Eye Toy Kinetic - PlayStation 2 Review

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The game has 4 major elements: Cardio, Combat, Toning and 'Mind and Body'. The cardio and combat sections of the game are marvelous with lots of fun elements. The mini-games (in the combat and cardio sections) are 10 minutes each. Even the easiest level can get you huffing and puffing with lots of sweat. You are tested on your reflexes as well as precision. I don't know much about the strength part in the combat games because I kind of cheated by moving very very rapidly.

Just like what the company describes, you can set your own workout profile. It's as if you have your own personal trainer.

However, Sony needs to work out the kinks of the Eye Toy hardware. Our living room is quite comfortably sized for a couple with 2 cats, but Eye Toy doesn't think so. There is a distance of 7 feet between the TV and the couch, and the Eye Toy still doesn't think you have enough room. Unfortunately, Eye Toy isn't quite for apartment dwellers unless you mount the Eye Toy on the wall.

Lightings is another problem. The room needs to be EVENLY lit or else you'd have a hard time reaching one side of the screen. Setting the camera for 'dim room' helps tremendously. The camera sensitivity should set to Medium or even Low. I accidentally set it on High, and I saw my furniture playing the game with me.

Nonetheless, if you have a decent sized living room, and if you can get the camera working right, this game is AWESOME!!

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Over all the game has a very sweet idea to it play games and excercise at the same time. when you buy this title you wont be able to wait till you get home.

as soon as you start you build a profile your height, weight , age and how active you are. After you select your personal trainer they will set up a routine for you. mine was set up for advanced the first week i had a routine on Wed/Thu Fri/Sat Sun/Mon which seems like a lot of work but the excercises range from 4-10 minutes long each routine had only three excercise's though. if you dont want to go that route and want to just start playing you can build a routine. you routines will consist of either Combat, toning, mind and body , or Cardio. For those of you who think this product wont work i play football and baseball and the cardio workouts will get you winded and sweating,provided you dont cheat. And even if you think you are pretty warmed up beleive me you probably aren't. Like on the combat i swung at A Target and hit it but since you are swinging at air if you think you can just throw a haymaker right of the bat you cant, i thought i threw my arm out tyring to swing at that thing. Some of the problems are that you need to have quite a bit of room , and it needs to be pretty will lit. in some cases a had to wrap a shirt around my fist for the camera to pick it up. If you have a lamp or two close by just turn them on this should help.

Pros. 1. Burns calories

2. Fun and entertainiing for the whole family even mom and pops

3. Actually pretty challenging.

4. actually measures how hard you hit the object

5. ther are many more i jsut cant list them all

Cons. 1. need to have a pretty good sized area

2. needs to be well lit

3. and a few more little things but nothing major

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I own five games for Eye Toy, the majority of the Eye Toy collection.

This might be the best use of this technology thus far. Fun, exhausting and highly customizable. There are thousands of ways to play this game. Each exercise has its own unique choice of music and an initial difficulty level that automatically increases as you progress through the routine. Entire guided fitness plans are created for each player after series of questions. It even snaps progress photos as you complete your plan.

In addition as the camera, a wide-angle lense is included to accomodate an entire body workout. After your body and a Playstation, everything you need is included. This is more than a game, it is a revolutionary exploration into what video games can do for us.

Per usual, while the Eye Toy does require a rather bright room to function well, a standard two-bulb overhead fixture works fine. If you really want the full Eye Toy experience, I would reccommend this game, as well as Antigrav.

Honest reviews on Eye Toy Kinetic - PlayStation 2

We just bought this game a week ago. Not a day goes by that I don't work out with it!

Why do I love it?

The game has Cardio, Combat, Tone & Mind Body.

Cardio the games require you to hit and kick moving orbs on the screen. This is really FUN!

Combat the games require you to hit and kick things on the screen, but HARD. This is also very fun and gets out any anger or frustration you have.

Tone Abs, lower body, upper body, arms... I've only done the abs portion on easy. I've done loads of pilates and crunches and though it starts off easy (for me, I imagine for people that haven't done a lot of abs work should probably take it easy) and works up to some really HARD abs stuff.

Mind Body These are fun stretching, tai chi, etc. games. Games, yes, and you have to break the orbs, or followi them, etc.

Very fun.

You can have a personal trainer in either Anna or Matt (I have Anna, my husband has Matt) and do a 12 week personal trainer workout that gives you days off.

There is also Routine Builder and you build routines if you wish.

I do both, the personal trainer mode and the routine builder mode. On my days off from the personal trainer, I do several cardio routines sprinkled throughout the day.

The warm up on the eyetoy is great. The stretch after is also nice.

What I like more about this game, rather than Yourself Fitness is that you are not doing jumping jacks and jumps. I have a really hard time with them, and YF doesn't have a skip (yet). Also, with this game the game doesn't have to test you. It knows how well you are doing (ie, because of the camera). On YF you have to constantly take hard physical exams which require you to do jumping jacks and interrupt you if you want to just do the exercise for the day.

So, I really really LOVE eyetoy kinetic!

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I have problems staying motivated to go workout at the gym on a weekly basis. The motivation wasn't consistent for me, because I get bored easily doing the same things: riding a stationary bike, treadmill, precor machine, etc. With Kinetic, however, I'm having fun playing this "game", but I'm really getting some good exercise in!

I'm currently on week three of Personal Trainer mode. The first two weeks were fairly easy for me. I can tell, however, that the workouts are getting harder as I am sweating more and breathing hard, and the next day, I can feel the burn in my legs from all the squatting and kicking certain games entail, and my arms are sore, too, from all the punching.

One thing I think is missing from the game is the game not telling you proper form. Yes, you're punching and kicking like there's no tomorrow, but you risk getting injured if you don't know how to punch or kick correctly.

The yoga exercise, too, is great IF you've had yoga instruction before by a yoga instructor. For someone who has never done yoga before, they may find this difficult, or they will most likely not be using proper form. Same with the Tai Chi. I've never done Tai Chi before, so trying to follow this part of the game was pretty hard for me, even with all the camera angles the game shows. I would probably have to take a Tai Chi class somewhere to know what the heck I'm really doing.

Another thing that bothered me was the loading time in between the workouts. I guess it's good for those that need a good break in between to grab some water, but I just want to get into the groove and keep going back to back non-stop for a fluid exercise routine.

Overall, believe it, or not, I look forward to turning the game on to see when I'm scheduled for my next workout. That's how motivated I am now after buying Kinetic.

If you have enough room to play this game in, the lighting works out for you, and if you want to lose some weight and have fun at the same time without joining a gym or a sports team, Eyetoy Kinetic is the game to play! Of course, you only get out of it what you put into it. Don't forget to also watch what you eat!

Reviews of Minecraft - Xbox 360

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Even if it is playing with blocks in 2d rendered environment, it the best, safest, fun game you can get for your children, and your husband or even grampa. It is for all ages.

My children have been playing mine craft on the PC, the digital Xbox version, and even the mobile or pocket version for a year. This version that they can see, relate to, and not have to rely on virtual gaming is the best. For some reason, having this on a disc makes all the difference. It is something my autistic son can now relate to. He can just pick up the disc and take it with him to family or friends houses to share. Whereas before they were lugging their whole gaming system.

Anyway mine craft has greatly improved my sons social interaction, his speech, and his self esteem. He realizes that he is the creator of his own world, not only in mine craft but in the real world now. It has opened up so much opportunities for him. It has also taught all of my children the benefits of sharing, and the loving peaceful environments that do exist if only we could all pull together and build them.

You create your world. And there is no game lag with this version. Xbox live is not required. Yeah! You can build almost anything you want with the blocks. Especially if you play in creative mode. Then everything is provided for you. This mode gives you an easy play. Survival mode becomes a small challenge as you have to go out and work for or earn your items and blocks. You must dig for and mine your items. Example. You must first locate 2 sticks, and either 3 diamonds, iron, or cobblestone to make a pick axe that helps you mine blocks. In order to get the iron, you need a stone pickaxe which you make with sticks and cobblestone. The better the pickaxe the better at breaking and mining certain blocks that use to build other items. Or "crafting" in other words. Sort of like recipes. For food you must go catch a pig for pork chops, a cow for steak, find milk, sugar, egg, and wheat and make a cake etc. For the milk you need the cow and craft some iron buckets. The egg comes from the chicken you find. The chicken will follow you if you have seeds in your hand. Other options are for pets. You can get a dog with a bone and keep him. The dog must be nurtured and fed just like in the real world. If you get 2 dogs you learn you can actually get puppies. As for your health and house, you require sleep and food. If you go too far from your house and something happens n you die your stuff you collected may dissappear if you can't find it in time. So if you have a bed and slept in it, then when you respawn you will be beside your bed. Your stuff will be where you died. So the reason you might lose it. But at least in this version you can fly, and have greater chance of getting to your items before they disappear.

There is so much more you can do. I will be happy to answer any questions if you just leave a comment. This game is truly awesome.

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Minecraft is one of My favorite things it's just so enjoyable. Great game although I tend to find myself moving my body instead of the crosshairs to place blocks. I don't mind but the world is only 630by630 blocks it is still pretty big. It does NOT have everything that the computer it is only Missing 1 Daylight sensors 2 Trip wires 3 trading with villagers (there are villagers) In creative there are monsters and Night. it's also four Player Split screen unfortunately it REQUIRES HDTV 720p screen resolution. Biomes snow mushroom forest desert cavern NPC villages cave I think that is all. All in all great game got for my Birthday I love it.

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Anyone who has played Minecraft on PC knows what to expect from the game on Xbox 360. It's the same game, but there are enough differences to justify owning the console version in addition to the PC version.

Firstly, split-screen multiplayer. This is probably the biggest plus for the console edition. You can play with up to four players on your console, and those players can enter your game at any point as you're playing. You just need to be running the console in HD. (I use a generic HDMI cable.) It's great fun with friends!

Secondly, this edition cannot generate an "infinite" world. Whether above ground or beneath, you will eventually run into an invisible wall. Some will disagree, but I think of this as a plus. A limited (but still rather large) world means you can fill in your world map and explore in a way that feels more immediately rewarding, and you won't get lost as long as you have your map.

Thirdly, the vastly improved crafting system. No longer must you arrange items in specific ways on a grid (often having to look up the various recipes because it's otherwise too cryptic). When you enter the crafting menu it shows you the items you can make and what you need to make them. As long as you have what you need you just select the item you want and it's made! Simple as that.

Finally, the game looks and plays wonderfully on the tv and with the Xbox controller. As soon as you start playing it feels like an upgrade to the Minecraft experience, not a console rehash.

