Review of PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi Bundle

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List Price: $299.99
Sale Price: $212.80
Today's Bonus: 29% Off

Other people have written great reviews on what comes in the box, etc, etc so I don't need to add to that; however the following info has been left out so far.

I just got this bundle at the house for my son and overall we are VERY happy with the bundle and the extras...EXCEPT for the "free Data Plan". This is a little misleading but it is not Amazon's fault, it is Playstation's (or maybe AT&T). The plan is more of a "buy one get one free" instead of being a free plan overall. You FIRST need to pay for one full month's service of an ATT plan and you will THEN get a "coupon code" to be used for another months service, yet there is still a small catch the free service is only for the cheapest and smallest data plan, the 250MB plan. You also must use the coupon within 90 days of first activating the service. So this means you have to use it within the 2nd or 3rd month of service.

Also the "free downloadable game" is only if you sign up for an AT&T plan and even then you have to wait 30days AFTER signing up before you even get the code to use in the first place.

Much of this can be lost in the description. Orginially I was going to get my son the WiFi only model but I thought that this would be better with the 3g model and all the free stuff, man what a disappointment. HOWEVER, I was thinking of giving the data plans a try ANYWAY so this still turned out to be a good bundle.

It is also important to note that there IS a AC adaptor INSIDE the box, no need to order an addional one (unless of course you think you need it). I found this a nice little surprise since most PS items want you to use an USB connection to charge it against your PS3 or PC. The adaptor is a little bit of a pain given that you use a "USB type" cable (it is properitary) to the VITA which has a USB connection on the other end. You connect THAT end to a little "box like" convertor which then plugs into another cable that you plug into the wall. So three different pieces to plug your VITA into the wall.

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With the 3G launch, get ready for overwhelming ATT website access issues! Here's the problems and their fixes:

1. When you first power up, the getting started screens will take you through the normal language, location, time etc. stuff. DO NOT sign up for ATT 3G in this initial setup! Decline and click "sign up later." If you don't, you'll go to the overwhelmed ATT website, and suddenly your input will start delaying, then, the screen will freeze with black or blue death.

Fix: The blue-glowing playstation button is a combined escape and control-alt-delete. If it doesn't clear the freeze, hold the power button for 5 seconds, wait a second or two, then hold it again for 5 seconds and you'll get the setup screen again. This time DON'T sign up for ATT OR the PS3 network. Finish the setup, DO NOT opt into the PS3 network at this stage (Sony has now changed the name of this network to SEN for smart TV's, but Vita still calls it both) until setup is complete. Once you complete setup, you can go back and opt into ATT (at 14 bucks a month for 250 m) AND sign up for SEN/ PS3 online.

2. Once you get ATT, beware of unplugging wifi.

Fix: Even if you acquired and activated wifi at setup, once you activate ATT, Vita will default to 3G even if you're hot on wifi, kicking your setup wifi off. You have to go back into settings and reacquire wifi. DO THIS right away or you'll be charged by ATT even for setting up PS3 SEN!

3. Missing handshake numbers (IMEI and ICCID).

Fix: If you blow the first attempt to activate on ATT's overwhelmed website, try it a 3am on a weekday, not 11 am on a Saturday! Also, if you blow the first attempt, on the second, the auto fill for your device sometimes won't work, and ATT won't recognize the device because the two long ID's will be missing. In the background, ATT actually checks your location and assigns you a ghost phone number. That's right, your Vita will get it's own number, but until Verizon gets into the act, I doubt that we'll be able to do any phone activities other than on Skype! ATT WILL email the heck out of you, including giving you the ghost number you can't use.

Did you save the box? Numbers not there! Don't despair! Go to settings, system, then system information. The last two numbers (IMEI and ICCID) are stored in your device. These are the two numbers you need to activate the service on ATTs website.

4. PS3 Net.

Just like Facebook, SEN won't accept email addresses that aren't common extensions. So, if your email is Contact@JaneDoe.com, they will first accept it, then kick you off at the end of the tedious number by number input on the little Vita screen. Too bad ATT/Sony didn't include a direct web signup for your PC, but because of device recognition, you have to do it initially through the Vita, unless you already have a PS3 account from another Sony device.

Fix: Just get JaneDoe@gmail.com (or Yahoo, your cable, etc.). Mac users: Sony WILL accept me.com addresses.

That's it for now. I don't have to tell you this is an incredible machine, I own them all to develop elearning products for every platform, and this smokes any other handheld, including the ipad and galaxy 10.1 in real arcade like action. BTW, are there any arcades left, or am I dating myself???

;=) Please vote this helpful if you liked, if not, let me know how we can improve. Also, ask a question and we'll post an answer if you have any other difficulties, and see the first launch bundle for other answers in our review and discussions there.

Best Deals for PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi Bundle

The Vita itself is a great system but the 3g version is a ripoff. The reason to buy this bundle would to be get a memory stick, a free game, and the ability to access 3g when and if you ever wanted. The problem with the bundle is that to get your "free" game you have to sign up for a month of 3g. Well no problem you say, sony is generously giving me a free month of it so I can use that to download the game. Wrong, sony gives you your 2nd month free you have to pay at least 15.00 for the first month. Then at the end of the 30 days they will email you a voucher for Super Stardust Delta.( The game is a 208mb download so if youre going to download it with 3g save your data) you end up spending $15 for a $10 game. So make sure you and add $15 to that $50 value.

Well thats fine with me you might say I plan on getting 3g to play all the awesome online games. That's fine as long as youre playing turn based games. No online shooters or fighting for you. Sony and ATT are only alowing psn messaging, web browing, and asynchronous multiplayer (turn based) on 3g. Everything else wifi only. The system is great but do yourself a favor buy the wifi version and spend the extra 50 on an overpriced memory stick.

Honest reviews on PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi Bundle

This review will address the AT&T bonus bundle which includes one 8GB memory card ($30), a DD code for Super Stardust ($10 PSN game) and a 250MB 3G network data packet ($15), which should be available through the end of this month. The review on the actual PSV hardware itself will follow.

As many have already mentioned, the promo items (PSN game and data packet) are only redeemable AFTER paying for the initial data packet, so anyone who thinks they're getting their first month free and will be downloading Super Stardust shortly after charging up their PSV for the first time will probably be upset, and not unreasonably so as the conditions for redeeming the promo items are not mentioned on the box itself. It's also a little underhanded to make users wait a month after using their first month of 3G service before they receive their game download code, but free is free I suppose and it is only a $10 DD game to begin with.

On the flip side, if anyone is actually buying a 3G model with the intention of NEVER paying for even one month/data packet, one almost has to question the intelligence of buying this model when the WiFi model is $50 less. At any rate, $15 isn't much for a two month (limited given the 250MB data cap) trial run of the service.

As for the 3G service itself, after one week of using it, about the only function it currently serves is for Near updates (PSV social app that shows who's playing what on the PSV in your proximity) and web browsing on the PSV's browser when outside of a WiFi network. It is very limited as of this writing and subjectively not worth subscribing to with the assumption that the PSV owner already has a smartphone with a data plan. If the PSV is your only way of accessing a 3G network when cut off from WiFi, it still beats running around for a WiFi hotspot.

Lastly, the bundle comes with a 8GB memory card that currently retails for $30. It is easily the best added value component of the bundle and even if one were to ignore the data packet/PSN game, it's only $20 over the cost of a $250 WiFi PSV when purchased with a $30 memory card. Seeing as how very little information has been put out regarding future uses for 3G and the PSV, $20 is nothing to add that feature on the chance that the service becomes worth renewing down the road. There are no service contracts.

As for the PSV itself, after two weeks of initial impressions, it is easily the most enjoyable handheld gaming device I have used running all the back to the original Gameboy and before with Nintendo Game and Watch games and Mattel Electronic Sports games, etc. The last two handhelds I've used extensively have been the PSP and the 3DS for recent comparisons.

The 5" OLED display is the first noticeable feature, with its ink like blacks, high contrast, relatively tight pixel density and even light distribution due to the self illuminating OLED pixels.

Build, fit and finish feels balanced and substantial. Face buttons and D-pad have a very satisfying click feedback that feels precise and responsive. The D-pad in particular, as the first deviation from the familiar Playstation 4 arrow button cross design is the best feeling D-pad I can remember using. The face buttons are smaller than those of the PSP and slightly larger than those of the 3DS. The X button proximity to the right analog stick has been mentioned as a potential issue, presumably for those who press with the heel of the thumb ("rolling") rather than the tip of the thumb (precise).

Following the OLED display, the second most prominent feature is the twin analog sticks, a first for handhelds. Unlike the sliding disk design used by the PSP and again by the 3DS, the PSV uses actual mini analog sticks with the same single axis rocking action everyone who has used an analog stick controller is familiar with. The feedback is a bit tighter than that of the DS3 with less travel due to the short throw axis which basically means more precise input is both possible and required for games without aim assist or loose controls. The size will probably take some getting used to for most, but for anyone who managed to adapt to the barely usable slider disk of the PSP, the analog sticks should be a snap to use.

