale factor is low, players don't play as a team and it might be time to get a new roster to keep the fire low.

There is so much good about this game, I really can't say anything bad about it. I really think the two years off since Vol 2 is for the better as I consider this one of the best multiplayer games I've ever played. Definitely pick up some friends or go at it online, because this is the best street ball ever and I can only see the series getting better as time goes on. It's definitely worth your money.

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When I purchased this game for X-Box, my decision was based on the enjoyment that I got out of NBA Street 2 for PS2. I figured that the 3rd installment would be at least as good as the 2nd. Believe me, it's better. The graphics are very unique, much more three-dimensional than the previous version. I know that there are a lot of people that are disappointed that Michael Jordan is not included as a bonus player, but there are many bonus players, courts, items, etc. that keep the game fresh and as unique and original as possible. So if you're in the market for a fun game that isn't too difficult to get the hang of, then this game is a great choice. It only takes a few pick-up games to get the hang of the controls, and the game just gets better and better after that. The only drawback that I have found with this game is the lack of camera angles. The available angles are either too close or too far away for my tastes, but I have gotten used to.

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Fitting final entry to the NBA Street series. Even though it's got last-gen graphics, I still prefer it to the even-more-stripped-down play of NBA Street Homecourt, which hardly feels related at all. V3 still plays well on XBox 360 with only occasional stutter issues on videos. There's probably a reason there aren't any other current-gen NBA Street games; they peaked at vol. 2, and have been stripping out the magic since.

Stick with this version for your 360 until EA decides to try developing it again someday, with more of the original arcade inspiration!

Honest reviews on NBA Street V3 - Xbox

i hate it very much it doesnt i mean it doesnt want to update on my 360 which is really abummer because i love nba street games

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This game cannot be found in popular gaming stores because it was meant for the Xbox not the Xbox 360. However, it is one of my boys' favorite games and it will play on the Xbox 360. The price was reasonable and shipping time was very fast. Overall great purchase!

Best God of War III: Ultimate Edition - Playstation 3 Deals

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God of War III: Ultimate Edition

This is my video review of God of war 3 ultimate edition. I made the video to show a little more detail than what can be written.

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This review's coming from someone who doesn't flip out over everything God of War-related, or says that you should get something just because it has to do with God of War. Face itfor the price this 'ultimate' edition's going for, you probably want to be getting your money's worth, right? I hadn't played God of War 3 until I got this set just last week, and I didn't spend more than retail for it, but even then, I can't see how this is an 'ultimate' edition of God of War 3.

First up, the main selling point of this editionPandora's Box. It's a cheaply made plastic box that looks just like the one in the game. The plastic they used to make this is very soft, and you can probably snap the horns off of the sides with even a tiny bit of effort. There isn't a lot of fine detail on this, and it looks a lot like some kind of Halloween decoration you'd find at a party store in October. The bottom of the box has no detail at all either. This could make a decent box to hold candy in style, but given how it looks in-person, there's not a lot of style to it.

When you open Pandora's Box, the art book is waiting for you. This is probably the best thing about this set, aside from the game, and it's a lot better than the one that got released in the UK, which was rushed and had the same quality as your typical instruction manual. The US art book is a hardcover book, about 100 pages, and features tons of great art. Enemies, scenery, sketches, there's a lot of impressive work and if you're one of those fans that wants a GoW tattoo, this would be a good book to scout. The book isn't that big since it had to fit in Pandora's Box, but I don't have any complaints about it because you can see everything clearly.

Under the book, you'll see a black ribbon on the side of the 'bottom' of the box. Pull it up and it turns out that it was guarding a secret compartment (well, I use that term loosely) where the game is. Nope, there are no cds for the soundtracks that the box advertises, but instead, they're included as DLC, along with the Dominus skin, Exile Arena and documentary. There's a code for each bonus inside of the game case. The game features the same art as the retail version, and is identical except it doesn't have a bar code, and just says 'not for resale' in its place.

When it comes down to it, this sucker going for over a Benjamin is a rip-off. The game alone is worth around half of that, the DLC is cheap on its own (hint hint), the art book is nice but you can always find the same images online, and Pandora's Box is a joke. I know you can't expect much of a replica for the price, but they sure as heck coulda tried harder. Maybe if they included the God of War Collection like the UK version did, I'd be more forgiving since it'd be more for your buck. And if this is supposed to be the be-all edition of God of War 3, why include just one of the many skins available? Why not include all of them? But as it is, you're better off just getting the game on its own, and then getting the DLC separately.

I think Kratos would've went off about REVENGE(!) and tracked down those responsible for making it if he had seen this set.

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The advertisement showed a special offer when buying the God of War box which should come with a bonus features. However the printed promotion codes which came inside the box were valid only until 2011. I contact PlayStation customers services asking for updated codes to download the extras, but they informed is not possible to produce a new voucher or extend the expiration date of the promotion codes. I'm very desapointed.

Honest reviews on God of War III: Ultimate Edition - Playstation 3

The Good: Mass amounts of improvements, absolutely beautiful and epic on every scale, excellent boss fights, lots of extras

The Bad: Unbalanced difficulty, story takes a dive towards the end, it ends

Well here it is. After waiting 3 years we finally get the ending to one of the best video game series ever created. The biggest question that people have is if the game is enough to stand on its own out of the other next generation games. The answer is yes, so let's get down to it.

The game's story picks up right after God of War II with Kratos riding on the back of Gaia climbing Mount Olympus. The game starts out on the back of Gaia with Kratos fighting hordes of monsters (and learning the controls). The game starts out more epic than ever with an epic boss fight with Poseidon. Giant water serpents come up and try to kill Gaia, so not only do you have to kill Poseidon, but you have to protect Gaia as well. The boss fights are bigger and more epic than ever with Titans that are miles high (fighting Cronos is the most epic of all) and you really feel like your taking these beasts down with satisfying results.

I have to first talk about how the game looks. Yes, God of War III is probably the best looking game made to date and it really shows on every aspect. The sweeping camera angles, the high-resolution textures and models. The gorgeous lighting effects, and everything just feels updated and like it should on the PS3. You can see the pores and details in every characters, the animation is more fluid, the combat even feels better and more fluid, especially if you just played the God of War Collection. I can't really describe just how beautiful this game is. You can see and feel the passion and detail every artist put into the game from the creatures, levels, and even small things like blood, scrapes and nicks on metal just everything.

The combat is what has the biggest upgrades. No longer are you confined to having all your magic items come from your magic meter. There are a ton more weapons (four in total) to get, and each weapon has its own magic attack instead of collecting them separately. The Blades of Exile (yes the name has changed again) have the Spartan Army attack, the Nemean Cestus have a pounding attack, Hades Hooks that let you summon different creatures, and a whip type weapon that sends electric shocks. All the weapons are similar to the Blades of Exile, and the Blade of Olympus is now used during Rage of Sparta mode (yes it's changed and everything turns black). There is now an item meter which is used for your bow, Helios head, and Hermes shoes. All these items sound crazy, but let me explain.

The bow lets you set certain things on fire and is mainly used during the beginning of the game, but not so much later on. The Helios head is used to reveal secrets and blind enemies, and the Hermes shoes are used during wall running sections. The grapple hook still exists, but all of these changes let you use all your items and weapons all the time, and don't rely so much on just magic. Some other changes to combat were made so everything feels more fluid and you never have to stop fighting no matter where you are. You can evade in the air, there is now a grapple attack that pulls you towards your enemy in the air or on the ground. The combat system is just super fun to use now, and all the additions perfect the combat system and make a fitting end to the trilogy.

The QTE's are still in tact, but with a bit of a change. They appear on the edge of the screen according the controller layout so you can now watch what's going on. Using your peripheral vision is see these really helps keep you drawn in, so you don't have to concentrate so much on the buttons. It is a little confusing at first, but after a while you will get used to it. The QTE's are also better placed especially during boss fights. You really feel like your making the big kill this time around with a new camera angle that lets you see in a POV of the enemy your pummeling or in Kratos' view. This adds to the cinematic excitement and brutality of that game.

