Discount ArmA2: Combined Operations

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Armed Assault, the franchise with a pretty standard love/hate relationship factor. You'll love the free-form, gigantic sandbox that it has to offer, but you'll hate it at the same time for it's (unavoidable) bugs and complications.

Combined Operations is simply a package-deal with the latest "Operation Arrowhead" (Takistan, Zargabad, Desert environments) standalone expansion, as well as the original ARMA II (Chernarus) in the same box. The value is great, as you're basically buying the keys to a massive mil-sim amusement park, free to do whatever you please with not too many constraints. There isn't a good method in describing what kind of game this is if you haven't played it before. If you're used to Call of Duty and similar shooters, then you're in for a surprise if you play this game. It's a lot like the original Operation Flashpoint, except on a much grander scale, with more flexibility. I could spend a couple hours writing up an essay on what this game is, or I could just give a quick rundown on what one should expect.

PROS:

Flexibility in doing what you want. Create your own missions, scenarios, dynamic environments, etc.

Striking visuals with the proper hardware. (Proper, as in: Very nice rig, $2,000+) A lot of things going on at once, leads to amazing scenes.

Community and it's modding counterpart is amazing. First thing one should do after buying this game, is visit or the forums.

Extremely *massive* environments, with land-air-sea mobility. Jets, tanks, helicopters, armored humvees, the works.

CONS:

Can be ridiculously complicated for first-time users, even for PC game veterans. Patience is a virtue.

Quite a system hog, especially when the action is at it's finest.

Large, open-world, sandbox environment = plenty of bugs that one has to come to accept with such an undertaking.

Overall, this is a game for PC gamer veterans and enthusiasts. This is not something you just jump into all the while expecting a simulation to be handed to you on a silver platter. Time and patience has to be put in to be able to get a great experience. Is that really a problem, or is it more of a quality? When typical gamers spend a large chunk of their lives dying-and-respawning in Call of Duty, with no change in pace and with little rewards... I would say it's a quality with it's own rewards. This is the kind of game you purchase as an investment, one that you will keep coming back to when you feel like trying something different. Making a new scenario, having a tactical battle online with others, etc.

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ARMA2 is a realistic military simulator, probably the most realistic on the market. It's not just infantry combat, although you can play it that way. ARMA2 also has cars, trucks, tanks, helicopters, planes, and more. It even models ballistics and bullet drop, if someone fires at you from 200 meters away you even hear the bullet hit the ground before you hear the rifle. It's a big sandbox, which is good and bad.

The game ships with 2 islands, a large and a small. Both have forests, hills, roads, towns, fields, mountains, etc. I'd say you would spend a good 15 minutes driving from one side of the island to the other. If you can see it you can go there, there are NO invisible walls. The game locations are fictional, although they are based on real-life topography. ARMA2 is set in Eastern Europe, Operation Arrowhead is set in the Middle East. The possibilities on the huge playing areas are almost endless. You can also download user-created islands, some of which are impressive in both scope and detail.

A mission designer is included to make your own missions, along with sophisticated scripting capabilities. In addition, there are hundreds of user-created mods and missions, everything from a simple "destroy the enemy" mission to new weapons, vehicles, sounds, etc, to new game modes like "capture the island" and a GTA clone.

In a way there are almost too many possibilities between official and user-made content, and the quality varies. The official missions have some neat tricks, although they don't expose you to everything the game has to offer. Some things work well, others don't. You'll have to find a way to manage missions/mods and all your time gathering, installing, and playing all the different things. A launcher like "ARMA II Launcher" helps you manage what mods you want to use. There is plenty of help on the official Bohemia Interactive forums, although they are picky about posting in the appropriate forums.

Although the visuals and presentation are quite good, ARMA2 is quirky and not without bugs and oddities. Just mapping the controls is an adventure, what's the difference between "Prone" and "Go Prone?" You'll use practically every key on the keyboard, although remember you can map something like Control-G for landing gear or Control-E to eject. With a large playing area and so much going on, performance is also an issue, ARMA2 benefits from tweaking and downloading mods to do things like get rid of motion blur and tame the tall grass a bit.