The size of the PSV is another oft noted design issue, which is partially to accomodate the 5" screen in addition to the real estate taken by the face buttons, analog sticks and D-pad. Yes, the bezel could be thinner, but the controls themselves really can't be spaced much closer without causing more issues than solving. "Not pocket-sized" is another oft made comment regarding the size although it will easily slip into the back jeans pocket of just about any pair of jeans with at least a 30" inseam that aren't cut or worn like jeggings. I just don't know who would actually want to carry something like the PSV in their back pocket without some sort of case, slip cover, etc. to prevent scratches or other damage.

On the plus side, the PSV should fit average to large size hands very comfortably compared to the DS/DSl/3DS, PSP/PSP Go, etc. It's the first handheld I've used that didn't give me "crab claw hand" after 30 minutes of use. The position of the analog sticks are a comfortable distance away from the trigger buttons on the top of the PSV and the rounded shape with shallow contours moulded into the rear make it the most comfortable handheld I've used to date.

Sound volume from the built in speakers is adequate for a device of its size. Louder than the PSP or 3DS at max volume. Sound quality should fall in line with expectations for a portable device of its size. Naturally, the best sound output will be from a pair of quality headphones or a line out jack to a stereo system.

Battery life is adequate compared to the 3DS and PSP and realistically provides about 3-4 hours of gaming (PSV games) with more for PSP games, video, music, etc. Without the swappable battery design used in the PSP, there is no option to buy extra batteries for long trips away from a charger socket. SCE will be selling a $50 portable charger pack in the near future which while far from ideal, is better than no solution at all.

Users of iOS devices will feel right at home with the front and rear touch panels. Multi-touch, capacitive type interface that is more sensitive than the iPad to the degree that it is possible to trigger touch input without actually touching the display (if a bioelectric source, ie. finger, is about 1mm away).

That about covers the hardware itself without delving into the PSV games or any of the software functionality built into the PSV OS, which can and will be updated via firmware updates as more features are added and refined.

Overall, couldn't be more impressed with the hardware, barring a few annoyances like the lack of any onboard memory (the 3DS has 2GB internal memory, in addition to a 2GB SD card shipped with every handheld), the overpriced proprietary memory cards (deja vu Memory Stick) which serve the twofold purpose of slowing the tide of software piracy as well as provide hardware revenue to recoup potential losses Sony is taking on every PSV sold and the essentially useless VGA resolution cameras that are only useful for in-game use including the free augmented reality games available in the PSN Store for download.

The hardware is solid, the only issue from here on out will be the steady release of diverse, quality titles that will either make or break the platform.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi Bundle

So I managed to get my hands on a Vita (3G/WiFi version) shortly after launch, and I also got a 16GB memory card along with Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Wipeout 2048 (Thank you Sony, I love you too).

So what do I think after a week of ownership? Well quite honestly, I couldn't be happier with this marvel of portable gaming.

So why, oh why, do I love my Vita so much?

Well let's break it down a little so I can explain how I feel about this wonderful machine.

*I have not activated any 3G services yet (I just haven't had the need). I just wanted to put that out there before I get started.

Hardware.

The Vita is much lighter than I expected but still feels very robust. It fits comfortably in the hands with a couple of matte grip areas on the back to rest your fingertips on. A quad-core processor and quad-core graphics processor power the impressive graphics, which show up wonderfully on the 5-inch display, which is the best looking handheld gaming display I've ever seen. Everything looks good on the Vita, games, movies (streamed from Netflix), and photos. Even the operating system is amazing to look at. There are left and right shoulder buttons, a PlayStation button, and Start and Select buttons. The Start and Select buttons are really small and not particularly easy to hit, but as you rarely use them whilst playing, I don't think it's going to be an issue. On top of the Vita are the power and volume buttons, along with the slot for game cards and a proprietary port of some sort (can't find any info on what this is for). The bottom of the Vita houses the headphone socket, a microphone, USB charging and communication connection, and a slot for the memory card. The memory cards are proprietary to Sony but look a lot like micro SD cards. There are two cameras built into the Vita, one front and one rear facing. They work great for the augmented reality games and some of the other game demos I've tried, but they're not going to take the place of your digital camera or even your smartphone camera anytime soon.

Controls.

First thing that you'll notice is that it looks just like any other piece of Sony gaming hardware. The screen is flanked by two analog thumb sticks, then above those are the classic PlayStation buttons on the right and a D-pad on the left. Both the buttons and D-pad feel smaller than the ones I remember on the PSP. The most impressive thing of course is that finally someone has made a portable system with dual analog sticks, hooray! Next be prepared to be blown away, not only is the gorgeous display a touch screen, but the back of the handheld is a touchpad too.

When I first got the Vita my initial reaction was that the analog controls where a little 'twitchy' but I have to say that after a week, I've gotten used to them. Both the placement and responsiveness took me a few days to get the hang of, but also remember I haven't had a portable system for the last 6 months since my first generation PSP went kaput recently.

The touch screen is ultra responsive and my only complaint is that it suffers from the same thing all touch screens do . . . . oily fingerprint smears.

Display.

I really haven't paid too much attention to OLED screens in general. I'm more than happy with my LED TV so didn't really pursue OLEDS very much. I know they're supposed to be better than LCD with greater clarity and brighter colors. Well all I can say is that 'they' are not wrong, the 5" OLED screen is amazing with awesome depth and color. It's definitely the most vivid screen I've seen, and I've yet to see any problems with screen tearing or pixilation when watching movies or playing games.

Graphics.

Gorgeous is the first word that comes to mind. I really can't tell you what the resolution is, because I haven't bothered to look it up, but I can tell you it looks just like my PlayStation 3, just on a smaller scale. I dare you to look at the screen and not be impressed!

Extras.

Playstation Vita does more than just play games. Here are some of the highlights included in the operating system:

Google Maps is included in the operating system, which works exactly as you'd expect if you've ever used it on a smartphone or tablet. The GPS seemed pretty accurate, but I don't see this being used much. I just can't imagine too many scenarios where it would be easier to pull out your Vita than your smartphone, maybe it would useful for people without smartphones though?

Web Browser. Yes there's a web browser, yes it's better than the PlayStation 3 one, but you're only likely to use it for quickly looking something up as it's still pretty mediocre by today's standards.

Apps. There are currently apps for Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and Netflix. More apps have been promised in the future. Netflix works flawlessly and has a very similar interface to the PlayStation 3 app. I'm hoping for a Skype app next.

Near is the app which adds a social aspect to the device by showing you nearby Vita users, what they're playing and what trophies they've won etc. There's also a way to share "Game Goods" using this app, but for the life of me, I'm still not 100% sure how this all works. Quite frankly I found the app confusing.

Content manager is built into the operating system, and allows you to transfer information between the Vita and a PlayStation 3 or computer. The content manager is really easy to use, and even contains it's own installation files for your PC which organizes a database on your PC for transferring between your PC and the Vita. My only complaint would be that whilst your Vita is transferring to or from your PlayStation 3, it's not possible to use your PlayStation 3 for anything else. Background transfers are on my wish list for future firmware updates..

Remote Play is a feature which was poorly implemented on the PSP in my opinion. So I'm really pleased to say that setting up and using remote play on the Vita has been a dream and completely without problems. I've tried it from several different locations and it has performed flawlessly every time. My only wish is that more PS3 games use the full potential of this feature, as it seems that right now, only minis and PSOne games are playable via remote play. Let's hope this changes soon.

Party is the app used to create a party so you can chat and play games etc over the PlayStation network. Currently I can't get this working unless it's with other Vita users, but you're supposed to be able to cross game chat with people on the PS3 also. I'll post an update when this feature starts working.

PlayStation store is slightly revamped and clearly structured specifically for the Vita. It's easy to navigate and also recognizes the fact that I'm a PlayStation Plus member. One downside we have discovered is that my son can't log into the Vita using his own PSN account as apparently the Vita only wants to use one account (namely mine). This is a shame as we would dearly love to be able to earn trophies and save games under our own accounts. This is another item on my wishlist.

Operating system.

Probably the one thing about the operating system that impressed me the most was how intuitive it is. I handed the Vita to my wife, who is less than technically savvy with such things, and she was able to start navigating immediately. Granted she got lost in the menus and eventually tossed it back to me, but I was still impressed that she was able to use it with no instruction from me.

Sliding between screens and switching between apps happens at lightning fast speeds, even when switching out of a game and into google maps is almost seamless.

Managing home screens, moving icons around, customizing backgrounds etc is easy and similar to the way most smartphones handle it. In fact the whole interface reminds you of a smartphone in many ways (which is probably why my wife picked it up so quickly).