Another thing I need to talk about is just how much more brutal and explicit the game is. The gore is more detailed with guts hanging out, cuts being visible where you slashed an enemy, skin stretching when heads are pulled, tendons popping, veins breaking etc. All this is visible thanks to the power of the PS3 and is really makes you wince in sympathy. The game even has a more explicit sex mini-game that is about mid way through with Aphrodite. Instead of just panning over to a table with a vase you see two topless women talking about what Kratos is doing to Aphrodite and it is both hot to watch and funny.

The puzzles in the game are what you would expect from a God of War game: Clever, fun, and unique. Just like all God of War games some puzzles are an entire level with little puzzles within that, and Daedalus's labyrinth is one example. They aren't as confusing as the last two games, and are easier to figure out, but just as clever, and some puzzles are now part of the environment so timing and speed are of the essence.

While there are a lot of game changes like the combat, additional weapons, and even Icarus' Ascension (which is a flying section where you dodge falling debris), the game stays true to the series. Everything is just bigger, badder, and meaner but it does have a few slight flaws. The ending story is cut a bit short, there aren't enough epic boss fights, and the difficulty is highly unbalanced. These are really all I could find, but they aren't necessarily flaws. If the game were a bit longer, and those three issues didn't exist it would get a 10. The game is perfect except that little tic-tac sized piece that you feeling is missing and can never pin it. The game has high replay value to unlock trophies, challenges, costumes, and there are a ton of making-of videos for die-hard fans to watch.

I just can't describe the improvements of this game unless you play it yourself. It is probably the best PS3 game out there so far, and is so enjoyable and chock full of excellence that it's almost too much to contain. The amazing scale, beauty, and vast improvements make the game worth a purchase tenfold. I just wish this weren't the end of Kratos' adventures or is it...

ULTIMATE EDITION: If you pre-ordered a copy or can still find one floating around, and want to shell out an extra $40 you can get the Ultimate Edition. It includes a very detailed Pandora's Box, a code to get the God of War Trilogy OST, the Blood and Metal soundtrack, an hour length making-of video, and full color art book. The package is a bit disappointing since the box is made of hard plastic and not die-cast metal, the soundtracks were a pain to get during launch day since the site was bogged down and wouldn't load half the time. The Blood & Metal OST is pretty disappointing since it's nothing special. It has a couple of big names like Trivium and Killswitch Engage, but only three of the songs on the album were any good. I also wished the soundtracks came in physical CD format, but digital is fine. The making of video is filmed like a History Channel documentary and can be a snooze fest for hardcore fans who already know all about the game. The Trilogy OST is fantastic and is probably the best part of the whole package along with the detailed art book. Is it worth $40? Sure, if you're a hardcore fan otherwise pass.

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This is by far the best game I have ever played. The pandora's box is quite good and looks as is it was made of seel. The art book, is really sweet addition. This package is a must for every god of war fan, and all the others should at least get the game.

Discount Skinit Rasta Flag Vinyl Skin for 1 Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless

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Skinit Rasta Flag Vinyl Skin for 1 Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Controller

easy to apply, looks great..secure adhesive which doesnt intefere with play.

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Discount Dynasty Warriors 3

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Basically it's like Gauntlet/Jedi Power Battles/Command and Conquer, all rolled into one. You fight epic battles where you pretty much single-handedly demolish hundreds of enemy troopsthat's why you're a heroheroes do that you know! But unlike games like Gauntlet, you can chose where on the battle map you want to concentrate your attention, fighting. For example, if one of your ally generals is about to fall, he will issue a warning, and you can either allow him to get slaughtered or you can rush to his aid. Allowing him to die results in the diminishing of the overall moral of the troops, which in term translates to a reduction in fighting ability.

Fighting is with very simple button sequences, which are pretty much the same with every character. During the course of the game you collect items that improve your character's performance.

The plot in the game is based on The Three Kingdoms (also availabe on Amazon), a well known Chinese novel. I think this is the first time a video game might actually encourage someone to read a book! (Actually Kessen is also based on the same storysurprise, Koei also makes the Kessen game!) Unfortunately whatever the story is amongst these kingdoms, it's completely incomprehnsible in the game. But that's really not important anyway, as jumping in and killing lots of people pretty much gets you through all the game campaigns.

Pros:

simple controls to master

provides light strategy that is manageable in the thick of a battle

can switch to Japanese mode so the characters speak Japanese. Sounds cooler at least.

graphics are good

Cons:

game gets a bit repetitive

major hand pain from stabbing the game controller buttons for too long. A campaign can last as long as 40 minutes!

awefully stilted English voice acting

rock sound track does not really fit with the theme of the game. Needs more of a Gladiator or Lord of the Rings soundtrack in the game.

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The Three Kingdoms era of China is brought to life in this game. I haven't heard anything about Dynasty Warriors 3 until my cousin showed me it. At first, I thought the characters and battles were made-up. However, my cousin has told me he has read about some of the men who lived back then.

In the game, you can play up to 40 different characters, each with a different weapon and so on. Most people are unlocked and you have to do something special to unlock them. Doing a "Musou Mode" usually unlocks some new people and get thier 2nd and 3rd level weapon. You also get bodyguards, starting with only 2, but you get more bodyguards as you level up.

The toughest guy in the game is Lu Bu and he is very dangerous to low-level characters. So, take the advice someone gives you: "Don't Pursue Lu Bu!"

This game is highly addictive and a lot of fun!

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(...) I went to the local Gamestop yesterday where I like to hang out because the guys who work there are awesome. Anyhow, they just recently received DW3. I played the 2nd one a bit and thought it was a little above average. Well my friend, who played DW2 before, and I gave this game a try. He tried a little of the 1P mode. Then we tried the VS mode which was pretty cool. We weren't totally positive if there was a co-op but when I found out there was we figured out how. This game is fantastic. I personally enjoy multiplayer in any video game and this one does it very nicely. There were a few "bugs," but what can one expect from a game that is so huge and running on the limits of the PS2. "Bugs" you say? Well actually I noticed one bug and two annoyances. The one bug was the spawning and de-spawning of characters on screen basically randomly. Enemies would just appear in the middle of the screen randomly. And they would disappear just the same. One annoyance was that the game REALLY slowed down, probably 10 FPS (frames per second), when at one point there was too much going on the screen. The other annoyance was the "fog." I don't mean programmed weather fog, like rain or snow or fog. I mean the system cannot handle all the polygons, so it fills outside a small radius of the player "game fog" where one cannot see because it's just grey. Many other games experience this, especially console games. If you ever played Turok... bad fog too. Other than all that, this game is so darn awesome. It's fun running around just smashing opponents and watching them fly across the screen. The 2P "Mosou" mode is just great. Get this game now!!!

Honest reviews on Dynasty Warriors 3

Nothing quite spells relief like kicking the crud out of thousands of on screen enemies. Even better is the fact that you get to do it with a giant sword. Add to that the forty playable characters, and you have a great game with almost limitless replay value.

The instant appeal of this game is the afore mentioned beat up factor. The genre that was perfected with Final Fight is still strong with this game, due in part to the minor RPG character building elements added by Koei, and a much needed two player mode (this was greatly missing from DW 2).

There's really no way you can go wrong with a game like this. If you got a kick out of Streets of Rage, Final Fight, or any of the other hundreds of games in the same genre, you will love this game.

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Now that I have the game, I feel that I can review this.

I played it last night, and the first thing I noticed is that battles are different from the first game. They are no longer linear battles where you basically go through all the generals on the map and then kill the enemy commander to win. Now it's much easier to just go straight to the commander and get the kill -on some of the maps. Like the first one, I played Xiaohou Dun and Zhang Jiao (the enemy commander) was right in front of me. Finished him, and finished the map.

That said, it's actually a more difficult game than the predecessor. The AI is much smarter this time, and the enemy soldiers do attack quite a bit now. The biggest improvment in difficult is that the enemy generals now have moves that are difficult to counter -you might actually have to use the block button (gasp!) whereas in the previous game it was basically useless. The good thing is that enemy generals no longer recover health when they get knocked down, so you don't have to worry about keeping them standing while smashing away. Also, it's not as easy now to go in by yourself into a group of enemies and just kill them all -you have to be careful or you get killed very quickly. This is all on normal difficulty.