The only downside is you'll lose a lot of time to the game and wonder where the day went, but anyone familiar with the game already knows that!

Honest reviews on Minecraft - Xbox 360

Minecraft may be one of the greatest 21st Century games of all time. The things you can do in this game is unimaginable. You can go on an adventure to slay the dragon by yourself or you can add some friends to spice things up a bit. Not much of an Adventurer and more of an Architect? That's Fine! In Minecraft you can Play Survival Mode where you have Health and can deplete Hunger and the goal is the Do what ever you want. In Creative mode you can fly, have an infinite amount of blocks and build on a Super flat world so you don't have to clear out land. Also, you break blocks instantly! If you don't like to adventure and build than you can even just play PVP (player vs. player) on many death-match style maps that either you or your friends built! There is a way to download maps but I won't go into detail on that because is quite complicated. One thing that you may know is that the game is made out of blocks. It may look like a childish game with the graphics but I will assure you it is made for all ages (unless your 1). I'm 15 and I play it, older family plays it and my little cousins as well. It can be a Casual game or a Hardcore game depending on your play-style. I don't want to spoil to much for you so you have a surprise but if you want to play on Survival mode without all the Mobs (monsters) trying to kill you then you can even play on peaceful mode where it takes the bad guys out! I own Minecraft on both my Xbox 360 Console and my PC and I recommend buying it on the PC IF you have a good enough computer! to see if your PC has what is required type in on Google Search Can I run It and go to the first website and test your computer, It will tell you what you need. I say the PC Version is better because it has a lot more stuff in it rather than the Xbox because it is behind on Updates to the game. Either way, This is a must buy on any and all Platforms.

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In minecraft, you can do almost anything including playing survival or creative mode with all your friends or by yourself. Minecraft is a game of creativity. You have to fool around with everything until you know how to play the game. You can pretty much build anything you want! This is a very fun game and it makes your mind think a lot. I recommend this game to everyone!

Freestyle Street Soccer Review

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This game is preety good has gang members pushing shoving and netbreakers. I loved street vol. 2, and NFL Street, but this overdoing it. Next thing you know they're probly going to make kick the can Street. They're some good thing though about this game. You can start off with the gang shakedown, honeys, or skaterboys. You go up to the top gang STREET BALLERS. They're basketball players that play Street SOCCER? You can also pick up objects and through them at people. This game is rated T for strong language.

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Buy Xbox & Xbox 360 System Link Cable

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List Price: $7.99
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This cable is used ONLY for a hookup between 2 xboxes. This means that if you want to play Halo 4 vs 4 with 2 tvs, a regular ethernet cable will not work. Only the Xbox System Link cable will work between two xboxes directly connected. However, if you hook up four xboxes, you have to use regular RJ-45 ethernet cable with a hub. That is why this cable is necessary.

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If you don't like Microsoft or you think you can find a better deal on a different brand, look for "Cross-over" ethernet cables! "Patch" ethernet cables are the more common type, but they do not work for the Xbox.

For more information go here:

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This cable is absolutely necessary for anyone who bought the "xbox halo edition". Normal crossover cables do not work on this verson of the xbox and unfortunately microsoft found a way to screw you over, but hey, I guess they're being smart..

Honest reviews on Xbox & Xbox 360 System Link Cable

After spending half a day trying to link two XBox consoles to play Halo4, I checked various posts about the problem being with Halo 4 and not the cable. Sure enough, popped in two Halo Reach discs and no problem at all!

I have many more link-ready games to try, but even if it works only for Halo Reach, then it was worth the price. BTW, a router does not work. I purchased a Switcher and perhaps this will let me link up for Halo 4.

Hope this helps!

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I have no idea what these other reviewers are talking about. The description on this particular cable doesn't give a length, it only shows a picture. The cable is sufficiently long enough. I received an original XBox system link cable, but it works just as well. The price at the time of this review is only 3.24, which is a wonderful price compared to others I've seen.

The product may not be as pictured, but it works just fine. Plenty long enough, and does exactly as the description says.

Discount Dead Space (PlayStation 3)

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I have been playing shooters for a long long time. After DOOM, no one had the guts to move away from head shots. Almost 3 decades has come and gone and shooters have remained the same. Woow these guys did get away with it, and they have come out with amazing results. This is the power of creativity.

We have played shooters with zombies in them, horror sci-fi games, different permutations and combinations. All have few different monsters as enemies. Either you shoot them in the head or it is some kind of quick press events to kill the bosses. Here you have to understand what every enemy is, remember how to kill when you see them again. As you walk through the levels, you see clues written in blood on what to do with each enemy.

The game continuously throws new surprises. You have to explore every level to find items to upgrade your weapons. When you first step into ZeroG... the fights gets crazy. Enemies will come from every direction, the map is a big globe. The level design is fantastic. Every single detail from hospital rooms, kitchens what ever that will be required in a big space ship is there. It is not like the super tidy carpeted Trek space ship. It is supposed to be some thing like a dirty mining rig, and you surely get the feel of it.

There is lot of creativity that has gone in.. which I didn't expect from a big publisher like EA. You don't find any M16, AK46, turret gun here. All the weapons are mining equipment. Our future mining equipments are lot more interesting than what we have today. As the main character is a engineer lot of things he does very cohesive with the gameplay. When you actually fix a lever and move things around it feels lot more natural.

I do have to say one thing about this game. It is truly meant for mature audience. Please don't buy this game for very young children. There are few sections where you have to kick and stomp baby zombies. It gets too violent and scary. But as a horror/survival/thriller you need creepy enemies. Also they do give you a reason to keep searching and not quit half way around. The theme may be slightly similar to DMC4 girl friend search... but executed very well.

One gripe I have with this game as with DMC4 is backtracking. The game is quite long by today's standard. The space ship feels much better because you are visiting some of the same areas while backtracking. It is not horrible, but it is there. I wish they hadn't done that.

To give developers credit, they have done enough to avoid the regular backtracking nightmares like lost routes. You can always use your analog stick to show the dotted green walk line.

Previously I thought this one will be like Silent hill, this one is more closer to Resident Evil. Falls more in the creepy, scary game than survival horror game.

Technically, I don't have to say much. Any one who has seen videos of the game already know this game looks stunning. Fantastic way to start the holiday season. Brand new IP, silky smooth game play, really well done game. Go treat yourself.

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After reading reviews that Dead Space was the second coming of the original Resident Evil, I decided I'd give it a try. Review sites were claiming it to be "the scariest game evar!" Hell, when I picked the game up from a local store I was boldly told, "within two minutes of gaining control of your character, you will jump out of your skin!" Eagerly, I rushed home, ready for my next jolt of adrenaline. So, it was with a pair of rubber underwear (I kid...or do I?) and some excitement that I set out to see what dark terrors Dead Space would contain.

Turns out there's not much here we haven't seen before. No, I didn't jump two minutes into the game...and in fact the first chapter felt pretty tame. Monsters pop out of vents or can be seen in the distance, usually followed by a loud "DUN!" from the soundtrack. Maybe I've grown so hardened from my years of playing horror games that the thrills in Dead Space don't amount to much. I'm also wondering who these reviewers are. If Dead Space is so terrifying to them, I'd hate to see what'd happen if they got their hands on F.E.A.R. or Condemned, for example, two games that have made me jump out of my skin.

Things improve as the story continues, though, with some disturbing images (usually involving a crazed survivor) and some stick with me, even now. The game does improve on its terror level, the further in you get and there are some shocking moments, both in terms of graphic depictions but also in a "holy crap, I'm being dragged by a tentacle" way. But, as a personal opinion, I've never really been fond of the silent protagonist. And here we have not only Isaac, the mute, but Isaac the faceless since he's always holed up behind some mask. Sure there is a personal story here for him, what with his girlfriend stuck on the ship somewhere, but it never really clicked for me simply because Isaac felt like a doll and not a real person.

This isn't to say Dead Space is a bad game, just the opposite! I had an absolute blast playing it because what it does, it does exceedingly well. The weapons are never your cliched space marine-type fare, which brings a fresh feel to the game. They can be "leveled up" via work benches, and you can really design both your suit and your weapons to fit your play style. Dead Space also controls amazingly well and you'll never feel like the game is hampering you by horrible movement. The graphics are pretty damn awesome, especially in terms of the grotesque monster designs (which remind me of The Thing) and the animations. The concept of "strategic dismembering" is also a fun little twist of the genre, as you'll find yourself blowing the hell out of their limbs, just to keep them from coming at you.

I also appreciate how each level feels completely different from the last and EA has truly made the Ishimura come alive. When I first heard that the game took place on a ship, I was worried. Usually that means the same old corridors and bad level design, but here it means a fully realized space ship. Breaking up the action are sections taking place in zero-G areas, which are great, and some puzzles that require you to utlize the environment.

All in all, and even though I don't share the opinion that it's the scariest game ever, Dead Space is a terrific game. The plot is very intriguing and pulls you along, but it's everything else that really adds up to making it what it is. In the end, Dead Space feels more like Aliens than Alien, and that ain't shabby.

Definitely recommend a purchase.

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Let's face it: October's a rather crowded month. Literally every single week has one top-tier title that's massively anticipated and will instantly become day one purchases for many. Call it the Summer Blockbuster Season in games, really and thankfully a game like Dead Space has generated quite a bit of excitement and won't become one of those forgotten Ico/Beyond Good and Evil-type gems that barely anyone played yet people who have sing its praises whenever they can. While it's not exactly original and there's incredibly small gripes about the gameplay, Dead Space has all the makings of a great experience and I'd recommend it to anyone...provided you're over 18.

Story: You play as Isaac Clarke (a little nod to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, writer of 2001)who is an engineer that gets called in to investigate the distress beacon activated by the USG Ishimura, a "planet cracker" ship that literally rips holes in planets and mines the chunks for minerals and ore. But upon arrival, Isaac and a couple of his shipmates crash onto the ship and have to investigate what happened. But instead of finding its crew, it seems to be infested with new residents: that of grotesque, mutated creatures.

Graphics: This game is different than say Heavenly Sword or Uncharted which had lush and colorful visuals. Dead Space is more about poor lighting, flickering light sources and shadows across the floor. That being said, the graphics are unbelievably impressive and the immersion into the environments is stellar thanks to how the ship is presented. Also notable is the gore which is decidedly ramped up and whether it's you being on the losing end or you besting your enemies, you're guaranteed to run into some gruesomeness.