So enough about hardware I hear you say, what about the games?

Games.

Games are either downloaded digitally from the PlayStation store or you can purchase them on Game Cards, which basically look like SD cards (but they're actually a format that's proprietary to Sony). From what I can tell, you get around a $5 discount for getting them digitally (I compared prices at Gamestop). Remember that if you plan on doing the digital download, you're going to need a bunch of memory cards, which are not cheap.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

First of all if you own a Vita (or are planning on getting one), you NEED to own this game. This game alone could sell a million Vita's. Along with the usual amazing story telling and graphics, Golden Abyss makes full use of all the extra interfaces you get with a Vita. The touchscreen and rear touchpad are extremely well implemented and playing quickly becomes very intuitive. I refuse to post any game spoilers, but apparently (and I read it on the internet so it must be true), this game is longer than Uncharted 3, and critics claim it's better than Uncharted 3. I can tell you from personal experience it's exactly what you'd expect from an Uncharted game, and then some!

Wipeout 2048.

No real surprises here. Wipeout is a great racing franchise and this game is no exception. The graphics are lightning fast and really show off the capabilities of the OLED display. This game also offers what Sony are calling "Cross-Play" (still sounds dirty to me, LOL), which basically means that it will inter connect with Wipeout HD on the PlayStation 3. Exactly how this all works I can't really say as it's not been implemented yet, so rest assured as soon as it's working, I'll update my review.

I have to admit that as good as Golden Abyss is, I still find myself popping Wipeout 2048 into the Vita for those "I've got 20 minutes to spare" moments. I can't wait until they get cross-play working.

I have managed to copy some of my Mini's to the Vita and they play great, with no issues.

There are three free games available in the PlayStation Store for the Vita. Cliff Diver, Fireworks, and Table Soccer. All of these titles use the augmented reality cards (supplied with the Vita) to turn your everyday environment into the play are for your game. They're simple games that are well-designed to work with the Vita.

The Vita's battery life is really the only downside that I see at this stage. Sony quote battery life at 5 hours. I will use my Vita mostly whilst traveling, so I'm going to struggle with such a short battery life. Especially flying across country as I often do. I guess it's just something I'll have to live with, at least until I find the nearest USB power supply!

Overall I'm extremely pleased, and pleasantly impressed with the Vita. Honestly I think Sony have a great portable gaming system, I just hope they fully implement all the possibilities that this system can offer. I would love to play my PS3 games remotely from my Vita, I'm getting tired of dragging my PlayStation 3 all around the worlds airports.

MartB64 member of [....]

Best Bioshock Infinite: Premium Edition -Xbox 360 Deals

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List Price: $79.99
Sale Price: $59.88
Today's Bonus: 25% Off

I'll just start and say that the game is fantastic and really had me mesmerized and hooked from beginning to end. But this review is for the content you get from the premium edition and whether or not the extra $20 cost is worth it. Here's what I think of the items.

The little artbook is a nice sample of the full size hardcover version. The numerous concept art for the various characters, enemies, weapons, etc are enjoyable to look at and I'd say the quality of the images are on par with what's been shown in the Bioshock 2 artbook. The item itself has a weathered look similar to the Bioshock Infinite logo and the material used on the hardcover seems to be some kind of fabric, but I'm not sure. A neat item.

I'm still surprised over how tiny the Handyman figure is. Even though the product description did say its a board game figurine, I was hoping it would be bigger or at the very least, be made of metal. This item overall reminds me of one of those 25 cent capsule toys, i.e. cheap and completely unremarkable.

The "Devil's Kiss" lithograph is okay. Again, I was hoping it would be slightly bigger (its basically the size of a postcard) but I wasn't expecting a full-size picture either. Its too bad they didn't include any additional lithographs of the other vigors such as Shock Jockey or Murder of Crows, which brings me to...

The "Murder of Crows" keychain. Its a pretty cool trinket and I'd say its about the right size for a keychain to where it won't look obnoxious when being used as such. I can even see this being used as a charm as well.

Minus a few songs, the soundtrack wasn't particularly memorable for me. However, if you do happen to enjoy the music, then the digital download for the whole thing is definitely worth it. Despite what I said though, having the soundtrack to any game game is always a nice bonus. I will say that the song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" is pretty soothing and sticks out among the rest considering it has lyrics.

Getting into the in-game content. The upgrade pack gives you three gears (basically perks) that are exclusive to this and the Songbird edition: Bull Rush, Extra! Extra!, and Betrayer. Bull Rush is probably the most useful out of the three because even though it says your melee strikes have a chance to knock back an enemy (more like tossing them like a ragdoll) after a sprint, you don't have to sprint at all and the knock back from a melee is guaranteed (not on the heavy hitter enemies of course). Extra! Extra! gives you ten silver eagles for each voice recording you pick up and Betrayer causes enemies under the influence of the player's Possession vigor to explode when killed. I found their uses too limited to be useful. All in all, nothing special or game-changing.

Finally, the avatar items. I do like the Booker Dewitt costume, it definitely has style. The ladies get an elegant dress as worn by Elizabeth. Unfortunately, you don't get anything else in the form of accessories or props, but its not like avatar items are the main draw to this edition anyway.

Overall, I found the content of the premium version to be OK, but not worth an extra $20. However, I've seen and bought worse (and more expensive) collector's editions of games in the past and I wouldn't consider this to be one of them. But I wouldn't regret just buying the regular game either. So choose wisely on which edition of the game you plan on purchasing.

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Bioshock Infinite was worth the wait, I can say that much. The game is very much like its predecessors, but also different. The story is the best yet in my opinion, the relationship between Booker and Elizabeth is realistic and makes the game. My only complaint is the combat now only limits you to being able to carry 2 weapons rather than a full arsenal of guns like in previous games and some of the vigors (replacing plasmids) seem overpowered, but the new skyhook combat is a blast and very fast paced. The story will stick with you long after you finish playing and the ending is the best of any game I think I've ever played. It took me about 15 hours to 100% the game on hard, but I have yet to play 1999 difficulty. Highly recommended to anybody looking for an amazing story with the gameplay to back it up.

Best Deals for Bioshock Infinite: Premium Edition -Xbox 360

I would recommend buying the game but the premium edition was a big rip off. The items are small and of poor quality. Don't bother with the premium, just buy the regular game.

Honest reviews on Bioshock Infinite: Premium Edition -Xbox 360

Many people compared this to the first Bioshock game and found it a bit lacking. I could not do that since I've never played the first games so to me this game was incredible! The game mechanics to meek some getting used to but because of the environment I didn't mind the learning curve, I usually don't play shooter games.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Bioshock Infinite: Premium Edition -Xbox 360

Bioshock, for six years, was my favourite game of all time; no exception. Then I played Bioshock Infinite. I don't know which one was a better game. It's beautiful, compelling, and has a high replay-ability. Not to mention it has an ending to rival its predecessor.

Buy Rock Band Official Guitar + Rock Band Microphone

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My family had been looking for something to do as a unit and Rock Band 2 has turned out to be consistent fun for weeks now. We are two professionals with a 4-year old boy and 6-year old girl. We can enable the "no fail" mode and play pressure-free tunes at varying skill levels (if you choose to be challenged while having fun with the family). Being able to download music you want to hear or play makes the game very user friendly. We purchased a bass guitar about a week after playing with just the drums, guitar, and microphone.

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Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace - PC Reviews

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The Phantom Menace. Sometimes this game seems like an excellent one, while at others it is downright boring and silly.

The graphics, while not the best, are certainly the best i'll ever see on my fast-approaching obsolete computer. They are still pretty impressive though, as are the reflections, particle trails, and other little graphical effects. The sounds and voices are all pretty good too.

While the first few levels and the last few levels are pretty much fun, the Tatooine levels are boring and silly. Also, after playing the jedi for half of the game, you feel immeasurably weak when you are forced to play as panaka or the queen with her wimpy "droid stunner" gun.

The first time you play this game, it is pretty fun and challenging. Most of the puzzles aren't too difficult, but then you get to those jumping puzzles like the one on level three, and due to the awkward POV and controls, it takes twenty minutes to cross that little bit of water. This becomes a constant problem later...little jumping puzzles that take a vast amount of time and get very annoying very fast. It's also annoying running around tatooine, running when people try to kill you but not allowed to kill them, and trying to trade things back and forth.

Fortunately, the darth maul fights are pretty cool.

The second time you play the game, it's extremely easy, and I don't think I died once, and I beat the game in one sitting. Boring, fast, this game is fun the first time but has no replayability value. Add to that the lack of variety in enemies (100's of battle droids with once and a while a destroyer thrown in), and the lack of multiplayer, and you get a game which is decent but not worth the original $50 price.

Now that the price has gone down, if you like these types of games, I'd recommend trying it, but if you prefer shoot-em-up action games, stear clear of this one.