The maps are much improved, with actual terrains instead of a big, flat map like in the last game. Now you're always going up and down slopes, and the surrouding is generally more detailed that the last one. Also, there are more events in a map as far as I can tell, and there are also more varieties. I've only played on four stages so far, but they have all been fairly different, making a nice change from the last one.

There are a lot more characters now, and finally, the levels you can play with each character in the musou (story) mode actually corresponds to history. Zhao Yun, for example, no longer shows up in the Yellow Turban Rebellion map because he never fought there in history! This is a nice touch that I thought should've been fixed in the last game where people who shouldn't show up did.

I haven't gotten to the elephant yet, so no comment on that.

The items/weapon system seem to work well, although I haven't gathered too many of these so I don't know how important they might be, but I suspect they'll turn up more in the later levels and will show their usefulness. Once you get a new weapon your attack pattern might change. For example, for Zhao Yun the inital weapon is basically the same as the last game, with the same combo. But with newer weapons the combo can change to a 6-hit combo with different moves. So when playing it is important to look for these things, or else fighting might get very difficult since the enemy defense is fairly high once you get on some more advanced levels.

I have yet to see an in-level save point, and I'm not sure if they exist anymore. I have to play more to see (didn't read the manual, you see...)

Basically, a great sequel that added many of the features that were lacking. The music is still not great, but you aren't really playing this game for the music. The cinematic sequences have been greatly improved and now they actually mean something. The voice acting is great (although I use the Japanese voice acting with English subtitles). Overall, a very good game. If you liked the old one, this one is definitely a buy. If you've never played the old one, I suspect that this game will be much less repeatetive than some people found for the old one because of newer levels and weapons/items. Certainly worth a buy.

Reviews of Battletoads

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At the time this game was notorious for its inability of most of the general public to get past level 3. Most kids at the time just couldn't. And for a game that has it's content so well designed for kids (a TMNT rip-off, 'toad tongue-in-cheek) this is unfortunate since the dynamics of each of the 12 levels are incredibly varied. Really the game itself isn't a kid's difficulty level. I've heard many deem it the TOUGHEST NES game ever, arguably more so than even Metroid. Because much of it can only be done from memorizing the map (like dodging walls in the speeder / level 3), it will invariably take a few games PER LEVEL. There are no passwords although there are warps (a real gamer won't need them). There's many, many highlights beyond 'level 3' the Surf level, the giant snakes, the Elevator Shaft, and if you're lucky, the Dark Queen's tower. You'll be doing anything from fighting 'Double Dragon' style to Castlevania-platforming to dodging obstacles in your plane, unicycle, speeder, whatever. The monsters and sense of humor the game provides make the whole thing move magnificently + STILL make me wonder if this has a cancelled cartoon show pilot somewhere...

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Battletoads

2 Stars So much potential, but the difficulty really prevents most players from getting very far

Ah yes, "Battletoads". In gaming culture, this game is home to one of THOSE levels. You know, the kind that appeared impossible when you first played it, and then . . . after a broken controller and lots and lots of swear words and three hours later STILL appears impossible.

Then you YouTube the level, and like watching someone play Eddie Van Halen's Guitar Instrumental "Eruption", you see someone pass the level with (oh God) apparent ease! These players must be cheating!

There are lots of levels like this in the NES catalogue. "Adventure Island" 8-3. "Ninja Gaiden" 6-2 and then the end bosses. "The Legend of Zelda" Dungeon Six. The Dam level on "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". (At least with TMNT at least the title of the level makes you feel like you're swearing which is probably pretty cool when you're twelve). Pretty much the ENTIRETY of the nightmare that is "Ghost and Goblins". Also "Silver Surfer".

Of course the level I am referring too is the speed bike level, which is the third one early on in the game.

"Battletoads" is one of those games that Tradewest, the developer, had crafted in hopes of turning into a TMNT type franchise. Colorful characters, over the top villians (in this case a Darak Queen), and anthromorphic toads. For early 1990s the concept fit right into popular culture.

There's only one problem. The game is hard. As hell.

Yes, you want challenges. But honestly, so many people stop at level 3 because they can't get past the friggin' stage. And this was a game marketed for kids. By the time you give up you're so beat and humiliated you don't want to see another battle toad as long as you live. It's kind of hard to feel connected to a franchise when you can't even get past the third level.

What is so unfortunate is that beyond Level Three there are some intrinsically intriguing, well designed game play (the Surf level, the Elevator Shaft, the Dark Queen's Tower). Unfortunately most people never saw that game play. Then there is the Snake level, which is almost as insane as the speeder bike level. Of course, there is a SECOND speeder bike level, and this time the stones you crash into are MOBILE!

An earlier reviewer said that "Battletoads" isn't a game, it's a sequence of memorized button sequences. While that could be argued for a lot of games, it gets to the heart of the main problem with "Battletoads". For a game primarily marketed for kids, the game is simply too difficult for its main audience, and for most other players as well. Of course, TMNT had similiar difficulty issues, but that was already established.

Another rather famous attribute to this game is the co-op game play. Although Nintendo has said in recent "Iwata Asks" interviews that they have been trying to get co-op gameplay in "Super Mario" titles since 1988 with "Super Mario Bros. 3", other developers were able to get co-op play without issue (this game, "Contra"). However, given how frustratingly difficult this game is, there is a gamebreaking bug which if you get to the Dark Queen's Tower with two players (which is highly improbable to begin with you think the Speeder Bike level is hard with ONE player? Try TWO!), apparently there is a game breaking bug that completely freezes the game. That would be so rage inducing I'd probably just throw the NES out the window.

Tradewest who owned both franschises did a cross over title, having the "Battletoads" team up with "Double Dragon", another legendary video game franchise with the 1993 title "Battletoads & Double Dragon". Although Tradewest owned the "Double Dragon" franchise back in the early 1990s they have since sold the tile.. Although a genuine cross over, the focus is largely on the "Battletoads" franchise. There are also some inconsistencies between the "Double Dragon" canon proper and this title. The game is also very difficult, just like the original "Battletoads", though thankfully there are no God-awful speeder stages or snake stages this time around.

Overall, decent game that is marred by its most famous attribute: its difficulty. And the fact the difficult stages come so early on, it prevents most players from really seeing what the rest of the game has too offer.

The video game website IGN rated this title as the 76th greatest game on their top 100 NES games of all time.

(For those looking for great unknown NES/Famicom games, you simply MUST play "Moon Crystal", a criminally unknown Famicom exclusive. The graphics are astounding with cutscenes that even outdo "Ninja Gaiden", amazing music, in depth gameplay, and a fantastic storyline. Absolutely amazing! Had this been released in the US for the NES, I feel it would be as revered as the other heavy hitters in the NES canon)

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I was one of the many lost youngsters that couldn't get past level 3 of Battletoads. So many years on, in today's day and age, with my sleek grey hair and walking stick at my side, when I have the time, and the arthritis in my thumbs is bearable, I still play this game. Why?

Without exaggeration, it is one of the greatest games ever made in my experience. Displaying some awesome graphics for it's time, stomping soundtracks, an incredible blend of fighting and platform adventure, and through such a vast variety of levels, it presents a great challenge to even the most experienced game player.

The toughness of this game should not deter any prospective player, no matter your experience. It was published by Tradewest (who you might recognise from the Double Dragon series), and developed by RARE, who got the vital ingredient of this game down to perfection. That vital ingredient being: Playability. Although the game is difficult, especially for newcomers, it is still extremely playable, which gives it an almost everlasting appeal.

It is true, that you simply cannot play parts of this game without trial and error, meaning that you ARE going to die, many times!! But in doing so, you begin to LEARN (however long this takes), until you are able to skillfully overcome the many obstacles and master each level. From the beginning to the final stages, this game has been set up with many intricate, and ingeniously designed tricky situations to work your way through. Such situations can be frustrating at times, on a bad day, you might just give up, but they make it all the more satisfying when you are able to overcome them, in your battles to arrive at the next stage.

After all these years, I still haven't managed to complete this game as of yet, although I can get through to the final stage, and without cheating mind you. After getting this far, it makes me reflect upon how enjoyable it has been to play Battletoads.