Sound/Music: Anyone who knows anything about horror is that it's just as much about how it's presented than what and all that is thanks to sound. The sound here is unbelievably impressive with clanks, roars and screeches, the unexpected loud encounter and even faint whispering, the aural design here will definately be effective if you have a killer surround sound system. The voice acting is also quite good and while they're not exactly flashy roles, there's no breaking the atmosphere with awful line delivery or melodramatic bellowing.

Gameplay: Strangely, the PS3 version of Bioshock is being released a week after this game which is a creepy, atmospheric FPS. This is a creepy, atmospheric 3rd-person shooter similar to Resident Evil 4. But what helps the game is the completely intuitive and immediate feel in the controls. While the controlling is simple and seen before, it's the weapons and others where it becomes key since I found switching weapons in previous games slightly clunky. Basically pressing L1 makes you aim and your action depends on what button you pressed. Pressing Square activates your Stasis, a kind of slow-motion weapon for those fast enemies, or just managing the battlefield. X is Reload while Circle activates your Kinesis which works similarily to the Force Grab in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (and not as awfully done either). R1 controls your firing while R2 is the weapon's secondary mode so your first weapon, Plasma Cutter cuts horizontally in default, pressing R2 changes it to vertically which is perfect for arm dismembering while the default is great for legs. You also have several other weaponry to use, all based on mining equipment so you have one gun which has saw blades, a flamethrower or a rapid-fire pulse rifle.

By the way, don't think you can rely on headshots galore in this game since that can make it worse. Instead, you have to essentially take your enemies apart to wipe them out. Blowing their legs off reduces them to a crawl while going for their arms robs them of anything to attack you with (and with Kinesis on the arms, they make for great impalement tools). That also gets a great use as well is the bigger variety in how you kill your enemies. For example, in addition to the arm-blade tactic, you can grab a flammable tank with Kinesis and launch them, creating a bomb or squishing them in doorways or getting them into gravity panels on the floor and launching them towards the ceiling with a nice, satisfying "squish" sound. While we're not talking about Bioshock-levels of variety, it's a great change of pace from just shoot-shoot-grenade-shoot in other games.

The other thing to mention is that in order to completely immerse you in the environment, EA didn't do a traditional HUD with your health bar, ammo and mini-map in the corners of the screen. Instead, everything is on your body with a vertebrae-like meter running up your spine that drops when you take damage to a half-circle for your Stasis meter, a pop-up for Air and a visible hologram for your ammo. It's a wonder that nobody seems to do this more. Word of caution: entering your inventory does not pause the game (that's what Start is for). So this effectively can leave you wide open for enemy attacks so best to wait till the coast is relatively clear. But having video logs and transmissions coming in front of Isaac and not a separate cutscene is great.

Oh, and speaking of air: on occasion you'll hit Zero-G environments where there's no air and you're able to jump to other parts of the room which lets you even stand on the walls, complete with shifted perspective. While it's disorientating and hard to tell what's exactly jumpable until you tried to jump, it quite works within the game and the near lack of sound really helps sell it. Plus let's face it: it's hard not to yell "woohoo!" like you're on a roller coaster every time you jump.

There's a couple parts in the game where I hit a proverbial wall and died a few times (it's reminiscent of "Star Wars" and even has a trophy named after one of Han Solo's lines), this isn't a difficult game so much as it's intense. Only brief times I can recall where I was more overwhelmed by enemies and didn't have a good strategy as opposed to Uncharted where enemies seem to have bullet-stopping skin or Call of Duty 4 where enemies seem to have better aim at 200 yards away than you do. While you can separate the game's experience into sizable chunks thanks to the clear chapter progression, the difficulty is so inviting that you just want to keep playing and not feel like Ninja Gaiden-levels of frustration and "finally for the 10th time!" shouts.

Is this worth a purchase? Well for me it is and I had such a blast with this game but for others, some might not get the big deal or they're too busy playing the other big games of the month to bother but I say definately do not pass this one up.

Honest reviews on Dead Space (PlayStation 3)

Look, if you love Dead Space, have dedicated your life to the game and think its the best thing since antibiotics, then I apologize for the coming blasphemy. I liked so many aspects about this game but overall it just didnt resonate with me. Here's why:

I love the horror/survival horror/action genre, so I came into it with positive expectations. This had Ridley Scott's "Aliens" movie written all over it. I was psyched.

Graphically, the game is pretty amazing, possibly one of the best looking games out there in the space-genre. The atomosphere of Dead Space is remarkable, I've give you that. They really captured the scale and isolation of space, and will positively creep you out with the strobe-lit rooms with random blood spatter. There is much detail here, but I appreciate all the effort in that.

Audio-wise, I think this may be one of the most effective uses of surround I've seen so far in a game. Its so damn eerie at times, I muted the volume. Random screams, metal grinding and breaking free, whispers (or are they?), things crawling through duct work, out of sight...this game does "ambient" better than some games do their main audio. Its almost as scary when things ARENT jumping out at you as when they are, and Dead Space uses that Hollywood scare tactic a lot. A whole lot.

I like many aspects, zero-gravity, the work stations, even the weapons were ok, but why 3 stars for fun? Because I played several sections into the game and realized not only how massive the amount of time it was going to take to solve it, but also how I was going to be repeating so many tasks so many times, and then backtracking through all the areas I previously passed through, like some kind of masochistic scavenger hunt. I can take this for a while, but not for an entire game the size of Dead Space. Even the cool new areas and details werent enough pay-off to make me want to spend the kind of hours I was going to need on this one.

Its an interesting lesson for game developers: beauty, atomosphere, storyline may not be enough to make a game "5-Star" fun if it requires a lot of repetitive work. Many, looking at the ratings, feel differently, but I was surprised enough by this to want to write a "second-opinion" review for those who havent yet played it. You may love it, buy the animated DVD and the comics and pledged your life to it, but you may not, so before you buy, you may want to try (rent).

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There are a lot of reviews here, so I'll just hit a few highs, plus a low or two. This refers to the PS3 version.

I've played a lot of shooter and survival games, but Dead Space adds some great twists that make it fresh and exciting.

First, fighting tactics. As others have said, you don't go for the usual head or torso shots, you go for the limbs. This is great fun.

Second, the graphics. Absolutely gorgeous and faultlessly detailed. No render errors, no load snags, no frame rate problems. None. And no constant reuse of pipes, walls, etc. except where it's appropriate for them to look the same as another spot.

Third, environment and sound. You're kept on your toes by the creepy atmosphere and the sound is fantastic. Distant clangs, soft nearby noises and other sounds constantly keep you wondering if there's a baddie behind the next corner.

Fourth, realism. There are many zero G areas where you have to leap from surface to surface (your boots are magnetic). These are challenging but not annoying and add a nice twist. There are also areas where there is no atmosphere and you have to watch your air supply closely.

Fifth, perspective. For the first time, your health and your suit's special power meters are on the back of your suit itself, not in a corner of the screen. The over-the-shoulder perspective is nicely judged you're not so close to yourself that you can't around, but far enough back to get a good, wide view. Your body does block a part of the left half of the screen, but I've never found this a problem.

The not so good? Mainly two things that are far from a killjoy but could have been better.

One, the on-screen displays when you view your "rig" inventory, the map, and text logs you collect have absolutely puny text. They're almost impossible to read on a 34-inch conventional TV using the 3-prong high-quality video (not hi-def).

Two, you upgrade your weapons and suit powers at "benches" using "nodes" you collect along the way. Both the nodes and benches are few and far between, so you don't get to upgrade as much as you'd like.

That's it. Dead Space is simply the best game I've played on the PS3, and possibly the best ever. It's richly detailed in every possible respect, brings fresh ideas to the 3rd-person shooter experience, and has no functional flaws and no real controller-throwing frustrations.

Absolutely highly recommended!

Cheap The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword with Music CD

Customer Ratings:

The Legend of Zelda series is one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, and arguably, it's *thee* greatest. With each release, Nintendo has showed us the magic of journeying through Hyrule's beautiful kingdom. Now, they have done it again, greatly injecting innovation into the tried-and-true formula of past titles. This is a Zelda game unlike any other, and feels all at once both an incredible nostalgic celebration of 25 years of history, and a wholly new adventure full of wild, awesome new directions. Get ready for a fairly long review, but please know that this is written from the heart of a young man who loves the series above most others in his favorite pastime.

The story and characters present in Skyward Sword are very different among the other Zelda titles, despite the obvious recurring ones. I don't just mean the amazing setting of Link's home, Skyloft, a fantastical city floating above the clouds where everone is bonded to their own guardian birdlike creature, a loftwing. No, from the start, Nintendo truly changes almost everything of what you'd come to expect from a Zelda game. This is the earliest tale in the series chronologically, acting as a prequel, making way for Ocarina of Time's tale to come. Zelda is not a princess here, just another common schoolgirl. She and Link have been best friends since childhood, and may even have feelings for each other (it's pretty obvious, and incredibly touching. My wife and I were both pretty moved by it). In Skyloft, the local school is essentially a knights academy, the uniform being a tunic that is easily recognizable to fans of the series. After completing a ceremony to become a senior in his class (the senior tunic is, you guessed it, dark green), Zelda and Link ride together through the sky to celebrate. Out of nowhere, a malevolent tornado knocks Zelda to "the surface," a vast, unexplored land below the cloud cover and once again, Link takes up the mantle of being a fated hero, destined to save the day. I'll stop here, because this is virtually spoiler free and if I say more it won't be. Just know that Nintendo has really changed up the formula of story and characters we've come to expect from the Zelda franchise, and as a result, Skyward Sword feels incredibly refreshing.

Another immediately noticeable change is in presentation. The story is much, much more cinematic than Zelda has ever been. Cinematic shot angles are much more dynamic than ever before, character expression is stunning, animation is smooth and realistic, and the writing is just fantastic. If anything, this feels like a very intimate entry in the Zelda series, not just epic or grand like past titles. It's a lovely direction for the Zelda series, if you ask me. The characters all come to life thanks to this presentation, of course, but the writing present certainly helps too. Each character has so much personality, and talking to each of them is a joy. Link is a somewhat distracted dreamer with his head in the clouds, loves to sleep, but has tons of courage and kindness, a true hero. Accompanying him in his journey is Fi, a new kind of companion to the series. Fi looks like a ceramic doll, her "speech" sounds like GLaDOS, and is purely logic driven. She is amazing. Zelda is a strong-willed, tough tomboy of sorts, and very lovable. Lord Ghirahim, the new villain, is *extremely* compelling and creepy (Ganandorf makes no direct appearance). All of these characters, as well as the plethora of side characters, are written and presented beautifully.

