Review of Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset

Customer Ratings:

Here is a small video review of the headset and here are the numbers for my custom EQ settings from left to right (3) (10) (3) (-5) (-3) (-5) (3) (-5) (3) (10)

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I bought these at Gamestop($129.99) and have been using them heavily for about a month, particularly for Starcraft2 and listening to music. The fit and finish on the headset is very high quality. The plastic and metal bits seem very durable and should hold up to normal use. The headset is also very comfortable to wear, although it does not seal securely around the ear, which allows in a lot of ambient sound. The colors of the lights can be easily changed, or mix and matched to your particular preference. There is a lot to like about the design, however in function this headset is absolute garbage. The first week was ok, but it all quickly went south. The mic, when it works, will just randomly stop working at the most inconvenient times (often while in SC2). Occasionally when launching games, the sound will stop working altogether, and requires you to re-seat the usb connector to reestablish the connection to the computer. This process baselines all of your previously saved software settings, and requires you to reset everything. When it is working, the sound is great, however I always know whats coming. I own or have owned 4 Razer mice, 1 keyboard, and 1 other headset. This product is not up to Razer standards, and it appears they got the SC2 naming license and just phoned it in for some easy cash. Disappointing at best. I have decided to pitch this into the Land of Unused Electronics and go with another brand, preferably one that's manufactured in the United States. As a footnote, I have a technical background and have worked in I.T. for over fifteen years. I have put numerous hours into trying multiple configurations to get this headset to work with no luck.

Best Deals for Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset

I got this headset on a lightning deal for $59.99. I was hesitant because while I like Starcraft, I'm not a fanboy. I was pleased to find that I could completely turn off the Starcraft II logo lights when customizing the light scheme. The lack of a padded microphone allows for some background noise to come through, but it's still decent quality.

Keep in mind that the body of the headset is a metallic gray; not nearly as dark as the images suggest. That's just a vain little gripe, though.

They are comfortable and effective. However, unless you have an intense love of Starcraft, I would recommend one of the other Razer headsets instead of paying full price for this product.

Honest reviews on Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset

This is really a good headphone. Very perfect for starcraft 2! Forget everybad thing those user said, if you update the newest driver, those won't appear at all. Be sure to install the razer startcraft II driver v1.02.exr

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset

The headset itself is very solid. The size may be a little off-putting to those not used to larger headsets, but it is very comfortable to wear and exceptionally easy to get used to.

It looks great, the lights are bright and the sound quality is on-par for the price of the headset.

The microphone, however, is designed poorly.

It will stop working quickly. Everyone I've ever known to own one of these has either had to get a new headset or a new microphone to use externally. It's a very unfortunate and fatal flaw of an otherwise good headset.

To sum it up, the audio and comfort are great, but the microphone is almost guaranteed to fail you after a very short time.

Review of Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Double Trouble

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $9.99
Sale Price: $9.15
Today's Bonus: 8% Off

The game is awesome for anyone of any age. The characters to choose from are great. Get it for you or your kids!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Bought this item for my children. It was a perfect stocking stuffer. Their faces Christmas morning was worth the price and effort.

Best Deals for Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Double Trouble

Not sure what it is about the "crazier" Skylanders, but this guy (as well as Pop Fizz) have quickly become my daughter's favorite! She upgraded him to summon three of his duplicates (she loves making them), as well as the Pow Wow all in one day! She especially gets a kick when he uses his staff and has this "bewildered" look in his eyes...she had to show me a few times....too funny! Love these figures!

Honest reviews on Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Double Trouble

My grandchildren love the sylanders game and were very pleased when this new character arrived for them to include in the game.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Double Trouble

Kid-you-not... this was a better buy than Wal*Mart.

Be sure to have the rest of the Skylander gear for your gaming console to enjoy this fantastic character.

Downforce Reviews

Customer Ratings:

This game could be considered the Daytona USA of F1 racing; it's decidedly arcadey, slightly over-the-top, and not for everyone, but nonetheless still rather fun.

Graphically the game is alright... the cars and tracks are rendered quite nicely and details like air streaming off the rear spoiler, damaged parts wobbling and smoking and brake rotors glowing add some ambience, but overall nothing really jumps out and grabs you other than the impressive movie-style crash sequences. Sound is also average, nothing really stellar but it won't make your ears bleed. The high-pitched engine whine may annoy your dog, though.

The tracks offered in the game are quite challenging from a technical point of view, but often become amazingly frustrating due to the cars. As the game's name suggests these cars are highly dependent on downforce for their control, so when parts get damaged or knocked off they become increasingly harder to get around the corners without whacking into something.

Adding more to the frustration is that AI cars have no problems with shoving you around (possibly a product of the league's "no rules" format?), so if you try to pass on a corner you can expect them to try and wreck you. Speaking of wrecks, don't expect your spotter to warn you of them ahead of time... he usually only cuts in to complement you on passes or tell you to speed up if you're trailing the pack. Those flaws aside, the game does have its bright spots. There's enough variety in the tracks to test your skills, and while the cars are largely similar in performance each one has a special trait that can be used to your advantage (Jackhammer's car has very low drag which gives it an edge in acceleration, Hiroo's car has superior braking, and so on).

If you liked Daytona USA, this game will probably appeal to you right off. If you believe that all racing games must be like Gran Turismo, then don't bother. Everyone else, rent first and see if it suits your tastes.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

A pretty cool racing game with noticably awesome crashes, and cool tracks. While the level of car and track detail is low, it blases at 60 FPS and provides wholesome crashes. Fun to play with a friend as well.

Best Deals for Downforce

This is a bad game!

It is way too easy too crash, and you explode into a thousand pieces when you do...

I recommend Burnout or Burnout2 over this game.

Best Rock Band 2 Triple Cymbal Expansion Kit (PS and PS3 compatible) Deals

Customer Ratings:

Second Update 12/16/2008: UPS just dropped a package from Mad Catz. They didn't fix my broken cymbal, they sent me an entirely new package, cymbal, mounting hardware and all.

No note included saying what was wrong, or anything, just a new cymbal. It looks like it's been handled, which probably means that someone tested it out to make sure it worked right, before they sent it to me (or that it's a refurbished.)

I tried it out, and all seems well. Kudos to Mad Catz for the excellent customer service. Their site says 4 to 6 weeks, and it only took 12 days from drop off, to return. I'm psyched.

Update: After playing for an hour or so this afternoon, it's evident that one of my cymbals is defective. It's sometimes registering two hits, instead of one. I called Mad Catz, and the guy I got was super friendly, extremely understanding, and set me up with an RMA. He said the website suggested 4-6 weeks, but realistically, it's more like 2 to 3. I'll update again when I get the new cymbal to see if it's working properly. I'm glad I didn't just try returning it to Amazon to get another, they appear to be completely sold out everywhere I've checked today. Glad I pre-ordered mine 3 months ago.

My three pack finally arrived last night, and I was psyched to get them. Ever since they were announced, I've been excited about them. The way I assumed they worked, was actually different than how they do work. More on that later.

First, some images, to show how freaking cool they look:

The whole kitHi-Hat CymbalRide Cymbal

The cymbals certainly give the drums the look of a real drumkit (okay, at least a real electronic drumkit,) but how do they play?

They take some getting used to, that's for sure. I just got them last night, so I'm still in the adjusting phase. But right from the get go, my wife said "You look like you're having more fun." Which I totally was. It felt like I was playing more realistically than I had without the cymbals.

When I first bought the cymbals, I assumed that they would just act as extenders of their respective colors. So when you'd hit the blue, it made whatever sound the blue one should at that specific point in time. As Rock Banders know, the drums pretty much all double as cymbals or drums, depending on the part of the song. I was pleasantly surprised that the new cymbal pads are dedicated as cymbals. So, if you hit the "ride" cymbal, it makes the ride cymbal no matter what. Same for the hi-hat, and crash cymbals.

It may throw your brain off, when you hit the cymbal when it's a tom-tom in the game, and you hear the wrong sound, but it won't break your streak, or count against your overall score. As long as you hit the right color, the sound that the game makes doesn't matter.

My favorite thing about the other game, you know, that one I returned already, was that there were dedicated cymbal pads with their drumkit. The Rock Band 2 drumkit, with the Mad Catz add-on cymbal pack (a measely $29.99) is 100% totally, absolutely better than GHWT's, hands down.

The game is more fun when playing drums, with the cymbals. It's more realistic, and more creative. I especially dig that during the "Overdrive fills", you can be a lot more musical with the drums, with dedicated toms/cymbals. If you're a die hard drummer for a Rock Band band, you absolutely need to spend the $29.99 to get these cymbals, pronto.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

First of all the Mad Catz Triple Expansion Cymbals works like a charm. It adds great depth of play when playing as the drummer in Rock Band.

I've seen several reviews here that says that the cymbals slips when it was hit too hard and sometimes the cymbals double-hits when hit too hard.

