MLB SlugFest: Loaded Reviews

Customer Ratings:

This game that has something for everyone. On the fun side, it has plenty of extreme moves run-of-the-mill baseball games lack, like larger than life catches, baserunning, and pitching. But, you can also play in realistic mode, where it plays more like a usual baseball game, but it has an extensive baseball simulation that tops even the straight sim type baseball games, with things like, ticker scores scrolling onscreenn while you are online of the current mlb games going on and the full range of team managing including minor league signs, team stealing percentages, etc. finally you dont have to buy 2 baseball games anymore, slugfest has the best fun baseball game as well as the best realistic one out this year, all in one game.

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This game that has something for everyone. On the fun side, it has plenty of extreme moves run-of-the-mill baseball games lack, like larger than life catches, baserunning, and pitching. But, you can also play in realistic mode, where it plays more like a usual baseball game, but it has an extensive baseball simulation that tops even the straight sim type baseball games, with things like, ticker scores scrolling onscreenn while you are online of the current mlb games going on and the full range of team managing including minor league signs, team stealing percentages, etc. finally you dont have to buy 2 baseball games anymore, slugfest has the best fun baseball game as well as the best realistic one out this year, all in one game

Best Deals for MLB SlugFest: Loaded

I think this is the best Slugfest game yet.I loved the others but, they got boring because they werent realistic enough.I love how they now allow trades,free agent signings,lineup changes,and best of all,u now have a complete pitching lineup and bullpen.It definitly is better than the ESPN Baseball,Allstar Baseball,MVP Baseball,and MLB series.It truly is THE BEST BASEBALL GAME EVER!!!

Honest reviews on MLB SlugFest: Loaded

MLB Slugfest:Loaded is going to be a REALLY AWESOME game to play

I give it 5 Stars "Highly Recommended" REALLY TOTAL WORTH IT TO BUY & PLAY this game on the Sony Playstation 2 game system

MLB Slugfest: Loaded is getting GREAT review on the game

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Customer Ratings:

Back in June my second Xbox 360 decided to succumb to the red ring of death; this time I, unfortunately, decided against buying the extended warranty so of course my 1-year warranty ended in April--merely two months before the Xbox died. This did not bode well for my Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare addiction. Well I found I had two options, pay a hundred bucks to Microsoft and almost certainly have it die on me again or just buy the PC version of the game and switch over from console to PC gaming. I decided to go with the second option because PC gaming allows for so many more options and is not as restrictive as to the games available. The major problem I had was that I've been using controllers to play games my entire life and just never really got used to playing with a mouse and keyboard.

I did some searching and found a number of ways to play PC games with a controller, but they were all rather complicated and required some advanced PC knowledge and/or a considerable amount of time to configure. SwitchBlade on the other hand was very easy and simple to install and use and I was playing my favorite game within minutes... CoD4 withdrawal is terrible! I was so happy with the software it made me wonder what other games I could play using it and was amazed to see support for World of Warcraft. I've always been somewhat of a nerd and had a hard time parting with EverQuest back in the day so I thought I'd give WoW a shot and downloaded the 15 day trial. I wasn't too big of a fan of WoW because it seemed like everything was handed to the players (back in my day we had to walk 10 miles to school in the snow uphill both ways) but using SwitchBlade with the game was truly a relaxing and enjoyable experience. Movement was so intuitive and the number of hotkeys available in the software is amazing--it even comes with a keyboard built in!

Anyway, I highly recommend this product to anyone who enjoys playing games with a controller.

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I'm not much of a competitive gamer but I like how the skills I've developed playing games on my X Box can translate over to playing PC Games with a controller. Playing on the PC gives me more variety in the fields of play, and I can compete against guys around the world, not just my friends. They have their own server. Switchblade Pro was easy to install and start playing CoD4 right away. It's easier to kick back in my chair and play, rather than hunched over a keyboard.

NHL 13 - Xbox 360 Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
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I have never written a review of a game in my entire life. But having bought and played this game I feel obligated to write a detailed review to help consumers make an informed decision about this game.

Game. I can't believe I am going to fault a game for being a game. But here I go nonetheless.

Anyone familiar with this series knows that there isn't really a happy medium difficulty. "Pro Difficulty" is far too easy and "All-Star Difficulty" is way too hard. And it's not harder because the computer is smarter. It is harder because the computer can skate faster and steal the puck without performing an action (something the player must do to steal the puck i.e poke-check, stick-lift, etc). The AI aggressively pursues the puck carrier and forces a turn over. It's not positional hockey... it's like an NHL team playing a pee-wee team.

So how can we fix this? I know! We'll give the AI a sprint capability.

The new skating engine is actually pretty amazing. It does a great job of putting you in the skates of an NHL player. Your control is immensely improved and it all feels exhilarating rushing on offense.

This would all play so amazingly well if the AI skaters skated backward slower than you can "sprint" forward. Finally (in theory) you could skate faster than the AI (if only during the rush) and no longer feel dogged by faster skaters with super-human puck stealing capability. Except this is plainly not the case. Playing the AI on "Pro difficulty" is roughly the same as playing NHL 11 or 12 on "All star". The AI will take the puck from you if you get within 25 feet of him. Sprint or no sprint. If you skate near a AI player you will lose the puck. Are you Crosby or Ovenchkin? Guess what against the AI it doesn't matter at all. Are you a super-human custom player creation with the best speed, acceleration and agility in the game? Still it does not matter.

However most, if not all, veteran EA NHL player know how to play the (non-hockey) hockey to beat the super-human AI. You just have to abandon all pretense that you're simulating a hockey game and play some Blades of Steel hockey and you'll win.

If you do play these games you've most likely experienced the San Francisco Rush style comeback of your AI opponent. (for those who don't get the reference, it's a racing game that automatically speeds you or your opponent up to keep the race close). It's happened a lot in the last 4 or so EA NHL games. It is especially obvious in the final 2 or so minutes of a game. But this time it makes a return by intentionally keeping the entire game close. I played 10 straight games and took the lead 10 straight times and watched the computer overwhelm my AI controlled team and score 4-5 cheap goals. I could deal with this in years past because it felt like MY AI players were at least trying. But seriously it's like your AI is trying to throw the game. I tried to create a super-human goaltender to see if it would help. Nope. My dynamo seemingly was in on it too.

We're talking about the Winnipeg Jets coming back on the defending Stanley Cup champ LA Kings.... 10 times. It's no accident and it completely and utterly takes you out of it.

My biggest question for EA is this: Why aren't my teammates operating on the same level as the AI opponent?

The is the best looking hockey GAME ever made. This is one of the best controlling hockey GAMES ever made. This is the most feature rich hockey GAME ever made.

But the gameplay (this "interpretation" of the game of hockey) is fundamentally broken almost beyond repair.

Don't say I didn't warn you. I didn't even mention the standing still knock down body checks. (A 5'8 165lb leveled my player created 6'4 240lb defensemen three times in a row in the corner.)

The bottom line is that somehow while EA was trying to create the most realistic hockey simulation ever they managed to create of the world's worst hockey games.

Buy it and tell me you don't agree.

UPDATE

I'm never going to say that it's acceptable for a company to release a truly unfinished product. So I will not give EA a pass for doing that in this case. I stand by the original 2/5 star from this review.

But in the case of EA, I will give them props for heavily patching this game to be a little more playable.

The biggest thing they have improved is the seemingly exploitable cheap goals from the top of the slot. For anyone who plays hockey they'll know shooting from the top of the face off circle is a high goal area. But it is EXTREMELY hard to get positioned for a good shot there. So the AI was scoring realistically from this area, it's just that the AI was able to maneuver into this position regularly and easily. So for the most part, playing smart positional defense will now minimize this exploit.

I am know able to rush past defenders with fast skaters and have them turn and chase me toward the net. This is the realistic skating situation they advertised. Because when I speed up enough to make them turn, I am unable to cut in to the net. I can carry the puck past the defenders but either have to take a bad angle shot or carry it into the corner. Much more like real hockey and I'm assuming what they were going for with the whole skating engine.

What still remains and is in desperate need of a fix is the standing still body check. For a game that advertises physics the skater vs skater interactions are still laughably bad.

The rubber banding has been improved (thanks for the term Fox!) but every once in a while you can see your team and opponent AI decide it's time to make it closer. It's far less prevalent and closing out a close game is the exciting prospect it should have been all along. The skating boost helps to heighten the drama of these situations and provide a desperation that was lacking in previous NHL games.

NHL 14 for the next generation consoles has a real opportunity to build on this rough transitional game. My development list for 14 goes like this:

1. Fix the hitting/player interaction physics. Give it the same level of thought you did skating. This doesn't mean record new animations and call it progress. I don't care how it looks, I care how it feels!