The art design and graphical implementation is awesome here. The game has married the art design of two past masterpiece Zelda title styles into one wholly unique direction. You have more realistic people and settings, like in the dark, mature Twilight Princess, but you also have the vibrant color and imagination of The Wind Waker, and it is a joy to behold. Nintendo EAD designed the game to look like a water color painting, and I must say, they did a fantastic job doing so. Draw distances are fairly short, and anything beyond is purposely blurred to look exactly like a water-color painting of the impressionist style, full of brushstrokes of beautiful color. I am deeply impressed here. The Wii is a painfully underpowered system in comparison to its two competitors, but it is genius art design like this that shows why the Wii has had some of the most beautiful titles of this generation (Metroid Prime 3, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Okami, now this game, the list goes on and on). To put it succinctly, Skyward Sword is one of the most beautiful games in recent memory, and that is totally thanks to the absolutely brilliant (and well implemented) art design.

Koji Kondo and Hajime Wakai; any fan of Nintendo will instantly recognize these names as two of the greatest musical composers of video gaming. They are almost unrivaled as composers, writing some of the most iconic music in the entire medium. Koji worked as musical supervisor in this title (as well as composed the main theme and some other songs). Hajime was in charge of music composition. This may be, and I *do not* say this lightly, some of their very best work yet. The music here ranges from the entire spectrum of musical emotion: epic, intimate, touching, sad, meditative, dark, joyous, achingly beautiful, uplifting, goofy/doofy (for a certain character), anything you can imagine. Each theme, whether for an event, a character, a place, whatever, is absolutely perfect for its place and can greatly change depending on the situation. It takes something special for music to not only define the experience for any gamer playing the game, but also convey the emotion and thought its supposed to, and the soundtrack here does so perfectly. Like most Zelda games, Link acquires a musical instrument that helps progress the story (Ocarina of time had... well... duh. Wind Waker had a baton), here it is a harp. You can play it at any time, and when you do, you can actually accompany the beautiful background music of wherever you happen to be on the harp. That's very, very cool. Great job Koji and Hajime! You're amazing.

The gameplay is what you're probably the most curious about. Does the Wii-Motion Plus work? Yes, it does very well, for the most part. You'll have to deal with calibration from time to time, sometimes actions won't register the way you hoped, but it's not too big a deal and doesn't happen nearly enough to mar the experience. The 1:1 swordplay works pretty flawlessly once you become acquainted with it. Link will seamlessly swing his sword however you do. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, it all works quite well. Pretty much every enemy you will encounter will require a different strategy to defeat, and I have found that the swordplay grows more enthralling with each hour I play (Boss fights are outstanding). It took me quite a while to get used to it, but I must say that this is truly the game the Wii was made nearly six years ago for. It's about time. The quest items you'll find are also a blast to use. They give you some new ones right off the bat, and they're all awesome, feeling completely new yet appropriate for the franchise. Also, Link now has stamina that runs out as he climbs and dashes throughout the world (yes, Link can now sprint around if you'd like). Link's stamina actually adds a small layer of strategic depth to the game, and the concept comes into play in many scenarios throughout the game. This gameplay concept worried me at first, but it's actually really enjoyable, and implemented excellently.

So far, I have been through three temples in about 20 hours (I bought my copy at a midnight release "party" and have been playing ever since). Gone is the field-dungeon-field formula of past titles. Instead, here you have a hub world, the realm above the clouds, with Skyloft as your main town to visit. Here you can restock supplies, buy or upgrade your shield and other equipment using items you've scavenged in your questing rpg-style, and go on very personal side quests that feel very much like Majora's Mask did, making for a character-driven experience. A great change of formula, one I was *very* skeptical about beforehand.

You can ride your loftwing and drop to the surface world below at key rifts in the clouds. Here, you have more concentrated lands you can adventure through until you get to a dungeon/temple that will advance the story. The world below, and its temples, feel quite a lot like the Metroid series. The land is more condensed and concentrated, feeling like dungeon of sorts by themselves, but as you acquire newer items, more and more dimensions will open up in those places as you revisit them. It's a huge change-up to the Zelda formula, but one that feels surprisingly good. As I've said, I've played through three temples so far and I am amazed at the ingenuity of them. Yes, you'll be pushing blocks and shooting targets to open doors, but you'll also encounter brilliant new puzzles. I mean, the puzzles are challenging and downright laugh-inducing in their ingenuity, and feel very satisfying when you figure them out. Combine this with the totally awesome new items, stellar swordplay, and ease of use and you get the feeling that every area feels like an innovation, in much the same way playing through Super Mario Galaxy 2 felt like standing before a firing squad of brilliant new ideas. I am downright astonished. I did not think it could be done, honestly, but this game really has reinvigorated the series through great change to the formula rather than refining it further like Twilight Princess did, and trust me when I say no one is more surprised than me.

This is a brilliant game, even among the other entries in what has been for 25 years a brilliant series. It takes Zelda in a plethora of new directions, while miraculously feeling *exactly* like a true-to-form Zelda game. Color me surprised. If you're a fan of Zelda, then you don't need me to tell you to go get this right now. This series has some of the most diehard fans of any gaming franchise out there, but just for emphasis' sake, I proudly, and loudly proclaim that this game is incredible! Buy it, soar through the realms above, and dive to the vast, mysterious lands below and fulfill your destiny to save the world once again!

* I know this review is quite long, but honestly, this game has so much that merits attention, the review could be much, much longer and still be appropriate. I will edit my review as I play through the game more if I feel there is something worth mentioning that I come across. However, I feel that this is a pretty good summary that hopefully gives you a good picture of the game. Seriously, go get it, like, right now. You won't regret it.

Final Update, 11/27/11:

Ok, after playing the game for roughly 50 hours I have finally beaten Skyward Sword. In short, this game is an absolute masterpiece. Each and every hour spent in this game was filled to the brim with brilliance and excellence, and not one single minute felt like boring filler that artificially extended the game. This feels like the Super Mario Galaxy 2 of Zelda titles, where there seems to be an exciting new gameplay/puzzle element at every turn. The story is incredible, with a lot of twists that genuinely thrilled and surprised me. This game essentially acts as an origin story for the entire Zelda series. Pretty much every element that you're familiar with from Zelda games see their true origin here, and it is spectacular (I won't give any spoilers though, you'll be blown away when you experience it for yourself). I have to say that I have not been this entranced and enthralled by a Zelda game since Ocarina of Time or The Wind Waker, and I am a HUGE fan of pretty much every entry in the entire Zelda series, so I don't say that lightly. The music is among the series' very best, which by itself is a massive accomplishment. The visuals the art design are incredibly beautiful, some of the most gorgeous and brilliantly inspired of the past decade, despite the underpowered system it is on. Because of all of this, I was compelled to play this constantly until beating it, AND there's a new game plus mode that adds substantially to the game as well! For fans of the series, this game is an immediate must-own. I give it the highest recommendation possible. I absolutely love this game, and I'm fairly certain most of you out there will too.

*That's my final statement. This is meant to finalize the points I made from my original review, which I think will be as detailed and informative as anyone would want or need. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Good day. :)

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This game is a prequel to all of the other Zelda games in which we find Link is a trainee knight of Skyloft, a town floating high above the clouds where Zelda is not yet a Princess. This is a unique and original adventure that intentionally tries to break apart from the franchise trend.

The sword is Motion-Plus genius in that what you do in real life is exactly mirrored on screen - in combat there is a perfect 1:1 balance I have not seen in any other wii game. You can wave your sword around while waiting for an opening to strike or just flail it around with perfect precision. Nearly every enemy requires a specific sword technique to defeat it although there aren't a ton of enemies in this game, each one offers a unique challenge.

Each item is quickly enabled with the remote so there is not much pausing to go through menu pages. Aiming with the slingshot or bow is much easier since you are using the wii motion-plus. Occasionally the controls will be slightly off, but a quick downward tap of the d-pad resets the pointer.

While there are only 3 unique worlds, you find yourself going back to these worlds repeatedly throughout the game as you gain new tools to unlock different areas. You are also able to freely go back to Skyloft to buy items, assist townspeople and do many other quests.

The dungeons are unique and flow naturally. In previous games, dungeons were basically designed for one item, but not this time -you must use many items in every quest, which makes for a nice challenge and improves upon the level design.

Music is always central in a Zelda game, and Skyward Sword doesn't disappoint -where Skyward Sword finally uses orchestral music for the first time. On a side note, the CD that comes with the game has songs covering the entire history of the series and is of high quality and production, but in all reality I likely won't play it more than once. Skyward Sword has been rendered using an art style that places it somewhere in between The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess and while that sounds weird, it is an improvement on the previous titles.

I have played for many hours already and knowing this is a 40+ hour game is all the more satisfying knowing that I got my money's worth. (I actually received the game Saturday 11/19 after pre-ordering from Wal-mart and have been playing non-stop).

Yes, there are minor quibbles to be had with motion control inconsistencies, small variety of enemies, and occasional camera issues, but this is a masterpiece of modern gaming. This IS the game the WII was made for! Must buy. (9.8 / 10)

**** UPDATE 11/23/11 *****

I have just hit the 35 hour mark and have yet to actually beat the main adventure. This has been one of the most exciting games I have played in years!

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I would like to begin my review by stating that I'm a gamer. I play PC games, console exclusive games, and portable games. I treat all platforms equally and only judge the content. In addition, I'm fortunate enough to have been alive and well pre, during, and post the golden age of gaming.

Visuals:

The new visual direction is amazing and it works. It's art! Everyone has their own option and some will disagree and that's OK. But it works for me and I was impressed. It's a blend between cel shading and the more realistic approach art direction of Twilight Princess with a touch of water paint.

Sound:

I really enjoyed the music scores and sound effects. Again, it's my opinion and some will really like it and some won't. Everyone has different tastes.

Gameplay:

Simply put, one of the greatest aspects of the game. The controls work and are implemented very well. This particular game can't be played with a regular controller because there are gameplay elements that make that impossible. Motion controls adds another level of satisfaction that a person can't get any other way.

This particular game has changed the "Zelda formula". If you've played other iterations of the game, you'll notice the difference early on. There is now a central hub from where you will branch off to complete various tasks including side quests. In addition, the dungeon designs are genius.

There is a crafting system in place that works very well. Though it's basic in comparison to other games, it works very well and adds another level of greatness to the game.

Presentation:

I would love to see a Zelda game with the full glory of voice acting (some will disagree with me) but this game sticks to the traditional text bubbles. And you know what? It still works. Especially because of one particular reason, elaborate facial expressions. It's done extremely well and it fits.

The game interface works well but can get very clunky. Thankfully, there is an option to make most of it invisible.