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I'm not really much into top of the line graphics and all that stuff. I play a game if it sounds fun. So yeah the graphics aren't the best but the games alot of fun. Several people were complaining about Tatooine levels. If you play it the way you're supposed to then yeah its sorta boring. I don't play it the way I'm supposed to when I've finished the game once. Try attacking some random people or walking throu the dung. Make it interesting do it your way, if you want to run through the streets of Tatooine and killing every person in sight and being chased by all the guards, swinging their vibroaxes at you and yelling "You're a no good killer," and stuff like at you than do so. I've always liked padme in the movies so playing her is pretty fun, yeah when you first get her she has an extremely wimpy stun blaster, but if you look behind you or go into nearby buildings, there are grenades, blasters, and proton torpedo launchers. The level on Coruscant is my least favorite in the entire game, just because running around in the depthes of Coruscaht trying to find Queen Amidala gets annoying. The only other level I don't like is the 4th level, which takes Obi-Wan trying to get Queen Amidala out of Theed, while having to get her past AAT's and bunches of droids, and if you leave her alone too long they'll say "The Queen has been killed," when she alives you get sayings such as "YOu're stepping on my dress," and "I never knew Jedi could be so rude," from her. Overall it's a really fun game just play it your way, explore, do what you please on it, (within what the game allows of course)

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The Phantom Menace takes you on a journey through the great moments of the film. It features very sharp looking graphics with a third person view (a la Tomb Raider.) There are many puzzles within the actions scenes. Each of the levels are pretty long and will take time for you to complete. The hardest of which is when you first meet "the mysterious little boy." There isn't much to say bad about the game except that it could have benefited from being first person rather than 3rd. Some of the camera angles are weird. Other than that, this is a very solid effort.

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There weren't enough levels in this game and the graphics where too 2D in some parts. Other than that it's a great game. The action is great and the storyline is pretty good. However Mos Espa is too confusing and Darth Maul is too easy both times you fight him. The game also needed to stay closer to the movie. Other than that it's a great game.

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The graphics weren't the best, but hey, the game was LONG. My favorite levels were the last level ones w/ the Queen(when she has weapons) and w/ Obi-Wan when he tries to reach Qui-Gon and Darth Maul. One thing that I didn't like was the Otoh-Gunga(?) level where if you kill one stupid Gungan you get attacked by all of them. Also every once in a while, you run into some bugs(the computer ones)and then you have to restart your game a lot. The Darth Maul duels were pretty easy too, once you know what you're doing. For anyone stuck on any part of this game I suggest looking up game guides on the internet.

In my opinion, this game is worth the money. So quit staring at the screen and buy it already!

Reviews of Worms Forts Under Siege - Xbox

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The whole idea of having worms in 3D forts, sounds like it would be fun but the actual gameplay was lacking. There are problems with the physics of the game that make many of the weapons very difficult to use. The graphics do look pretty nice, and are one of the pros in the game. The multiplayer games do lack the quickness and speed of the old 2D worms games that made them enjoyable and ideal for a fast pickup game. The controls and the aiming for many of the weapons are hard to get the hang of, so it requires a lot of time just getting a knack of your weapons, before you can become even mildly proficient with them. Overall, this game is a disappointment to the worms series, and I would not recommend purchasing it.

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This is a good family game that the whole family can play. It is strategic, so you have to think about your next move. You can't find it in the stores very often, but Amazon had it & it shipped right away.

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My son of 10 years old absolutely LOVES this game. His friend brought it over for a B-day Party Sleepover and after that night... my son was begging for it for Christmas from then on. It's a classic. It's multi-player, so him and 3 friends play all the time... now that he got it for Christmas. =)

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Kind of like the (stronghold) series..but with worms. Couldn't find it locally..Used Amazon..they always come through..

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This game is cool the graphics are cool to and buy this game because it is fun so buy it.

Cheap DDR Multi-Platform Super Sensors Energy Non-Slip Dance Pad

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My son loves this and it is easy to follow! Not sure yet on how durable it will be, but he is enjoying it and having fun, so I think I have gotten my monies worth.

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Review of Halo 3 Limited Edition -Xbox 360

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I purchased the Limited Edition version of Halo 3 that comes with a bonus disc of video, metal case with slip cover and small hard cover book with additional information on the game and its elements.

I would like to clarify that I did not have the original Xbox or get into Halo: Combat Evolved or Halo 2. I purchased an Xbox 360 as I believe to be the best choice for me for a gaming console, and I jumped right into the excitement over Halo 3. I rented Halos 1 and 2 to see if I would like them. I enjoyed both games, despite not finishing them completely prior to Halo 3's release. I even purchased both of those games. I completed about 75% of the first game and about 20% of the second. I just couldn't wait to solve both of them before playing the "next-gen" version. That being said, I am not as familiar with the Halo story or universe. I don't think this made too much of a difference in getting into Halo 3. I think one could get Halo 3 having never played the other games...granted you would wonder a little about the back story, but the game play would suck you in and forget about that until you finished the game. Now I am going back to play the first two games to completion. I know it's a little late, but now I am into the Halo thing...

I have played the game completely through on Normal. I did not think it was too short. I thought that I had solved the game twice, when in fact there were more levels and more story. I felt satisfied with the campaign aspect of the game (even compared to BioShock, Lost Planet, Prey and Gears of War). Now, I am going back through the game to collect the skulls for extra features and achievement points. The campaign was a little challenge for me on the normal difficulty...it wasn't too easy and not too hard. I was stuck in about 3 places that took a day to move on through by myself versus co-op play. Now if I try to play on Heroic or Legendary difficulty, I will have to call in a friend for support via co-op such as I did with Gears of War on Insane.

Graphically, this game is impressive. While the screen layout and the weapons are similar to the previous versions and seem very familiar, they are better graphically. The designers didn't completely overhaul the Halo gaming experience...just gave it a renovation similar to what one might see on a TV show about flipping a house...excuse the analogy, but I think it is a good way to describe the difference. The Halo universe is prettier and even more colorful with sharper lines and details. This game has wonderful scenery like the jungles in the beginning to the futuristic interior of bases and spaceships, or later in the game from the desert with sand dunes to snow covered mountains.

The online play is where this game really shines. The online matchmaking system is wonderful. You aren't thrown into a game with a group of die hard Halo fans where you get completely slaughtered...you are matched by your abilities in the game with players of similar attributes for a fun and even handed match. There are a number of game modes where you can play death match type free for alls or team based games such as capturing the enemy's territory. With the Forge aspect of the game the online play is editable and customizable to give this game a great deal of replay value for the online players out there.

I gave this Limited Edition 5 stars for fun, and I do believe it lives up to the hype. This is a solid game that one can play over and over and enjoy it as much if not more as time goes on. However, I gave it 4 stars for the game overall as the extra stuff that comes with this version is not high quality or quantity. The bonus disc really only features one making of documentary if you play all of the segments as one movie. It is fun to see all the time and effort that went into making this game, but after watching it I thought that's it? There should be some added features like maybe including some features from making the older two games, or some more footage as to where they are thinking they will go in the future with other games or characters. I was also hoping for some exclusive content like gamer pics, themes, etc. The metal case is very nice, but as with many others who have reported...my second bonus disc was scratched! The disc comes loose inside the case very easily. The plastic center holder does not fit snug enough on the disc to anchor it in a way that eliminates damage during shipment. Be careful when buying it...gently shake the box before checking out to see if there are loose discs. Make sure you grab one that does not sound like a box of Legos! I didn't have an option as I preordered mine. The disc was loose and it was scratched, but it played just fine.

Buy with confidence...this is a good solid first person shooter game that lives up to the hype of the "next-gen" console war. I would add that if you don't always watch the extra making of features or documentaries, you may want to just buy the regular version with the game disc only. If you are a huge Halo fan, then you probably already have the Legendary Edition with the helmet...or if you are still debating on which one to buy get the one with the helmet and all the goodies...they are in a better box that anchors the discs better...plus Master Chief's helmet sitting in your game room just looks impressive!

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Since the days of Halo 1 & 2 on the original Xbox, I have found the Halo series slightly over hyped and somewhat boring. Especially when compared to other online FPS's such as Counter-Strike / Quake / Unreal. So you can rest assured, this review was not written by a Halo "fanboy" or fanatic.

Now in 2007, Halo 3 is finally upon us and all I can say is I now do "believe" this is the best in the Halo series and will live up to its hype.

Pros:

I think the absolute number one feature for Halo 3 is the online play A SOLID 10/10. It is incredibly stable, easy to use and it just plain works! Within 10 minutes of inserting the game disc, my buddy and I were squaring off in battle over XBOX live along with nearly half a million other players! Voice over IP is loud and clear with an occasional echo, no lagging or stalling even on release day! The interface is absolutely beautiful. I'm sure things will be even further improved over time by online patches and updates.