2. Refine the pinning/puck cycling system. Real hockey is a game of getting the puck down low and cycling it around the boards to maintain possession. Pinning is the right idea, but expand expand expand.

3. It's time for an NHL game to have an true open Beta. Look, I know you guys are Canadians and almost for sure have seen a fair deal of hockey in your time. But I played this game for like 2 days and could have given you your patch notes 3 months before the game came out.

4. New commentators, new presentation. Time to go after TSN (espn) or CBC and get some real commentators and TV graphics.

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Without fixes, this NHL game is the first where I say "its unplayable" and I actually dont play it. Instead of a long winded review, I'll simply enumerate some issues:

1. I mostly play EASHL and all I see and hear is "nice poke check." Poke check, poke check, poke check. Way over powered and very irritating.

2. I guess legal interference is back, b/c I've been knocked down a bunch of times w/out the puck, far away from the net w/out a call.

3. Hitting. Broken. (You get knocked down by the CPU, who is standing still, and then you bounce up and down on the ice?) Passing. Broken. (Passing to a guy wide open shouldn't require prayer). Computer AI. Still laughably broken (There isn't a time when I call for the puck where I don't expect the computer to do something idiotic).

4. "Nice poke check."

5. The skating backward from end to end garbage has now been legitimized? They took out the vision control button, which was actually useful, and replaced it with the "skate backward whenever you want" button? Who goes on a breakaway and then decides, "you know what might work here? Skating backward."

6. So now we have to wait longer to start a lobby game? They took the enjoyment of waiting in line at the DMV and combined it with having to listen to idiots, all as a reward to play a terrible game.

7. Goals don't feel like accomplishments. Make an amazing deke, slip a pass by a defender (somehow), get a pass right back and the goaltender is sipping coffee waiting for the top shelf shot. BUT, take a shot from some stupid angle and it goes in.

At least in NHL 12, when I was annoyed, I could run into the boards and injure myself. As a coup de grâce, you can no longer do that. So, I just injure my self in real life by slapping my forehead for playing this game.

I don't even think the girls in the crowd are hot anymore. How do you screw that up?

I hate this game@$@#$@#

Best Deals for NHL 13 - Xbox 360

the demo had me sold. it seemed like a really different NHL game this time around.

bought the game...played it for a few days... things still seemed fine.

two weeks later, i'm considering selling this copy and getting NHL 12 again.

all the negative reviews are correct. you can't check anyone in this game even with the sliders adjusted. i've got my "human" slider for hitting power all the way up and the cpu one all the way down. the cpu still levels all my guys. Chara can't even crush a guy in the boards going full speed. HE actually falls down from doing that.

the cpu also out hustles you all the time. non stop. the only thing that you can do is adjust the acceleration slider all the way up and put theirs all the way down.

the other thing i absolutely hate as well the game doesn't always let you manually change your lines even if you have the setting on. sometimes you'll notice a new line hit the ice and you didn't call for them to come on. yeah that's a HUGE HUGE HUGE issue. i can't even remember the last time this happened so frequently in an NHL game that's because it's never happened. i have no idea what EA is doing over there, but it's not good.

also the new feature "moments live" is really weird. why do i have to re-create historic moments with gretzky...when he's playing on the CURRENT oilers team and not on his old team, with his old roster, against the other old team he played against. It's kind of weird re-creating how he got 50 in 39 and you take a pass from taylor hall...

all the things i mentioned are bad enough but if you play the game on xbox live then i truly pity you as there's no way to adjust anything.

combined with the fact that there might not be an NHL season due to another ridiculous lockout this poor excuse to steal $60 from you just adds insult to injury.

Honest reviews on NHL 13 - Xbox 360

The big new feature this year is "True Performance Skating". Basically it's a return of the "speed burst" but it effects your player's maneuverability if you don't let off the gas. What's cool is that high rated players can do more at top speed, much like their real life counterparts. You can also skate backwards "at will" which creates tons of options for creative skating. Love it.

Ok, that's the good news. Now the bad:

1. Teammate AI seems better, but it really isn't. My AI skaters play better D, and seem to position themselves better on offense as well. Problem is, my AI teammates can never break up a pass, and they are unable to take a pass 30% of the time. It just goes right through their skates or right in front of them. Goalies seem improved, but seem to give up cheap goals way too often. The goalies seem to get frozen by long shots much easier.

2. Opponent AI "seems" improved, but it's cheap. CPU opposition players are able to somehow cling to you (hold?) at will, preventing you from moving, shooting or passing for 3 seconds or longer. This wouldn't be so bad if there was a real life button YOU could press to perform this "hold" on the opposition, but there is not. The CPU opposition also has the unique ability to perform the following "cheap" actions at will: Steal the puck without hitting or poke checking, Deliver crushing body checks from a complete stand still, the aforementioned ability to hold your skater somehow, never go off-sides, and never miss a pass or deliver an inaccurate pass. It is worth noting that human controlled and cpu teammate players cannot perform any of these actions.

3. The "board pin". Back from NHL 2012, it is the ability to pin an opponent to the boards and force a struggle for the puck along the boards. I actually liked this feature in 2012, but they made it cheap in 2013. I noticed the computer was regularly pinning me to the boards while I was skating full speed in a north/south direction with the computer opponent a full step or 2 behind me. It is very jarring and unrealistic when it happens, so much so I had to stop and watch the replays to confirm what I just saw. Not much of a saving grace, but human controlled players can also perform this "cheap" maneuver as well. Just get near a player skating up ice along the boards, hit "Y", and the awkwardness begins. I can already see this maneuver getting exploited online and resulting in thousands of angry arguments.

4. Button/Stick Assignments resulting in penalties. It's been 4 years straight of this now. ENOUGH!! The designers don't seem to get it. Let's start with the right shoot stick. You are in the crease trying to bang in a rebound. Unfortunately EA has decided it's a good idea that pushing on the right stick might also body check instead of bang in a rebound, depending on the proximity of opposing players. So instead of knocking that rebound into the open net, you body check a defender without the puck, which is usually an automatic interference penalty. Talk about adding insult to injury! Now how about that "board pin" button? EA wouldn't actually map that function to the same button that starts a fight, would they? YEP! You will end up in so many fights trying to initiate "board play" it is ridiculous.

5. Ineffective Loose Puck Deke. My favorite move in NHL 11 and 12 is now suddenly ineffective. This move takes skill and practice to perform, and I had worked to perfect it's use. In NHL 2013, even Malkin or Ovechkin can't perform this deke. The puck goes drifting off and the player just sort of looks at it. I have tried dozens of times now and have yet to complete this deke successfully. Very sad, because this deke was so fun to perform and so difficult to master when to use it. When you did it right it was so satisfying.

5. Weird animations. There are some bizarre and jerky skating animations. The skating is so fluid and great in this game, and then suddenly your skater jumps and jerks for some unknown reason. Actually, it's hard to figure out what specifically causes this to occur, but it seems tied to the cheap cpu AI "holding" I mentioned earlier. When your skater encounters this invisible "AI holding force field" at certain angles or with too much speed, the player seems to "bounce" away or warps awkwardly right through it.

6. True Performance Skating vs AI opponents. I mention this as a negative for this reason only. The computer controlled skaters sprint/accelerate constantly in almost all game situations. (although they do pull up and glide when carrying the puck down ice when necessary) This is not really cheap because you are able to do the same thing if you want to. The difference being that for humans it's a combination of stick presses and stick pushes combined with the normal button pressing to obtain the same result. It's just tiring to your fingers to be constantly clicking in on that left stick to accelerate.

7. Checking. While the computer controlled opposition knocks down every player in its path at will, the skaters you control will mysteriously "bounce off" a player you had lined up with a perfect check from 100 feet away. You still do complete some of your checks, but in this game, unlike NHL 2012, it feels like the computer decides when a check will be effective or not, discarding any real world physics.

While this is still a solid Hockey game, my theory is this. EA wanted to get the scoring down and have the final scores be more realistic. While the AI is improved with regards to positioning, anyone with a keen eye can see this isn't the main reason why the scoring is reduced. It's actually a combination of "cheap" additions to the AI. One timer passes to the slot are largely reduced to useless because of the aforementioned "holding" computer AI. There is also a frequent delay in completing one timers, even if your player is wide open. With even more unexplained errant passes than last year, goalies that cut off every single attempt at a slot pass down low, and AI defenders that intercept every pass in their vicinity, regardless of force, accuracy, or elevation. All these things combine to provide you with a moderate level of frustration.