There is plenty to do in this game for both single player and multiplayer. Setting up local, LAN, or Internet games is smooth and easy. It even remembers the last IP address you manually typed in (I'm looking at you OFP Dragon Rising!) Co-op missions, deathmatch, capture the flag, and more are all there, and with mission designers being able to do scripting plenty of different game modes are out there. There are "Warfare" or "capture the island" missions that add strategic and real-time-strategy elements as you build your base, build units and vehicles, and try to take over towns while searching for the enemy base. You can choose to be a soldier and take orders, command a squad, or be in high command mode and command all the units. The learning curve on Warfare modes is moderately high and documentation is scarce, but they are very unique and rewarding.

If you have the time and patience and like realistic military combat simulators, ARMA2 will delight and amaze you. If you're a run-and-gun sort of player with a short attention span, this probably isn't your game. It also helps to be somewhat computer knowledgeable and have good hardware. I have a 2.4 GHz dual core AMD, 4GB of RAM, Windows XP, and a GTX 250 video card. With tweaking it runs acceptably on my system, but I wouldn't want to play with much less. I'm saving my dollars for a solid state drive (SSD), from what I read ARMA2 does a lot of small file reads and greatly benefits from the almost 0 access time of SSDs.

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I owned the original Flashpoint and the first ARMA game both decent but not without bugs. But this game, ARMA II has way too many bugs for me to bother with it. I gave up after a few hours of gameplay. It was simply too frustrating trying to complete a mission when the scripted events wouldn't occur or execute properly. For example, my squad leader was supposed to lead us in clearing out the village and then move on to the next objective. He instead stood in the middle of the street for 3 hours. I had to shoot him in the end. Ok if a bug happens once, but it happened mission after mission some new, frustrating, roadblock of a bug that killed the action. Maybe a patch will fix it, but I can't recommend this to any non-ARMA fan. You have to really want to play this game to put up with the shortcomings.

If the game runs properly then it is a lot of fun. This is a realistic combat game and it's great to have games like this coming out in the age of Call of Duty. The graphics and shooting mechanics are well done in ARMA II and it's quite a rush to come up on the enemy when you have been marching quietly over the terrain scanning for signs of activity. The firefights are brutal and make the point that combat isn't easy.

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If you are a soloist, a Rambo, a loner, this is probably not the game for you. The majority of people playing video games now days, are multiplayers. They play online for that extra challenge. This game involves not only multiplayer but teamwork on a high level. That high level is set by the players. Once you immerse into the land of Arma II, you will find yourself talking as if you have been in the military for years. This is a military simulation, not the average arcade game. You will not hear people talking about face rolling, and total pwnage and all that crap. You will only hear the calls for close air support, transport and long ranged artillery. If you are that role playing, military game guru, you will love the multiplayer associated with this game. However if you are into points and worrying about your kill to death ratio, find a server with Player Vs. Player. Some snipers pride themselves on taking out those loners. The Delta Force will work together on special operations missions, the pilots will be in their own group, and don't be surprised to see a Shooter and a Spotter acting as one Sniper. This is an incredible game, if you play it the way it was intended to be played.

If you are considering picking up the game. Check out the guys at 7th Cav, they always keep a populated server, and they really use that teamwork you are looking for.

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if you plan on playing DAy Z buy through steam. Couldn't get amazon version to work.. wait untill the stand alone version comes out

Cheap Xbox 360 Modded Controller COD MW3, Black Ops 2, MW2, Rapid fire

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There is nothing "simple" about this controller, it has so many awesome features. It has about 5 different LED thumbstick colors, along with 5 different LED guide button colors, which can be changed independently. The colors are vibrant, and look even better in person. It also gives you the option to keep them off if you want to save battery life, however, I haven't really noticed a difference in battery life with them on or off. The quality is incredible, it doesnt feel like a cheap aftermarket controller-even though it might cost as much as oneit feels just like the standard controllers made by microsoft. The mods are great, I wasn't too familiar with them at first but after calling the geniusmods customer support, they were able to answer my questions and walk me through it.