The graphics are a 9/10. I have seen better effects & textures (BioShock, BF 2142, etc.) but all in all, I am very pleased. (Note: I am running an Xbox 360 elite w/ HDMI on a LG 32" 1080i display)

I give the sounds effects and music a 8/10, nothing really mindblowing.

Fun factor is a perfect 10/10! It really is addicting.

Single player story mode works great too. Although it is not the true "focus" of the game, single player mode will provide great entertainment when you're seeking a change of pace. It's somewhat short, but has excellent replay value. And YES you can play to story mode online with friends!

Cons:

I honestly haven't yet found many flaws in the GAME itself. If I were to be picky, I would say the graphics and sound effects "could" be improved further. Also, due to numerous reports of scratched discs in the Limited Editions, Microsoft was careless in its packaging method. I would say 95% of all the LE versions have loose discs and are scratched. (my copy was perfect though because I purchased it locally at Be$t buy and gently shook all the cases to listen for loose discs.)

Halo 3 is a true winner for noobies and veterans of the Halo series period. I think this game will offer endless entertainment for quite some time and the Limited Edition is $70 well spent. You get quite a few extra goodies with the LE, such as a metal case, mini-hard cover book, and lots of extras on the bonus disc. For a mere $10 additional dollars, it is well worth it.

Just remember, you may want to purchase the Limited Edition in a retail store so you can listen for loose discs. With some careful searching, you can find one that does Not contain scratched discs.

Goodluck everyone and game on!

5 stars!

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After loving the original Halo, and being somewhat disappointed with Halo 2, I did not know what to expect with Halo 3. I still, being a fan of the series decided that this game would be on my must have list regardless. I wasn't "dying" for the game to come out and in fact I actually missed the release date and ended up picking it up the day afterwards. After playing the game for a while I must say that I am very impressed with the game overall.

First things first, if you get the Limited Edition, then know that you run a HIGH chance of having damaged game CD's due to the poor case design. Luckily in my case, the only CD that was damaged was the "Essentials CD", but still with me paying $70 for a game I would have liked to have both CD's in new condition. In any case Microsoft realized the issue and decided to replace all damaged Halo 3 CD's free of charge for the next few months.

With that out of the way let's get to the actual game.

When I first started playing the game, I thought it was going to be another disappointment like Halo 2 was, and ended up finding another great game, Bio Shock more fun to play. However after progressing further in the game, I am finding Halo 3 to be nearly as fun as the original. One reason of this is because of the new weapons, and vehicles. In addition you, Master Chief, no longer have to be driving a vehicle (with the exception of the scorpion). So if you want to man the turret on the warthog, while your computer controlled teammates drive, you can do it, same hold true for most every vehicle in the game. This makes things very interesting and fun. One of my favorite new vehicles in the game is the Hornet. My first air battle with this machine was an absolute blast. I enjoyed flying over beautiful scenery shooting down banshees while two of my squad mates sit outside on jump seats supporting me with fire of their own. I was having such a good time just admiring the scenery, I decided to fly the hornet high in the air and jump out mid flight into the sparkling ocean below. It was a looooong way down and needless to say I died, but boy it sure was fun.

Flying the Hornet allowed me to appreciate the incredible detail of the graphics on this game. In HD, the graphics are stunning. Whether it's walking through the jungles, flying through the air or scaling snow covered mountains, everything looks amazingly real. Aside from the detailed scenery, the characters themselves are also done very well. Characters move, attack and even die realistically. Its things like this that separate the average FPS's from the great ones.

I also am very pleased with the audio. This game boasts true surround sound and if you already haven't then I highly suggest getting an optical sound cable to experience the movie like experience from you're A/V receiver. Many gun sounds have that "punch" that I was missing in Halo 2. The grunts usually are the first ones to die, and for a little comic relief, many times you'll hear them saying things like "He killed my friend", or "How will I go on with him?" In addition to the exceptional in game sound, the soundtrack itself is very well done. Very often, after I finish playing for the night, I often leave the game on the main screen just so I can hear the music on the title screen.

The controls in Halo 3 are still quite intuitive with only a small complaint; in many other FPS games, the reload button is often the X button, but not in Halo 3. In Halo 3, the X button is the "Equipment" button. So whenever you pick up items like auto turrets, bubble shields or radar jammers, if you are not careful you may accidentally use them instead of doing what you really wanted to do. In Halo 3, LB and RB reload the weapon, and I suppose this was done to accommodate dual wielding, which is back in this game. In addition to the two standard grenades from the previous installments, Halo 3 has a couple of more grenades types; one is called the Spike Grenade, and the other...well I'll leave that up to you to find out; it wasn't in the manual so I was quite surprised when I picked one up during campaign mode. In addition to the equipment I already mentioned, there are lots of others.

As good as the single player is I must say that I am quite impressed with the multiplayer mode. If you know me I am not a big fan of playing online, but one night I decided to try my luck at Halo 3 on XBOX Live....and let's just say, I didn't get to bed until 5 in the morning. First off this game runs very smoothly online with no noticeable degradation in the graphics or performance and I haven't once encountered a laggy game. Best of all the game is very playable online, and not the chaotic mindless shoot fest that I experienced with Unreal Tournament. This was my first time playing online in a long time and I even ended up winning a Slayer match. One thing that makes this game playable online is that nearly every weapon either has a weakness or a counter thanks to the additional of the new equipment items. Sure the insanely good players will mop up the floor with people like me, but its still very fun playing just because it just seems fair. Games like Capture the Flag which proves to be nothing but a disaster in Unreal Tournament, is a true pleasure to play in Halo 3. And hey, if this game is good enough to allow ME to enjoy online games, then it must be pretty darn good.

In my opinion Halo 3 does not disappoint one bit. It was a slow starter, but now that I am finally somewhat deep into the game, I must say that I am enjoying this game VERY much. It's a blast to play both in campaign mode and in addition the online play will be sure to keep me playing this game long after I have beaten campaign mode multiple times. Other than the small issue with the controls, I can't find anything else really wrong with this game. On a 10 point scale, I'll give this a 9.7. While Bio Shock (another 5 star game IMO) is definitely more original and just as fun, Halo 3 is the best of the breed when it comes to your "typical" shooter, and the added fun one can have playing it online make it 5 stars in the fun category. This is a great game across the board.

Honest reviews on Halo 3 Limited Edition -Xbox 360

This game truly re-captured the spirit of the first game's campaign mode. If you were let down by Halo 2's campaign, fear not, HALO 3 makes up for it in spades! Playing campaign with 3 friends is also amazing. Also, if you're in it for the multi-player, you won't be disappointed. The new maps are great, and the weapons are well balanced and it seems like they might have a new solution for laggers with a "new host select" option when it starts to lag a bit. So far it's been great! Okay, off to collect more skulls and finish it in Legendary mode.

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I still play this from time to time online.

This game has no flaws it's perfect 10.

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - PC Reviews

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Being a 1st person shooter, WWII history and Saving Private Ryan fan I was looking forward to this game for a while. It starts off with one of the best opening levels I've ever played (and that's saying allot). The heavy scripting is so well done it completely immerses you into the world of a WWII soldier. Trying to keep this short so I'll hit on the major points;

GRAPHICS

Very good. Nice explosions and character modeling. Lacked some of the punch of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but will not disappoint you.

GAMEPLAY

Fantastic. There are different types of levels from running around like in most FPS, to being the gunner on the back of a jeep, it's all fun.

SOUND

Great. From the 'clink' of your rifle's clip running out, to the enemy soldiers yelling out 'Actung!'. Music is always appropriate and adds to the overall effect.

LEVEL DESIGN

Amazing. This is where it really shines. I have never been going through a level and caught myself thinking, 'This is a great game.' while playing until now. The opening level draws you right into the action. The Omaha Beach Landing mission, yes it is straight out of Saving Private Ryan which I think is a great thing, absolutely amazed me. I had been reading about it for months before release and building it up in my mind the whole time. It did not disappoint. Having said that, the last couple missions were not that good (kinda boring actually), but the first 3/4 of the game are well worth the cost. The last level gives you no warning that this is the end which did upset me a bit.

CONS

The ending [wasen't so good] and came on too quick. You will need a good system to enjoy it...

Buy it and enjoy . . .

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Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (MOH) is without a doubt one of the most entertaining first-person shooter games I've played in quite some time. The game begins a U.S. Army Ranger on a secret mission in Algiers and continues with a journey through the history of the western European campaign in WWII. In MOH, you find yourself riding Tiger tanks, sniping Nazis in the rubble of bombed-out European villages, sabotaging U-Boats, assaulting Nazi camps in a torrid blizzard and even storming the Beaches of Omaha.