I will continue to play, and if I notice any improvements through updates, or discoveries that bypass some of the CPU cheapness, I will update my review. Please feel free to comment politely. I've been playing NHL since the first version on Sega Genesis, so I consider myself somewhat of an expert on what makes a great hockey game.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for NHL 13 - Xbox 360

Perhaps I bring an unfair perspective to reviewing EA's NHL '13 in that I actually played hockey for 14 years. I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I question whether ANY of EA's developers even bothered working with current or past players to refine the game. Here are my red flags/complaints as I see them with the game:

1) Physics Engine: Everyone is raving about this across the EA nation but I'm just not impressed, at least not for NHL. There is NO explosiveness and any hockey player will tell you that going fast is completely different than being explosive. Actually, I would think EA would understand this concept simply from their football history. None of the gameplay in NHL '13 allows for a player to be explosive. It's like getting a train moving each time you get the puck and start moving forward. This makes for a lot of awkward, uncoordinated, completely unrealistic moments in which players look lost and are unable to get possession of a puck just out of reach without circling around or putting the brakes on and creeping back the other direction. There also is no ability to lunge to get possession of the puck, something that happens on the ice every shift. All you can do is "poke" the puck away, hoping it ends up on one of your teammates sticks. It's pathetic and is a HUGE missing element in keeping this game somewhat realistic.

As stated in other reviews here, the engine also creates pathetic collisions. Players going full speed into each other will just "bounce" off each other while a player going full speed into one standing still will fall down. Unless it's Martin St.Louis going full speed into Zdeno Chara, I don't see that happening a lot.

2) Passing: It's awful. It's not like FIFA where you can direct a pass in the general direction and the AI knows who you're targeting. Instead, players who are breaking free, wide open, never get a stick to stick pass. Instead the puck is simply sent up the ice usually to a defender. I've seen better passing in PeeWee leagues when I was 12.

3) AI Strategy: What's up with all 5 opposing players lining up along the blue line directly after a faceoff in the neutral zone? When you rush in it makes it impossible to make a move around any one player because there is another defender within feet of the one you're breaking around.

4) Goaltenders: Are altogether awful or unbelievable. Every save Gary Thorne is yelling "WHAT AN AMAZING SAVE!!!" and it gets exhausting, esp hearing Thorne and his co-pilot go bananas on a save made from a backhand shot from the point. Most saves in the NHL are fairly mediocre in terms of WOW factor.

5) Goals: Over the course of about 50 hours played, I'd estimate that 30% of the goals being scored are extreme short side goals. Totally unreal. Never seen a top=rated goaltender like DiPietro or Thomas give up the short side, especially upstairs. Similarly, about 85% of the goals scored were above the waist -another fallacy. At least half of all goals that are scored are below the knees, mainly because there is less interference (guys legs are thinner than their midsections) and they're often more difficult to stop for a goaltender (dropping their knees to butterfly is most often not as quick as their glove). Of course this depends on the 'tender -some guys have great gloves or a great knees (or both).

6. Goal Reviews: Why did they bother installing this "feature?" Every time I had a goal being reviewed, it was still called a goal.

There are things that I love about the NHL franchise. They're the only one that has a comprehensive minor-league element which I find exciting. It breaks down players beyond just "scorers" and "brawlers" to include other dynamics of the game.

But the gameplay is still hurting and the new physics engine needs work. Don't believe the hype. You will have frustrating goals scored against you, awkward and unrealistic collisions and movements on the ice and you might just want to mute the Gary Thorne once in a while with all of his recycled lines.

Cheap Final Stretch-Horse Racing Sim - PC

Customer Ratings:

This game wasn't quite what I was expecting, but now that I have figured it out I am really enjoying it!

The basic idea of the game is centered around horse racing. You have three options: You can be a stable manager, a jockey, or a better. If you choose stable manager, you actually can do all three!

I've found the jockey option to be quite maddening. It drove me absolutely crazy. I rode horses in about a hundred races and finished dead last, or second to last every single time. I tried every strategy I could come up with and could not even ONCE win a race with any horse I tried. And that was on easy level! I think this portion of the game needs serious work it's way too difficult.

The betting portion is just "ok." You can bet on horses when you're playing the stable manager version as well, so I don't see the fun in playing where you JUST bet. Especially since sometimes it seems completely random which horse wins a race (maybe like real life .. heh!).

The stable manager version is where it gets fun. While it has some serious downfalls, now that I've figured it out I've been having a fantastic time. When you're a stable manager you get to hire staff, build up your stable (buy and improve your buildings), buy and train horses, board other people's horses for cash. You can also go to auctions and buy horses as well as breed and race your own horses.

I'll talk about the cons first.

STAFF: Basically you have no control over your staff. You can hire them, give them raises, and that's about it. You also can choose which Lad works with which horse. I was hoping for more control over staff, and for the staff you have to make a bigger difference.

INCOME: At the start of the game, it is VERY difficult to balance your income and expenditures. I "lost" the game at least 3 times because I ran out of money. The only ways to make money are 1) race 2) sell a horse and 3) boarding. Once you get in to the game and get some international level horses, racing brings in a LOT of cash. In the beginning though, you only will get $2000-$10000 per race if you WIN (which is hard) and you have to subtract from that the fee to enter the race and the jockey fee. Selling a horse is an option, but in the beginning you may have one or two horses... so selling isn't really an option. The last way to get income is boarding, which hardly covers your expenses. For the first hour I played I basically just clicked "next week" dozens of times trying to make enough money from my boarders to afford a new horse (since I had sold mine to pay off my negative bank balance and have an extra stall to board). I think that there are some serious issues with money making in the beginning, and once you get nice horses it becomes too easy to make money.

NO TUTORIAL: This game isn't easy to figure out. The manual is horrible, there is no tutorial and when you hover over a button, there is no indication of what it does. I had to learn by trial and error.

PRACTICALLY NO GRAPHICS: The only time there are any graphics is during a horse race. Even then, it's kind of boring. Every horse looks exactly the same (different colors, same exact body/movement).

HORSES DIE YOUNG: My horses tend to die at age 14-15. In real life, it's normal for horses to live well past 20! I currently own a horse that is 23 and still going strong!

Ok, so those are all the bad things. There are plenty of good things too else I wouldn't have given this game four stars!

Once you get lucky enough to have an upper level (national/international) race horse, money comes easily and you can afford to buy more horses and rely less on boarding for income. An average purse in an international race is $500,000-$1,000,000!

I've been having a LOT of fun breeding my horses, training and racing them. It's become quite addicting! The training part of the game is fun. You get to pick which activity you want your horse to do each week, and you have to pick well to optimize your horse so that he is in top form and healthy for the race, yet still has the speed and stamina to do well.

People who like games that are heavy in graphics will probably not enjoy this game. This game is mostly text! I occasionally watch my horses race, but normally I skip the race and go right to the results. For those who enjoy text games, and also those who enjoy horse racing and strategy games, this game is a lot of fun! You just have to get past the awkward trial and error learning stage and then the game becomes addicting and incredibly fun!

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This game allows you to manage a stable, jockey the horses and bet or do any one of these things. Even on the easiest level, it is very difficult to make money at the beginning, though it becomes very easy once you have some good horses. There is sort of a critical mass situation, which is a problem in many other "economic" games (you have to have money to make money but then it becomes almost too easy). I have to admit to having to resort to some "creative" reloads after certain races or if the horse suddenly becomes ill right before the race you have been training so long for (which they often do, despite all your health management).

It's nice to be able to control the breeding and training and management of the horses as that seems to get left out of most horse racing sims. You can actually see your horses improving as a result of your training priorities. This is much more intricate than other games of its type, but there are still some limitations.

1. The jockey program is very hard to figure out, even on "easy" mode. I had more luck racing halfway well with the standardbreds than the throroughbreds, perhaps because they are slower paced...My ability to estimate how well my horse is doing , my reaction times and my ability to keep an eye on the screen while adjusting the buttons for speed and steering etc. are not as good as the computer's, obviously. I just can't seem to figure the best time to consistently hit the accelerator coming out of the gate (the computer always gets it right) and so nearly always break last, regardless of the horse's stats.

2. You are forced to rise to the level of your incompetence, in that you do not (as you would in ral life) have the option of staying at a level where you are doing well but not outclassing everyone. Once your horse has a certain amount of money, they MUST move up in class, even if they are outclassed at that level. You can never move down in class. Also, some of the race options are bizarre. There don't seem to be any races for two year olds (makes it hard to move your horse up to G1 class by the first week in May for the kentucky derby). And you can "accidentally" enter your flat racer in a steeplechase. And there are mounted trotting races (ow). Very odd. Not bad, but not super realistic.