More importantly, I must share my realisation that those who give up on this game in the early stages, are actually missing out on experiencing just how much of a well thought out game this really is. Battletoads was quite possibly ahead of it's time in some aspects, and there is few (if any?) games like it. So, whether you are looking for a new challenge, or if you were once a kid who struggled to get past level 3, it might be worth picking this game up again and being persistent with it.

As a bonus, if you have been playing games since before the times of Battletoads, playing it again now, you may be struck with the brilliance of nostalgia throughout different parts of the game and it's level design, as it incorporated some themes and gameplay from games not too long before it's time (eg C64) and somehow mashed it all together, with a pleasing result. If you get to see it the way I do, this game is a pure stroke of genius, that has much more to it than punching, kicking and head-butting...

A handy hint, there is a specific place where you can build up a large amount of extra lives early in the game. Although on screen you only see enough space for 5 lives, you are able to gain well beyond this, as your extra lives will continue past the 5 count.

In the second level of the game, you have the opportunity to kick, or hit ravens with the sword (if you have it). The ravens can be hit off the side walls like a game of hand ball, and with each consecutive hit your points increase, until around the 7th consecutive hit, you will be rewarded a 1up. It takes practice, with the right spacing and timing, but you can gain a lot of extra lives this way to set you up for what's ahead of you!

And finally, (if you really want to become obsessive)

For every 100,000 points you will earn a 1up (until you reach 999,000), so something you can work on is getting to know your enemy in each part of the game, and how many hits it takes to eliminate them. Certain types of attacks award more points than others, and can also vary in how quickly the enemy is eliminated (depending on the situation), so if you decide to attune yourself to this you can formulate the most rewarding strategies for combat to milk your points for all they're worth.

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I played this game a long time ago. I liked

it a lot its better than super battletoads in

my opinion. Its a good fast paced game.

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Previously I stated that this product did not work, i recently found out that the only reason it was having problems is because this game does not work on the RES, retro entertainment system. Word to the wise, do not buy a copy of Battletoads if you do not have a real NES.

My Apoliges for badmouthing a good distributer

Cheap Global Game Gear GGG0002 18 Foot Wireless Extension Cable for Wii

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We have a wall mounted TV and a in wall component rack that is about 15 feet away. We put the Wii in the cabinet, but could never get the wireless sensor bars to work very accurately. So, we bought this extension cable, ran the wire through the wall with the other TV wires and use the sensor bar that came with the Wii. With the 6 or so feet of the wire already attached to the sensor bar, we had plenty with this extra 15 feet to make the route to the wall cabinet. I am not sure why, but it simply works 10X better than the 3 wireless bars we wasted money on. I, and the kids, are VERY HAPPY with this product!

Update: We have been using this for about a year now still no issues!

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Bought two of these and strung them together to run the sensor bar to the front wall of a home theater, when all of the game consoles are on a shelf in the back of the room. Works great.

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Extension cable did not work. My stock sensor bar and cable work fine, but when attached to this extension cable, it doesn't work. Also, the end that connects into the Wii port is Extremely loose. Would not recommend this cable.

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It didn't work. The cable head was too small for my Wii's port, so it didn't connect properly and the sensor bar got no signal.

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My cable worked fine, but it is extremely thin and flimsy, like the sensor bar cable. You'll want to use care when stringing the cable between walls. I also followed another reviewer's great advice and put electrical tape aroung the ends to prevent them being unplugged.

Buy Bioshock 2 - Xbox 360

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I was a bit apprehensive about getting this game I knew for fact that I'd get it, since I loved the original so much, but I was worried that the absence of Ken Levine would be too obvious on its story. However, I kinda ignored the voice in the back of my head, and decided to get the game anyway. When the 'more of the same' reviews started coming in, I wasn't disappointed; I loved the original game enough not to mind going through a very similar the game again (I played through Bioshock two or three times; each time finding something new in the game, or the story).

The beginning of Bioshock 2 seemed promising. It's certainly impossible to top the beginning of BS1 (the whole segment up to the exit from the bathysphere is classic), but there was a lot of promise in the presentation of the new antagonist of the game, including the shrines you find here and there, and the occasional communist drivel she spouts. Once you reach near the end, however, you begin to realize that there's really not much of a twist in terms of a plot. The ending(s) is predictable, at best. In the grand scheme of things, Lamb is barely touched upon; enough to make you wonder why she was chosen as an antagonist. Many of the characters you meet in the game seem transient; the last conflict with Sinclair is almost laughable in its brevity and insignificance. In short, the story of Bioshock 2 doesn't hold a candle to that of the first game.

On to gameplay.

The Big Sisters, which seemed to hold so much promise before the game's release are nothing but another enemy one almost impossible to beat without dying at least early in the game on Medium and Hard. No real story is presented to explain their existence, short of a silly blurb about them being Little Sisters in a specialized suit.

The underwater levels promised early on are nothing but brief stretches of linear path, and not deserving much mention.

The Big Daddy drill is an interesting weapon in the new arsenal, but it lacks in two serious aspects: a) the drill dash is not available until later on in the game, and this move is often crucial for survival, and b) unlike the wrench, it requires "ammunition", which is often scarce to come by, especially on higher difficulty levels. You are pretty much guaranteed to drain the drill's ammo in any serious fight; therefore, you cannot depend on it in any mediumto large-scale fights.

The variety of new weapons offered in the game is great, but you'll soon learn that you really need the drill, the shotgun, and the rocket launcher. The rivet gun becomes useless almost from the beginning even headshots hardly scathe the opponents.

The music! One of the best parts of Bioshock is the music, as it sets the mood perfectly. In Bioshock 2, music is barely heard in five or six locations throughout the game. I have heard more old-timey music waiting for the game to load, than I have throughout the entire game; making me wonder why 2K even bothered licensing the songs.

That said, the game does make some good gameplay changes, including the spear gun, which is a fun weapon reminiscent of the one in Half-Life 2. Hacking is better, if not much more realistic, as now you need to hack as you play. While the underwater moments are all-too-brief, there are a few scenes which are beautiful and deserving a lot more attention, than that given. Another excellent addition was the view of the world through the eyes of a Little Sister if you ever wondered why they refer to the splicers as 'angels', this part in the game makes the reason all-too clear.

All said, I'm far more disappointed by the lack of a solid story in this game, than I am by the elements of gameplay. Living up to the original is not an easy task, and while I didn't expect the same level of innovation from this one, what I did get, I expected a sequel that desperately cried out for the attention of the author of the original.

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Bioshock, when it came out 2 years ago, completely reinvented the way I'd played first person shooters (I had never played System Shock 2). Diving into the sea, into a world eerily familiar to mid-20th century America was one of the most blindingly original, involving experiences I ever had with a controller. My main problem with Bioshock 2 is that this feeling of originality never returns. Despite what the designers do, this new main villain Sofia Lamb just doesn't strike the same terror at Andrew Ryan did and fighting splicers and other big daddies from the other perspectivethat of a big daddy--just isn't as exciting or new as i would expect. The game feels so much like more of the same, and for that I give it fun factor of 5, because it builds on a brilliant foundation, but overall i feel its lack of originality compared to the original earns it only 4.

As an addendum-I can find no issue technically with the gameI think it's running on the same Unreal engine as the first, and I believe that was pretty maxed out in the first one so there was likely not room for substantial improvements. The new plasmids aren't really as cool as the ones in the original game either, as they seem more practical (maybe not a complaint, but being able to go vertical just isn't as sweet as shooting bees at a guy). Graphics were good, sound was just as immersive as Bioshock 1, technically I really didn't have any problems with the game. I stand by the 5 I give it for fun, but I can only really give it a 4 because it just doesn't invoke that same sense of ingenuity I got in the first game.

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Returning to Rapture was refreshing, at first. Bioshock 2 is a good game but not a good sequel. If you are looking for a game that will continue what you experienced in the first game look no further because there isn't one. Without giving any spoilers Bioshock 2 is just a story about the induced relationship between the protectors (big daddies) and little sisters (this is discovered in the very beginning). Splicers have become more advanced, they are both stronger and a bit smarter. Using the drill as a weapon is amazing and absolutely a plus side. There are many other great aspects in the game but I don't want to ruin it. The game gets a little slow in the middle and it is significantly shorter than the first installation but don't let that discourage you, the game has some great gameplay!