Top quality, great customer support, amazing value, thanks geniusmods!

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I usually don't buy two controllers, but when I do, it is usually for my little brother. That doesnt mean I dont get to use it. He really likes being able to change the colors to any combination desired. I have an older style LED thumbstick controller that you have to press and hold the thumbsticks for a long time for them to change colors. This one is nice because they change with one click. The 10 mode mods to the controller are a bonus. I dont know why, but modes 1 and 2 are locked and cannot be programmed. They work perfectly in COD. I just modify the programming in mode 10 for some of the handguns.

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I got one of the black controllers w LED thumbsticks and loved it. Really didn't think I could like a controller any more than that one. Then I saw this online and had to have it. The chrome accents are insane. It's kinda crazy cause I just got the black one about a month ago but either way I had to have this one. I gotta say I do NOT regret it at all. The Leds look so cool at night and the chrome accents are out of this world. This is an oem shell so the overall feel is just perfect. As for the mods. Same as always. Best modding company I've ever used. I've gotten at least 5 controllers from them and have not been disappointed once. Not to mention the customer service. I feel like these guys are always there whenever I neev anything. Thanks Geniusmods!

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This is now my 5th modded controller owned, second from GeniusMods because I love my other one I had to get another. Out of all the companies I've gone through such as Evil Controllers, Controller Chaos, Einsteinmodz, and eBay. GeniusMods hands down has the most well constructed controllers, with the fastest rapid fire on the market. I just can't get enough. I recommend this company to anyone looking for a well priced, long lasting, and top of the line modded xbox 360 controller. I think my favorite thing of all is the customer service I was provided with throughout both of my purchases. These guys are amazing, I opted for 2-3 day shipping and my package arrived 2 days early. No one will be disappointed with these products.

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Yes this is a modded controller and especially in the cod community its looked down upon, but do not let that turn you away. This controller is awesome! The led lights and chrome buttons are sweet personalizations for any gamer.

Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows Review

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List Price: $19.99
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I was pretty angry when I discovered that this thing is NOT the genuine article but rather a Chinese third-party device. However, my controller connects to it and stays connected without any problems.

Here's how to set it up:

1. Go to Device Manager

2. Select the "Unknown Device"

3. Choose to update the driver under the Driver tab

4. Choose the 'Browse for a driver' (not the exact words but close)

5. Tell it that you want to pick from the list of device drivers

6. Choose the "Microsoft Common Controller for Windows Class" option

7. Pick the Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver

8. Enjoy

This is how I set it up under Windows 7 x64. Other versions of Windows may differ. So far I haven't experienced any problems or issues. Both Devil May Cry 4 and Grand Theft Auto IV, along with all of my emulators work superbly with it.

However, I do plan on getting the real deal. I don't trust this thing to keep working very long.

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As you can see from the other reviews, this device works very well for some, and not so well for others. Putting aside the interference problem with other 2.4ghz devices such as mice (2.4ghz wireless routers will NOT give you problems), I believe there is a single solution to almost everyone's problem, which I will outline below.

After installing the device & software, I couldn't get my black wireless xbox360 elite controller to sync with the receiver. The ring light on the controller would rotate while trying to connect to the receiver. The light on the receiver would blink attempting to locate the controller. After a few seconds, the ring on the controller would stop rotating, and start blinking. A connection could not be made.

After some research, I found the solution. The issue is with USB power. The receiver needs A LOT of it. If you have other devices on your USB, especially high powered USB keyboards or mice, the receiver might not work. Try removing all USB devices and rebooting your PC with only a PS/2 mouse and keyboard connected. The receiver and controller should sync up immediately, even before you finish booting into windows. This fixed my problem.