3. These other things are minor issues, though. The main issue is that there is not a real goal in the game besides making money and becoming famous. There are tons of races of different lengths and on different surfaces. So you finally get to a point in the game where you have several good horses and you are famous and making tons of money and have upgraded your farm to the highest level in everything, and you are at that "what now?" stage. If they ever come out with a new version of this, having some kind of championship (perhaps invitational for different lengths, surfaces, genders, ages etc.) akin to the breeder's cup races and maybe a 3 year old "triple crown" for each nation and perhaps "horse of the year" awards and "halls of fame" would be a nice addition. Maybe an international championship too. I mostly follow U.S. racing, and very few of even the best horses from the U.S. go overseas to race (maybe because our purses are richest), but if international is going to be part of the game, maybe some world "breeder's" cup that is in a different place every year or something would be nice. Maybe they also should consider having races that correspond more closely to real races in terms of their rules for entry, at least at the G1 level. It seems odd that I can enter a 5 year old male horse in the "brader's cup filly". It's also a bit strange that horses continue to race after they have foals. Maybe it's different in Europe, but in the U.S. horses are always retired once they become breeders. Choosing whether to risk the health of a possible good breeder by keeping it on the track for another year versus retiring a proven winner (who may turn out to be a dud, or even sterile, at stud) is part of the game in real life.

I don't go im for online games, because of all the conneting, politics and coordinating that's needed with other players don't appeal to me, so maybe there's more to it if you play it on line against other humans?

Still, it's much better than other PC horse racing sims I've seen that mostly focus on just the betting and racing aspects of the sports and not the actual stable management, breeding and training. The graphics and simulations of what happens during the races are quite good and being able to upgrade your stable facilities and hire different staff is a nice touch.

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Be warned: this is not your typical "tycoon" or management game, nor is it for people who only have a passing interest in horse racing. It is very dry and in depth, but you can learn a lot of things if you are willing to give it a lot of time and effort. Did I mention most of the game takes place in a planner screen?

Horse racing manager started out by surprising me there were 3 modes of play. Betting, Racing and Stable. In Stable mode you are put in charge of managing every little nuance of the stable. In this mode you also get opportunities to bet at any races that come up as well as having the racing option. Whenever your horse is entered in a race, you have the choice of watching, going straight to the results, or racing the horse yourself. Of course the jockey you choose to sit on the horse, specifically their temperament (harsh, gentle, strict etc) has a lot to say. This is the only part of the game that has actual moving graphics. The learning curve for racing is fairly high, learning how to balance endurance and speed and positioning, as well as picking one of three things your jockey should focus on: Wind protection, whipping, and regaining energy to whip. Not to mention the days and weeks of training to help your horse have a greater chance to win. But just like real life, sometimes lady luck throws you for a spiral. A victory is never assured.

To greater or lesser extents you can manage the training, breeding, gambling, racing and management parts of the game, but only through management methods. You pick out tasks and make decisions from your planner book. You never actually get to see your horse being fed or trained nor your employees performing any of their tasks. It's all done through numbers and directions. You can buy about 6 buildings on the building map, and 3 levels of each type. A pretty boring and basic map with little points of colour and shapes where different buildings are. The various buildings increase different things such as training time, horse nutrition, fame etc. Some buildings become available only after you've built others. What you can build is also dependent on what country and stable you purchased at the beginning (difficulty level, weather conditions, types of racing etc is determined by which site you choose),

There is an amazing amount of detail that has gone into the information and numbers part of the game. This can actually get confusing and makes the learning curve even higher. The tutorial is basically one of the read and click variety which doesn't help out the difficulty. It is quite a simulator, but I am left with the feeling that it could have been more FUN somehow. The game is rather like looking at a horseracing magazine with the long lists of numbers and breeding etc, and the learning curve is high. Graphics are practically non-existent and the sound is mediocre. It is by no means a bad game, but be prepared for some seriously heavy management and lots of time to learn the game. A great idea, very dry implementation, but I hope to see more to come in this sub genre of simulators.

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If you're just a horse lover who isn't into way high tech games, then this is really fun. It's not very interactive though. For building a stable, that's kinda a lie, you really pick a structure and press build. The racing part is fun, but frustrating at first. No matter what you do you almost always come in last. (my record is third to last right now.) You do, however get to buy horses and breed them. Then, when you want to race your horse, (not in jockey mode) always look at your horse's prefances. Oh yeah, and get expensive horses and press sim, because that will get you more money in the end.

You can call a dietician for your horse too, but they do all the work so there's really no point. And training too, if you want to get the most out of this use a lad. All you do though is pick how you want your horse to be trained and press ok. There are three modes of this game.stable manager, which is the funnest, but you run out of money really quick and have to quit. Jocky, where it can be frustrating to get any higher than 16th place (unless you sim, then you will probably come in firt, but it is not as much fun.). And Bet mode, where you watch the races and bet on horses I think, but you can do that in the other modes to so, once again...pointless.

In short if you love horse, and love a good challange, and arn't likly to thow shoes at the computer screen if you don't win, then this game is a lot of fun.

P.S. I never did throw a shoe at the computer screen if your wondering.

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This was some incredible design job and the graphics are truly incredible as are the sounds and sights. Its like a virtual reality day at the Races.

The only slight drawback to this game is that even when you select a race in the USA, all the races arr in Euro distances and measurements, making it tough for many of us to be sure of the distance.

However that said, this game is complete in every other way and a must buy for the Horse Racing fan.

I would tell the programmers of this one to go back to the start phase and make a USA Version of the game and use American Tracks, and this one will sell like hotcakes ! If it is not doing so already.

Best Regards to All, MC TheStickRules.Com

Buy Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! X360

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I was in the market for a multi-player game to play with my 6 year old, we enjoy the series, so this seemed like a good idea. We previously enjoyed Pokémon Rumble Blast/ the 3 Skylanders games together and we invested 30+ hours in Rumble and 100+ hours in Skylanders. I wanted to try something new.

I purchased this on a whim on launch(15th) and didn't read any reviews as there weren't any. I was going off of a few previews that I had read which seemed positive. I should have waited for a review...at 45 Euros(PSN download), I feel cheated. This game is as bare-bones as it gets and not worth that much in any way imaginable. If it had been a 5 buck iPhone game, I would be able to live with the disappointment, but this is a full priced game and I expected to get a good deal of play out of it together with my boy.

I don't have much to add to An Interested Readers 1 star review(amazon.co.uk) in terms of gameplay myself.

My son sets the bar on games directed at a younger audience in our home, as I would never have purchased this for myself. So when he says it's boring after 45 mins of play and asks if we can play something else, that kind of sums it up for me from his point of view. We gave it a second shot later in the day which lasted 30 mins.

Ok, so after I got over the disappointment that my son didn't like it, I sat down and played the thing up until level 22 on my own. It was a grind of the worst sort. Boring sums it up pretty well. My son had that down after 45mins and I was just kidding myself otherwise. Save your time for something more worthwhile, this is not only not worth your hard earned cash, but also not your precious time.

I admire those actually liking this and sticking up for it. If only I was so open minded.

Imagination? Fine, but if I have to invest massive amounts of imagination into this to make it fun, then I should not have to pay full price. I'm not willing to put up with this game and grin through it just because the series is so good. The times that games of this calibre were acceptable are just too far in the past to justify the amount being charged. There are just far too many better games out there for the same price.

Next time I watch the show, I'll probably see this lack luster game in my mind and feel cheated once again. Such a shame.

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It's as if the people behind Adventure Time said, "Well, we love variety, so because the television show is interesting, the game should in turn be boring." If you play this with four people cooperatively, the social aspect saves the fun factor a little bit, but I was starting to zone out during the single-player experience. The dungeons are dull, lacking in color, too similar to each other, are devoid of secrets, and are too easy. The main thing that I looked forward to was the loading screens because they had some semi-amusing fictional quotes. It wasn't that they were THAT interesting, but the gameplay set the entertainment bar so low. Unfortunately, the quotes are few, so not far into the game, I began reading the same text repeatedly.

The music is below average, I usually forget it's there, and it doesn't set any kind of mood. There are treasures to collect, but they all look the same and don't really add much to the game, so I don't even bother with them. The enemies are from the show alright, but they are too bland, and instead of constantly using different ones from the show, a series containing an enormous roster of characters, I keep seeing the same foes like skeletons over and over and over again. And sadly, killing enemies just isn't rewarding enough to spend the time, so I quickly began just running past everything to hurry onto the next level. A game all about fighting things shouldn't make a player want to speed past it to get it over with.