Well I found a fix for these problems.

Cymbals Slipping:

You must ensure that the plastic locks that holds the aluminum tube snaps 'locks' into place with the other half of it. There must not be a space in between the two plastic locks other than the circular areas which hold the drum aluminum tube and the cymbal aluminum tube. But be careful once they're locked it can be very difficult to separate the two plastics.

Cymbals Double-hit:

I noticed that one of the three cymbals I got was too sensitive. When I hit it hard, the game registers two hits. You can try this by going to the main menu and assigning the sensitive cymbal into the BLUE (ride) port. Try hitting it hard and you will notice that on the Menu selection screen it will go down from QUICKPLAY -> TOUR -> TRAINING. This is clearly a double hit because it skipped the TOUR on the menu. And for the fix, try loosening up the wing nuts in such a way that the cymbals will bounce a little when hit. This would transfer the bounce force into the foam and not the cymbal sensor. After trying this and testing with songs with lots of cymbals (Dead on Arrival) I noticed that I never missed a note again when hitting the sensitive cymbal.

I hope this helps lots of people having problems with the Mad Catz Cymbals Triple Pack.

Best Deals for Rock Band 2 Triple Cymbal Expansion Kit (PS and PS3 compatible)

I think it's great to expand the RB2 kit--just four pads and a pedal--using cymbals to add some variety to playing the tracks, but these come up a little short in that area.

Admittedly, they're something of a bargain when you compare them to real electronic cymbals, so the question becomes whether the shortcomings are worth the price.

Ultimately, I'd say these are for two types of player:

1. people who are really starting to get into drumming and are wondering if they'd want to take the big leap into the Ion Drum Rocker.

2. people who want to expand their Rock Band gameplay.

In the end, I'd say they really don't serve either group completely. They're a lot louder than the standard RB2 pads and have a tendency to come loose if you hit them a lot, so they're not really comparable to the sort of professional experience you get with the Ion.

The other aspect is a bit trickier to explain. While the cymbals add a lot of flash to fills and free-form playing by being mapped to their own sounds (Yellow Hi-Hat, Blue Ride, Green Crash), giving you eight total sounds in those modes, that flash doesn't carry over to the songs themselves.

In the main of the song, the game only knows you're playing Yellow, not that it's the Hi-Hat. As a result, you end up listening to the song while you play to determine if you're on the "right" target for the sound that's coming out...is that green note a Tom or a Crash? This adds an extra layer of complexity to playing and requires that you learn the song a bit differently from if you're just playing the drum pads.

The volume of striking the cymbals is kind of a turn-off, too: now that Harmonix has delivered a much quieter drum kit, adding the cymbals suddenly makes it about as loud to hit as the RB1 kit had been. It's not bad if you've got the volume up, but if you're playing at night and trying to keep the noise down, you may find yourself hearing the tap of your sticks against the cymbals and little else.

The last minus is the way they mount. The hardware is secure enough, though a bit difficult to assemble exactly as directed and very difficult to disassemble, but the design of the cymbal mounts doesn't work quite the way the instructions imply. Supporting the cymbal is a wedge that serves the dual purpose of keeping the cymbal's active edge turned toward you and which also allows it some tilt. The problem is, to get it to tilt, you need to loosen the nut that secures it in place. Given that that nut likes to ride the vibrations and unscrew itself while you play, getting it loose enough to allow for significant tilt can be pretty frustrating.

As a result, they end up mounted more-or-less horizontally, which takes away from the "real drummer" experience they're supposed to be providing.

Honest reviews on Rock Band 2 Triple Cymbal Expansion Kit (PS and PS3 compatible)

UPDATE: See the pictures I added at the top to get an idea of what the kit looks like, and what the clamps should look like when properly installed if you're having trouble.

I've has this set almost two months now and they still work and look perfect. No problems at all, and well worth the $. These have been played by both of my teen aged boys, and a professional drummer, and they all love them!

I bought these on release day and have not had the slightest regret.

My biggest gripe with the basic drums you get with Rock Band 1 and 2 is that they have no cymbals, and the pads aren't laid out like the real deal. It's not as big of a deal when you play the guitar parts, you expect them to be a cut down version of the real thing. It doesn't matter how much you play the guitar parts, it's not going to help much when it comes to playing a real guitar. The drums are different. If you actually learn the tempos, and get good at your timing, this will transfer to the real thing.

If you use these in practice mode they will output the sounds of a real set of electronic drums, including the bass, snare, toms, and floor tom, as well as the high hat, crash, and ride cymbals. You can play this set in practice mode, and accompany any song you choose to play through your system.

Are they as big a deal in the game itself? Not quite. But it's better to get used to playing on something laid out like a real set and a lot more fun. If you just want to play the game and aren't interested in getting good at drumming they aren't as big of a deal.

These are velocity sensitive and will react with more volume the harder they're hit.

These DO NOT work with the Rock Band 1 set of drums. They do work with all sets of RB2 drums as well as all game systems.

This set is very well constructed and well worth the money. If you like to play the drums on RB and GHWT, and want the extra challenge of playing with cymbals, don't pass up either this three piece kit, or the two piece kit.

For some reason the picture shows the cymbals really close together. If you set them up right they can be positioned like a normal drum and cymbal set. Not the bunched up mess the Madcatz picture shows.

See my photos at the top to get a better understanding of how the clamps work, and also how they can be spaced out better.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Rock Band 2 Triple Cymbal Expansion Kit (PS and PS3 compatible)

Cymbals work, as advertised, and are a great supplement to the overall drum system.

I am a little bit perplexed about the negative reviews stating that they are "too sensitive" or that it was difficult to put together.

After reading said reviews, I timed myself to see how long it would take to put all 3 together. The result was 9 minutes and 23 seconds with no difficulties.

As for the "too sensitive" part, I tried 5 different songs and alternated between drum pad and cymbal use. Both pads and cymbals still responded with single hits, no missed hits, and no "double" hits. I suggest that if you are experiencing double hits, it might be that the cymbals are not screwed down tight enough and the wobbling could introduce more than one hit.

As for my own personal experience, the product is well-made and has already enhanced the overall experience. They are by no means a necessary addition, but they are certainly a fun one. What makes them even more fun is that they can be used in the drums' "free style mode" where all 4 pads play as different sounding drums with 3 different sounding cymbals. It's not a professional drum set, but you can certainly play it like one and it sounds great. Hit the "-" sign and you can play different drum kits programmed into Rock Band 2.

From an experienced gamer, I highly recommend this product and rock on!

Cheap Logitech Gamepad F310

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $24.99
Sale Price: $19.99
Today's Bonus: 20% Off

-Nov 2012 update below-

EDIT: I have now acquired a F710 and will also do a brief review on that which will add on to this a bit further in the future.

I mean that title in a good way really. The Logitech F310 is actually a pretty nifty controller at a price of $25 or less. The best way to sum it up is an Xbox 360 controller meets a PS3 controller and yeah... things happen. You have the familiar shape and layout of the PS controllers with the exact face buttons of the 360 controller. Also, the little Logitech logo is actually a home button reminiscent of the 360 controller's.

The F310 (and 510 and 710) literally function like a 360 controller in games that accept 360 controllers (which are many these days.) If you play a game that accepts 360 controller layouts they are immediately adapted to the F controller series. But what about games that don't want to recognize 360 controllers you might wonder. The brilliant thing about this controller is that it can use X-input (the 360's interface) or direct input (the input of standard PC controllers and even the PS3!), this is adjusted by a slider on the back. X-input is standard for modern games but if you need customization then direct input (particularly for older games) helps in some cases. The F controllers come with a software that allows you to create and use profiles to map button layouts to do other things (similar to Logitech's gameboards like the G13) which can come in handy if you choose to learn the software.

It's worth noting that if you wanted to you could also use this controller on your 360 or PS3, not just your PC. On the PS3 the Logitech button sadly doesn't work like the PS button (because you're in direct input mode and the PS button doesn't exist to this thing) so that's the only con for using it on the PS3. For the 360 in X-input, I imagine you'd be right at home.

Of course I do see one flaw that is a bit annoying in all the greatness. The triggers on the controller aren't the most comfortable due to feeling like they need a little more forced input from the user to depress inward. I'm not sure if this is something one would adjust to over time or would "break in" over time but it's worth noting since it's made me a bit uncomfortable in a few titles.

For $25 the cons are very small on this controller. I took off a star for those triggers but they're really not a total deal breaker and Logitech really did try doing a lot for your $25. The ability to function as a 360 controller without the $40+ expense (including the wireless adapter in some cases), the ability to switch input modes on the fly, a profile button mapping tool and a fairly solid build all push this thing a long way. If you're not vouching for the 360 controller on your PC then the Logitech F series is a solid way to go. The 310 mainly ditches the rumble and wireless features but for $25 or less those losses don't feel glaring one bit. If there was a way to rate it 4.5 it'd be totally accurate because it's close to excellence. Overall it's classic quality Logitech.