If this is your problem, there are two solutions. 1) a USB PCI interface card, or 2) an externally powered USB hub (NOT BUS POWERED). I believe the receiver needs a lot of power because its capable of syncing to four separate devices. The USB on most motherboards simply isn't strong enough. Hope this helps.

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If you have already bought this item skip to `The work around' to get the device to work

My Story:

I purchased this item because my original Microsoft receiver stopped working after the manufacturer's warranty time of 90 days. The device simply was not working one morning. So I searched online for a replacement and thought I was getting the original Microsoft Xbox 360 receiver because it was advertised that way. (at that time this item was called a "Microsoft Gaming Receiver for Windows" but since has had to change the name because of my warnings and letters) Unfortunately the product did not work right off so I had to contact Microsoft gaming for support. Then after trial and error we discovered that Microsoft did not produce this rip off of their product.

Also Microsoft doesn't print the Words "Xbox 360" on the front of the real product,rather they print "Microsoft." On the back the words Microsoft there will be an 'R' in a circle and behind the words Xbox 360 will be a small 'TM.' This product came with a receiver and packaging that looks VERY similar to the real one but it is not. The genuine item is pictured by other buyers, but they are not what you will get. And that is also not what the advertiser is showing in their sell photo, as noted by the words "XBOX 360" printed on the advertiser's sales photo, so the seller is NOT advertising the item to be by Microsoft anymore. So please post a positive vote for my pictures in the item's gallery to have them posted first and more people don't buy this item with that expectation.)

So that's the bad news, but there is good news too........

The good news is, that this product does still work. I have now had mine for way longer than the original Microsoft version, and it still works with everyday usage. (Originally ordered in Feb. 2010 and it is now July 2010)

However the installation was not as simple as the real one. They send the receiver with a driver disk that doesn't work at all with common Operating Systems or OS.

The work around:

Is to use your common driver by Microsoft already installed on your Windows or Vista Disk Drivers area and install the driver manually. Unfortunately this also means you have to reinstall the driver each time you unplug it.

Go to:

Start Menu and open Control panel

Then open

'Hardware and Sound' from control panel for Windows users

for vista users

select 'Additional options'

then from the left hand side open 'Hardware and Sound'.

Then open Device Manager for windows or Vista

Then click on the "Unknown Driver"

Then click on search for additional options and manually install the driver yourself

Then select the 'Microsoft Common Controller for Windows class'

Then it will give a list of drivers for you...... pick the one from Feb of 2007 and install that one.

Then you are good to go and able to play the games you want using your Xbox360 controller.

I completely give this product a SOLID 3.

********

Update 6/17/13:

Originally I rated this item at 2. For a few reasons..... 1) I was lied to about the item being from Microsoft. 2) I couldn't get the item to work with the drive disk they sent with it and had to find my own work around.

However, I still have the item plugged in to my computer and use it almost daily without any other flaws. 3 and a half years later!! While the product was 'sold' to me under false pretenses, it 'does' what Microsoft couldn't, and worked/s longer than 4 months. Not to mention that Amazon is no longer allowing the item to be advertised as a Microsoft item, and it is now being sold as the knock off it truly is........So for that I upgraded the rating to a 3.

However, had I been sold the item as it is currently being advertised.... I would have rated it a solid 4 with the only flaw being that I had to find out how to make it work myself.

Honest reviews on Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows

First off, the receiver and controller/accessories connect very easily and work great. No issues with lag or bad connections.

The downfall here is that unless your game can specifically be setup to map controls to a gamepad/joystick, you're out of luck (kinda). Microsoft doesn't include any mapping software at all, which really doesn't make a lot of sense, since so few PC games would be naturally compatible with the remote.

Luckily, there is a great piece of software called Pinnacle game profiler. It allows you to specifically map each button to a movement/function in any game (customizable by game). You get a free 30 day trial ($20 after that), but it's worth the money. After spending about 15 minutes setting this up, it works great. I have tested it out on Half-Life 2, F.E.A.R. and Call of Duty 2 with no issues.