As far as gameplay, the character roster shows eight, but four are unlocked later, and I heard that (a) DLC character(s) is coming. You start with Finn, Jake, Marceline, and Cinnamon Bun, but if you play the single player mode, Marceline is overpowered in terms of speeding through the game. She can float over holes, and there are a lot of them, so for spending the least amount of time in dungeons, she's the ideal choice. You get a basic attack which can be charged (and you can move while the attack is charged but more slowly) and you can hold one secondary weapon which may or may not have a limited use. For example, the kitten gun uses ammo, but the ice sword is limitless. And for a customizable character, you can equip two accessories at a time that you find in the dungeons, such as giving your character an extra heart or not being knocked back from blows.

The game has a very limited story told through somewhat amusing but rare cutscenes. Princess Bubblegum wants you to figure out what's happening in her secret dungeon after learning that the criminals are getting out, so it's surprisingly, eh, normal, for a show known for such wacky setups. I mean, investigating a jail due to break outs is what I'd expect from a Batman game or something. The voices are well done, though, so the actors did a superb job as always. As for the boss battles, they have variety, but they just aren't very exciting. And while dying doesn't happen too often, the fact that checkpoints only occur once every few levels is a pain because not only do you have to redo the levels you already did, but it's no easier the second time because the random generator makes the layouts different.

I was very disappointed, not just because the game is so blasé, but because the source material is so wonderful. Adventure Time was filled with fascinating and beautiful places with so many colorful and unique characters. The dungeon Finn took Flame Princess to was epic. Why couldn't the dungeons in the game be too? I always thought that being able to actually explore and fight in Adventure Time dungeons would be a blast, and then this game came out. If you want to enjoy a dungeon crawler, just watch the cartoon. It will bring more than 10 times the pleasure that actually exploring them yourself here will bring. The charm is watered down, the humor is lacking, and the fun is just not there.

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First, no this is NOT a finely tuned game via Castle Crashers where 4 players get together and have super fun time. This is Pendelton Ward's nostalgic adolescent gaming halcyon dreams of what games were yesteryear. It IS repetitive! It IS a bit dull! It IS what the 80's and 90's gaming world was like, ad verbatim. He/They created a world both simplistic (aka BMO) and yet postmodern because, well, he can. That is awesome in itself. Buy for the atavistic and futuristic. Do not buy if you want something contemporary and judge by standards of what is supposed to be the norm. Viva la Ward!

Honest reviews on Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! X360

From movies , TV shows and even cartoons there have been games made of them. Some have been big hits while others have been more than disappointing. One of the biggest shows on Cartoon Network right now is a show called Adventure Time. Now the folks over at D3 publishing have created a game called Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon Because I Don't Know! But is this going to be just as a big as the show or should you just stick to watching the cartoon?

The story behind the game is that Finn and Jake have been called by Princess Bubblegum because there are a rash of disappearances and thefts in the kingdom. She has tracked this to the Secret Royal dungeon and asks if they can investigate. If the creatures within this dungeon have found a way to escape all of the land of ooo is in great danger.

This game is a top down view hack and slash dungeon game in the same vein as Diablo. You will wander around the dungeon as various characters from the show. Finn, Jake, Cinnamon Bun and The Flame Princess are just some of the characters to choose from.

As you go through the dungeon you will fight monsters and raid chests for treasure. The treasure ranges from tokens that give you new abilities to weapons and armor that compliment your attacks. You can also rescue familiars that are in the dungeon and once rescued they will fight alongside you. You are going to need every bit of help as you navigate the 100 floors of this dungeon fighting all the way as you find out what is behind these disappearances.

The best thing I love about this game as will the fans is that it was written by the creator Pendleton Ward. Also all the voices that are in the show are also in this game so you will have the same characters you have grown to love in this game. All of this adds to the unique experience that fans of the show are surely to love.

If you are a fan of Adventure time and hack and slash dungeon play this is a no brainer. Go out and get this game today as it's available for almost any format.

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This game is not fun in the least. Repetitive & boring. I thought that the voice acting from the cast and my imagination would make it a little fun. It's so boring and basic and after one session we are returning it while we can still get some money back.

Reviews of ROME: TOTAL WAR GOLD EDITION (MAC 10.4 OR LATERUB)

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Rome: Total War has been my favorite strategy game for the past few years. I've had to stay in the Windows world, though, since there wasn't a native Mac version.

I've been kicking the tires of Feral's Mac port for the past couple of days using the Rome: Total Realism Platinum mod (which Feral has also enabled for the Mac, along with a couple of the other most popular mods). No problems so far; the game has been flawless, with no crashes or observed bugs. Thumbs up to Feral not only for bringing the vanilla game over to the Mac world, but for enabling the more historically accurate variants too -it really makes the game much more enjoyable. You can read detailed instructions on how to enable the mods on Feral's forum on Facebook ().

The only negative comment I can make at this point is that it puts a heavy load on my system (2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro). The Activity Monitor maxes out while I'm running the game, even in campaign mode (which I thought should tax the system less than the battle mode). The keyboard gets uncomfortably hot and the fans go at max speed. Make sure your system is up to the task!

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I originally played this game for the PC and was excited when it finally came out for mac. My impression has been mixed.

Rome: Total War

This is the better of the two games. I first started playing as Brutii and so far so good. I have had no problems. However, when I tried the game as Gaul, problems started to arise. I was besieged early on by a Roman army, but when I tried to attack with the army in the settlement, the game just froze. On one settlement, there were added buildings to one of the religious buildings (5 tiers of upgrades instead of the usual 3).

Rome Total War: Barbarian Invasion

This is the game I have had problems with. I started playing with the Franks. When I tried to capture the Saxons capital, the game crashed. I tried several ways (play the battle out, auto-resolve, etc.) but the game crashed each time. The same thing happened when I played as the Saxons trying to take London from the Romano-British.

Overall, the game has been fun to play. Other than the above mentioned problems, the game play has been very smooth. I am hoping a future update will fix some of these problems. I have sent an email to Ferral Support, and am still waiting to hear back. Until then, I will give the game 3 stars for the conversion problems.

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The total war series as a whole is amazing.With a campaign map of Europe where cities are developed and forces moved on a turn by turn basis, and then real time field and siege battles, they have a formula which is unique and amazingly addicting. However, despite the many advances after Rome,I still find it to be my favorite. Something about the feel of Roman legions cutting down barbarians and the true epicness of the empire you can create is dear at heart to me.

This game is also one of the most realistic games I know,economy's require skill to maintain armies have to be marched over a series of turns to reach their foes,and the battles themselves have realistic unit sizes with a moral system that means more than just saying, attack here.And if your thinking that charging your cavalry onto a line of phalanxes will get the job done then you will be in for a quick lesson as to what happens when a long spear impales a horse right through the heart.

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Overall its a great game as is to be expected from the Total War line. I own this game in both the PC and Mac version and the PC runs more smoothly but both will periodically freeze and kick you out of the game.

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This game is exactly like the windows version(as it should be) No weird crashes, bugs or features. The only differences are the online play(which nobody plays anyway) and the not very many mods out their for mac version. All the cool skins/levels/mods are all windows so unless people start modding mac version, you wont find any.

If you want this game and have a mac, this works just fine.

Ratchet & Clank Up Your Arsenal - PlayStation 2 Review

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I am a huge fan of the series, having played both the original and the sequel. The first game is a stand alone classic and the second was even better. This blows both of them away.

I liked the weapons upgrades in the second game and this greatly improves it. Instead of one level up, there are FOUR. Combine that with the upgrades on challenge mode and your weapons will never get stale.

The minigames in the game are really fun. It has arena matches like those in the second game and adds combat missions alongside the Galactic Rangers. These can prove challenging but reward you with many bolts.

The first game had lots of humor in it. The second had some but not as much. This game returns to its roots and gets you laughing throughout the cut scenes.

Final Review: This game is bigger, better, and more fun than either of the first two games. Fork out the money and get it. Its well worth it.

Difficulty: Medium

Gameplay: Really Fun

Duration: 15-25 hrs (over 25 hrs to get everything)

Recomended: Most Definitely

Wait to Get It: Are you kidding me?

Final Score: 10/10

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The Ratchet and Clank series is one of the best all around gaming fun on the market. The games are long but interesting, you can replay them countless times, and now it's online too!

First, the game is fun for kids and adults. There's a fair amount of humor that will go right over kids' heads, that adults will laugh their heads off of. There are all sorts of references to Aliens, Halo, and other pop culture events. There are also many references to the previous two Ratchet and Clank games, so I highly recommend you get those and play through them.

The graphics are really great in a cartooney way. The characters seem quite lifelike far more than in some pseudo-photorealistic games I've played recently. It's a testament to the talent of the animators of this game. You really do come to be quite fond of the various characters involved.