Update: So it's been a a few days over a year since I wrote this review and I can safely say I stand by it still. The controller's functioning well as ever still and it's versatility has come in handy in a myriad of different PC titles from several genres here's just a sample list of a few titles it works great on:

Assassin's Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood

Bastion

Batman: Arkham Asylum

BlazBlue -Calamity Trigger-

Blur

Burnout Paradise

Cave Story+

Darksiders

Devil May Cry 4

Guilty Gear XX #Reload & Isuka

Gundemonium Collection

Hunted: The Demon's Forge

Jamestown

Lara Croft & the Guardian of Light

Prince of Persia (2009)

RefRain -Prism Memories-

Saints Row: The Third

Sonic CD & Generations

Super Meat Boy

Ys Origin

Pros:

Familiar shape and design

2 modes of input cover the gamete of modern and classic PC games

Very versatile controller capable of functioning almost flawlessly on 3 platforms (PC, 360, PS3)

Solid build quality and very price efficient, you're not giving up absolutely significant features by not going for the 510 or 710

Excellent D-Pad, beats out the 360 and PS3 ones with ease

Cons:

Trigger buttons are a little odd and seemingly require a little more force feedback

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I was looking to grab a second controller for my computer, as I had just ordered my dream laptop. I'm a pretty big fan of Logitech's gamepads, so I looked into that before anything else.

I have a Dual Action from them at the moment, and I really enjoy it, the only problem being that the analogs are surrounded by a square instead of a circular shape, making going completely straight take a bit more effort. I saw the F310, and noticed it was essentially the same, with circular surroundings for the analogs. So, I decided to take it for a spin.

I received the product, and ripped open the box, and after noticing the switch on the back (I'd forgotten about 'game' modes while waiting on the product to ship), I read through the directions. I apparently, it seems to be that 'Xinput' mode is useless on XP. In fact, the controller is essentially not recognized in Xinput mode at all. Took me about an hour to actually realize that was the problem, and thought it was just a faulty driver issue.

After that however, I tried out a few games I've got on my computer, seeing as I'm waiting on the laptop, and: It works great.

It's extremely responsive aside from 2 buttons. I've had no issues doing combos or whatnot in any of the fighting games I regularly play. My only gripe is that the L2/R2 Buttons are actually triggers. Well, not that they are triggers, but rather, triggers that require a bit more effort to push. Other than that, it's a great product, with a good, simple design, a nice, responsive d-pad and face buttons, but a little bit more info should be put into that instruction manual about Xinput/Direct Input Modes.

Overall, a great buy, and I really suggest reading this before purchasing just so you aren't wasting time trying to get it to work.

Best Deals for Logitech Gamepad F310

What initially sold me on purchasing this controller was the fact that all games that have Xbox 360 controller support will also support this gamepad out of the box. However once I received it I discovered a whole host of problems. Read on below

The good:

XInput compatible (plug it in and functions as an Xbox360 controller)

Action buttons

D-Pad that is actually better than the god awful 360 d-pad.

Start, Select, home, & Mode Button (which allows you to swap the d-pad and left analog stick)

PS3 layout (which I personally prefer over the 360 layout)

The average:

The feel of this gamepad is less comfortable than the one it emulates: The PS3 gamepad.

But even with that said the overall feel of the controller is comfortable enough, and I can

reach all the buttons fine without problems.

The Bad:

Analog stick deadzones have an absolutely enormous deadzone (20-25% of entire sticks movement) making aiming in games and precision steering almost impossible. It feels like its somewhere in between an analog and d-pad.

Analog triggers also have a large deadzone, but it doesn't cripple gameplay as much as the analog stick deadzones. The triggers also function on a single axis instead of two, which might hinder some players. Also bit stiff and clunky feeling but not something that bothers me much; might bother others more.

Shoulder bumpers will disengage if you aren't holding them down hard enough, even after you've clicked them in. The bumpers will engage fine if your only pressing and letting go for a quick action, but for any game that requires you to hold down the bumpers you will constantly have to be conscious about holding them down hard enough.

Analog sticks clicking function also suffer the same problem as the bumpers; it will disengage if not pressed down hard enough, even with the button "clicked in".

most other reviewers of this appear to be smoking some type of crack based product, which is

bad for their health

Note: Logitech has stated the poor analog controls are intentional, and that they have absolutely no intention on fixing them via a firmware update. There is a very long thread about this problem on the Logitech forum that's been going on for nearly a year. Unfortunately it seems that if the problems are ever fixed it will likely be in a new product they want people to purchase.

Avoid this product.

Honest reviews on Logitech Gamepad F310

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Most of the time that I play PC games I'm playing games that were designed to only use a keyboard and mouse. However, there are some games that practically demand a console gaming pad. Many of the PC games that were originally developed for consoles like the Playstation 3 or XBox 360 are simply difficult to play unless you're using a console gaming pad. Likewise, if you're playing "ports" of older console games on your PC or Mac then chances are you need a gamepad.

The Logitech Gamepad F310 feels like a hybrid of the PS3 and XBox 360 controllers with a little bit of Logitech flare thrown in for a hint of style. Like most USB game pads, the F310 is automatically recognized by most PC games that are compatible with USB game pads. The buttons are automatically mapped out by default in most cases, but you have the option of customizing each button according to your gaming preferences.

The buttons and direction pad all feel quite durable and I'm not really concerned about this controller breaking from strenuous gaming. My only minor complaint about the buttons is that the left and right trigger buttons are "hinged" at the top and "swing" in when pressed rather than being plain buttons. I'd rather have plain buttons that press inward rather than swing in on a hinge/pivot, but some people like that type of action on the trigger keys.

Bottom line, the F310 is a simple and fun gaming pad that gets the job done at a fair price. If you just need a basic console gaming pad for your PC then this one is probably a very good choice.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Logitech Gamepad F310

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program There isn't much really to say about this controller. It has two analog sticks and buttons that mimic the layout of the current gen console systems. It doesn't have fans, has an affordable price, and works out of the box. What more could you really ask for?

Although I've only had a chance to really use this recently I'm noticing no signs of stickiness or wear down on the controller from some tough usage over the past few weeks.

If you're in the market for a high quality, low priced generic usb game controller then this is a safe bet.

Review of TONY HAWK SHRED XBOX

Customer Ratings:

This is a great product and well built. Make sure to buy the game and board together. I would recommend this product.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

very upset did npt work at all..would not even turn on..bought several batteries for nothing would never purchase again..very dissapointed

Cheap Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightPad - Blanka

Customer Ratings:

Special controllers are almost necessary for playing SFIV with any degree of skill. This is the poor man's alternative to a fight stick, but it is certainly a great piece of hardware. The buttons are laid out well and the pad just feels great.

After about a week or two of vigorous use however my right bumper stopped being as "clicky" as it used to be, but still functions great a month in.

This also works for whatever else you might need for 2d fighters/old school games. Works in Windows and I use it quite frequently in the Gametap service to play all kinds of old classic arcade games.

Definitely a great buy.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

The two previous reviews have nothing to do with the product, so I felt a real review was in order. For those who own Street Fighter IV, these controllers are a must have. The directional joystick is much easier to use than the standard xbox 360 joystick. The real kicker for me is that they moved the RB and RT buttons to the front of the controller for the traditional street fighter layout. While it is a bummer that they are not wireless (damn you microsoft!), the 9' of cable was plenty for me to sit back on my couch and play comfortable without fear of pulling the controller out of the system. It's not impossible to use an original controller, but it much more fun and it's easier to use these. They feel very durable in my hands. If this review is not as indepth as you would like, take a look on bestbuy.com for example and read the reviews there. I do feel sorry for the people that have been put off by sellers on this website, but please use the feedback system to lodge your complaints.