Usually, when I replay missions in first-person shooters (FPS), it is because I am bored with the game and looking for anything that will allow me to enjoy it again. While playing MOH, I found myself purposefully restarting missions because I enjoyed them so much. The mission that allows your soldier to storm the Beaches of Omaha is straight out of the opening scene in the film "Saving Private Ryan." If you are a fan of FPS games that use snipers in single-player missions, you will get a kick out of MOH as it has some of the best sniper missions I've ever played in an FPS. Each mission in MOH is a change from the previous one. I've rarely seen so much variety in single-player missions in an FPS.

The graphics for MOH are impressive but you'll need an expensive video card to see the full effort artists put into this game. It's rare but I don't have many negative things to say about MOH. Grenades are a large part of any FPS based on WWII and I feel the mechanics for grenade throwing in MOH could be better. MOH needs more objective style maps for multi-player but the MOD community is working on it at a frantic pace and supposedly the developers will be releasing more maps in the future as well as an expansion pack.

ACTION FANS 5 STARS If you prefer an FPS with quick and easy movement/mechanics, you might not enjoy MOH as much as other FPS games. In other words, MOH is based more in realism than non-stop action. Your character moves slower, the weapons have kick back, you can't jump like an NBA basketball player, etc. This bothers some people who prefer a FPS with more of an arcade style. When I started playing MOH, I had just finished the game Return to Castle Wolfenstein which played like the aforementioned arcade tempo. It took some getting use to but once I had the hang of it I enjoyed MOH more than most FPS games I've played. I found the mechanics of the game to be a nice compromise, not as rigid as a game like Rainbow Six, but not as unrealistic or too easy like Unreal Tournament. It's easy to play but difficult to master and the style of play in MOH keeps one person from dominating every online game.

STRATEGY FANS 2 STARS MOH is another shoot `em up that probably won't appeal to gamers that like to stick with strategy games. If you haven't played an FPS and are willing to give them a chance, I would recommend MOH as an introduction to the genre.

ADVENTURE/RPG FANS 3 STARS Just as I suggested MOH as an introduction to the FPS genre for strategy game fans, I believe MOH would be a fun experience for fans of RPG games. If you enjoy watching WWII movies, you will probably get a kick out of MOH. It's better than most action games but only you know how much tolerance you have for these types of games.

X FACTOR BATTLE OF THE WWII SHOOTERS 5 STARS Recently, the PC gaming community has seen a rush on FPS games with a WWII theme. Return to Castle Wolfenstein and the Day of Defeat mod for Half-Life are only a few. After playing all of them, I have to say MOH was the best WWII experience. It would be fair to say that some of the other WWII FPS multi-player modes are slightly more entertaining but taking everything into account, MOH is the superior product.

BUGS 4 STARS I didn't encounter a single crash with the single-player mode in MOH but the multiplayer format crashed a few times. Not a major problem and it will probably decrease as more patches are released. There is a glitch in one of the multiplayer maps that allows anyone who wishes to cheat to move underneath the map thus hiding them from view and allowing them to clean house on the enemy but few know how to do it and it will probably be fixed in a future patch.

REPLAY VALUE 5 STARS MOH uses the same Quake engine that several first-person shooters employ. As I write this review, an official editor has been released and it is basically a modified version of the Quake mapping tools. Luckily, many gamers already know how to modify games that use this popular engine so a full-scale MOD community is already in place with not only multi-player maps in progress but many single-player scenarios being worked on. MOH's single-player missions have plenty of replay value as I even played some missions more than twice. One negative aspect of the multi-player mode is that the most exciting maps are objective maps (require your team to complete goals to win the game) and unfortunately there are only four objective maps included in the game. Deathmatch maps in MOH are your typical deathmatch maps, fun every once in awhile but not entertaining enough to keep your attention for long. A great version of deathmatch maps in MOH is the round-based mode which allows only life per player and is fun to watch as your team either wipes out the enemy or is mercilessly crushed. MOH has a very dedicated online community and looks to have a boatload of MODs, maps, skins and other great additions for a long time.

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I'm a WWII buff, and spend most of my waking time emmersed in a in a WWII era daydream world. For me, WWII is the center of the universe. I am also an avid gamer and usually like the Rainbow 6 series for its immersive quality. I've just played the demo, and it has taken parts of that WWII fantasy world (American perspective after D-day) and made it as real as possible. Outstanding! Playing it is like living inside a Stephen Ambrose book. MOHAA has just totally blown any of the R6 games out of the running for the most immersive game. The only complaint I would have is the lack of control that the player has over their squad. I'd like to be able to tell them to get back or to get down while I snipe an enemy for example, instead they end up getting killed. At the same time, one develops a sense of responsiblity for their men. You really don't want them to die. Unlike R6 where one could care less. This is all in all the best game I've ever played in my life. Avid gamers may disagree, but WWII buffs shouldn't miss it!

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I just got a really good computer, and one of the reasons is because of MOHAA. It is a really realistic and really fun. The sound is incredible, the shells hitting you and the ground sounds like your actually there. The D-Day level is really, really, fun. Can't make it better. The way the enemy AI is pretty good. They act like real soldiers. Some run away, some take cover and wisley and accuratly fire at you, and some take cover and blindly fire at you. The levels are fun, yet challenging (especially the later levels). The graphics are really good, better than Frontline (the MOH sequel for PS2), and it came out after MOHAA. There are six missions, with about five levels per mission. Mission 1Algeria, North Africa. November 7, 1942. You have to recue a SAS Agent being held prisinor. After you do you have to blow up som flaks and many other things. Mission 2Trondhiem, Norway. February 12, 1943. You have to blow up a u boat by dressing up as a nazi soldier, kill a prototype, and many other things. Mission 3Normandy, France. June 6, 1944. You land on Omaha beach on D-Day and clear out a bunker, kill an anti-aircraft gun, and many other things. Mission 4Normandy, France. June 12, 1944. Your deep behind enemy lines and you have to rescue a downed pilot and do many other things. Mission 5Brittany, France. August 20, 1944. You have to capture a king tiger tank and defend a base and many other things. Mission 6Siegfried, Germany. January 18, 1945. You steal a new german machine gun, plant bombs inside a musturd gas company, and wreak havoc in the Nazis home.

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I'd say that it's difficult for a computer game to truly impress me. I can think of very few games that I have been completely taken aback by. Titles that come to mind are Halflife, Deus Ex, Opposing Force and even No One Lives Forever. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is perhaps the best game that I have EVER played. If you read my other reviews, you'll know that I would not throw around such a bold statement. MOHAA is simply on another level compared to most other games. Now, I'm not crazy, so I won't say that it is better than Halflife, but I will say that it most certainly gives the alien shooter a run for its money. In my mind, the two games are readily comparable.

MOHAA is a WWII shooter, which one must admit there aren't enough of these days. I won't count Return to Castle Wolfenstein, because that wove in some sci-fi also. Everything that's out is special forces and anti-terrorism. It's about time that a game came out that was pure Nazi-butt whoopin'. The plot remains very true to WWII, and the missions are realistic down to the smallest detail. The entire game has a feeling of nostalgia, as the guns that are available are strictly Axis and Allies' weapons and fire realistically. The realistic effects are accomplished through accurate sound and strength of the weapon. There are two sniper rifles, a silenced pistol, various submachine guns (including the Thompson, my favorite), and many others. Some missions even allow you to call in artillery strikes using a pair of binoculars. As OSS agent Lt. Mike Powell, you'll encounter nothing but Nazis in this game, which I absolutely loved. Each mission is extremely satisfying because of the mission objectives. Many objectives call for blowing up German weaponry, which is extremely gratifying. It is easy to feel like you're actually helping to win the war.

There is also something to be said about the enemy AI and graphics. The game's graphics are superb. Each landscape is crystal clear, and special effects such as shadows, rain, snow, and fog have all been expertly designed. Your enemies are also smart, despite what other reviews have alleged. Enemies kick over tables for cover, yell for help, look startled when you surprise them, hide in closets, and take cover in strategic positions. A particular mission orders you to make your way through a bombed village that is crawling with Nazi snipers. The snipers are deadly and make you pay for your excessively bold moves. Although one shot does not kill in MOHAA, it does not take very many and you must be on the lookout for medics or first-aid kits. You're also not overwhelmed with enemies. Enemy strongholds and artillery positions are realistically defended, giving the game an even better feel. Needless to say, you'll have your work cut out for you.

A note must also be made of the Normandy Invasion, which is level 3. It's on the cover of the box, and any advertisement you'll see for the game ties back into D-Day. The fact is that the designers at EA have truly done an honor to the actual Normandy Invasion. The mission is ultrarealistic, and HARD. I spent the most time on this mission, which makes sense since the real thing was also next to impossible. Buy the game for this mission alone, if for nothing else.

Overall, I must say that MOHAA is the best game that I've played in a while (if not ever!). People have compared the game to Saving Private Ryan, which is fair because the two are similar. However, MOHAA is a legend of its own. If you don't buy this game, you're definitely missing out on gaming history, but also world history. People will remember this game for a long time, I guarantee.