The weapons are simply BRILLIANT and now each one has four levels of upgrade, which makes them change in appearance and improve in functionality. You have lava guns, electric arcing guns, mini-turrets, and my favorites, the little doomie robots. Actually, each weapon is my favorite in certain situations. That's the brilliance here every weapon can be really a lot of fun.

The levels are all plotted out with their own look, feel, music, indigenous monsters, you name it. It is truly amazing how much this affects game enjoyability. Other games I've played recently had music that was lovely, but just didn't fit the mood of the level. It really makes a huge difference to have that done well.

Because you can go back to levels and gain more bolts, look for secret bonusses, find the titanium bolts, use your magnetic shoes, etc. etc., there is always room for more fun. This isn't a game that you play through once and put on a shelf. It's just as much time the second or twentieth time through the game, blasting away with your zappy electric gun or setting loose hordes of doomies.

And let's not forget the plot, which is full of laugh out loud comments and great, sly comments. This game just has everything you could want.

But there's more! The brilliant addition with Up Your Arsenal is the online gameplay. If you become a super player, not only can you kick through the game with ease, but you can take your gameplay online and find out just how good you really are! All of the great weapons and graphics are there for your enjoyment!

A must-buy for PS2 fans, 5/5.

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Ratchet and Clank was a suprisingly fun game. It's your typical 3-D third person shooter, like Destroy All Humans

Story

Up Your Arsenal is the 3rd in a series. I have not played the first two, but I am inclined to try them out. It follows the humorous story of Ratchet, a cute cat-like alien wielding a big gun, and Clank, his little robot sidekick. However, from the perspective of most people in the game world, the roles are reversed. Clank is a James Bond like secret agent, and Ratchet is his bumbling chaufer.

This leads into the the comical nature of the story. For the most part, it's not gut busting comedy, but there's enough dry wit to keep you smiling, and sometimes laughing through the cut scenes, and sometimes during the game play as well.

The story also features Captain Quark, "The best superhero the galaxy has ever seen," who though being a coward and moron, overshadows Ratchet as well.

The game is also chalk full of references to other games and movies. There's enough that I'm certain to have missed a lot of them, and those I caught I really enjoyed. A few examples: One of the cowardly troops in the game exclaims "We're all gonna die! Game over, man!" borrowing from the movie Alien. Also there are a number of mini-games that are very similar to some old-school Atari games.

Weapons

Unlike many shooter games, you don't start off with a lame weapon that becomes increasingly useless as the game progresses. I'm speaking of course about that stupid single-shot pistol.

Instead, you start off with a wrench (melee weapon) that can 1-shot groups of small enemies both in the beginning and end of the game, as well as having a powerful jump attack that can 1-shot large enemies in the beginning, and 2or 3-shot large enemies in the end game. It's particularly useful in the end game to clean up groups of enemies to preserve ammo, or take out one or two enemies that have gotten too close.

The first ranged weapon you get in the 1st level is a shot-gun, a weapon powerful enough to be reserved for mid-game in similar games. The remaining weapons only get more powerful from there. The 2nd weapon you'll get is a ranged area-effect bomb that can groups of large enemies in a single shot.

To keep the weapons useful as the game progresses, they each become more powerful, the more you use them. Taking the shotgun for example, in the beginning it has a short range, but wide (cone) effect. When it gets to level 3, it gains a charge up ability increasing the depth of the cone, as well as damage done. At level 4, it can lock-on to enemies, so you can shoot easier while moving, and at level 5 (max) it gets a charge up ray effect with the power of the BFG in doom (no joke, it can level the playing field quite easily)

There are also a series of unique and very fun weapons, such as the Suck Cannon. A gun that vacuums up enemies, and then spits them out at other enemies. Also one of my favorites, the Duck Gun. A gun that just turns your enemies into harmless ducks! Strategically, I haven't found much of a use for it, but it's just fun turning things into ducks!

Difficulty

For the most part, I found the game relatively easy to play. There are about 20-30 different weapons to choose from, but the controls make it rather easy to swap weapons mid-combat. I've been able to use the rope gun to swing from one ledge to another, mid fall, switch to the remote turret launcher, and by the time I land have the laser whip in my hand to wreak havoc.

The game-play was easy enough to be relaxing and enjoyable, but not so easy that I got bored. I typically had to tried each level 1 to 3 times before I got passed it. For the most part each level is unique enough to keep me moving with out that "been there done that" feeling (like what you get in Halo) The levels were easy enough that I didn't feel the levels were impeding my ability to enjoy the story.

The only exception would be some of the last 3 or 4 levels that were to the point of difficulty that I had to spend 3-4 hours trying and retrying to pass them.

One thing to note, is the save style in the game. It uses save points and continue points (similar to Halo). Save points are places where you can start after turning off your Playstation. Continue points are places where you can start over from in the event of death, so you don't have to start over from the beginning, so long as you don't turn off the Playstation. For the most part this wasn't too bad, but there were a couple places where I was forced to repeat a boring (easy) part that took 5 minutes, just to get to die at the hard part, over and over and over again. That got frustrating, but at least there weren't too many such places.

Play Time

Ratchet and Crank is a quick game. With out any prior experience with the game or others in the series, I was able to beat it in about 20 hours of game play. If I tried again (which I'm certain to do soon), I could probably beat it in about 14 to 15 hours play time. Someone who knew it inside and out could probably beat it in about 10 hours.

Replayability

The game is loaded with hidden location, and unlockable features. Even after the 20 hours of play time, I'll be going back to levels I've already beaten to find those secret locations, so I can unlock more skins, cheats, etc. Similar to Rogue Squadron, there are places in earlier levels that are inaccessible with out tools or weapons that are earned later in the game, encouraging the player to go back and replay some levels to unlock various secrets.

It's also a fast enough game, with enough humor that I wouldn't be surprised to find myself playing it through from beginning to end again with in the year.

Honest reviews on Ratchet & Clank Up Your Arsenal - PlayStation 2

Without doubt, the Ratchet & Clank series has my favorite PS2 games. This installment of the series has the solid foundation of the first two and thus it's still a good game. However, this game simply didn't deliver the entertainment of the first two.

Pros:

1) The game writers retain their sense of humor, which I believe is CRITICAL in a Ratchet & Clank game.

2) The major new feature of this game is a mini-platform-game. It's a Super Mario Bros. type game with Cpt. Quark and it's really fun.

3) They replaced the rocket ship battles with hovercraft battles and they are almost all optional.

Cons:

1) The game was too short. I completed the single player in 20 hours and I usually complete Ratchet & Clank in 40.

2) Multiplayer mode doesn't make up for a lacking single player game. Unreal 2004 is much better for this type of multiplayer game.

3) The diversity of monsters is disappointing. The first three worlds show the usual Ratchet & Clank gameplay of each world having its own monsters and the best weapons to kill them. The following worlds see the same monsters over and over so combat gets repetitive.

4) The many ways weapons upgrade is pretty fun, but if you use a weapon infrequently, it'll become useless later because it doesn't have the power you need.

5) The laser-allignment puzzles to open doors have changed to speed challenges requiring minimal intelligence and fast reflexes. There are no intellectual puzzles anymore.

6) Nearly all of the acrobatic challenges are restricted to the arena and they aren't very challenging. There is only one significant swingshot and powered platform challenge. The skating and rail-grinding challenges are completely gone.

7) There's only one 'asteroid' world.

Overall, this version of Ratchet & Clank is much more focused on combat and far less on puzzles and acrobatics and the combat isn't as varied as it used to be.

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I've loved all three of the games in the Ratchet and Clank series, this one no less. I'm not an active Online gamer, epecially where Shooter games are concerned, so that wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately, it seems that the Online mode caused the One-player mode to come up a little short in this installment. There just seem to be fewer levels. That could only be a perception, however. As I've not counted the number of levels/missions, I can't back that up with statistics. It just seems that I flew through the main story more quickly than I did the first two (or at least the second, Going Commando).

Pros:

1. New weapons (the Rift Inducer is really cool), with more levels of upgrades than before.

2. Freebies from saved games of R&C 1&2

3. Online capable

4. New mini-games

5. Acquiring bolts is much easier

Cons:

1. One-player mode seems to lack size in comparison to Going Commando (fewer worlds?)

2. You don't have the 'dogfight' missions in your spacecraft. Sure, there are hovercraft missions, but they aren't as cool.

Cheap True Crime New York City Collectors Edition - Xbox (Collector's)

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if you buy this and get to the human cargo mission when u come to the part where u gotta push that guy tommy off the crate, and its not working pause and unpause between 520 times, it works after that

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The game was great as far as outward condition an shipping, but my son never got to play it bc it doesnt work on a xbox 360. Its for the original xbox. I called about returning it an was told I need to talk to a certain person an what store. I felt they didnt want to take it back so I more or less wasted money on a game my son cant play.