Best Deals for Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightPad - Blanka

After reading the mixed reviews for this controller, mostly leaning towards negative. I decided to go for it anyway. I grew up playing fighting games with a D-Pad not a joystick or an analog stick. Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn D-Pad's to be exact. But the Official Xbox 360 Controller D-Pad is horrible in comparison to those. So I needed something to replace it. Basically just about any other 3rd party D-Pad for the 360 is going to be better. Thats how bad the official 360 controllers D-Pad is. So yes this controller has a nice D-Pad. When I want to go forward or back. It does it and nothing else. Up or down. It does that as I wanted. up & forward or up & backward. Also does it, no problem. Special Movies...much easier. I can't say its the greatest D-Pad in the world. But it is more then good enough to make an old school Genesis/Saturn player like me happy. The button layout is also nice for old school fans. Having the buttons laid out similiar to a Genesis/Saturn Controller or Arcade button layout. It works great. The buttons are slightly more springy which is good for fighting games. All the buttons and controls worked perfect for me. No delay, improper or unresponsive controls. I didn't have to mash them to make them respond nor did I lightly tap them and they responded too quickly. It felt just right in response. Comparable to an Official 360 Controller. This is also a great controller for any game that is on live arcade that you may be used to playing on a D-Pad. Sonic The Hedgehog games for instance. It works nicely. The pad gives turbo which is a cheat basically but it works nicely for people who enjoy that sort of thing and isn't hard to use. The pad has a switch on the lower back that lets you change the D-Pad to the Left 360 Analog Stick Control or Right 360 Analog Stick Control. This is a limited feature but it makes a few newer 360 games playable that might otherwise not be, if you want to use this controller for such games. But overall this controller is for fighting games and old school games. The overall layout of the controller felt very nice in my hands. The Street Fighter IV photo (Blanka in my case) looks very nice. The controller had a light rubberized grip on the back. Felt very comfortable in my hands. People with large hands, small hands or anything in between, shouldn't have a problem with it.

But there is a few things one should know about this controller and understand first. Most games that use a 6 button layout such of Street Fighter II HD, Garou Mark Of The Wolves, Samurai Showdown II, etc. Will not automatically work with the controller. You'll need to manually map out the buttons. Usually by accessing the games settings screen. It's very easy to do and once you do it. Your playing the game like it should be played. No bumpers needed. Just a D-Pad and 6 buttons. Nice and simple. Street Fighter IV of course does worth perfectly with the controller from the start. It was afterall made for that game specifically. But most games which require six buttons will need to be manually set. The other issue is the controller does not feel very durable. After a few days of use, it still works fine for me. But it feels rather hollow. The build quality is certainly not that of an Official Xbox 360 Controller which feels strong in comparison.

The final two things I should mention are not the controller makers fault, but something you should rememeber, it's not wireless and it doesn't have rumble. So keep that in mind. I got over both of those issues very quickly when I felt the nostalgia of playing games like I used to when I was younger. The old Genesis style controllers. I got that feeling back right away. The official 360 controller doesn't give off that feel for older games.

And so I say, do not hesitate if your looking for a great controller for retro games, It works great, it looks great. It does exactly what I hoped it would do and more.

Honest reviews on Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightPad - Blanka

This controller is good. Feels light and a bit chincy when u 1st pik it up. had it a few months all the buttons still funtion. theres really not much of a choice when it comes to fight pads i find. only arcadesticks.

I once had a six button sega genesis controller when SS2 first released...similiar but smaller than a sega saturn controller. Ideally, the six botton genesis contoller for my 360 would be great. At the moment this controller is the next best thing...

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightPad - Blanka

I preordered this on the 10th of Feb and received it on the 25th. Not too sure what the deal is with the others, why they haven't gotten theirs.

Needless to say, this controller is fantastic. The moves for SFIV are easy to pull off. Button layout is just like the old Saturn controller. It beats having to hit the triggers for the High Punch/Kick. The turbo feature is great too for other games.

Buy TimeSplitters 2

Customer Ratings:

This is one fast-paced FPS. The arcade mode is huge fun for just one player, or two (4-player split-screen is best) . It has lots of different game types (death match, team death match, capture the bag, team capture the bag, shrink, flame tag, virus, loose change, vampire, assault, gladiator and monkey assistant, a death match in which the player with the lowest score has a squad of monkeys with guns to help out) and a ton of different characters to choose from. Sgt. Cortez, Riot Officer, Sewer Zombie, Lady Jane, Mister Giggles, Gingerbread Man, Jungle Queen, Duckman Drake, Snowman and Monkey are only a few of them. There is also a challange mode that has you smashing stain glass windows with a grenade launcher one minute and fending off endless hordes of zombies the next. The story mode is not very interesting, but it is fun to play 2-player co-op.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I love the TimeSplitters series. You get to go through all sorts of periods of time from modern space times to ancient times blasitng away at the bad guys.

There are a TON of weapons available on each level, each more fun than the previous one. You can single and double wield depending on the weapon type. As you move along your route, you get checkpoints, to keep your progress going. There are enemies with invisibility cloaks, turrets to blast away from, and MUCH more.

The comparisons with Halo are inevitable especially in the modern time scenes. In many ways this is a great comparison, given how popular and well-designed Halo is. You get plasma grenades that stick to people, teammates that cover you, and generally good graphics. The cloaked characters give you just a hint of dark cloud to watch for.

The lead guy is very XXX-style and reluctantly goes on his time-hopping adventures. The voices are reasonably good not great, but not really awful either.

The textures in the locations aren't great but they're reasonable. There are details like worn wooden chairs and patches on the walls. The health and shield bars only appear when you're injured. I'd like it better if they were always on the screen in a corner, less annoying.

It's especially fun in co-op mode, taking on the bad guys with a friend. Multiplayer is GREAT fun the collection of maps is amazing, and you can even make your own!

Some of the dialogue is really funny, and in general it's a shoot-em-up game with a wide variety of weapon choices, locations and enemies.

Well recommended!

Best Deals for TimeSplitters 2

I have this on PS2 but you cant get it on here or something. This is probably my favourite game of all time it is just mad! The characters are great my favorites are (the ones I play as most) Sgt.Cortez, Capt.Snow, Capt.Forest, Riot Officer and Braces. the story mode is fantastic with about 10 levels first is Siberia set in 199o which is an easy level. Next is Chicago in 1930's where you have to go through the streets help Marco(who takes ages) get back to his apratment without being shot, get the nightclub pass and go to the club to kill Big Tony which is easy cuz I get double tommy guns from the entrance and jsut kill him. next is Notre dame which is good where you have to go through a church killing zombies. Then is Planet X which is where you have to kill these aliens or something. then neo Tokyo which is bare hard cause you have to follow this hacker to there base without being seen by the security cameras in the street cause you are being chase by coppas for some reason. then wild west which is bare easy and you have to kill the colonel. Atom Smasher is in 1972 you play as Harry tipper and have to go through khallos compund(or somethin) and kill all the henchmen and them him, it is very hard. Aztec ruins is hard cause you have to kill these stone golems which is hard. Robot factory is pretty hard. The last level Space Station set in 2401 is great cause you have to get out of there before it blows up.

ow the weapons there is Garret revolvers, soviet 47's, Tactcial 12 gauge, snipers, minguns, shotguns, Rocket launchers, homing launchers, mines and other sick weapons.

there is a whole load of characters about 55 it takes ages to get em all so beware. there is many arcade modes to do, Deathmatch, team Deathmatch, Capture the bag, Flametag, gladiator and other modes. the arcade levels are tight.

Mexican Mission-a mexican theme(duh) i give this 8/10 cause of the layout

Ice station-A massive building in the center with loads of snowand other buildings 10/10

Hospital-A dark gloomy old hospital good for hiding 10/10

training ground-an amry base type thing good for turrets and shooting from far away 10/10

Aztec-a jungle leevl 7/10 for the confusing layout

Scrapyard-a futuristic scrapyard with laserguns and other weapons like that. 9/10

Nightclub-A mafia club with a confusing layout again 6/10

Hangar-An air base good for rocket launchers 9.5/10

Robot Factory-8/10

Ufopia-An alien base 9/10

Chinese-A big restraunt which is great-10/10

Chasm-This is great cause you can blow people up on the other side and stuff 9/10

Streets-This is good 10/10

Compound-Not too big butgood 9/10

SiteI havent unlocked this but played it its a building site-8/10

Circus-Nah I dont liek this 6/10

Overall this a one of da best games ever so buy it-event hough number 3 is out soon.

10/10

And thats all I have to say about that

Honest reviews on TimeSplitters 2

Timesplitters 2 is an amazing game and very fun to play for many reasons, one of them being the game has soo many characters you can play as in multiplayer mode! A large amount of these characters have to be unlocked, and it's no easy task to do so, but you'll have a lot of fun collecting them all--or just get extremely frustrated in some cases.

The story mode is good, and some levels are more fun than others. Each level takes place in a different time period. One level you'd be in the past, the next in the future somewhere. Some of my favorite levels to play are:

Siberia

Notre Dame

Neo Tokyo

Wild West

The weapons are terrific and there are loads to use! You can even unlock bricks to use as a throw weapon.

There is more to this game than just the Story mode. With most games, all they have is Story and Multiplayer, and nothing more. But in Timesplitters 2 you can play the Challenges and Arcade League games, and depending on how well you did on the games, you'll get bronze, silver, gold, and maybe even platinum trophies! Arcade League and Challenge is also the main way to unlock new maps, weapons, fun cheats, and characters.

It can be boring playing a game by yourself sometimes, and if you have no one around that wants to play with you there is an option where you can turn on BOTS! Although bots can't replace a real person, it's a big plus that they have bots that you can play against. I absolutely hate it when a game doesn't have a bot option.