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I did not buy this game on the day of its release, as so many people were complaining Bioshock series lost its magic in Bioshock 2. The Rapture city doesn't feel as novel anymore. But now that I have played through with it TWICE, I have to say these folks were dead wrong. Yes, the city, some of the villians and gameplay are similar, but that is why this game is labeled Bioshock 2 and not a new IP. Either way below are the pros and cons for the Bioshock2

PROS:

-CHOICES, CHOICES, CHOICES: One of the aspects, gamers loved about the original is how you have to make choices in terms of litter sister throughout the game and how it affects the ending. In this one, they have taken a step further and improved this choice system. Not only for little sisters, but also for some other things you will have to make choices. This choices will affect the story (dialogues, cut scenes and ending) to a great degree and add decent replayability to the single player mode.

-MYSTERIOUS STORY: The story is suspenseful. It is not as good as the first one, but is still pretty good and will really drive you forward in the game. If you played Bioshock 1, it is certainly a plus; however, certainly not a requirement. Even if you did not play the original, you will be able to understand most of it.

-AMAZING UNDERWATER VISUAL ANG GRAPHICS: The city looks as stunning if not better as Bioshock 1. Better yet in this one you get to play UNDERWATER. While it may not sound as thrilling it truly adds great deal of feeling to the gameplay experience.

-PLAYING AS BIG DADDY: Initially you will be somewhat confused, but this gets to be real fun. You can still use plasmids as in the original, but you get access to heavy duty weapons as you are playing as big daddy. I won't spoil much for you but YOU WILL LOVE THE SPEAR GUN :)

-NEW WEAPONS, PLASMIDS and TONICS: In this game, you get access to all the cool plasmids from the original, but you also get to use some new mysterious plasmids and tonics. Expecially, if you decide to go for good ending, you will get some really cool plasmids. As for weapons, you will just love the big guns. Trust me on it.

-NEW ENEMIES and BOSSES: I don't want to spoil it so I will just say big sisters will make you wet your pants.

-FOUR ALTERNATE ENDINGS: Again refer to choices section

-EPIC MULTIPLAYER: This game offers a very unique multiplayer. It was a wonderful break from games like Modern Warfare 2. The modes such as capture the little sisters can be fun. Just wait till you play as a Big Daddy. The power you get will truly be intoxicating. Oh did I mention you can use very different plasmids than single player in multiplayer mode.

My only complain for this one was instead of focusing on multiplayer, they should have just focused on single player and made it longer. Don't get me wrong , it will still take you a while to go through it (8-12hrs depending on how much you decide to collect).

In summary, to me, Bioshock 2 lived up to the standards. It was enjoyable and has great replay value.

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If you like games with good stories then you will like this game. I don't think it was quite as much fun as the first one, but its still a really good game. If you enjoy action/adventure games like resident evil, halo, mass effect then you will really enjoy this game.

Cheap Kinect Sports Season Two

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I've played this game for a total of 10 hours now, and I've looked at just about every facet of the game. The game is not nearly what I expected, both in good ways and in bad. Here's a rundown of the different sports:

American Football: This is probably the most disappointing of the sports. It was the one I was looking forward to the most, and perhaps that is why I would consider it last. To start, you only get to play offense. The game begins with the kickoff where you wait for the ball to come to you and then run in place and try to dodge tackles. Then you take over on offense. The game only lets you pick between 6 passing plays. These get very repetitive after a while, and I noticed myself constantly calling for the deep pass every time because it's the easiest to run. When you score a touchdown/field goal or punt, the screen switches to a summary mode to show you what the opponent did. You never get to play defense or even see the other team score. It simply tells you whether they did or not. Then the whole process repeats until the game ends. As far as motions go, the sensor read my movements fairly accurately, but the running in place part did have some glitches. Don't expect to go through the motions just like a real quarterback, though. The motions are a bit dumbed-down. Overall I give this a 1/5.

Baseball: This was a bit better, but still disappointing. The batting part is pretty fun, as is running/sliding to first base if you don't hit the ball into the outfield. The pitching and defensive part of the game is a little boring. The pitching motions can be interesting, but the sensor didn't always read my movements correctly. I never once got a strikeout. I never even threw a ball (as opposed to a strike) for that matter. When the opponent hits the ball, you have a couple seconds to play to outfielder and get your hand in the right part of the screen to catch. This game tends to be much more fun when playing multiplayer though, as it gets to be more challenging that way. I give this sport a 2/5.

Darts: When I bought the game, I never thought I would play darts much at all. It seemed like another random sport they just decided to throw in there. However, after playing it a couple times, it has come to be one of my favorites. The computer difficulty levels are well programmed, as the Rookie level is not good at all, and the Champion level requires you to be on your A game. The sensor detects even the slightest movements of your arm as you aim. When you pull back for the throw, a target locks on to a part of the board where you started to pull back and your throwing movement determines how accurately the dart hits. You can change your throwing motion ever so slightly to get the dart to go higher or lower or left or right of where it locked on. You can even distract your opponent when its his/her turn to make them less accurate. I thought that was a bit clever. Overall I give this sport a 5/5.

Golf: I was somewhat pleased with this game, but unfortunately the motions for this are not as complex as I would have liked. When swinging, there is very little difference between trying to whack the heck out of the ball or gently moving your arms. The ball will go almost the same distance. The best way to change the distance your shot goes is by changing the club, not by changing how hard you swing. The holes are pretty fun, but ultimately the Kinect falls short of the Wii on this sports. I give this a 2.5/5.

Skiing: I was pleasantly surprised by the way this sport was put together. The motions used in this make it feel more like the real thing than the other sports. This is also the only sport that requires you to jump, which is one thing it has over Wii Fit (in which you can't actually jump off of the board). There isn't much else to say about this sport, but I give it a 3.5/5.

Tennis: This sport is probably my favorite. While the motions are pretty simple, it is more strategy oriented than the other sports. The Champion difficultly level is actually quite challenging. I noticed that after playing it so many times my shoulder and arm started to ache, but in a good way. Once again, there isn't much more I can say. The game is pretty simple, but it's still quite fun. The best part, though, is definitely multiplayer/Xbox Live gameplay. I give this sport a 4.5/5.

One of the features I also like about this game overall is the calorie counter. After every game you play, it estimates the number of calories burned and totals the number of calories burned from the entire playing session. This is a great motivator and makes the game more fun and exciting when trying to reach a calorie goal for the day.

I give the game as a whole a 3/5, about on par with the first Kinect Sports.

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It really pains me to write this review, because I was a hugely vocal fan of the original Kinect Sports. In fact, it was the game that convinced me to buy an Xbox 360. In many ways it was the perfect showcase for the Kinect's potential for virtual reality and video game exercise.

The best analogy I can come up with for Kinect Sports Season Two is that Kinect Sports Season Two is to the original as the movie The Matrix Reloaded is to The Matrix. On its own merits it's not a horrible game, but when compared to the iconic original there's just something really lacking.

Much of the feel of Kinect Sports Season Two is carried over the original, for better and worse. The graphics are still cartoony and your Kinect avatar is still there. There's still a loud and exuberant announcer with a quasi-European accent. After gameplay, you're still treated to videos of yourself looking silly.

There are some interesting improvements. For all the sports you have the option of competing as a single player against the Xbox, head-to-head against another human, or online through Xbox Live. There's also a mini-game associated with each sport.

What's completely different, of course, is that there are six new sports. Some of them are excellent, others not so much so. I'll provide my take on each.

1) FOOTBALL: This is a "simulation" of American football. I put the word simulation in quotation marks because this isn't exactly John Madden Football.

You start out by receiving an opening kick. There's no challenge in this, you just raise your hand when you're ready to receive it. Then you run in place as opponents try to tackle you. Oddly, there's no way to break nor block tackles--you just keep running in place as fast as you can until someone takes you down (In fact, I found just flailing my arms was good enough).

Whoever designed the game either didn't understand or decided to take liberties with the rules of football. In real football, you try to advance 10 yards in four downs by rushing or passing. In this game, there's no rushing, only passing. And you have to move down the whole field in four downs and score a touchdown or a field goal.

In order to pass, you need to choose a play from a "playbook" (or have the coach call it). The "plays" are all simple patterns that all end up with one receiver to your left, one in front of you, and one to your right.