In conclusion, this new Zelda game simultaneously feels new and familiar. In my humble opinion, it's better than Ocarina of Time which makes it the greatest game ever created.

If you own a Wii, this game is a "must have". If you don't, this game should be the reason to purchase one.

Honest reviews on The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword with Music CD

**Disclaimer: For some Zelda fans patrolling Amazon reviews in order to defend the franchise's name from negative experiences from other players, this review may be another outlet for your negative feedback**

I have played all the major console releases of Zelda, starting with Ocarina of Time. Words cannot fully encapsulate the range of emotion or the imaginative zeal that resulted from playing through Ocarina, and it definitely started a love for the Legend of Zelda games to follow. From Majora's Mask to Wind Waker to Twilight Princess, we finally arrive to Skyward Sword, the 25th Anniversary of the franchise. How does it stack up to its predecessors? Personally, I feel there are strengths and weaknesses in what I think makes a Legend of Zelda game, and these feelings are based directly on my past history and experiences with the previous titles.

Pros:

Controls. Personally, I don't think that WiiMotion+ has ever been better. Smaller titles like WiiSports Resort showcased the ability of Motion+ on a smaller scale-The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has Wii Motion+ fully grafted into the controls of the game to rather accurately manipulate items (primarily, Link's sword) on your quest. As opposed to Twilight Princess' Wii Remote integration into the game, Skyward Sword makes the user feel dramatically more in control.

Story. Every Legend of Zelda game seems to bring something new to the world in terms of background for the hero, the princess, and the evil which pits itself against them: Ocarina revolved around age; Majora's Mask revolved around time; Wind Waker revolved around water; Twilight Princess revolved around realm; and Skyward Sword appropriately revolves around a land in the sky. The makers of Zelda did not disappoint when it came to an innovative and novel story-while Legend of Zelda elements exist, the backdrop surrounding them are fresh enough to revitalize approaches to solving puzzles and to interact with the world on a general level.

Characters. Besides the key characters associated with every Zelda story, Skyward Sword provides certain individuals who are dynamic and progress as the story develops. Even more appreciating than their ability to change, these characters are a large part dependent on your interaction with them in order for their own growth, making you feel like a real agent of change with the sidequests you undergo for them. This feeling of "belonging" with the NPCs of the game models the experience of the characters in Wind Waker, and a departure from the lesser relationships in Twilight Princess. A part of this feeling stems from limited options of responding positively or negatively (and not just "yes" or "no") in certain dialogued conversations.

Land. As with story, the land is creative and new. The regions that you explore resemble the traditional types of areas found in all Zelda games, and yet the names and faces of what you think you ought to meet are different enough to further instigate the feeling of newness and discovery. Also as with other Zelda games, the different regions of Skyward Sword are not fully accessible at the beginning without later equipment, depending on your own search for rare items apart from the storyline-it's a sense of adventure.

Equipment. The past three major console installments of The Legend of Zelda incorporated innovative weapons and items (alongside traditional ones) into their gameplay, and skyward sword is no exception. These added weapons are well utilized throughout the game, whether it be for dungeon bosses and puzzles, traveling to new areas, or fighting the various grunt monsters. Furthermore, the addition of the WiiMotion+ promotes both integration and ease for these novel items, and that includes the elimination of the item-select pause screen in order to select your item in real-time, on the fly. That addition alone is a major benefit and separates this Zelda title from its previous siblings.

Replay Value. You can repeat the game after you have beaten it in Hero's Mode with enemies that deal twice amount of damage and do not drop hearts (additionally, the grass found in dungeons also do not drop hearts), challenging your skill and use of potions to survive. Your progress resets, allowing you to re-experience the game from the beginning (however, treasures you found in the previous saved game file do transfer).

And now my complaints. Although there are no plot spoilers, other elements of the game may be necessarily discussed.

Cons:

Controls. Having been the product of the previous game's button-mashing and combo-utilizing of traditional controllers, I was and still am a cautious gamer with the Wii's interactive controls. Like I stated on the positive side, WiiMotion+ has never been better; it's true: I swing horizontally and so does my sword, I swing vertically and so does my sword, and so on. HOWEVER, a problem arises considering the pace of the game and this control scheme. For solving puzzles where time is no issue or wandering through the various environments, the small flaws of Motion+ are really no issue. Yet, when you are in a more intense situation fighting an enemy and are supposed to swing a certain way, I find that it is really hard to be consciously aware of how your nunchuck is placed, or even if your directional swing with the Wii remote is correctly balanced; too often has my thrusting motion with the remote been misinterpreted as a circular swing because my nunchuck wasn't positioned in a certain way-it is in these fast-paced fighting situations like these where skirmishes are unnecessarily prolonged because you are not hitting the enemy the proper way/direction. Slowly attacking your target while trying to make sure the controls are in the right places takes away a considerable amount of the feeling of a real battle situation.

Story. Perhaps I had higher expectations since this is indeed the 25th anniversary of the franchise, but I only found the storyline decent at best. Similar to Twilight Princess, the buildup surrounding the antagonist was just not as personal or emotionally-stirring as it was with Ocarina of Time (for reasons you will understand when you play the game). The result of such (which I would argue as a critical component) only gives the sense of getting the job done or completing a task rather than abolishing an evil you can really relate to. Although it has been stated that this game precedes Ocarina of Time, I don't find that fact enough excuse to neglect the relationship between the small hope of good versus the imminent dominance of evil.

Characters. My problem with the relationship between good and evil has already been stated above. [Non-plot spoiler] Being the traditional Zelda gamer and fan, I took real issue to the eradication of the Goron and Zora species. True, there are about three Gorons in the game, but as a species, both the Gorons and Zoras were strangely absent (unless you want to count the Floria Lake fish as Zoras). This can again be explained by the fact that this game precedes Ocarina of Time, or is in a different land area, however this game goes against its constituents (you could also put Wind Waker in the same camp, as interaction between Gorons and Zoras were also severely limited) by not having either staple species play a prominent role in the game. I have no problem with the species they introduced in this game, and I know this will be a small quibbling point to some-but Gorons and Zoras have been a recurring part of the Legend as Link himself. The dungeon bosses also need to be mentioned. I have never been less intimidated by the bosses of the Legend of Zelda than I have in this game. They just do not look the part of hideousness or scare that has been reproduced with every Zelda game. I found myself fighting a large purple Tellytubby with Jamaican dreads for one of the bosses-the bosses failed to do their part to add to blood-rush or intensity and looked like a misguided band of creatures on Sesame Street.

Land. Contrary to games like Twilight Princess or Wind Waker, the land of Skyward Sword felt restricted. That's not to neglect all the extended areas made possible by certain parts of the game/equipment; however, as was made known before its release, the non-dungeon areas of skyward sword were largely created to blur the field-dungeon distinction and make even the field-areas more like dungeons. As a result of this, the large-world feel of adventure that one received through Twilight Princess is limited to more puzzle-based interaction with Skyward Sword. This dried the wonder aspect given through "adventure-awe" and hyped up more critical thinking in these areas of exploration.

Equipment. The only real weakness to the equipment in this game pertains to shields. Unlike the other major console games, shields are breakable (and I'm not talking about a burnable deku shield). After so many hits the shield begins to break, indicated by a status bar on the screen. This poses quite the problem considering that shields can be upgraded through finding various treasures; if your shield breaks, that's it. You have to go and buy the initial shield you upgraded from and redo all of your upgrading. It can be a real hassle.

Replay Value. This is more of a personal point but for every Zelda game, I look for replay value similar to Wind Waker in which you keep certain items, have a modified look, and are able to accomplish additional content upon your first beat of the game; it adds to interaction and the feel of the game. I have not played through all of Hero's mode yet, but I do not think it will amount to the replay scope of Wind Waker.

Concluding Thoughts:

If you have read all the above wordage, then maybe you have deduced the underlying problem I had with this game: psychology. All other Zelda games I have played had intensity and scariness from bosses, a feeling of hopelessness against a larger evil, wonder and amazement at new-land discovery, as well as other meaningful emotional ties with NPCs. If Skyward Sword did these things, they were either severely under-played out or were just for the wrong reasons. It is because of the psychological distance this Zelda game has from the others that I would go so far as to say that it didn't really feel like a Legend of Zelda game-and certainly not one of 25th anniversary caliber.

Would I recommend you buy this game? Yes. For the experience. Because underneath all of these flaws, it is still a Legend of Zelda game and worth at least your initial investment. But do not expect this game to be all of what you have come to know the franchise to be, for the reasons already stated. While the creators focused on championing WiiMotion+ for the Zelda experience, they neglected needed attention on the key aspects that makes a Legend of Zelda game a Legend of Zelda game. If Nintendo continues along this same vein with Zelda in the years to come, perhaps we won't make it to another 25th anniversary down the road.

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So I recently finished Zelda: Skyward Sword. I originally got it for Christmas but didn't really pick it up until recently, what with the Mass Effect 3 face glitch (simply will not play until I can play as my Shepard!) All in all, it's a good game. It's even a good Zelda game. But still far from perfect.

Graphics I'm not going to get in depth with graphics because as we all know, the Wii uses last gen hardware, and so graphics aren't going to be all that great. They're pretty comparable to Twilight Princess despite the game being 5 years newer than its predecessor. That's all that needs to be said on that. It gets an 8 (average) because it's average in terms of what we expect from a Wii title.

8/10

Sound Sound is very good. I enjoyed most of the music the game had to offer. I didn't think the song playing between the water dragon's cave and the entrance to the second forest temple fit too well in a Zelda game, but hardly brings it down all that much. The song for the end credits was a good homage to the original entries in the Zelda series. For some reason Nintendo still has sounds it delegates to that monotone speaker in the Wiimote controller, though.