TM2 has a lot of game modes to play, such as Capture the bag, bag tag, deathmatch. My absolute favorite game mode is Virus. In Virus, you are supposed to try and evade the infected (those surrounded in green fire) for as long as possible, and if you do get infected you are then supposed to infect others.

The game is fun but does have one frustrating bot issue. If you have the game set to free-for-all don't be fooled and assume it's every man for himself. It's more like every bot against you. Seriously! The bots literally hunt you down and gang up on you. It doesn't matter if there are other bots in the same room. They will ignore the others and take you out together. Another thing that is kinda unfair is that the bots can dive but you can't... so while they roll and dodge your attacks, all you can do is move from side to side.

Overall, I enjoy playing this game and would recommend it if you are looking for a fun and addicting game.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for TimeSplitters 2

Ive found when I make people play this game with me theere is 1 of 2 responses. This game is awsome or this game sucks. Frankly I think its awsome, maybe my favorite shooter out there. No the graphics arent excellent but who cares? I dont play games for the graphics. And maybe the storyline isent flowing, not in depth and very vauge. But again, do I care? Nope. The single player missions are awsome for what they are. The game really has some great music. The tunes always get stuck in my head, I even downloaded some and listen to them on my computer. But the game isent about solo missions or music, its about the arcade mode and the multiplayer. Forget Halo 2 multiplayer. This multiplayer is way more hardcore and fast paced. No matter how good you are, you wont go through a match without dying at least once. There are countless of multiplayes characters to unlock also, anything from a gingerbread man, to a mob bose, to a SWAT member and all points in between. The arcade mode features tons of different scenarios to beat. They all offer rewards if you beat it with silver or better. My favorite part though is the map maker. Ive made over 50 maps that my friends and I still use. My favorite scenario when creating a map is capture the bag. I recomend renting this game first. Like I said, if you dont love it straigt off, you never will so dont dont bother buying it.

Best Cabelas Outdoor Adventure 2010 - Xbox 360 Deals

Customer Ratings:

I had alot of fun with this game. The graphics are unbelievable! The missions are all different and defenitly give you different aspects of the game. This is a very good hunting game and the main story takes a good amount of time to complete... the fishing is ok but frustrating at times.

Good hunting game... but cabelas is not quite there yet.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Have played this game for about 5hrs its pretty fun but the guide tells you every thing to do which isn't bad but I would like to hunt on my own at times. I also Don't like the bullet cam when you kill your target by shooting him in one of the vitals. Also a jump function would have been nice to get over small logs or blades of grass that are to tall ha ha. They could have done without the fishing in the game because it is a little cheesy.But overall it is still pretty fun. Hope this helps

Best Deals for Cabelas Outdoor Adventure 2010 - Xbox 360

This is a must have game for hunting and fishing enthusiasts. It doesn't require as muck skill as other hunting games. One of the greatest parts is that you can hunt AND fish in the same game! The graphics are great. I would defiantly recommend this game!

Happy gaming! =)

Honest reviews on Cabelas Outdoor Adventure 2010 - Xbox 360

this game was great it was good graphics and all that stuff and great hunts and fun. the bad thing was it to short i wish it was longer and you went to more then 3 or 4 states to hunt in, nevertheless it was a good game.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Cabelas Outdoor Adventure 2010 - Xbox 360

Good hunting game for sure, its a lot of fun compared to others i played before. Fun for my whole family.

Loons, Fight for Fame Reviews

Customer Ratings:

Make sure you see this in person before you spend the bucks to buy it...much more juvenile than even the description leads you to believe. A very "simple" game that is more chaos than anything.

Basically, you run around one screen wacking all of your opponents while listening to Yosemite Sam bark orders in the background. Your goal is not to lose your "star power" by getting wacked by others. You gain "star power" by being the first to run to the location spouted by the director.

The main reason I bought this game was because it sounded like it might be a good multiplayer game (why are most good games single player??); even this falls short there. It is only fun running around the same room for about 10 minutes before you get bored.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This game is simply spectacular in the way of graphics. Never have I seen something so close to an interactive cartoon. It is a pleasure to watch the game. Unfortunately, playing it isn�t so great. It is a typical run-around-and-smack-people-over-the-head-with-various-objects-type game. It is too repetitive and predictable for the older audience, and a bit to complex for the younger kids. I would recommend not purchasing this game unless you have rented it and really like it. It might be worth having around the house if you can get it used at a good price, though.

Best Deals for Loons, Fight for Fame

Loons is cartoon fighting in a small space. The characters look good,but watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon is more fun.

Honest reviews on Loons, Fight for Fame

This game stays true to the characters and is great fun for kids (and parents!).

You play on stages at a studio. There is a saloon, a labratory, beach, and more.

Fun ways to nail your opponent, just like the cartoons! Your weapon hanges with the new stage you are on. Some are anvils, huge mallets, pan, axe, bone, electricity, bubble gun, bombs, pumpkin shooter, bee hive, a mini storm, flame thrower.

There are not many games on XBOX that are kid friendly. This one hits the mark!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Loons, Fight for Fame

Here's another Loon-license game. Nice graphics, no overview in multiplayer mode, boring single player mode and difficult character control. I don't know what made me buy that game. If you're a loons fan you may buy it, but don't come banging on my door for your fourty bucks.

Best Silent Hill: Downpour - Xbox 360 Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $13.99
Today's Bonus: 77% Off

God dammit Silent Hill, either come out with a completely horrible game or a really stellar game! I'm sick of the past 5 Silent Hill's just being "okay", and Downpour is no exception. I'm not going to go over the story because really it's better to experience rather than be told what it is. However it got some things right and some things wrong, lets go over them shall we?

Pros: The atmosphere is WONDERFUL! Not since Silent Hill 2 has it been filled with so much dread, when the town started raining I started getting nervous on how many monstrosities would emerge from the thick fog as I was frantically running around the town looking for shelter, and a moment like that without any combat or monsters is a really really good thing from a Silent Hill game, subtelty is a hard concept to pull off that the other past installments haven't really grasped.

The story is good, I'll keep this short for my afromentioned reason but the characters are much more lively and realistic than the other games (especially Homecoming), the facial animations were great and the characters were interesting enough. The story also ditches that cult BS (really we're not trying to play virtual Wicker Man) and sticks to someone's personal hell, which 2 has shown us can make for a strong story. When I got to the ending though the character (who looks a lot like Henry Townshed btw) completely contradicted his personality from the course of the whole game, and that felt a little inconsistent. Overall though the story is good, yeah.

The puzzles are also good, they don't slap you in the face with their simplicity and they're all unique and rather memorable.

The combat is perfect as well, items break and your character sucks at fighting, that's exactly how survival horror should be. This isn't resident evil here where you take out hordes after hordes of monsters with a minigun, you're supposed to be at a disadvantage and they got that part right.

The levels are pretty good too, most other games keep throwing you in the amusement park or the hospital but this one finds some new areas of Silent Hill to explore, the cavern level especially was fresh and new and the library level felt right at home with the classic Silent Hill games.

Cons: Well my biggest gripe with Downpour is the monsters. THEY AREN'T SCARY! All of the monsters are usually just people with weapons, *yaaaaawn*. Where are the grotesque abominations of nature like the Manneqins or Schisms? The monsters are seriously disappointing and almost killed the game for me, the tense atmosphere contradicts the goofy looking standard horror movie monsters. Correct me if I'm wrong but Silent Hill was a lot creepier when weird contorted monsters would come out of the fog, not some woman holding a knife or whatever. Seriously, after getting atmosphere down they completely dropped the ball on this one. Wow. Also the giant red ball chasing you was cool, the first time. After awhile though it's just "here we go again", it's that predictability that takes the tension and fear out.

Another problem I had with it is the game freaking lagged out more often that not. It wasn't even a quick subtle thing, it's like the whole game is lagging when you're playing online, but since this game is offline there's no reason why it should be chugging along when I enter a new room.

As the game progresses it starts to become repititious with few suprises. I was hoping the game would get more and more f'd up and disturbing, but it just kind of stayed consistent the whole time, never taking any risks or upping the ante. So while the atmosphere was really well set up the whole pay off was really disappointing, playing Downpour was like inflating a balloon and nervously waiting for it to pop, but instead it slowly deflates until it's empty again. A lot of good ideas were shown here and all the pros show that the designers are heading the right direction, but I think I'm done with paying $60 for a new silent hill game until people say it's a perfect game.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

*CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS***********

So your probably like why give it 5 stars for fun.. but a 4 overall??.. well lets get into it..

As a whole Silent Hill Downpour is almost what you want it to be.. dark.. creepy.. intense moments of i dont want to go that way.. the puzzles.. its just missing one thing very classic to the franchise :(.. lets start with the puzzles..