To start play, you're brought to a screen where you're the quarterback in back of your offensive line. You need to crouch down and then jump up (or say "Ready, Hike") to receive the snap. When a little green icon appears over one of the three receivers' heads, you need to make a passing motion with your arm in that receiver's direction. Time it right, and you make a completion. Once that happens, you run in place at breakneck speed again to try to gain more yardage.

Once you score or if there's a turnover on "downs", the system will simulate your opponent's drive (you don't play defense). The opponent will either score or punt, and then it's your turn again. Score more than your opponent and you win the game.

All and all, I thought the game was fun enough, and all that running in place was certainly good exercise. But there was just so much potential lost. At the end of the day, this was a game that really didn't use the Kinect's capabilities as well as it could have to come close to simulating the real sport, whether it was letting you catch a football, evade a tackle, run a pattern, or throw a football in something other than three general directions. I give the football portion 3.5 of 5 stars for fun, but it could easily have been more.

2) BASEBALL: In this game, you play offense and defense in a quick baseball game.

To bat, you stand with your side to the TV, and assume a batting stance. A ball is pitched toward you, and you swing an imaginary bat. If you make contact and hit a single you have to run in place as fast as you can (but strangely, this isn't needed if you hit a double, triple, or home run). Worse, whether you run fast or slow it doesn't seem to affect the speed of the on-screen player. In another case where the game developer clearly didn't understand the rules of baseball, you have to slide into first base (this doesn't happen in real baseball).

To pitch, you make a throwing action towards the TV. There are two types of pitches, a fastball (where you make a throwing action to the TV) and a curveball (where you make a throwing action across your chest. You can control the speed of the pitch by how fast your arm movement is. There's no defense or fielding, except in the case where a batter hits a fly ball directly to one of your players, in which case the player reaches his left arm out and catches the ball (seemingly in the same place each time, again not much of a challenge).

Sadly, I found playing baseball in this game to be a bit tedious and contrived. In some ways, the game shows the limitations of the Kinect; while the Kinect excels in games that require full body motion detection such as dancing games, it's at a bit of a disadvantage to systems like the Wii and PS3 for games that simulate holding an object like a sword or a bat (where the game needs to detect things like speed, angle and torque). The Kinect is certainly capable of this (all a developer needs to do is have the player hold a stick), but unfortunately we don't see it in Kinect Sports Season Two.

Overall, baseball gets an unfortunate 2 of 5 stars from me, although again the running in place gives some decent exercise.

3) DARTS: This is where things start to turn around a bit. You start out by telling the Xbox where your TV is--above your head, at face level, or below.

From there, you're treated to a pretty realistic game of darts. To play, you hold your hand up as if you're holding a dart. A "cross hair" will appear on screen corresponding to your hand (and it's extremely sensitive). You "aim" your dart by moving your hand back, and you release it by moving your hand forward. The ensuing action feels much like genuine darts.

The rules are traditional. You start with 501 points and need to get down to exactly zero by scoring points on the dart board, which are subtracted from your point total. Some parts of the dartboard are worth more than others. In you find this a bit confusing don't worry--the program tells you exactly which part of the board you should be aiming for.

I'd say the overall feel of this game is excellent and really feels like real darts at times. Although I won't lie--there were some times when I'd be thrusting my hand forward and the system didn't even recognize me, or worse, causing my shot to go awry. I never really felt in 100% control of the dart as I would be in real life. Still, this one is 4 out of 5 for fun for being a realistic simulation.

4) GOLF: Here you can choose a 9 hole, 3 hole, or 1 hole competition. You choose different courses. To play, you stand with your side to the TV. Aiming your shot is extremely non-intuitive--you need to step forward or back to pivot your character's aim. And you really have no context with which to swing.

As for the swing, as long as you pull back and swing with one fluid motion, the game will let it fly, even if your actual technique is horrible or non-existent. Overall, I think the same gripe with golf that I have about baseball (and which I'll have later about tennis). Since you're not holding a controller, the Xbox will just interpret any wild swing you make with your hands as a swing. Sadly, I didn't find golf very realistic; in fact, if you're not careful it had the potential to ruin a real golf swing. The golf game here may appeal to very casual players who have never picked up a golf ball, but otherwise is forgettable. 2 of 5 stars.

5) SKIING: This one was a bright spot. The only other video game skiing I've done has been in games like Wii Fit Plus and We Ski which use the Wii Balance Board. In all those games, the balance board was just too sensitive and inaccurate to simulate skiing. With Kinect Sports Season Two, your body is the controller. To pass through gates, you lean to the side. To build speed, you crouch and lean forward. When you see a green zone, you jump to earn points.

Overall, this was a game that truly showed what the Kinect is capable of. 5 of 5 stars.

6) TENNIS: Finally, we come to Tennis. Again, with the Kinect's potential, you'd think that a tennis game would allow you a lot of great simulation--the ability to serve and volley, the ability to chase down shots, and so on.

But sadly, your range of actions is again extremely limited to serving, basic backhand, basic forehand, and no running or volleying. Even your swing speed doesn't seem to make a difference. About the most complex it gets is hitting a slice (or as they describe it "slowing the ball down") by swinging your arms from high to low. And as I said, there's something "missing" when playing without a controller or at least a prop in your hand so the system could detect racquet angle, type of shot, etc. Without these things, I'd give Tennis 3 of 5 stars.

To sum up, I'd give Kinect Sports Season Two a solid 3.5 stars (which on Amazon I'll round up to 4). It has some very bright spots and carries over much of what made its predecessor successful. But there just seems to be a lot of missed opportunity as far as innovation and pushing the platform and the series forward goes.

Best Deals for Kinect Sports Season Two

I'll preface this review by saying that I was a huge fan of Kinect Sports. Kinect Sports should be a part of every Kinect gamer's library.

While Kinect Sports was fairly global in its sports, Kinect Sports is leans more heavily toward American sports. You get football, baseball, golf, tennis, darts, and skiing as your main events. You also have a number of game activities based on the aforementioned sports. It's a solid package and is one of the few Kinect titles that offer online play.

In addition to the game itself, there is a free download (DLC aka downloadable content) for Kinect Sports Season 2 called the Kinect Sports: Season Two Challenge Pack #1. This DLC adds more game modes and as well as challenges to send to friends. Each sport receives a new experience: Crazy Kicker (Football), Frantic Fielder (Baseball), Cool Ringings (Skiing), Champion Chip (Golf), Rapid Returner (Tennis) and Smart Shot (Darts).

The main football event allows single player, multiplayer, and Xbox Live match play. Single player is you against the computer. Multiplayer is a 2-player game. You can either play against each other (VS) or with each other (CO-OP). Xbox Live match play is where can play against people through the Internet. Xbox Live online play requires an Xbox Live Gold account as the Xbox Live Free account does not allow online multiplayer.

The scope of the football game is fairly limited. There are 3 difficulty levels (rookie, pro, champion). You can return kickoffs and play as the quarterback and wide receiver. There is no defensive play which is a disappointment. As soon as you receive the kickoff, you are to sprint down the field. Your character will handle the juking while you provide the locomotion. The higher you lift your knees, the faster your character will sprint. Once you have been tackled and have become the quarterback, you have 2 options. You can either let the computer pick a play for you to run (called Coach's pick) or you can select playbook and manually choose a play. If you chose to manually choose a play, you have a small selection of plays. You only have 4 downs to go the entire field but don't worry. All the plays can net you a lot of yards. 20-40 yard plays are very commonplace. On fourth down, you can choose to kick the field goal.

You can either play by going through the motions or using voice commands. Both work well but it felt more like football to go through the motions. For example, you crouch to get under the center, and then when you want to hike, you stand up. Or with voice, you would say "ready, hike". As the quarterback, once you hike the ball, your receivers will sprint down the field. When the wide receiver is open, the icon above their head will turn green. So it's a matter of recognizing who is open. You can throw to a receiver when their icon is not green but your chance of completion drops. To throw to the receiver, you just pivot your body and throw. The harder you throw, the more chance you have to have the receiver catch the ball in stride instead of stopping for the ball and then running. Catching the ball in stride increases your chance of running the distance to the end zone. Once you have thrown the ball as the quarterback, you instantly switch to being the receiver. Once you catch the ball, you simply sprint for the end zone, with the computer handling the juking and dodging of defensive players. In case you haven't realized it yet, there is a lot of sprinting in this game!!! Once you score a touchdown, kick the field goal, or turn the ball over on downs, the computer's offense will take over. You then watch whether the computer can score. You do not get to play defense. After that, the ball comes back to you and you keep going back and forth until the time runs out.