Buy Record of Agarest War 2 Limited Edition - Playstation 3

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Aksys' newest releases, outside of the stellar "BlazBlue" franchise, have been leaving me in the cold. A lot of the titles they've been cranking out recently come across as blatant pitches to snag the smallest niche of anime fans, with uninspired plots, girls with chests bigger than their head, and an emphasis on cheesecake versus original characters and good gameplay. Coming from a lifelong anime fan, that's saying something. Now, on the surface, the "Agarest War" franchise looked no different. Here we had marketing reliant on the sexualization of the female characters and no real information about the game itself, and the bonus items which came with the collector's editions reeked of sleaze. Superficially, I hated the game. But with its devoted fanbase, and because a friend with connections pulled aside a copy because he thought I'd like it, I decided to give this new entry a go. Lo and behold, it has turned out to be one of the rare RPGs I plan on playing to completion. "Record of Agarest War 2" is nothing groundbreaking, but it's unique and original enough to merit a play.

The plot starts you off in the shoes of Weiss, who has killed a god but lost all memory of the incident. After a chance encounter with a mysterious and buxom woman clad in borderline dominatrix gear, he is informed that he is in fact to serve as a vessel to atone for the sin of slaying a god, and if he fails his task, he must shack up with a woman and create a child that will serve as a new vessel. As the game progresses, you will indeed have to do just that, and through the span of multiple generations, you'll fight hoards of demons, score with some lovely ladies, and uncover the destiny of your bloodline.

Now, this generation spanning is something that has apparently been a focal point of the entries prior to this one, but as a first-time player, I have to admit that it's absolutely fascinating. Depending on how you interact with the woman you choose as your bride, and how you adjust your statistics through battling, your protagonist's predecessor will change. The sheer notion of a piece of entertainment having such an in-depth feature is definitely a sign that there are some things the interactive medium can do that movies and books will simply never be able to. In fact, I feel that this should have been a primary selling point instead of the cleavage and rear ends of the admittedly attractive ladies in the game.

As far as the gameplay goes, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. While I play plenty of JRPGs, and a decent amount of the occasional SRPG, I found myself kind of lost when it came to navigating the plethora of statistics, menus, and other things. While the core combat system is actually quite good (an interesting mix of turn-based fighting mixed with the speed, action and control of a hack-and-slash game, coupled with a dual-grid system), the amount of effort it takes to plan out what gear to equip and whatnot is just irksome. It definitely feels like the developers were intending to make the game come across as "deeper" by just adding more hoops to jump through than necessary. The experience as a whole could have benefited from some serious reduction in menu clutter.

What makes up for this, in a way, is the very snazzy way battles are paced. There are three or four different types of maps you will find yourself navigated. One is the standard World Map that you run around on to get from one place to another. While you will still encounter random battles, you also have the option to trigger a battle at any time. When grinding for levels, this is an indispensable feature that other RPGs with random encounters should take note of. Having the ability to sit in one place and grind levels until you feel confident enough to progress is a very empowering feeling. The second type of map you'll be navigating are what you might call this game's "dungeons." Bridging areas of the World Map are smaller maps that are divided into several different zones that you progress through in a board game-like fashion. Each tile you progress to instigates a battle, and you can fight as few or as many times as you like. There are diverging paths that feature treasure and other goodies to claim, as well as tiles that will help you meet requirements on the main town's commission board, which will net you spells, armor, and ingredients required for alchemy and blacksmithing.

Speaking of towns, it houses the third kind of map you'll see. It's a menu that you pick locations on, and then go to them. Pretty straightforward, I know, but it segways into the second major focal point of this game: the dating sim aspect. Now, "Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love" set my standard for what to expect from a dating sim/RPG hybrid, and while this certainly doesn't exceed that experience in my book, due to the fairly limited range of conversation, it does almost match it. What it does beat that game in, however, are the production values. Instead of static images, the lovely ladies (and handsome men, if you're into that) are fully animated, living and breathing, all with unique animation that creates an interesting 2D/3D hybrid. This makes the experience as a whole so much more engaging than many other games that try and touch the SW franchise's signature dating sim/RPG blend. I enjoyed getting to know the cast through the interactions, and despite the aforementioned limited conversational choices, it's a defining feature that sets it apart from imitators.

However, while the overall story arc and character development is exceptional in "RoAW2", I have a serious bone to pick with the dialogue. If you're familiar with the worn cliche many gamers hold about JRPGs, about them having seemingly endless amounts of inane banter that is ultimately redundant, then you know where I'm going with this complaint. To be entirely honest, several lines of conversation in this game have bored me to death, and I like to think that I have a pretty large attention span. But it can't be helped. Characters repeat each other's dialogue, and characters making awkward pauses such as, "Uh-!", "Oh, uh-!" or the infamous "...", happens way too often, frequently occurring multiple times in a row with certain characters. I'm not saying the dialogue is awful, but it's tiresome and wears on the nerves after a while, making the experience seem longer than it is. An "autoplay" option helps alleviate the pain somewhat, but only a bit. The story is good, the characters are great, but the dialogue needed some serious work. Also, the font and styling of the text is formatted in a very odd manner. Things are surrounded by hyphens when they should be either italicized, capitalized, or put into quotations, making the emphasis in some dialogue only understandable when the voice actor actually speaks it. Also worth noting is that there is no English voice track. That doesn't bother me one bit, but some may be deterred by that.

Graphically, the game is quite pretty. What really stands out are the exceptional monster designs. Most of the enemies break free of the typical trappings of fantasy RPGs, and some of them are surprisingly frightful to gaze upon. The environments are nice and varied, and the character art is very crisp and appealing to look at. That same overall sentiment can be echoed for the soundtrack, which is infectious and passable enough to give praise to. Nothing too new, but nothing terrible. Overall, pleasant and helps to whisk you off into the fantasy world of the game, which is sometimes too much to ask some soundtracks for. It's always nice when it does happen, though.

With Square Enix focused on running their two main franchises into the ground, and Atlus branching out into new, more varied territory, it's nice to see Aksys putting out a game that screams niche. But furthermore, it's nice to see that some of these games are quite good, such as this one. While "Record of Agarest War 2" will not change your life, it will entertain and thrill you. Futhermore, it will draw you into its own little world, and with games of this variety, what more can you really ask for? This is a solid little game with plenty of nice imagery, a good story, and memorable characters; in this critic's opinion, it's a great title to spend your Summer downtime working on.

Plot: 8

Gameplay: 8

Graphics: 8

Sound: 8

Overall: 8

P.S.: A couple of notes on the Limited Edition of the game. The artbox it comes in is pretty and well-designed, and is decked out with art that differentiates from that of the cover illustration, so if you're into collecting those like I am, then you'll be pleased to know it will look great on your shelf. Now, the main draw here is definitely the blow-up doll of catgirl Felenne, and trust me, it's every bit as adorable as it looks. What's refreshing is that the plastic used for it isn't the cheap stuff; this thing seems pretty durable, and it's a decent size as well at around 9 inches (10 if you count her cat ears.) As for the hand towel, it has exclusive character art on it, and it is wrapped in a heart-shaped sandwiched between two pictures of Fiona; it reads "A Wonderful Tower Experience." Yeah, nothing sexual about that at all, huh? Speaking of sexual things, there's the art book. Now, I was a little disappointed by the paper quality of the book, because it's really just the same kind of glossy paper used for higher-end instruction manuals. As for the illustrations, well, erm... they'll all pretty dang suggestive. I mean, we're talking borderline softcore pornography, or as fellow anime fans would refer to it as, "ecchi." If you're living with your parents, maybe you shouldn't show this to mom and dad. If you've got a girlfriend, fiance or wife who's easily ruffled, hide this. If you live all by your lonesome, then, well... enjoy yourself, I guess.

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Record of Agarest War 2 is the official sequel to the first Agarest game released in North America in 2010. Like that game and its prequel, Zero, the story follows an amnesiac protagonist whose only purpose in the game is to atone for a grave sin he forgot he committed in the past. While this plot element is nothing new to this series, or any jrpg for that matter, it is a key component to the generational gradient in which the story unfolds and also the character relations, which are well thought out, interesting, and many times comical.

A tremendous change to the series is the revamped battle system, which borrows heavily from Cross Edge. Instead of choosing six main characters to fight with and level up, you now choose four characters and everyone levels up equally whether or not they participate in battle. Skills and combo compatibility remain the same, and you can still link characters to perform combos and larger attacks, but the manner in which this is done is very different. It's all planned beforehand in a menu where you assign all your skills to the four face buttons and during that process you can see which combos you can execute. Now, I know I'm only summarizing combat but believe me when I say that it is much, much more detailed than is worth getting into right now. Agarest vets might grasp it easier than first timers simply due to familiarity with the menus and the high level of customization, but if you've ever played (and enjoyed) a Disgaea game, none of this should seem too difficult either. It really does depend on your familiarity with strategy rpgs, or at the very least, your willingness to overcome a relatively high learning curve.