~Puzzles: If your an old school player you know not to just run around aimlessly without taking the time to check out everything around you. Because you WILL miss clues, pieces to quests or puzzles, and mysteries all over the place.. the puzzles can be complicated. on easy they make the puzzles a cakewalk but on normal and hard the pieces to puzzles are scattered around the map.. not just laying next to or in the same area as the puzzle.. e.g: The movie theater puzzle.. on easy everything is in the theater.. on normal or hard you have to go outside looking for the part needed. But the puzzles are fun none the less with the creativity to majority of them.. Some Are simple as "ashes to ashes".. And then some require you go into hell for "dead mans hand"... lol my personal favorite one.

~EXPLORATION: In this game you have the ability to free roam to your hearts content.. theres no rush to get anything done..There is numerous side quests along side the main story line.. giving you multiple stories to get immersed in besides the one about the main character himself.. The open world addition to this game is awesome in my opinion.. The map is huge.. you think you have almost explored it all, then you realize theres an entire upper map and sides as well as underground! that you havent even touched yet! also the CHANGING elements outside, when you spend too much time wondering around outdoors, you'll notice the smog starts to get darker, and eventually rain drops start to fall.. stay out longer and then the thunder and lightening comes! The open world enemies get real excited when it rains hard so beware. dont wonder around defenseless *WARNING*..

~Combat: yeah it can be hit or miss with the combat.. you can power attack or quick attack.. me personally ive found it easy when you use the autolock on button before engaging in the fight with any enemy.. The weapons arent forever. let them crack into any weapon long enough and your just holding a piece of the handle that was your axe.. or just your barehands!.. Dont sit still is a good tip for fighting any enemy to keep the weapon from having to be used for blocking.. Ammo for guns is almost non existent on normal and hard so save any when u come across it.. Easy seems to have it more plentiful or maybe its the easiness of the monsters that dont require much work in the fights. Also Your not required to fight anything in the open world roaming, you can flee at anytime and escape on foot or into buildings ending the confrontation.

~Main Story: The writing to the stories is deep all the quests have back story.. except for maybe 2 or 3 quests.. with the main story being a touchy subject, ill leave it at that.. and this is where i found some of the gripes about this game sadly.. first off being the softer side of the monsters in the main story, they are all the same monsters your run into in open roaming, with the exception of the "new" boss (i wont say the name).. and the "otherworld" monster.. that really just seems like a giant killer wormhole..:\ nothing seat jumping unfortunately.. DONT get me wrong.. the transformation into "otherworld" is awesome each time!!.. a few times the graphics of where you are is amazing to look at (tick tock ;p).. the other gripe about this game, of which i found the most saddening is the removal of the **SILENT HILL AIR RAID SIREN!!!!!.. i cant even begin to complain about how much of a let down it was to not get that epic part of the franchise in this game.. i mean its what you get silent hill for.. to walk into a door.. have it close behind you and suddenly have all hell break lose around you as you hear the sirens fill the air and skies blacken to night.. ahhhhhh! such good stuff!.. But no sirens.. just a bell rings as you transform into the otherworld..

~lasting appeal: The game again has several sidequests.. some that require you play a second or third time to beable to unlock them.. "digging up the past".. alternate endings.. :X so playing just once is out of the question if your an achievement hunter seeking all 42.. And even if you didnt want to do the achievements.. just to roam around in the ghost town with the dark ominous music creeping you out in the dark should be enough..lol

for the people not big on the franchise but want to check out a very deep and rich single player story, this game is for you.. with hrs upon hrs of gameplay.. (i was over 17 hrs into the main story and still not completed it only 45%) one thing for a good experience, dont cheat and put your brightness settings up though :p.. they give you flashlights that stay on as long as you want for those afraid of some darkness.. also a lighter that you can only hold with no weapon equipped..

For old fans of the game pick it up also just to show love to its history.. some points like i mentioned above were left out sadly but change comes to everything so just run with it.. it doesnt diminish the game any in the over all aspect. The ability to open roam the whole town is well worth checking it out.. just to treat yourself to that feeling of man.. im in silent hill.... going door to door... alone... get me out of here! lol

Best Deals for Silent Hill: Downpour - Xbox 360

The only thing that kept me from giving this an overall five was the lack of Newgame+. If you enjoy unlocking costumes and weapons for another play through then too bad, no Samurai swords or sexy beams to be found here.

Combat:

Fighting can be fun and challenging with breakable weapons. Block too much and snap goes the weapon, which is exactly why they did just that. If all you did was block until you had a chance to counter combat would grow stale. After awhile you learn not to keep your back to the wall and maneuver around groups of enemies to keep from being surrounded.

Puzzles:

Kinda disappointed with the difficulty levels. I tried it on normal because I didn't wanna get stuck anywhere too long, but once I tried it on hard the answers were the same. For some I didn't even need to figure out the combo for a door cuz it was still the same. Some puzzle hints became more cryptic and the answer slightly altered but I still felt cheated. So if you like brain teasers start on Hard for the puzzles.

Spook Factor:

I must admit this one was much more freaky than Homecoming. Hearing women crying or children laughing as you enter a dark room gives you that uneasy feeling. Then you see the item you've been seeking in the back of the room, knowing hell could break loose the second you grab it really freaked me out. However this occurs more in side-quests throughout the town than in the Nightmare world. All it really has to offer is being chased by some fiery orb thing, which becomes more annoying than anything else. Its kinda like "Oh, here's this jerk again...well let's get to it."

Lastly I have a few gripes about some decisions that were in the games creation. Whenever you die you are given full health after you load you're last checkpoint. Seems kinda stupid if you ask me, you're omost rewarded for your failure. It pretty much eliminates the need to heal because you know if you do die you can try again, probably with more health than you previously had. You can also regenerate up to forty percent of your health. Again eliminating the need to heal. Over time you'll have a stockpile of Medkits you may or may not choose to use. If you're like me and you don't want to run out of healing items when the bossfight comes then you need not worry. Speaking of which there are two bossfights, as the series goes you enter the nightmare realm then fight some ugly-ass monster to return to reality. Am not sure what I love more, fighting those things or just seeing what the twisted freak will look like. Sadly there is not much variety with the monster here.

You might think with all those complaints why did I give it four stars? Well it is really fun, and on my third time through I still have yet to figure out all the mysteries. Plus the multiple endings keep wanting to play.

Honest reviews on Silent Hill: Downpour - Xbox 360

Intro:

The Silent Hill franchise has gone through as much corruption, loss and self-discovery as the souls so often finding path into the quiet, plotting town. It too has seen brighter days. Any major fan will talk about the golden age of Silent Hill, one that cleared a new path for survival horror, pockmarked with rust, cult insignias and letters from deceased loved ones. It was a franchise unlike any other of its time, giving nods to classic American horror freshly picked from the minds of Stephen King, David Lynch, Edgar Alan Poe and Wes Craven, going as far as naming streets after these figureheads of terror.

The fan base will claim the Golden Age of Silent Hill spiraled downward when the original creative team (AKA Team Silent) began to trickle off to follow their own individual paths. While this would have happened eventually, Konami was forced to toss the series between developers like it was a troubled, deformed foster-child. In truth, Silent Hill was just misunderstood.

Around this time, Sony released Silent Hill in theaters and harvested a new audience that grew enough curiosity to hop on the next big game. During this period, one started to see the effort on combat increase in the games, while a lot of creative decisions fell short, blurring the brand of Silent Hill. In some cases, the art was brilliant while the writing stunk. Other titles had a genius plot but drab design. While the franchise still released solid, functional games, these titles just couldn't reach the caliber the franchise grew up on. The spirit of Silent Hill felt lost. And so did the fans.

In 2012, Konami promised audiences three new game titles and a movie sequel wearing the brand of Silent Hill. One of these games was Silent Hill Downpour by Vatra Games, the title most closely following the formula for a Silent Hill game while also continuing the franchise's chronology. While skepticism from recent history still hung in the fog for fans, many of them feel a sense of lifted stigma from this title.

My Review of Silent Hill Downpour:

Let me start by saying I'm reviewing this game as a long-time fan of the series since 1999. I do not blindly love every Silent Hill game in fact, I'm highly critical of certain titles as I believe certain developers really didn't know the town of Silent Hill at all. While the ability to make a great horror game seemed apparent, the ability to carry on the Silent Hill brand and spirit were quite absent.

I also consider myself a survival horror fanatic that means, I understand the formula, elements and impact of what the genre of survival horror should have. Furthermore, I know the basics for any successful Silent Hill game:

The town of Silent Hill

a cast full of questionable, untrustworthy, damaged, unstable characters

a deep, unsettling score full of ambiant sounds and moody melodies

realistic environments under psychological wear-and-tear

raw combat with man-made weapons or everyday objects against unnatural looking enemies that often resembles the protagonist's psyche

multiple pathways and endings

and last (but certainly not least), those little in-game menu sounds for obtaining/using items. If you experience the series like I do, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If not, I might go as far to say you won't agree with my opinion of this game at all.