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As of this writing, the best value for this device is yet to come. Xbox 360 owners will enjoy being able to reuse all types of Xbox 360 wireless controllers on their PC games, but there are two major hangups that will have to be corrected with time.

1) It has been reported this item does not work with Vista yet. I can't comment on this.

2) The "Games for Windows" brand is just getting off the ground. As this brand evolves, each game with this logo on the box will support this controller natively. There won't be any need for mapping software. That means, for old games... you'll have to find something to map the controller.

If you are interested in XNA, get this. XNA (nutshell) is MSFT's platform for future game development, and it includes tools hobbyists can use to make games at home and play them on Windows or their Xbox 360. That makes this item a must-have if you plan to join XNA Creators Club and deploy your games onto your Xbox 360.

Still, the potential of this is really yet to be realized. XNA is in its fledgling state, even though to this point it has to be considered a success. "Games for Windows" has just a couple of titles on the shelf as of this writing, but is intended to explode by the end of the year. It might be that if you're willing to pony up for the Xbox 360 Wireless Headset and Racing Wheel, you may get more value out of this and you can use those items on your PC.

When I compared buying a wired controller versus buying this (I already had two wireless controllers), this is obviously the better value. Just consider the facts above, and look at how things have changed since this writing, and decide for yourself.

Review of Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable

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List Price: $19.99
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This cable is terrible. I kept on getting 2 refresh rate lines, coming down my screen, I tried a high end LCD and a CRT monitor and both had the same refresh rate lines coming down, the image quality was terrible (grainy). The price was appealing, but they are terrible cables.

I ended up going to the local store and buying the Microsoft VGA HD cables and have never been happier.

Intec is not responding to e-mails (apparently these cables have a lifetime warranty..HA!!)

I would sugged buying the Microsoft VGA cables instead and don't waste your time (as others have suggested)

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I bought an Intec VGA cable kit on base because I was deploying on a ship for 5 weeks and figured I could hook my 360 to my PC monitor during the underway so I wouldn't miss out on some quality hi-def gaming time. It turned out I found a projector that took RCA inputs so I just used that.

Skip forward a couple months and I've got this cable sitting in my desk drawer that I cannot return because it's past the 14/30 day limit... Considering wether or not to sell it, I do some research as to wether or not VGA is better than the component cables that come with it. Pretty much everyone agrees they are. Well damn. So I take my cables home, and hook it up to my 61" Samsung 6187S and the ghosting is immediate and in your face. Where ever there is a sharp color contrast such as the verticle lines on the dashboard, there is a second 'ghosted' line just to the right. Even on the far left hand edge of the TV, there are ghost lines of that edge.

I ran a calibration program I have to see if I could manually rid myself of the ghosting, and no joy. I went back to the component input and the ghosting was gone. It was 100% definitely the cheap Intec VGA cables.

In addition, on the Calibration DVD I was using there were several parts of the picture which were 100% completely missing with the VGA cables. There is one scene with a guy in a black silk shirt with a black silk sportcoat and an moving X hidden in the background to only be seen when the brightness is too high. The point of which is to adjust the brightness until you can see properly and clearly the shade differences between the black shirt and jacket. Moving the brightness to max didn't reveal the X at all, which shows up clear and sharp with the component cables. Opposite of this there was a scene where a guy was wearing a white shirt with white buttons and you're supposed to adjust the contrast until the lower buttons start to dissapear. With the cheap Intec VGA cables, ONLY the top button was visible through-out the contrast adjustment ranges. Again, putting the component cables back on the 360, all of the buttons showed up just fine and completely free of ghosting to boot.

If you're buying these cables for a quality HD experience, even at the lowest level, then you're wasting your money. If all you want to do is save a buck and see a picture on a monitor, then maybe this is for you because it's not for me.