Moving on, then, what truly makes the Agarest games unique is that you get to play through generations of the first hero's lineage, meaning in gen 2 you command his son, and in gen 3 his grandson. Making this aspect even more impressive is that in each generation the hero can choose one of three select women to bear his son, and depending on whom you choose skills, weapon proficiency, and physical appearance will vary. As you progress throughout the story you will engage in conversations and events with the heroines and your subsequent actions determine their affection levels towards you, which also affect the aforementioned stats. A high affection with one lady will yield stronger progeny, that is unless you created the initial hero (Weiss) with abilities that align to the heroine.

As you may assume from that last line, character creation factors into your heroes' play style. You choose from three basic classes (warrior, sorcerer, and battle mage) and then customize that base in various ways that you think would best suit your preferences. This is a similar process to Zero but it seems to be a bit more streamlined and intuitive here. Once you're done you'll get to see your Weiss and be able to go back and change whatever you want in case you're dissatisfied. Some people spend hours on this alone, and admittedly it is pretty fun.

Maps in this Agarest game come in three flavors. A free roam field is a nice departure and is made even more enjoyable by the ability to activate random encounters at the push of a button. The second type is the traditional Agarest layout where you navigate various points on a field by connecting the dots, as it were, but in Agarest 2 this layout has been reserved exclusively for "dungeons" since the world map is now free roam. The third type is town maps, which are really neat this time around. Unlike previous Agarest games which only had four or five points of interest (item shop, blacksmith, etc.), Agarest 2 has several, each with its own purpose in advancing the story and building on character interactions. Not only do you delve deeper into the hero and heroine relations but also the townsfolk, which is really nice, and as an added bonus it even overlaps with side quests.

As for side quests, the title system has evolved into a "commission" system, which is essentially a job list posted by Agarest's denizens. Upon completion of a commission you get useful rewards and occasionally you get to meet the people who posted the job and earn secondary rewards and witness additional character/world development.

Two complaints come to mind, the first of which isn't so much a complaint as a personal gripe, and that is Agarest 2 doesn't seem to contain the same comedic value as the previous games. Jainus, for example, has been toned down incredibly from past games' equivalents, Winfield and Eugene, and there seems to be an overall paucity of humorous events scattered between the "serious" ones. For a series known for its humor this is sorely missed, especially since the story, admittedly, isn't profoundly interesting or groundbreaking.

The second complaint is that the game, upon initial loading of a save file, suffers from horrendous lag. It's inexcusable because not only is this a sprite based game, but also combat is time based, approaching a QTE semblance, which means accuracy takes a frustrating backseat until the game catches up to itself. Lag even plagues the menu screens, which again is inexcusable in a game that derives much of its playability from menus. A simple install feature would fix this problem but mysteriously the developers omitted one, unlike previous Agarest games.

Overall, Agarest 2 is so different from its predecessors yet it retains a lot of features that still make it worthy of its moniker. I don't even necessarily miss the old battle system, as much as I loved it, because the new one is fresh and fun despite being in many ways overly complicated. "Overly" because the game doesn't do a grand job at explaining its mechanics but once you grasp it you'll be switching out characters like crazy and stressing over which skills to learn, and in this case "stressing" is used positively because it is absolutely addictive. And that pretty much sums the game and the series for that matter. Addictive because there are tons of stats, weapons, and characters to manage. The developers have opened up the interactive portions of the game as well, adding more things to do such as bathhouse mini games, while streamlining combat in what might appear to be a better balanced game. Keep in mind, though, this is still very much a hardcore strategy game despite the fresh coat of paint. New players might do better to try a previous entry in the series, but if you're determined to play this one first, try reading my brief guide in the regular edition review, as it will help tremendously to understand the meat of the game (combat). With that said, enjoy!

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I still recall when I first played Suikoden I after buying it at Babage's (remember that store, Millennials? It later became EB Games)... anyway, when I played Suikoden I (and then II), I recall an incredible story, great anime-style graphics, and the game really "stayed" with me. Although Record of Agarest War II is not to that level, the game was fun, filled with great anime-style characters, and fun story.

When Suiko I came out, it was a "Sleeper hit" in the USA. Now it is hailed as a classic, the "holy grail" of the PlayStation era for RPG players. I think Agarest War 2 will be one of the games in the long run. That is, if players are willing to forgive the game for some flaws. I will explain below. Some players love it and some hate it there seems to be no middle ground on this game. The problem here is that some people don't like what is essentially a mix between 80s and today's RPG equipments, dialogs/story, and etc,. Many players are simply too lazy to read the dialog and story to REALLY get into the game. Others are too lazy to want to customize their characters to win battles with more ease and then grow in levels. RPGs are heavy on leveling and unless you grew up in the 80s and 90s when RPG "grinding" was the norm, you will have a hard time enjoying real RPGs today.

One of the chief complaints about this game is the Japanese voices were never subbed in English. That is a huge problem for me too (and many other RPG gamers), but I always turn off the voice chat anyway, as I rather read the speech-balloons. :) So that is an individual preference. The other complaint is the menus, which are heavy on % hit rations and statistics and such, which seems too technical for some. I don't mind it, as I like to optimize the characters, weapons, and such, but again,l I grew up in the late 80s playing RPGs like Shining Force, Sguining n the darkness, Suikoden, and others, where that is what we had to do to barely make it... nowadays, the games are so easy, they are ridiculous. So when Agarest 2 came up with an "old school" battle system, some people complained about being "too much work" to have to outfit characters properly. The menus are sometimes too much, but not enough to kill this great game for me. And I have not even played the other Agarest War games in the series.

The game has a lot of cool features that far outweigh the negatives. The battle system is basically a blended an RPG battle system, an active fight system with a turn-based RPG combat, and some hack-and-slash action all blended into one. They also included a "generational" aspect to the game, where you can leave a "legacy" through family, somewhat like Phantasy Star III (Genesis). They really focused on making it more "unique" in that sense. This is also a JRPG (Japanese-based RPG game) and there is plenty of "fan service" (hot anime ladies in tight outfits some that are hot in the "cute" sense of the way and others that are sleazy). I like the cute ones better, but each to their own.

The game world is plain GORGEOUS. Full anime-style, all beautifully drawn and colored. I fell in love with anime games in the Genesis and PlayStation, so this is these games "on steroids" in terms of graphical color and beauty. Just awesome. You have also an weapon and magic system that is based on gathering items to make them into weapons and such. This is a system that has been expanded in games like the "Atelier" series games or the alchemy games that were out in force on the PS2 and the current generation consoles.

This game also has a date-sim aspect (think True Love on the PC) or Thousand Arms on the PS1... or even Sakura Wars:" So Long My Love on the PS2. Date sims these days have gone downhill whereas they have morphed into plain old Hen-tai garbage that you hit "skip" on chat dialogs and wait for "it". This is NOT one of these cases. You have to play an actual game (not just read dialogs) to grow and beat enemies and as an added bonus, you get to meet the lovely ladies and date them. They are actual characters that require development and interaction with. The dialog has been well-translated into English and they use emphasis (italics, bold, caps, etc) to make it understandable what the tone of the conversation is.

The Limited Edition (LE) comes with "naughty" anime pillowcase and doll and a semi-naked girl towel as bonuses, which I think the wife would frown upon, but it is all good, they can stay in the box. LOL It also comes with an artbook, which is great if you enjoy character development... and cute anime girls in either sleazy and cute positions/outfits. I like the cute/lovely ones, but that is a personal preference type:)

Overall, this is a very good game, save for the few flaws mentioned. You will be drawn to the story, but don't expect a Suikoden II quality and caliber of story. This is still a great game that can be enjoyed thoroughly and I believe it will receive its place in gaming history for RPG fans over time. This is not Suikoden and it sure isn't a Shining Force caliber-story, but the game world, date-sim aspects, and character development will sure pull you in and you will enjoy the game to the end. Give it a try, you might really like it.

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for those who like strategy rpgs like myself its great buy. if it werent for disgaea i wouldve never played a strategy game and missed this great game.

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i was happy receiving this on the mail and couldn't wait to open it! this is a must if you play any of the other Agarest war

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These batteries last very long. I game for at least 26 hours a week, I can play weeks without charging my first battery before I need to replace it with the fully charged one. I have the charge and play kit that works wonderful. I am impressed that they last as long as they do. One thing to remember is to let them drain completely before charging that will make them last longer. This is my second set of batteries as well. My first pair I bought when the xbox360 first came out and they lasted me 5 years. Well worth buying these even for the casual gamer. I saved a lot of money on AA batteries.

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