Story 9

Likely so, Downpour starts off with a simple enough concept to become the engine for a good Silent Hill game. A prisoner escapes his shackles after a transport bus crashes on the outskirts of Silent Hill. Murphy Pendleton's freedom is just on the other side of this little tourist town, and if only he can find his way through, that freedom is all his.

To me, a good plot starts off with a simple enough concept like this with plenty of room for exploration. Who is our protagonist, Murphy Pendleton? Why is he a prisoner, and is he truly guilty? The game begins with a handful of questions that Silent Hill will eventually answer in full or in part, giving the player the resources and information to dig as deep as they'd prefer without getting overwhelmed.

There's a handful of personalities that Murphy meets along the way, all with varying levels of involvement in the town and in Murphy's story. Some only make a small entrance with a more mysterious exit, while others just won't stop showing up. Some are completely vital to the main campaign while a small few are encountered optionally through side quests, which adds a whole new level to getting the Silent Hill experience.

More on the side-quests Murphy has the option of investigating different paths on the town map. For example, he might meet a character in person or through journal entries that sends him off on a scavenger hunt for a small list of items. In that same area of town, an unlocked door pleads to tell you the history of its contents. I really loved the addition of these mini-games as it fleshed out the town. Whether you're gaining insight on a specific resident, location or experience, these side-quests were always full of memorable moments.

If a player decides to follow the main campaign without side-quests, he or she will still get a fulfilling enough experience. As with any Silent Hill game, be prepared for a ton of reading, searching, and exploring the foggy streets and dark buildings.

There are a few events where players decide how to interact with other characters that could drive the rest of the story. My only wish here was that these decisions carried more weight than they actually do. For instance, Murphy is asked whether he wants to save a woman falling from a cliff or simply let her fall. Whichever decision you make still has the woman falling. It would have been more dynamic if helping her actually prevented the fall altogether, but each decision still warrants different cut-scenes and dialogue.

Sound 9.5

Like a lot of fans, I felt a bit distraught over Akira Yamaoka's absence in this title. However, when I heard that Daniel Licht took the reigns, my level of hope quickly replenished. I've been watching Dexter for five seasons, so I'm familiar enough with Licht's style that I thought it would effortlessly find its place in Silent Hill. I was right.

While Yamaoka made heavy use of creaking metals and wailing machines in his scores, he contrasted the deep, industrial sounds with moody, western-inspired strings that sounded like music you'd hear on an old, European record player.

Licht kept all this in mind, commemorating Yamaoka's sound but never seeming too shy to add the Licht style. The two composers actually have a very similar feel to their work the obvious similarity is their appreciation for the strings. While Yamaoka seems to love short, catchy picking of the guitar or mandolin, Licht loves the long, crying melodies of the violin or cello. It's these similarities that helps the Silent Hill sound undergo a smooth transference from one composer to the next.

Yamaoka aside (we'll never forget you, Akira!), Licht introduces some tunes with what could have been inspirations from classic seventies horror films. There's a ton of ghostly riffs interrupted by chaotic, squealing notes. Never does the music feel too powerful to the point of it taking you out of the game. It feels like something following your every step, yet never stepping right in front of you. Overall, Licht truly composed a haunting score completely fitting to the Silent Hill franchise.

The general sound effects of the game are no less perfect than the score. Like most elements of a good Silent Hill game, it's the little things that really make the whole so successful. Random, inaccessible cries of a disturbed child or nearby, muffled footsteps all make a much-welcomed return. There's a crisp "kerplunk" after dropping your rusty, hollow pipe on a sidewalk and alarming slams of a door. Distant howling enemies accompany the background hiss of rainfall. Nothing seems too melodramatic or out of place, but rather quite realistic to the franchise.

I can't give a perfect 10 for sound as Konami allowed Korn to make the theme song. Unlike Licht and Yamaoka, Korn portrays their emotion on the forefront of their track through angry vocals and hard rock-n-roll rather than behind intelligently orchestrated sound. With no judgement on their music as a whole, it's inconsistent with the subtlety of malevolence that previous Silent Hill tracks do so well.

Gameplay 7

Within recent years, a new horror sub-genre, mostly carved by Capcom with the Resident Evil franchise, has emerged from horror franchises. It's been coined as "Action-Horror", and, while I hold a special place for this sub-genre in my gaming library, I must clearly emphasize that Silent Hill Downpour is not Action-Horror and an audience expecting this will be firmly disappointed. Its apparent that Silent Hill became a successful enough series to catch eyes of fans from nearby genres, but I just don't think those gamers have any idea what they're getting themselves into when playing a true survival horror game like Silent Hill. While the environment and enemy roster can seem completely otherworldly, our protagonist and his struggle in fighting must seem realistic and plausible.

With that disclaimer said, I was mostly satisfied with the mechanics of combat in Silent Hill Downpour. Some previous Silent Hill entries designed combat systems where enemy attacks were too calculated and fighting became too much of a formula rather than a true-to-life struggle with monsters. Don't forget the fact that you're basically fighting demons it makes no sense to assume a protagonist understands them. Vatra made close examination to how this combat would work in their game.

Fighting is mostly done via melee weapons, which are strewn about Silent Hill like they would be in any given town. You'll find a wrench next to a garage and some glass bottles in a pile of trash. While many of these weapons will eventually break, some of them break too soon. I doubt a fire axe will meet its demise even after cracking 100 skulls. Who knows I can't say I've tried it. With a semi-unrealistic weapon breaking system aside, the general desperation of a person fending off Silent Hill creatures is there. Murphy grabs anything sharp, blunt, or sturdy enough to defend himself. While guns and ammo are rare, they're still found in believable recurrence and locations.

Your weapon inventory is limited to two slots one for a firearm and one for melee weaponry. While it might not make sense to hold a pitchfork, shotgun, and hatchet in one's pocket, it made me wish Murphy would at least find a backpack or side-bag to hold more of a weapon selection system. Of course, it never became an issue of not having another weapon in the immediate vicinity, as there is always something laying around to wield against foes once an equipped weapon breaks. If there's not, Murphy always has his bare fists to use.

In a given enemy encounter, Murphy can attack, block, and throw a weapon (which can still be picked up later after a brawl). There's no guarantee that these moves will always work with success, as enemies become pretty unpredictable and fierce. It makes sense to me that holding a weapon in front of your face won't always stop a raging monster from getting a good swipe in. In a lot of games, the block is successful without fail if you time it right despite the ferocity of enemies you're encounteringbut not in Downpour. In the same turn, a monster can't always block the 30 pound pick-axe you've sent down on their head.

If swinging a brick around seems worthless to a player, he can instead stand near a pile of bricks and hurl them at a hovering enemy. Throwing becomes a huge asset to the combat system, as getting close to certain opponents could seem like suicide. In other cases, a toss could also function as a simple way to draw attention to a given enemy if one has built a solid lure-and-kill system for encountering groups. The act of throwing weapons further builds the concept of desperate combat that Silent Hill should maintain.

Vatra introduces the element of rainfall in this new title while also setting a precedent of weather directly impacting game-play. Roaming the streets of Silent Hill feels somewhat safe if Murphy can just avoid enemy encounters. Here comes the rain again. As the drops fall harder and more plentiful, the monsters feel more invitation to show up in numbers and surround our protagonist. This helps deter a feeling of safety during exploration as the rain can come at any moment. I found myself on countless occasions wanting to stay near shelter or a subway system for when rain began to fall.

When encountering the Otherworld, Vatra gives a semi-unique spin on gameplay. Murphy will suddenly see the fabrics of one world burn away to reveal the metal skeleton of Silent Hill's alternate, sinister dimension. This cues the appearance of a bright, red light that begins to pursue Murphy with it's deadly presence. If Murphy doesn't run quickly enough, his senses start to slow and he eventually becomes devoured. These chase sequences felt like obvious nods to Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, where the protagonist ran from an unstoppable force of monsters. I loved how Vatra included these sequences and I genuinely enjoyed them, getting the intended effect of panic and fear; I did, however, miss uninterrupted exploration of the Otherworld. In Downpour, you're only given glimpses of rusty doorways and moldy corridors as you rush past them with no time to stop and absorb the not-so-heavenly sights.

Puzzles also return in Silent Hill Downpour. Not only are these riddles engaging and fitting to the story, but players also have the option of choosing a puzzle difficulty level similar to the first 3 titles. It further enables the player to customize their game to their combination of difficulty preferences.

A minor setback for me (but a huge hangup for a lot of audiences) comes when the game encounters bugs and/or frame-rate issues. Vatra could have polished their product more in this aspect. Murphy will be running when suddenly the game will slow down, stop, and skip ahead a few seconds. It didn't happen often enough for me to completely break my appreciation for the rest of the game. It was, however, enough of an issue to cause a red flag for many fans.