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I rarely give 5 stars, but this one is close. For the original xbox, this is one of the funnest games I've played. Almost as good as the GTA franchise. If you played the first one, You notice it was kinda fun. The improvements on this one make it far superior to the last installment.

originality7/10 (loses points for being made after gta, high score for being a cop and being improved upon)

graphics 8/10

sound 8/10

replay 5/10 (not a whole lot to do once you beat it, also might get old after a while)

fun factor 9/10

over all 8.5-ish

A much under-rated game by the gaming community. The button layout/interface is far better than the fist game, as is the amount of stuff to do (customizing character and cars, out running cops, different fighting styles, entering buildings, and more)

Unfortunately, this game isn't compatible for the 360... but the first one is.. ughh.

Honest reviews on True Crime New York City Collectors Edition - Xbox (Collector's)

Thank you very much this got here on the 5th day (Thank you for being very prompt ^^)

This game is exactly what I hoped for, again thank you for the affordable price!

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I bought this game not knowing that it wouldn't work on an Xbox 360. It will only work on an original Xbox. I found this out the hard way so just be forewarned. There are no updates or downloads to make this game playable on the Xbox 360!!!

Highly disappointed that this wasn't mentioned in the description on Amazon....

Reviews of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance - Xbox 360

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This game far exceeded my expectations. It is truly the best action game so far this year, and one of the best actions games of this gen. If you're hankering for some action, or you're just a long time Metal Gear fan, check this title out.

It's certainly a Metal Gear game, though not a Metal Gear Solid game. If you want a focus on sneaking, Ground Zero was already announced a while ago. This game is all about fast, frenetic action... it is a veritable rollercoaster ride of ridiculous scenarios, absurd setpieces, and crisp clean combat. Despite this, there are actually quite a number of sneaking sections in the game, if you choose to go that route... certainly moreso than I expected. Alternatively, you can run into the fray swinging. It's up to you, and each has its advantages. There are over 500 codec conversations for you to explore that expands on the game's lore and characters.

The game focuses on ground based combat with a focus on counters, parries, and the new Zandatsu cutting mechanic. Parallels can be drawn to Ninja Gaiden. Essentially, you can slash your opponents open with the high frequency blade once you enter "Blade Mode" and pull out their electrolyte core to replenish your own health and energy meter.

What's truly revolutionary is the parry/dodge mechanic in the game. Rather than having a dedicated block button, Revengeance makes it a forward+attack input, which maintains offensive momentum. You need to parry every attack coming at you, but the game's window is generous, allowing for a lot of wiggle room until you nail down your timing. And once you nail down that timing? You get perfect parries with counterattacks that lead into Zandatsu (slowdown cutting mechanic where you can steal energy cores).

Even if you don't get the combat, or you're an action game novice, the game features a number of different difficulty levels to tailor the experience to what is most comfortable for you as a player.

The story is filled with its own levels of abrudity, but features a memorable cast and set of bosses. The bosses... Oh, the bosses. They're some of the best of this entire generationmeticulously crafted and exhilarating to fight.

The game is about 8-10 hours long, depending on your skill level and your starting difficulty, and that's not counting the plethora of VR Missions, unlockables, and successive playthroughs. Each difficulty will provide a unique experience with rearranged enemy encounters and enhanced boss behavior. The game is fast paced and addictive. Countless hours can be sunk into it.

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Being a long time MGS fan, my hopes were not particularly high with this game. The absurd title, the ludicrous box art (which looks like something from the 90s), the temporary cancellation of the project, and the departure from the MGS tradition, all led me to believe that this was a disaster in the making (despite Platinum's fine track record). Fortunately, I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of this game... "Rising" is a blast to play for anybody who enjoys action games (whether you're an MGS fan or not).

Foremost, the game does manage to retain the feeling that it's actually occurring inside the MGS universe, despite its over-the-top nature (and in terms of physics, anything our protagonist does in "Rising" is not far from what Vamp achieved in MGS2 and 4). Longtime fans will be pleased by the inclusion of familiar sights, sounds, and themes, even if the gameplay is radically different. Raiden, of course, returns, and his inclusion as the protagonist is bound to please any MGS fan who has wanted to step into the shoes of a ninja on the level of the legendary Gray Fox.

The heart of this game, like any action title, is its combat mechanics, and here "Rising" shines. Raiden moves with an effortless grace, and when he strikes, it carries a convincing "weight" that exceeds even the likes of "God of War" and "Bayonetta". His "ninja run" while goofy in name, is a blast to execute, as are his assortment of magnificent combos.

When it comes to Japanese wackiness, I've pretty much seen it all at this point in my life. Giant robots, ninjas, and cyborgs generally come off as tired and cliched to me, but somehow, "Rising" makes these concepts seem fresh and EXCITING. What's the secret? The game uses a beautiful style of presentation that is incredibly slick, resulting in an artistic, vibrant mode of visual storytelling that is a pleasure to behold. Despite the ludicrous dialogue, mediocre voice acting, and marginal plot, the game's visual flair picks up the slack, and makes this somewhat-cheesy story work. It takes cyborg-ninjas (the "Winds of Destruction" are on par with finest of MGS bosses), and makes them viable, turning them into showmen that are simply a blast to watch and engage with. The gameplay is nicely balanced with expertly rendered cut scenes that always impress, and are kept to lengths that are actually appropriate (another breaking from MGS tradition). This game is so visually impressive, it actually made me want a bigger TV, to better digest the spectacle!

The limitations of this game are as follows: The camera will fight against you a bit too often, particularly during blade mode, when it will inexplicably perform a 180 and send you facing the wrong way (while you're using your limited energy to pull off this special move). I hope this is corrected with a future patch. Another weak spot is that the mechanics, while largely intuitive, could have been explained much better during the game. I must have missed the part where they tell you how to parry (a skill you need in order to even get past the first boss, much less complete the game), and I actually had to go online to figure out how to do it. There is no explanation of parrying anywhere in the menus. Hint: Press "square" (X on the 360) and flick the analog stick at the incoming attack at just the right moment, in order to parry.

The greatest weakness, however, is an ill-fitting soundtrack that simply does not fit with the world of MGS. Fortunately, you can go into the options from the menu and turn the music level down, while leaving the sound effects at their normal level. The soundtrack was a point of contention where Platinum butted heads with Konami. I feel that Platinum should have yielded to the judgement of Kojima and Konami on this subject, and once more retained the superb services of composer Harry Gregson-Williams.

I rate "Rising" at 4, possibly 4.5 stars. Depending on the enjoyment that can be gleaned from additional play-throughs and the acquisition of unlockables, I may bump that rating up to 5 stars. This is by no means the best Metal Gear game, but it's a fantastic, thrilling ride by any measure.

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So far this is the best game I've played in 2013, and probably the best hardcore action game since Bayonetta. Initially the parry system and lack of a dedicated dodge may seem to be detrimental, but once mastered the combat system is very intuitive and rewarding.

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The only game that I can think of that even comes close to the sheer genius and robustness of its combat system is God of War 2. But with the unique cutting system and enemy balance that rewards nay, DEMANDS hyper-aggression, MGR:R is something revolutionary. Don't listen to pooh-poohers saying "Blurgh this game is only 5 hours!" That in-game counter counts literally only your fastest time, doesn't count cutscenes, dialog, or exploration scenes, and doesn't take into account the many, many times you will die. Not to mention that this game was built from the ground up to constantly push your skills and leave you wanting for more each successive difficulty amps up enemy aggression and attack patterns, as well as entirely new Boss behaviors. Not to mention the VR Missions will punish you endlessly for your hubris There are 20 of them (30 to be released later as exclusive DLC for the PS3 I believe :( ), and they are brutally savage and can easily take you more than 15 hours to just complete those took me an hour of practice just to beat VR Mission 7.

If you're a fan of action games and you don't buy this game, then you are everything wrong with the video game market right now! Platinum games has made something truly revolutionary here, and Konami has trusted them with a spin-off of the enormously popular Metal Gear franchise. Reward that risk-taking, buy this game, full price. Support the developers, support this kind of innovation!

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I just beat it on hard mode. (normal is too easy. i usually start all my games on the harder difficulties)

I did try Revengeance mode & very hard but without moves & power-ups, let's just say i got destroyed. LOL

Incredible combos, crazy yet simple plot. (don't expect 5 hours of blahblah like previous Metal Gear titles)

This game is all about action. don't expect the stealth either. though you CAN one hit kill them if you sneak up on the & there is an achievement to finish stages without being spotted.