9/10

Controls And speaking of controls, this is where the game takes a big black eye. I was hoping that after Twilight Princess, Nintendo would've seen fit to focus less on motion controls. Instead, they made an even heavier emphasis on said motion control. The motion control scheme sounds good on paper swing your Wiimote to swing your sword, aim your Wiimote at the screen to aim your bow, etc. but it doesn't prove so good in execution. It proves to be cumbersome, unwieldy, imprecise and in some cases, maddening. At least in TP, you had a fairly small set of moves, each distinguishable from each other. In this game, just with the sword alone, you have horizontal strikes, vertical strikes and diagonal strikes, two of each, in fact, and many enemies where only one set will work, the others fail, and the controller is so hairline sensitive that it's far too easy to do a vertical slash when I needed a diagonal, or a horizontal slash turns into a ham fisted shaking of my sword, or a forward jab results in the enemy laughing at Link's inability to produce the same result. If I'm fighting a boss, I want to do that fight the boss. I don't want to be fighting both the boss and my controller because it thinks I want to do something completely ineffective. This is especially true when having to manage that awful whip weapon, especially seeing as how both it and the sword rely on the same controls, so using the one when you need the other is far too easy, especially when fighting the boss found in the dungeon where you get the whip. The boss himself isn't hard it's the fact that you have to fumble around with the controls almost as much as you do fight it. But the most damning of all is the tilt controls. The tilt functions (yes, plural) are found everywhere in the game. You need tilt to free fall, you need tilt to swim, you need tilt to control your free-flight Beetle, you need tilt when flying on your mount (and the tutorial for flying the mount is misleading tilting up on your Wiimote does not I repeat DOES NOT cause your mount to fly up. You need to "flap" the controller to do that, yet this is never mentioned in the tutorial,) so suffice it to say, you're going to be tilting a lot. There's a reason why Sony's Sixaxis was a colossal failure. It's a simple enough question why use tilt when you have the thumbstick a much easier, more reliable, more easily reproducable, more fine tuned control system than tilt could ever be? Somebody might respond that Nintendo wanted to take full advantage of the WiiMotion Plus. It's understandable if they want to showcase its capability, but not to the point where that's the one and only consideration at ANY AND ALL COST. That desire has to be tempered and balanced with a consideration towards how well the game will play if the controls are cumbersome, it's time to make some changes. I've yet to read an unbiased review for this game anywhere that didn't have at least one mention of the control scheme giving issues. Having no option to change the sensitivity hurt this score as well.

3.5/10

Gameplay and Presentation As controls directly affect gameplay, it is impossible to give a perfect score in this category. But despite that, the game is still fun. Nintendo promised that they were moving away from the Zelda games of old, and... to some extent they succeed. Many of the conventions we expect to see in Zelda games are still intact, but they did throw us a few new curve balls. The second trip to the desert was probably my favorite dungeon, despite having to find an invisible and actively moving target, and what sold me on it was what happened immediately before the actual boss fight begins, as it's not something that a Zelda game's done before. (At least, that I'm aware of.) A common enough convention in other games, sure, but I wasn't expecting what they did with that particular dungeon so I will give them kudos. A certain other boss you have to stop from reaching its destination was another good twist.

On a sidenote with the gameplay, I almost wish I could give Link the t-shirt that says "Let me just drop everything and work on YOUR PROBLEM", as the townsfolk, like always, are needing his help with everything. It's probably a good thing that we can't interject our own personality into the main character, because I'd probably tell them, "Okay, I'm in the middle of trying to find my childhood friend, someone dear to me, who's gone missing and whose life is in serious danger. I'm also trying to stop an evil entity from breaking out of its prison and destroying the entire planet. There's also a magic-wielding sociopath who wants find my childhood friend for his own nefarious schemes and kill me in the process. But SURE, I'll be glad to dust your house/find your (Fill in prized possession here)/go fetch something you could easily get yourself for you, since you don't want to do it! Not like I've got anything important going on, right?"

I do feel the need to bring this up as well the dialogue feels like it's straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon. A lot of us have been playing Zelda games since the first one when we were kids, and so I do not know why there's yet to be a Zelda game with dialogue that is on the level. This is especially evident with the first dialogue with Link, Zelda and her father. And I'm not saying there should be the kind of dialogue we have in Dragon Age, Skyrim or Game of Thrones, but is it so much to ask to have a script that isn't cheesier than the state of Wisconsin? Ghirahim is far too much of a clown to be taken seriously. If Nintendo was trying to make a nuanced, sinister, disturbing villain out of him, then they failed at it miserably.

I do like Fi, however.... well, okay, SOMETIMES I like Fi her emotionally neutral, overly analytical, almost computer-like speech is humorous, especially with how oblivious she remains to just how she sounds. Now if she'd just stop reminding me that my batteries or health are low.... or if she'd stop saying something that's either blatantly obvious, or give away the solution to the puzzle 30 seconds after I've encountered it.... she could at times be more annoying than Navi, and that's saying something.

Nintendo did get both the intro and ending right. Considering those are the two most important elements of the story (especially the later) I will give them credit where credit is due.

And I really hope Skyward Sword is the first and last Zelda game where our mount is a flying bird. This is Zelda, not StarFox.

Upgrading makes its debut, and it's a good addition. Get some supplies from the enemies, upgrade your shield or other item(s.) I do not know why the Slingshot is still a weapon in this series, however. It was obsolete the moment the Beetle was found (longer range and no ammo to collect) and twice obsolete when the bow is collected (why use a sling when you have a bow and arrow?) I didn't bother investing into it, as I had more important things to put my materials into than seed satchels. Arrow quivers, on the other hand, received the full upgrading experience. One related gripe regarding the process whenever a bug or upgrade treasure is found for the first time in each and every playthrough, the game deems it necessary to pause the game, just stop it dead, and repost the information we've seen thousands of times before before letting us continue. Even if you collect a given bug, go save your game, quit, enter back in five minutes later and collect another of that same bug type, the game will once again pause the game and give its full description of what that bug is. And it does that with each and every type of bug, and each and every type of upgrade treasure you find. I think I've got a good handle on what items do what when the last dungeon in the game is looming on the horizon.

And why, oh why are we limited to selling only 4 types of treasure or bugs at a time? Randomly selected, at that?

Also, why are we over a decade past the turn of the 21st century and there's STILL no voice acting in a Zelda game? Before any ultra-hardcore Zelda purists (read: Raving psychopaths) start breaking their keyboards pounding away their righteous fury at how voice acting would somehow break the "holy sanctity" of the game, or start talking about how that'd turn Zelda into another mass-marketed series that only wants to turn a buck, let me stop you right there. First of all, every video game, regardless of when it was made or the genre it was built for, is a mass-marketed game, intended for a business to make a profit. Second of all, again, note the year we're in. It's time for voice acting, already. Should it be good? Absolutely. But for the last time, start giving voices to the characters. Reading text is boring. Boring is bad. And considering the sheer amount of written dialogue... the sheer amount of BAD dialogue.......

One last thing on the subject I'm not sure why Nintendo would think we'd need tutorials if we're playing on Hard Mode, given that we have to go through the entire game once to access said mode. I wanted to say "I think I've got a good handle on this, thanks!" more times than I would care to admit.

And that stamina bar? That has to go.

8.0/10

Replayability There's a Hard Mode after the game's completed once, but like every other Zelda game, Skyward Sword is completely linear in fashion no branching story lines, no moral choices with long-term consequences that dynamically change the story, nothing like that. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, as it shows evidence that Nintendo has listened to its fans decrying the easy difficulty of its previous Zelda games.

5/10

All in all a good experience. I'm not going to say if it's better or worse than Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess, because nostalgia can cloud an otherwise objective point of view. So, it's a good game in and of itself. Hopefully when the next Nintendo console comes out, they'll have given something more responsive and dependable than the motion controls we have to put up with now. While control and general presentation issues do prevent the game from being perfect, or even as close to perfect as games are capable of becoming, it's a solid entry in the Zelda series and one of the best games the Wii has to offer.

Overall: 8/10 (NOT an average of the other scores.)

Graphics: 8/10

Sound: 9/10

Controls: 3.5/10

Gameplay/Presentation: 8.5/10

Replay Value: 5/10

Overall score: 8/10

Best Rocksmith - Xbox 360 Deals

Customer Ratings:

I thought I'd give a review from the point of view of someone completely new to the guitar, for those of you out there like me who are wondering if this will really teach you or if it'll be a frustrating waste of money. First off, I'll say that it isn't easy. As someone completely unfamiliar with the frets and the strings, I had a tough time starting out very slow and clumsy. BUT, you'll see improvement REALLY quickly. I've only been playing for about two hours and although I still suck, I'm having a great time and I'm already loads better than I was when I started out. The only reason I stopped was because my finger got sore from holding down the strings. So far, for someone who's wanted to learn and either never had the time or money to take lessons, or found practice to be tedious and dropped it, or just doesn't have a mind for reading music, this is a definite recommendation. If anything changes as I get further along, I'll update this review. But as of now, I love it!

UPDATE 10/21: The good news first I'm still absolutely loving the game and steadily improving. I'm only able to play about one to two hours a day, but even though that's all the time I'm able to put in, I'm already to the point of being able to play along with a song. But (here comes the downside), with my improvement audio lag has become a real issue. Before I was so horrible that I couldn't hit the right notes at all, let alone on time, so it didn't make much difference. But now that I've improved, it's a problem. To be fair, they warn you about this in the form of a pamphlet inside the game box, so it wasn't out of nowhere. I was just hoping that since I wasn't using HDMI, the lag wouldn't be too horrible. Wrong.

For those of you out there with a stereo or home theater system, you'll be fine as long as you run the audio directly from the xbox through that. But since I have neither, I was stuck. I ended up bringing down my old CD player from my bathroom, just to see if that would work. SO much better. But since I didn't want to leave that ugly thing sitting under my TV in my living room I went out and checked around for speaker prices. After the money spent on the game and the guitar, I didn't really want to put too much more money into this. I ended up with a Turtle Island headset for $40. It seems to be doing the trick. Just be prepared for this extra expenditure if you don't have an external speaker system in place.

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As others have said, this game is not a replacement for a human guitar teacher. The advantage here is that you get to jump in and start playing songs right away, and let's face it, that's the reason alot of folks give up on their "regular" lessons early on. Nobody wants to spend five days learing how to tune their guitar even though they should. Nobody wants to spend another fifteen days learning how to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" even though they should. People want to pick up the guitar and play "Sunshine of Your Love" in ten minutes, and Rocksmith lets you do that... sorta.

Rocksmith won't teach you to play any song you want on the guitar in a week's time, but what it does is get you used to holding the instrument and what to do with your hands. The first time I ever played Guitar Hero, I think I might have hit a total of ten notes in the song. But eventually my left hand learned which button was which and how far apart they're spaced, to where now I can play alot of songs on 'expert' without looking at the controller. Same concept here. Within about an hour my left hand learned how far apart the third and fifth fret were and I could transition between the two with a fair amount of success without looking at the guitar. If you want to learn the guitar, Rocksmith is a great jumping-off point. Play around with it, get familiar with the instrument, then take some professional lessons or buy the self-instructional DVD's if you want to learn the nuts and bolts of what it is you're actually doing. If you don't want to take it that far, play the game for a few months and impress your friends next time you go over to their house by picking up that old acoustic guitar sitting in the corner and busting out some Nirvana Unplugged for them.