Football is a lot of fun. It is very tiring because you have to sprint every few seconds. If you hated the track and field in Kinect Sports 1, you may hate the constant sprinting in football. While the game play is great and fun, it's very limiting. You only 6 plays to choose from and they're all passing plays (though since you have to go the entire field with only 4 downs, you wouldn't want to do running plays). Also, the inability to play defense is disappointing. The football may also be better with single player than multiplayer because in single player, you are playing both the QB and the wide receiver. If you are playing co-op with a friend, you either get to be the QB or get to be the receiver. The QB only has to turn and throw the ball. The wide receiver has to do all the running. However, if you are playing against your friend, both of you have to be QB and receiver. You can use either your voice or your body, and you'll find out you'll like a combination of both. For example, when selecting plays, I just say the play.

No minigames for football come on the disc. You must download the free Kinect Sports: Season Two Challenge Pack #1 in order to get the Crazy Kicker minigame. Crazy Kicker is great fun and is a football minigame. If you've played the soccer minigames of Kinect Sports 1, you'll feel right at home. In this case, with Crazy Kicker, you are the field goal kicker. The football is placed at different locations around the football field and you have to kick the field goal. So you'll be moving your body to the left or right side of the room to orient your character for the kick. Then you kick the ball. It's a timed even so the faster you kick, the more points you can score. You definitely can't dawdle if you expect to get a good score. In addition to distance and position, there are other factors such as the wind. You are given a number of footballs to begin with. Miss a kick and you lose a football. Lose all your footballs and your game is over. This was a lot of fun. I actually felt like a field goal kicker, keeping in mind angle and the wind speed. I may actually like this minigame than the actual football game.

Baseball is decent. Not bad. Not spectacular. Though I must preface that I was never a baseball fan. You also have single player, multiplayer, and Xbox Live online multiplayer. You have either the fastball or the curve ball. You can change the speed of the ball depending on whether you step forward on your pitch. It's very simplistic baseball. Pitching against the computer is not much fun. It's much more interesting against a human opponent. If you play against the computer, they will give you a scouting report on what pitches your particular opponent is known to have a weakness. For example, they'll say the player is weak on slow curve balls. Now, this just tells the tendency of the player. It does not guarantee that they won't smash your slow curve ball out of the park. It's set up like football in that you are first the batter. Then once you hit the ball, you have to sprint to first base. If your hit is multiple bases or a home run, you do not have to sprint. But if it's a grounder, you have to sprint to beat out the ball. Again, keep your knees high for maximum speed. Batting is definitely more fun than pitching in this game. They don't let you play a full 9 innings though.

The baseball minigame that comes on the disc is Home Run Hero. In this, you take multiple swings of the bat just like a home run derby. It tallies the distance on all the balls rather than just counting home runs. So you are aiming for the great total distance of all your hits. With Kinect Sports: Season Two Challenge Pack #1, you get the Frantic Fielder minigame. This is very similar to the minigame in beach volleyball of Kinect Sports 1. You have to reach out to catch the baseballs coming at you. Sometimes the ball will bounce out of your mitt so you have a second opportunity to catch any misses. Once you missed a number of baseballs, the game is over. This one is not as fun as the minigame in volleyball of Kinect Sports.

Darts is a surprisingly good time. There is only 1 darts game available called 501. You are competing against either a computer player or a human and you get 3 throws per turn. Both of you start at 501 and you have to count down to exactly 0. So if on the first dart, you hit a triple 20, second dart you have a single 20, and third dart, you hit a 17, then that round, you scored 97 so 97 will be taken off your score. You must end the game on a double in order to win which increases the difficulty. So for example, if you need 20 to win, you cannot simply hit 20 to win. You would do something like hit a 10 and then a double 5. Or 16 and then a double 2. The game is quite accurate and fun. You'll be honing your breathing technique to just hit that triple 20. And when you hit, it feels like you earned it. When you miss, you'll feel like you did pull the dart at the end of your throw. But because the only darts game is 501, you end up not having to aim for the bulleye because a triple 20 is worth more than the bulleye. So you'll be staring at triple 20 an awful lot. Sure you can go for 50 in the bulleye and if you miss, you'll get 25. But go for the triple 20 and if you miss, you'll get 20. Higher risk but higher reward.

The minigame included on the disc is Pop Darts. This is like your carnival game. You have a spinning board with balloons that you have to pop. There is a person attached to the board which you are not supposed to him. It's basically a speed game where you have to be accurate. The other minigame is called Smart Darts and this is a lot of fun (but then again, I'm a geek). Smart Shots is an awesome darts game. If you've played Brain Age or Body and Brain, you'll feel right at home. They'll show a simple math equation that you have to solve, e.g., 2 + 3 = ?. So after you solve the equation, you have to find and then hit that number on the dartboard. So if they say 40 / 2, you have to hit 20 on the board. It's a timed event so you have to work fast. This is a great challenge game and is fun because it requires quick thought, quick identification of the number on the board, and then accuracy in hitting the target.

The game of golf is a lot of fun. The only negative is you cannot play a full 18 holes. Then again, the 9 holes game does take awhile to finish. Your options are the front 9 holes, a 3 hole match, or a single hole match. You can change clubs, view the hole, change the direction of your shot, etc. It's a lot of fun. The computer will pick the club it feels is most appropriate for the shot but you can change it any any time. The voice commands work great for this. You can raise your hand to your eyebrows which will let you see a bird's eye swooping view of the hole, just like on TV. While in your golf swing stance, you can walk forward or backward (not actually toward or away but rather on a horizontal line from the TV) to change the direction of your swing. You can even crouch like a golfer to see the terrain better but it's more cute than useful. When they kick in the wind, the graphics make it look like a hurricane which is funny. The drives feel good. The putts feel good. Just a solid game if you like golf. You will definitely want to play more aggressively than the computer's suggested shot, especially on the dog legs.

The minigames include Ocean Driver and Champion Chip. Ocean Driver comes on the disc. You have to drive the ball to a bulleye on an island and the closer you get, the more points you get. This one is not as interesting as Champion Chip. Champion Chip is obtained via the Kinect Sports: Season Two Challenge Pack #1 download. Champion Chip is a golf minigame and is akin to hitting a bulleye target. Surrounding the putting hole is concentric circles. The closer you get to the hole, the more points you score. When you exhaust your supply of golf balls, the game is over. If you get a hole in one, they'll give you bonus balls. This was a lot of fun. Makes for great challenges as well.

Skiing is actually one of my favorites. It's very fast and intense. To have a fast start, you strike your arms down as if planting your poles to push off. If you ski in the crouched position, you'll ski faster so this event almost becomes a constant squat exercise. To steer, you lean to the appropriate site. At first I was fighting the controls but when I realized how it works, it became very accurate. The trick is to follow the terrain and not have big leans. When I figured out when you need big leans and when you need little leans, racing became easier. Most of the curves are banked. So if the curve is sloping rightward, don't lean right heavily or you will careen to the right because the slope is already pushing you rightward. If the curve is heading to the right but you want to head leftward, you will have to lean more heavily because you are working against momentum and gravity. To jump, you jump when you are in the green zone of the ramp. This is an awesome multiplayer game.

Cool Ringings is a skiing minigame where you ski down the slope but there are cow bells at various positions on the course. You have to reach out your hand to ring the bell. The more bells you ring, the more points you get. So you'll be reaching left, right, and up to hit bells. It's a timed event so you have to run the course fast but you have to hit bells to score points. This was so good fun. If anyone played the roller coasters in Carnival Games: Monkey See, Monkey Do, it feels like that, but I would rate this higher because it's easier to control and you feel like you're more in control of the event.