The bosses & sountrack are THE BEST!!! The fighting is all super stylish.

once you get used to the controllers, you will be a ninja master!

there are left hands to collect for Doktor. items to find for VR missions. different weapons. power-ups.

then if you feel you are up to it, get S rank on it.

you will have a ton of fun playing this.

ok, i'm off to start very hard mode & collect the items i was missing.

IF YOU REALLY LIKE ACTION GAMES GET THIS

Reviews of Xbox 360 Rock Band 2 Special Edition

Customer Ratings:

I'm a 36 yo mom with two girls. Rock Band 2 had become a phenom in our house. There's a magic in making music together, esp with loved ones, that can't be explained, only experienced. I have to say I'm woefully, pityfully unmusical, and frankly, Rock Band intimidated and scared me embarassed me at the thought and I was afraid to even touch it, and I never ever, in ten million lifetimes thought I would like it. Kids, sure-kids try everything once. But me? Now here I am waking up at 6am to play the drums with them before they go to school? I have two pre-teen girls that are drummers now? Wow talk about your 'I never saw that coming' moment.

I know Rock Band is a little bit intimidating to us people who aren't musical. But just order the big box, let it come to the door and set it up in the privacy of your house and no one will be the wiser. It sets up in a snap, no wires at all, no plug-ins, no softwear -very mom (or tech) friendly.

Rock Band 2 is much improved over Rock Band 1 in ease of set up, maintenance, totally wireless, no plugs, cords, etc., and zero STRESS. The drums have been improved so they don't hurt your wrists like the previous set which were like hitting concrete, they, now, have lots of give. I've been playing it about 60 hours in total, now, and no painful wrists like the previous Rock Band 1 set gave me. The pedal is also metal-reinforced now so you can't snap it, like it's purely plastic predicessor.

I am trying to reach down into my soul and explain to parents what a wonderful 'video game' this set is. How 189.00 is nothing when you think of how much gas, time, energy, and stress it is to run around entertaining them on a regular basis. With four positions to occupy (guitar, drums, singing, and a bass if you get an extra guitar) there is always something for even a little younger sibling of four to do: either sing along or play the drums, gosh they learn it fast. Four year olds are no slouches. Rock Band 2 also has a wonderful 'no fail' option so that the song doesn't crash if one of the members falls out of tune, you can keep playing with no stress, unlike rockband 1. Altho, admittedly, soon, even inexperienced players seem to dislike the 'no fail' option as, strangely enough, not 'failing' is really the key to it feeling like you *are* real band.

If your looking for a way to meld your family unit, the last thing you would dream in the world might do it would be rocking out to old classics together, but somehow, like a magical mystery tour, it works wonders on the family unit. No one is more surprised than me. I swear I was convinced this would be the last thing on god's green earth I'd could ever dream of having enough coordination to ever enjoy.

Quick Mom-like Points:

Pros:

-An amazing dads/daughters/sons way to bond. Not too hard to talk dad into a nice redition of 'Eye of the Tiger' when he gets off work--where as trying to get him to have a tea-party of play some basket ball is a bit more challanging. Dads LOVE this game, and kids don't get 'in the way' everyone is an asset in rockband. Which is the sheer genius of it when it comes to familes and their differing ages.

-No musical ability or lessons required. Literally any age over 4 can play.

-Promotes family and sharing and harmony. Appreciation of each other's musical attempts, and that promotes respect as one 'musician' to another.

-Produces confidence and self-esteem via performing. We really don't get much of a chance to 'show off' or 'express' our selves infront of each other often. This experience really builds do i dare say it self-love and pride in self-ability. When you totally rock the drums or sing a great rendition of a song, or play an amazing solo on the guitar, everyone else knows how hard it is because we all take our turn at 'bat' so to speak.

-Great mental concentration, hand-eye coordination improvement as you make music.

-No painful learning curve. Each member of the band plays at their own skill level without it slowing down any other member.

-A fun way burn up all that pent-up energy, and surprisingly, emotion, we build up over the day.

-The drums are quiet. You can literally work in the same room and concentrate on a mental task on a computer while four kids rock wildly on rock band. Why? Becuase they shut up for 4 minutes at a time! WOO!! And they are in a good mood when they play. No one gets angry, it's such a singular thing of concentration to work as a whole (if that makes sense.)

Cons--

-might agrue over who is to play the drums next. I make everyone switch around ever few songs to play their favs. One of my favorite things about rock band is 'making' everyone rotate thru guitar, singing, and drums. Great experiences, all.

-someone or everyone in the house will be addicted. great 'when your homework is done' inducement tho.

-the vast majority of songs are classic rock and considered tame by todays lyrical standards as far as decency goes. Some of the songs are depressing and we flat-out skip. I am sure more varied rockband songs will be popping up soon in every possible genre. Christian rock, country, hiphop, etc. For the moment now it's the classic rock greats and some newer hits. So songs might need monitoring. I haven't unlocked 'you oughta know' by alanis morrisette yet, but I know that's not a song the kids will be able to play because of they lyrics.

All in all, amazing, wonderful, fabulous!

It's one thing to go to a concert and sit there and watch a flawless show but, wow is it another to try to do it yourself. Now I really know what they mean when they say 'rock on.' It ain't no joke. I, now, have a whole new perspective and *respect* for the sweat and brains it takes to make a song work. Grab Rock Band 2 for your family, it's almost a sure bet to please everyone, including Mom and Dad!

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First, the instruments are a big improvement over the previous Rock Band. I prefer wireless to wired, which is nice since I live in a small space and storing the wires is a pain. The face of the drums is made of a different material which makes them much less noisy. This is great for those who live in apartment complexes like me. A second smaller improvement, is that the base of the drums which holds the pedal is a different shape, which means the pedal doesn't rotate when the drums are lifted and moved.

Another major improvement over the Guitar Hero series is the ability to export songs. With Rock Band 2 you are able to play most the original Rock Band songs in Rock Band 2 by storing them on your hard drive (This cost 400 MS points and requires an XBox live connection). I really like this feature.

One game play improvement in tour mode, over the original Rock Band, allows you to use your character on every instrument instead of just one. This saves a lot of time on character creation. I also prefer the tour mode on Rock Band 2 as it seems more organized, however, this may just be my personal opinion.

The game play remains basically the same, though the song difficulty may have been made slightly easier, though its really hard to say.

The improvement of the drum face alone, makes the special edition worth it for me. If you're not interested in the quieter drum faces, the wireless instruments, and the drum expansion I would recommend just getting the game IF you have the original Rock Band.

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Playing the original Rock Band game once at a party was all it took for me to ask my wife for the Rock Band 2 bundle as my birthday gift. Rock Band is a great party game. Friends look forward to coming over to play, or even just to watch. I organized an after hours Rock Band function at my office recently, and was amazed at how many coworkers came out of their shells to try their hand at singing or beating a drum even those generally diinterested in video games.

When at home, you can open new songs and venues through the World Tour mode. You can play with up to three friends, or go it solo with "computer non-player characters" substituting for your human bandmates. Being able to switch instruments while playing solo is a great feature that can help you get past a tough spot. If you're playing guitar and get stuck on the solo for Pearl Jams "Alive", switch to drums and try it again.

Be forewarned while not a big deal know that the bundle currently ships with a solid black guitar with a white pick guard not the sunburst wood grain pattern everyone describes as the new RB2 guitar. I was a little surprised and perhaps a bit dissapointed that I didn't get the new guitar pattern, but it is still the improved RB2 version with the stronger strum bar, auto-calibration microphone, and wireless screwless battery compartment.

This is a very fun game that makes you feel like you're actually participating in some creative musical adventure.

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From a software standpoint this is superior to Guitar Hero. Unfortunately the hardware is still unreliable, and there is a good chance some part of it will fail after the short 60 day warranty.

I am now stuck with a broken drum pedal that has never been used. I purchased the set on release day in October (mistake #1), but didn't use the drums until a family gathering at Christmas (mistake #2) just past the 60 day warranty window. Fighting with the drums during the event was not fun, and dealing with EA Support has been less so.

Make sure you use a credit card that will double the manufacturer's warranty and hold on to your packaging and receipt. You will probably need it.

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There are plenty of reviews out there for this game. I just want to point out something to help with the decision many are asking. "Which one should I buy?" Well, personally, I've gotten both and think everyone should but if you are limited to one choice, consider this. The Rock Band 2 game currently overs you a much larger available setlist of songs via DLC (downloadable content). I personally have over 500 songs for my Rock Band 2 game and while I have more fun sometimes playing some of the songs on World Tour because of the new features that were incorporated, I would choose my larger setlist game in the long run. It seems the Rock Band 2 folks are working harder to get more songs for us than with Guitar Hero.