Art/Design 10

Downpour looks great. There's some introductions of new elements that could have easily fell through but worked well. I applaud Vatra for taking these risks and, unlike some past developers, actually having success with them.

One of those additions, as mentioned in the game-play section and blatantly in the game title, is rainfall. While it certainly adds fear and panic during town exploration, the rain also holds symbolism for Murphy's condition and recent life events. There's a metaphor in the fact that Murphy's demons come out to spite him most during the downpours. Rainfall not only interacts symbolically with the game but graphically as well.

After a storm recedes, the presence of water still remains as the environment and Murphy both hold a wet after-sheen. Oftentimes, the sun will slightly start to peek through the fog to give accent and reflection on the layers of water. There's a subtle sparkle to the town's exteriors that, anywhere else would seem enchanting, but in this particular setting seem surprisingly sinister and even mocking to Murphy's hope for freedom. Silent Hill has never mixed fog with rainfall and sunlight, but Downpour does so successfully. It makes for an overall intelligent use of light for mood, storytelling, and aesthetics.

The town of Silent Hill the most basic foundation for the game itself seems both real and understood. There exists an obvious care and patience in its sculpting that allowed me to truly believe Vatra got it right on their first go-around. I saw a delicate balance between layers to any given setting. A row of Victorian houses that once sat gracefully in succession to each other are now overgrown with dying weeds and weaved together by twisted, rickety scaffolding. A movie theater, at one time painted with romantic movie posters and colorful advertisements, now sits in tragedy with overturned furniture and dark, empty rows of seats filled with memories of giggling teenagers. It's a dichotomy the Silent Hill franchise so well established as an art form in the horror genre of gaming, and Downpour gives it a dramatic comeback.

While Silent Hill initially shows a sullen, desaturated surface characterized by the fog and realistic architecture, she's notorious for revealing her more threatening side a world coined so famously as "the Otherworld". Of course, we've learned how this dimension appears depends on the game and the protagonist roaming it. For some, it has come with rust, flames and metal. With others, it appears as swollen, mold-infested hallways or rooms lined with veins and flesh that appear to be breathing. In Downpour, Silent Hill presents its Otherworld to Murphy as an intricate system of machines and engineering, oftentimes with water flowing between loud, rapid mechanisms. It holds an undeniable likeness to imprisonment. Murphy will head towards open doorways that are abruptly slammed shut with barred doors. Corridors become mere crawlspaces that force undeniable claustrophobia on the player. At one point, the Otherworld transforms into gears of a clock tower while Murphy tight walks a spinning minute hand. This side of the Silent Hill universe seems so familiar yet completely unique to Murphy's psychological journey.

The monster design is no different when it comes to reflecting Murphy's psyche. For the most part, the creatures appearing in Silent Hill downpour are humanoid. That is they're form does not stray too far from human anatomy. I didn't mind this as much as I would've guessed. A few of the designs resemble prison inmates, incorporating tattoos and restraints something Murphy undoubtedly saw during jail-time. There's a particular enemy design that stood out from anything I've seen yet a glass-like statue whose shadows are the culprits for causing Murphy harm. Though to defeat the foe, Murphy can only attack the statue. Another enemy uses its scream as an stunning attack. While Vatra didn't go for the completely surreal approach with the enemy design, their choices still fit into the universe and gave the player some variety in concept and combat.

Replay Value 9.5

Vatra filled Silent Hill Downpour with enough side-quests, Easter eggs, bonuses and information that a second play through is highly encouraged. A particular side-quest opens up on a second play-through which requires a good deal of experience to complete. Not only are certain side missions only available after you finish the game, but Vatra also gives the option of achieving multiple endings. Having various end-results to a game doesn't just add replay value it contributes to the overall dimension of plot and character. Seeing different paths Murphy and his supporting characters make are points a player may not want to miss out on if engaged in the story. These endings are mostly fueled by decisions Murphy must make throughout his campaign, and seeing the result of opposing choices seems enticing enough to try a second time.

The plot is deep enough that it could easily benefit a player to go through the game a few times. A lot of my questions were not answered clearly as my first play through overwhelmed me with a lot of information. Playing the game again, I'll have more of a chance to focus on what I missed for a better understanding of Murphy's story as a whole.

The game is also filled to the brim with small, but powerful references to previous games. I've heard rumors of a few that I definitely didn't see or find and am eager to experience them myself. While most Easter eggs are static points of interest, some of them show up for mere seconds, and if a player fails at catching them, the experience expires instantly until beginning a new game.

For a perfect score, I would have included some more bonuses for finishing my first game. Perhaps a collection of alternate outfits and even a bonus weapon that mirrored the humor of previous bonus weapons like Heather's light-sword or Alex's laser gun. These small, goofy additions often make a second play through an even greater time, as there's nothing quite as satisfying than offing a Silent Hill demon with neon green lasers.

Overall 9/10

My experience since beginning Silent Hill Downpour has been extremely positive aside from a few technical glitches. The game felt like a proper continuation of the series in this gaming generation. Vatra added a substantial amount of setting, character and game-play to the Silent Hill universe and Daniel Licht composed a beautifully unsettling score all while the whole team kept the brand of Silent Hill unscathed and prominent.

Opening the town to more side-quests and encouraging the player to explore came as the best new addition to the series. My desire to freely roam and investigate Silent Hill never felt completely satisfied by previous Silent Hills. Vatra succeeded in painting rich new angles of my favorite, maleficent town by letting us confront and interact with these simple sidescenarios. I don't know if I'll ever forget my moment in the movie theater or the story behind all the ribbons tied to telephone poles. The experiences set new landmarks and pushed the boundaries further for future games to nod to and aspire from.

Furthermore, Daniel Licht's score fell right into place, especially after this being his first shot at portraying the concept of Silent Hill. I can't think of anything he didn't do right. It came as such a pleasure to experience Silent Hill musically in a new, yet fitting way. The story begins with the right amount of intrigue necessary for a Silent Hill plot to develop healthily. The feel of a natural survival horror game makes a return with the moody atmospheres, puzzles, and desperate combat any survival horror fanatic lives for. Its an overall package that I'm really proud to play and look forward to replaying in the future. While the Silent Hill franchise may have grown rickety after the years, it has finally made its comeback with Downpour.

I applaud Konami, Vatra, and Daniel Licht for releasing such a solid addition to my Silent Hill library. I can only hope that Konami recognizes they've reformed Team Silent and that they hit the target with this game.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Silent Hill: Downpour - Xbox 360

Downpour is easily the best Silent Hill game since SH3.

For those unfamiliar with the previous installments, don't worry. You don't need any knowledge of the previous games to understand this one. For those familiar with Silent Hill, Downpour should be a welcome surprise.

I think the game has received some bad reviews for one simple reason. Ironically, it's the same reason I've come to love the game so much: Downpour feels like a classic Silent Hill game. While the controls and menus are certainly easier to manage than what you'd find in SH 1-3, they're very reminiscent of those older features, and that may be a problem for gamers who expect more refinement in 2012. If you're not accustomed to the older titles, then combat may feel a bit clunky to you. But trust me, that's part of the fun. If you could handle these monsters like Chuck Norris, you wouldn't be so terrified of them. And if you loved the way those classic games felt, then Downpour should feel like coming home.

If any part of the game is lacking, it's the monsters. They're still scary most of the time, especially when you don't expect to see one. But they're not as grotesque and disturbing as what you'll find in the classic titles. Still, this game has scares where it counts, particularly in the game's eerie atmosphere. My favorite moments in SH 1-3 were the parts where I'd find something strange in a dark room, like a mannequin, and when I'd turn, there'd suddenly be a bloodcurdling scream, and I'd discover that the mannequin's head had been chopped off. What just happened?! That element has returned to Silent Hill.

In regards to the technical issues some have cited, I've experienced slight lag in maybe two of the game's environments, and I've had a few freeze-ups occur on the loading screen. Luckily, the game saves quite frequently, so I was never set back that much. Another issue is the graphics. While most areas look spectacular, others feel a bit bland. In most houses, nearly every window has the same smudge prints, every table has the same books, the same vase of flowers, etc. Sure, the table's contents are organized differently room-to-room, but it's still noticeable. However, it's hard for me to fault the developers too much, seeing as how the world they've given us is quite large, and identical decor is kind of a staple of the older games, isn't it?

To sum it up, Silent Hill Downpour's strengths and weaknesses are the same strengths and weaknesses present in the original trilogy. On the one hand, this might trouble some newcomers to the series and keep it from attracting positive reviews. On the other hand, those looking for a taste of what they experienced in SH 1-3 should be pleasantly surprised. If you can handle the occasional glitch and you love old-school survival horror, I'd say give this game a chance. The pros definitely outweigh the cons.