Long story short: I bought a guitar, I bought the books, and I bought the DVD's. Nothing was more boring or frustrating than sitting in my living room by myself with a book open in front of me or a DVD playing, trying to teach myself the guitar. I learned nothing. Rocksmith is fun... end of story. If I learn to play the guitar when it's all said and done then great! If not, it's still a ton of fun. Analyzing the reviews out there and most importantly who wrote them should help you make your decision. Gamers are rating it low and musicians are rating it high, that should tell you exactly what you need to know. I'm not saying one group is right and one is wrong, just that one is viewing it as a "video game" like Guitar Hero or Call of Duty, and one is viewing it as an interactive instructional tool for beginners and/or a fun diversion for professionals. If you're a gamer looking for a game, pass. It's too expensive and there aren't any guys with funny accents for you to blow away with an M16 or quests for dragon's balls. If you're a guitarist or a wannabe guitarist who also happens to own a video game console, it's a must buy.

** UPDATE ** Now that I've had and played the game for a week or two, I'd like to expand on my review a bit.

Before I bought Rocksmith I could not play the guitar. I mean it, I could not play a single chord or make any sound that resembled any part of any song in the known universe. Now I can play through "In Bloom" and "Sweet Home Alabama" with relative success every time. Herein lies both the benefit and the drawback of Rocksmith. Yes, I can play both of those songs I mentioned (among others) as long as I'm playing along with the game, but I haven't truly learned the songs. I don't know what notes I'm playing and I cannot apply what I know about playing "In Bloom" to any song not in the game.

When a human guitar teacher teaches you, you learn that placing your left hand here and strumming the string(s) like this is called G-sharp, or E-flat, or the G-chord or whatever. Rocksmith simply shows you that putting your left hand here during "In Bloom" and strumming these strings with your right hand during "In Bloom" will make the proper sound for that part of "In Bloom." I haven't truly learned what it means to play those notes, only how to play them. I don't see how the lessons learned would transfer into being able to read, play or understand any song not in the game.

That said, am I changing my review or my recommendation? Absolutely not! I stand by what I said originally: Rocksmith shows you how to hold the guitar, where to place your hands, and how to play notes. It allows you to play songs right away without trudging through days/months/weeks of music theory or just playing one chord over and over until your fingers bleed. If you want to know the "nuts and bolts" behind why when you place your left hand here and strum with your right hand there it makes the sound it makes, buy some instructional books or hire a human teacher. I guarantee you'll be a step ahead of where you would have after playing Rocksmith than you would if you hadn't.

The only thing I feel really needs improvement before Rocksmith 2 comes out is the on-the-fly difficulty needs more fine tuning. For example, after playing "In Bloom" on what was surely the lowest setting the game offers, I felt like I was getting the hang of it and wanted more notes to come at me. It took a while before it thought I was worthy of more notes but when it finally did, it threw them at me fast and a-plenty! Only after failing miserably two or three times in a row did it slow it back down for me, but even then it slowed it down too much. Finally it hit a happy medium with me and I felt comfortable with the pace, but that was after playing the song through four or five times either too slow or too fast. It's a great concept and amazing technology but it has much room for improvement.

Overall I stand firmly behind my day-one review. Rocksmith may not be the best teacher in the world, but it's a helluva fun game and it took this guy somebody who'd barely even held a guitar and turned him somebody who can actually play the guitar... to a certain extent. But I am getting better!

** UPDATE FOR MY UPDATE **

This game's been out for about a month now and I can say I have some serious time into it. It's still fun and I still like it, but I'm demoting it from my original 5-star review to 4-stars based on some shortcomings I can't ignore. I know my review's already so long most people haven't even read it, so I'll keep this short lol!

1) The adaptive difficulty feature needs some serious refinement. I touched on this earlier, but it switches between "Eric Clapton Mode" and "Chimp Holding a Guitar Mode" too often and never at the right times. When I start to ge the hang of a song, it triples the single notes and throws all the chords at me at once. When I screw that up as I invariably do, it takes me back down to what must be the lowest possible level and it throws me off.

2) There should be a section where you can practice chords as long as you want. As it is now, you can play these short little songs consisting of a few chords repeated, but once you've finished the song you're done. The mini-game "Dawn of the ChorDead" is (or should I say "could be") awesome, but they should let you turn off the scoring and just play as long as you want. It's alot of fun and I felt like I was learning, but when you get eaten by the zombies you have to start all over again. Which leads me to one of my biggest gripes...

3) LOAD TIMES! They're inexcusably loooong and are honestly ruining the entire experience for me. I'm a beginner. I never played or barely even held a guitar before this game came out. I need a section where I can just practice chords, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and all that other stuff over and over again until my fingers bleed. Sure, there are a couple different sections where you can practice all those techniques now... for a few minutes, then you have sit through a load screen for feels like an eternity if you want to do it again. If I could play the Riff Repeater 100 times in a row like I want and not 5 times like it makes you, or I could play "Dawn of the ChorDead" for as long as I want and not only until I miss 2 or 3 chords and get eaten by the zombies, then the load times wouldn't be an issue to me whatsoever.

I still like this game and I still play it often, but it's not perfect. Hopefully Rocksmith 2 will have the necessary improvements.

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In reading the reviews written about Rocksmith so far, I can see a little of myself in almost every reviewer. I was the guy who bought an all-in-one guitar starter kit in his early 20s because he thought he could learn to play from a DVD. I'm also the typical Guitar Hero/Rock Band-turned-real guitarist. I've taken lessons from both self-taught and accredited instructors and have been playing about 2.5 years now. I figured if I could go from failing the easiest song in Guitar Hero I to playing almost every song at 90+% Expert in Rock Band 3, I could learn to play a real guitar if I was willing to dedicate the same amount of time to that as I did a video game. I was really excited when Rock Band 3 announced it would have pro mode. Not only to be able to play a real guitar along with the game, but just to have accurate tabs for some of my favorite songs (accurate in the sense that if I learned the chords and notes, I could play the song--I understand there will always be debates about how some published tabs aren't written the same way the original artist plays a song). Of course you can buy tab books, but why pay $20-30 for each one when you really only care about a few of the songs? I tried to jump right in to RB3 pro mode, only to find it much more difficult than I anticipated. Granted, I started in Expert mode right away, with the idea that I would play along with the chords I knew, fumble through the trickier licks and flub the solos to get through the songs. Here are the main reasons why Rocksmith was such a welcome sight:

1) Horizontal charts. Think about it: sheet music is written horizontally. Tablature is written horizontally. When holiding a guitar, the instrument and your hands are horizontal. By not changing the layout of its pro note charts, Rock Band 3 forces players' brains to have to mentally rotate the frets they're reading 90 degrees in order to interpret them. Who has the ability to do that and play along in real time except established guitarists who are already familiar with a song? The tutorials even show horizontal hand and guitar neck placement when guiding gamers in training mode, so they acknowledge that's the easiest way to learn to play, but didn't think to change the game accordingly. Rocksmith's horiztonal, hologram/3D imagery is much more intuitive, and the notes/chords act as an overlay to your fretboard as the song plays. To me, this makes it much easier to try to line up your hand with what you see on the screen--in terms of finding frets as well as the correct string with your picking hand (something else that is more difficult to do with a vertical layout). In addition, the fretboard on the screen is numbered to coincide with the neck of the guitar the player is holding. That sure beats trying to read the little numbers for each string you need to fret to form a chord or the blue "hill" design of notes relative to the root of a chord in RB3. It also helps anticipate where the next note/chord will be, since the fretboard is what remains constant as the notes change.

2) The use of your own guitar. I applaud Mad Catz and Fender for the designs of the pro guitars they introduced for Rock Band 3. I've owned them both and can't think of any way they could be better, but each one has its flaws. The plastic Mad Catz Mustang doesn't give you a realistic feel, since each row of buttons representing the strings is the same size, eliminating the tactile response of feeling string gauge to know which one you're playing. It also hinders visual response, since all you can see is a sea of identical plastic buttons when you look down to try to find your place. In addition, the coated strings don't vibrate or "give" as much as real strings because they're short and anchored down at each end. I felt like I had to be extra careful not to break it. I've gone through enough standard Rock Band guitar controllers; at $150, I wouldn't want to replace the Mustang anytime soon. The Fender Squier is a remarkable idea in its design for the game, but it's a terrible guitar for standalone playing. That's where Rocksmith really excels. I don't know how well the guitar included in the bundle is designed, but for anyone who already owns a guitar they're comfortable with, it's a great headstart in playing the game over being forced to struggle with an instrument that doesn't feel good in your hands. Guitars are like shoes--you have to find what fits you best and feels the most comfortable or you'll be miserable.

3) "Freestyle" playing within a song/user feedback (this may be the most important difference from all previous rhythm games). When playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band, you only have one chance to get the note right. If you miss it, no sound will come from the game to tell you if the note was played correctly or incorrectly, albeit at the wrong time. After playing Rocksmith awhile, it's obvious the game determines accuracy by the output of your guitar, not which fret you played. That is, if your guitar is out of tune, the game will fault you because it's not using electronics in the fretboard to detect which note was played, it's using the signal sent from your guitar through the cable (just llike an amp would). This is great because you still get feedback from the game that you hit the right note, even if it was late. You still hear the tone from the speakers, not the "chukka-chink" noise of a missed note. This is very rewarding feedback because even if you don't hit the note at the right time and get any points, at least you're hearing what you played and learning the hand/eye coordination and muscle memory necessary to playing guitar. Remember when you learned to read and your teacher hounded you to take the time to sound out a word you didn't know instead of just skipping over it? The same concept applies here. You can't just bypass notes and move on if you expect to learn how to play guitar. You have to force yourself to do it the right way. Having the opportunity to play the note again and hear the way it's supposed to sound allows your brain to associate hand position with the corresponding sound. The audio feedback also makes the game as real as it gets--a guitar doesn't care if you play a note late or wrong, it's still going to make a sound. You'll know immediately if you hit a sour note because the tone of your guitar won't match the song. That makes it incredibly easy to make adjustments without having to look at the screen/guitar/screen/guitar to figure out what you're doing wrong. If the note you played sounds flat, you know to move your finger up a fret; if it sounds sharp, slide it down a fret.

4) The game addresses alternate tuning. As I mentioned in point 3, Rocksmith uses the signal sent from your guitar to determine if you played the correct note/chord. It's the most pure way to communicate with the game. Harmonix should be ashamed of itself for not thinking of such an obvious approach when designing RB3 pro mode, and instead creating cheap replica guitars to be used with the game. I've only seen one alternate tuning in Rocksmith so far (drop D), but making it a point to have players tune their guitar relative to the song being played is a key instructional tool that was overlooked in RB3. I've even read comments on YouTube about how someone trying to learn through that game wouldn't be able to play the song in real life because they wouldn't be aware of the alternate tuning.