For tennis, at first I didn't like it. I thought it was a copy of table tennis in Kinect Sports 1. But the more I played it, the more I enjoyed it. I don't know if I like it more than table tennis. But it is some good fun. Note that if you are used to playing table tennis in KS1, you will have to adapt as the play is different. I still don't know how to do fast serves in tennis whereas it was very easy for me to slam serves in table tennis.

Rapid Returner is a tennis minigame, and it is like the rapid event in Table Tennis for Kinect Sports 1. It's okay, but I preferred the frantic nature of the table tennis event in KS1. It's not a bad event by any means but it pales compared to the aforementioned activity.

Now, Kinect Sports Season 2 has a feature that no other Kinect game has. In addition to the online multiplayer, it has a feature called challenges. This is where you select a minigame or event and you challenge someone over it. For example, if I challenge my friend in Smart Darts and I score 56 seconds, my friend has to beat that time to win or else I win. This doesn't have to happen in real time which is a boon. Let's say you and your friend cannot schedule time to play against each other online (family commitments, work, etc.). Now you can play against each other at different times of the day. It's like the leaderboards but it's more interactive and specific.

Now that the events and minigames have been discussed, I'd like to wrap up with my thoughts on the game. Once you figure out how to use the voice commands, they become a nice perk to the game, especially in golf and football. You'll end up using voice for some things, hands for other things. The graphics are beautiful. The resolution seems higher. Colors just pop. You'll see beautiful courses in golf. The sensation of speed in skiing is awesome.

The big question is: is it better than Kinect Sports 1? No. If you had to only own 1 Kinect Sports title, it should be Kinect Sports. That aside, is Kinect Sports Season 2 worth owning? I give an emphatic YES. This is a great game on its own. It's just that KS1 is amazing. And if you like any of the events in KS2, you have to have this game. Golf alone will be a decider for people that like golf. I love the darts game, and now I no longer have to have holes in my real wall from my errant dart shots. The challenges let you play against your friends without the worry of whether you can coordinate and schedule times to play against each other. Without the Kinect Sports: Season Two Challenge Pack #1, I would've been disappointed in this title because the title appeared to be lacking in content. But with the DLC, it became a bigger game and thus worthy of our attention.

They are still intent on releasing new DLC (downloadable content) to keep the game fresh and judging by Rare's past history, they will support Kinect Sports Season 2 until the end. The next DLC will give you 9 new holes in golf.

Honest reviews on Kinect Sports Season Two

There are so many Kinect games that need space to fully enjoy them. I've been disappointed with many titles because you're required to move too much in space I don't have. The Nyko Zoom ended up being a flop, and didn't correct the problem for people like me who have limited space.

So, I pre-ordered Kinect Sports Season Two and tried it out. First, I was impressed by the fact that you really don't have to flail your arms, move from side to side, and back and forth. The tennis is the best tennis on any motion controlled system, in my opinion. I especially liked that I could take a small step forward before I swung to fire a return shot or swing my arm from high to low to lob the ball. I thought this was very clever, and felt the Kinect was very accurate with this. I then played football for a couple of hours, and can't understand all the hate. The football is really fun. You squat to get ready, and stand up to have the ball snapped. There are 6 plays, and you throw the ball when one of the receivers turns green. A couple of times, I threw to an open receiver, but the Kinect sensor threw it to a different receiver who wasn't open, but this was rare. I then just had the coach to pick to expedite the play, and get back into the action. Once you throw the ball, you are the receiver and have to run in place. You can't juke, or run faster, but it didn't bother me, because I was getting a workout. The other best game in my opinion is skiing. You start out by squatting, and can move left or right by leaning with your upper body in the direction you want to go. The skiing is the best skiing I have ever played including the Wii, which is also a great skiing experience. Golf was also a lot of fun, but mostly I played the minigame, in which you can get 1, 2, or 3 points by aiming your shot. I found the minigames on all the sports to be entertaining.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Kinect Sports Season Two

I got this game only yesterday night and have been playing it non stop for a few hours. Did I say I got it for 15$ only from Walmart? ;)

I must say Kinect Sports Season 1 was epic in many ways, first it has more action and being the first of its kind it grabbed more attention and raised the bar really really high and sadly the second edition do not cross that bar.

But the franchise maintains the "fun factor" which I think soul for this game. A lot of us watch these great sports on TV and wish we had such skills and Kinect Sports touches that emotion with a lot of FUN factor. Player's lack of skill is pushed by technology and it gives you that sweet illusion of being a great athlete ;) that is why I play these games.

It has less events than the actual KinectSeason 1 coz it had Track and Field which it self contained lots of events.

Now for the games

1) Baseball Its quite fun. Honestly it took me some time to master the perfect swing but once you know the lag and trick its lot of fun. I am big fan of cricket so I liked this game very much though its not any where near to the great sport but at least it has a bat to hit the ball ;)

The play is nice, you would enjoy pitching too though fielding/catching is not much fun, it's filled with tones of prompts and it makes it very easy for a player. I wish there were settings to turn off these annoying suggestion coz once you play it for a couple of hours you would like to ramp up the game.

*** / 5

2) Dart Oh boy, it is a lot of fun. I imagined it as a filler event but it is not. Its lot more fun than what I expected it to be. The sensor tracks slightest movement tries to make it as much real as it can. Unlike other games where you wild hand movement will not affect results e.g. boxing/base ball pitching etc... This game tracks your move carefully which gives it a close to reality touch. Its fun especially when played in group. Coz it's one of the game night/day outing sport which a lot of us might have tried in real life like Bowling in season 1.

So you have a good idea of how game would work in real life. I am pleased with the way they have done this event.

**** / 5

3) Tennis Ohhh it is a good burner. You won't notice but if you play it for a while you will actually end up burning lots of calories. I loved it. Yes it not accurate you don't get to do the great base line jogs or can not run to the net and give a slice but its still fun. Coz the computer makes it lot more fun for you. Cross the first level and then game will be fun. You will end up having long rally nicely supported by crowd and pitching sound effect. You will really feel you are involved in the arena for a minute. I bet you will raise your hands out of pleasure / frustration a couple of times when you play with pro level. Its fun.

Though it's missing the volley, base line slogs, net plays etc... The real fun of tennis game but it's still enough engaging and will entertain you like anything.

The calories burnt number will pump you up for sure.

The trick, like Table tennis from first version is not to imagine your hand/palm as racket. Keep your hand in position as if you are holding one and see the top spine and slice shots, its fun.

****/ 5

4) Golf

The only gold I have enjoyed is the mini golf on family outing. So I do not have great knowledge about this game. But it is fun. Though Kinect the swing speed and hand movements are not taken in to consideration.

The trick is to play with the right club than controlling your swing speed. I observed it's more of club than the actually hand movement that makes difference.

I mean it does pick up speed of swing and all but not that well.

The game is OK. I did not enjoy it a lot for that fact I am not good at this game and do not have good knowledge about clubs etc... So I practice with multiple clubs before I go for the shot.

Again the very idea of you doing something without having a plastic in your hand is fun. But the game experience is just ok

**/5

5) Ski-

Fun fun fun. One more surprise. Like darts I thought this would be an OK game but its more fun than I thought it to be. Coz the movement that you use while playing these games are easy and you won't feel that your avatar is doing something which you did not want it to do. It does good justice to what you want to do in game. Not as realistic as Darts but way better than Golf. Its fun, you can control speed and directions by simple body movements.

You will feel in control of your avatar. Its fun

***/5

6) American football I had high hopes from this one but sadly its not as much fun as it should have been.

I watched E3 event and this looked more fun while they were playing on stage but soon you will get bored.

Only 6 plays and no single player defense not rushing... its does not do justice to the game.

Like Soccer in first season, American Football killed a great game. This could be so much better and one can do a lot of cool things with game but sadly they did not. Not fun :(

* / 5

Though overall it's not bad, especially when you have spent only 15$ for this ;) but not worth its 49$ value for sure. Wait for it to get cheaper or buy a used one. This doesn't worth 49$ for sure.

And these are more of family/friends game night thing. We played like anything yesterday night and it was fun.

If you take these games too seriously then you won't enjoy it.

I agree that they are not perfect and do not do justice to the actual sport but its Kinect, made for casual, fun gaming [for now]

Amazon is selling it under 30$, its not a bad deal go get it.

I would stick give the Kinect Sports Season 1 better ratings than this.