I'm relieved to see that the general first impression of the game is a favorable one. As one reviewer said, playing Rocksmith makes you forget you're perfoming a task and takes those familiar with the original Guitar Hero back to the day they first picked up a red plastic SG. Personally, I'm already looking forward to downloadable content so that I can start building my library and stop relying on sites with poorly written tablature to learn a new song. There aren't many things that are a bigger waste of time than memorizing a song just to find out you learned it wrong.

Honest reviews on Rocksmith - Xbox 360

If you want to feel like a rockstar (now) play Rockband, if you want to (eventually) be a rockstar play Rocksmith.

This game has a very specific target audience that must have patience and dedication. It won't make you Dave Navarro, Stevie Ray Vaughan, or Jimmy Page over night but it will certainly get you pointed in the right direction. There is a lot of commitment involved with this game because you are actually learning a real instrument, which is never easy.

I'm a self taught bass player with a handful of 6 strings that I've fiddled with on and off for the past several years. The fact that I can plug my PRS, which I don't deserve at all, into my Xbox and start playing songs is an amazing thing all by itself. I really enjoy this game and think it has tremendous potential as a teaching tool, but there are some kinks that need to be worked out. I would still recommend it to anyone seriously interested in learning guitar.

One of the trickiest parts about learning to play songs on your own is getting the effects right, which can be tough even if you own the same equipment that the song was recorded with. Rocksmith takes care of that for you and if you do well enough on a song you unlock that setting in "Amp" mode. In amp mode you get to play around with your sound and add different effects or play through different amps/guitars with no song requirements just like you would in your basement. I haven't played with it much yet but it seems to be a really cool tool if you have the patience and like to tinker with effects.

As everyone has stated, you start each song at the very root level until you've hit a required percentage of notes to move that section up in difficulty. While this is great for begginners it's frustrating for those of us with some experience. I would like the option to start at higher difficulties and adjust down if need be. Occasionally you will complete the appropriate percentage and get bumped up just to get kicked back down while trying to figure out the additions in the rift, which can again be frustrating.

While I'm talking about frustrating I have to mention the "Riff Repeater" mode which is where you can practice sections of the song. This is absolutely infuriating and a terrible way to be forced to practice specific sections. There are three modes you can choose from, one designed to progress you through the levels until you are playing the song note for note and the other two are just to practice the section. For all of them you are given five chances to play perfectly, or at least a requisite percentage correctly, and then it kicks you at just to start over if you don't perform to standard. The two modes that are not designed to level you up stop each time you miss a note, which is frustrating because it messes up your timing and doesn't give you a very clear picture of which note you missed. I will be doing my best to stay away from these two all together and probably use the leveling mode rarely due to the aggravation and headaches they cause.

On top of the difficulty of learning to play an instrument, there's a bit of a learning curve with the symbols for techniques and sometimes being able to tell which fret you're supposed to be on. If you're familiar with tablature notation you shouldn't have much problem figuring what technique it wants you to use after a couple trys. If you're not familiar with tablature I would recomend checking if there are any technique tutorials before beginning a song. The tutorials are helpful, for example I learned how to palm mute better, and you can skip straight to the exercise if you already know how to execute the particular technique.

In order to play a gig you have to qualify on each song in the set list. It recomends songs for each gig and has a minimum score that you must meet in "Rehearsal," which is not the same as "Riff Repeater." You can add or remove songs from your set list as long as you dont go above/below the min/max number of songs. Unfortunately you have to qualify for every song your going to play for every gig even if you've played it at a gig before. The number of points required to qualify on a song already played at a gig seems to be exponentially greater than the initial time.

The last complaint that I have about the actual gameplay is that it doesn't always register up strokes in some faster sections. For example, "Go with the Flow" by Queens of the Stone Age is full of fast notes that are much less tiring to play if you alternate up and down strokes, but when I do that the game tells me I've missed a large portion of the notes. When I only use downstrokes I hit 100% of the notes... I tried turning my tuning knobs a hair tighter and it helped a little but it's still an issue.

The game, on an ascetic level, is extremely dull and boring. The venues are bland, the crowd is the same three or four people cloned over and over, the intro video puts me to sleep and the menus are dark and simple. The load times are a good bit longer than I would like, but at least you get to play guitar during them.

What I would like to see in the future:

A lot of DLC

Practice mode with adjustable timing and no lives

Bass guitar support

Notes, especially start/stop points of slides, that are more easily identifiable

This game is a great learning tool and intro to guitar. It's always fun to play your favorite songs and maybe add some new favorites to your library. It's a good way to practice and much easier than trying to teach yourself songs with shaky tabs pulled off the internet. Be warned that this product teaches ZERO music theory, so aspiring musicians will be left in the dark when trying to play with other musicians, but that's easily rectified by supplementing this tool with boring, but necessary, books.

All in all I'm very happy with the $80 I spent on this game and am looking forward to playing more when I get home. I will continue to support this product and hopefully some good DLC will come out soon and Rocksmith 2 will have the kinks worked out and be even more enjoyable, and therefore sucessful, game that will introduce many many more aspiring musicians to the joy, and woes, of playing music.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Rocksmith - Xbox 360

A little background you get a perspective for where this review is coming from:

I am 28 and have been trying to teach myself guitar for around 7 years with little success. I have found it difficult to afford lessons. I have found dedication to the learning of guitar lacking as I enjoy gaming quite a bit. I will pick up my guitar, learn some new basic skill, and then step away from it for months on end. I then repeat this cycle. When I first played Guitar Hero on the PS2 way back when I hoped that a game would come out to teach the real guitar without the use of some plastic toy.

This is that very game.

For the price of 2 guitar lessons you get a huge amount of content and an UNLIMITED amount of lessons. I have been very impressed with this so far.

I plugged in my Epiphone Les Paul Special GT 2 and the game walked me through a tuning process asking me specific details about my particular guitar to tailer the expierience to the guitar I was using. It detected my volumte and tone settings as well. The game will also check to see of you are in tune prior to each song or riff attempted.

The progressive difficulty is great! You can attempt any song and it will throw the most basic structure of the song at you to start with. As you hit more notes the game will add more notes much like any decent guitar teacher would. The visual response for hitting the note on the guitar helps commit your hand position to muscle memory which is exactly what you need to get familiar with the fretboard.

As far as the visual interface goes and the note delivery you really need to expierience it for yourself. I find it hard to describe other than "natural". It really feels natural. If you have every held a guitar and understand the very basics of tabs you will get it right from the start. In case you don't there is a tutorial on how to read it.

This is the perfect game for anyone who wants to learn the guitar and I cannot praise this game enough for what it has done to my skillset in the few hours I've spent playing. Practicing has always been an issue for me and I don't see that being an issue any further. I want to play this game. I want to play the guitar. It is no longer practice. You get to see your improvement as it happens.

If you want to learn the guitar buy this game. It is $80 well spent.

For gameplay videos, details from the developers etc please visit Rocksmith's YouTube page.

Now that I'm done telling you how great this game is I'm going to go fire it back up and learn a little something :)

UPDATE 10/25/2011:

After a week with the game my intial impressions remain accurate. I have spent more time in the last week playing guitar than I thought the game would encourage me to. In the span of 7 seven days I have learned 2 songs. Actually LEARNED two songs and the techniques required to play them. I am able to play more than just a power chrod arrangement along the lines of anything by Green Day.

There have been some people on Rocksmith's Facebook and YouTube channels complaining about lag. There is an onscreen prompt letting you know there can be lag and how to avoid it. Set your TV to game mode to start with if you are connecting using an HDMI cable to your xbox. I highly recomend getting the seperate audio hookup for the xbox as well. Many who use headphones know of the adapter I'm speaking of. Since Amazon does not allow links in reviews use this search phrase:

"RCA Audio Cable Adapter for XBOX 360 + Slim"

That is the adapter you need. In order to utilize headphones with this adapter you will need another cable:

"Cables To Go 03182 3.5mm Stereo Female to RCA Male Y-Cable"

Once you have both those cables you will have a lag free expierience over headphones. Alternarely you can use that RCA jack to run the audio though a home theater, amplifier, or (with the purchase of seperate RCA cables) a guitar amplifier. I recently purchased a great pair of headphones called Sennheiser HD448's and they perform amazingly well with the game. Anyone who has started the process of learning the guitar knows the investment into the equipment is expensive. Having a high quality pair of studio style headphones is an imporatnt part of that investment and you should have a pair. Sennheiser will give you the best quality for your money at a mid-range price level and will rival over priced models such as Beats by Dr. Dre.

Thanks to Rocksmith and the Sennheiser headphones I was able to power through Go With The Flow by Queens of the Stone Age at 99% only missing notes when I was double checking my finger position and trying to find the rhythm. Finger position became natrual the second time through the track at it's highest difficulty level and I didn't have to second guess my hand position once. Thanks to the instant visual response you know where your hand is and whether or not you're playing the song correctly. Becoming familiar and comfortable with the fretboard has been one of my biggest challenges in teaching myself how to play. It is becoming less of an issue with each hour sunk into Rocksmith. The sense of accomplishment after that 99% score was fantastic. I was also able to watch the replay and identify where I needed to focus.

I really liked the idea of playing the guitar 7 years ago when I bought my Strat Squire on a whim. It's crazy that having the visual response this game provides that I am now actually playing and learning. My Gibson is no longer sitting in it's case in a closet. It is out and used for a minimum of 3 hours a day. You couldn't force me to do that even a month ago.

Speaking of guitars; spend a little money on your guitar. Starter packs are fine but can be discouraging when the quality of the product impedes your learning. As stated above I have had the standard Strat Squire many start with and after a short time with it I just didn't like how it felt. There are budget guitars and there are value guitars. Epiphone from Gibson is the way to go in my opinion. If you are just buying one online and don't want to go to a music shop for a test drive I would recomend this one:

"Epiphone LP Special II Les Paul Collection Electric Guitar, Ebony"

Again, Amazon search phrase. It keeps it's tune very well, has easy action, a smooth neck, and feels right when it's in your hands. For a guitar under $200 this is a great value guitar. If you're willing to spend a bit more then get a hard case for your guitar as well. Epiphone has a case for nearly every guitar they manufacture.

All of this info is meant for the beginner using this game as a learning tool like myself. These are lessons I've learned in teaching myself. I hope you find the review and general info helpful.

Good luck on your journey :)