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Im satisfied with this product. There is ghosting but I only notice it on high contrast images ie white text on a pitch black background. The product does exactly what I expected it to. The picture shows exactly what it is, it has a plug for your 360, one VGA that plugged straight into my monitor without an adapter and two RCA audio which I already had a radioshack 1 dollar rca to stereo headjack adapter as I use headphones. I would say if you arent willing to pay 40 dollars this product is a slight gamble but I feel it paid off. The ghosting doesnt bother me as I only notice it with white or near white on black backgrounds. Otherwise the VGA resolution on my 1280 x 1024 monitor is great. I CAN FINALLY READ THE SMALL TEXT IN SOME OF THESE GAMES

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Do not buy this product. Simple as that. I used three different monitors and the quality of the picture was terrible. The colors were muted no matter what the monitor settings were and the video contained duplicated ghost images no matter what was on display.

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This item does exhibit ghosting, although it isn't terrible for the best picture spending the few extra dollars for the OEM cable is worth it. The item feels cheap as if made of thin plastic and the video cable is small and the shielding feels thin, this could be the cause of the ghosting.

The ghosting can be seen in things like text in Halo 3, or any high contrast situation, IE: white text on dark background, will display this problem. Other than that it seems ok.

Lego Rock Band - Nintendo Wii Reviews

Customer Ratings:

We love Rock Band in our house but, by our own admission, we aren't great musicians. Well okay, one of my kids is, but it's a drag when there's only one and you can't simply 'play along' as the game advances because the songs get that much more difficult.

But with this version you can play along not only without a penalty for choosing 'easy', you can even choose a super easy/no fail mode so you simply can't mess up and still have fun playing. If you don't do anything you won't get the stars you need but if you do a minimal amount (i.e. hit ANY drum pad when the note needs to be played or 'strum' the guitar/bass at the right time no need to press a button or simply speak in time to the microphone) you'll be fine.

Lots of the same fun things as in Rock Band make your own people, buy cool outfits & things for them. In addition this version has challenges which you can play and fun lego scenes occur as you 'rock' the house (typically you earn these as you successfully play songs in venues). The first one (and on a trailer so I'm not giving much away) is playing loud enough (getting enough stars) to knock down a building. And yes, we have successfully completed these challenges with two out of the three on the no fail mode.

This version is clearly geared for a slightly younger set both in terms of the no-fail option and in terms of avoiding excessive profanity/explicit content in songs. Makes us no never mind we're enjoying it immensely!

edited to add:

The review who said this does not have online support is right. For those familiar with Rockband, this version is like a hybrid track pack. You get new people, scenarios and venues to work your way through, but the songs are the songs which are included and you cannot buy new songs to play (I can't see that this'd change with this version going to the online store to buy new tracks is not even shown as an option).

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This is the first "band" type game we've owned. My son has played Guitar Hero at a friends and wanted that one but I was hesitant because of the play list. Doing a little research at our local video gaming store, I found out both the Rockband and Guitar Hero folks were releasing more family friendly play lists. We took a look at both but when we found Lego Rock Band and also Rock Band Country the choice was easy. After the first night's jam session we're all hooked. It's so much fun for the entire family and my husband and I are introducing our 9 year old to some great music. Our son has been a Queen fan for years but now he's into Bryan Adams, Tom Petty and Bon Jovi. Like all the other Lego games, this one doesn't disappoint at all. The in-between videos are funny, the whole lego character build gives you tons of combinations and all the venues are "very cool" according to WolfJack lead guitarist of the band Howl (current on tour in our basement).

I highly recommend this one for kids but all the adults in the house are enjoying it just as much. My husband's band "Blind Shrimp" just bought a new bus and I may never see him again! Guess I'll just have to become a groupie.

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A simple two part review:

First, Lego Rock Band is cool. My kids (7,6,4) love it, and we've had a great time playing it today. Minifigs look great, songs are interesting, and the Super Easy modes (and especially the no drum pedal) option are really nice for the smaller kids.

Second, no additional content for the Wii! Contrary to what the product description says above, you can not use DLC from Rock Band 2 on Lego Rock Band if you have a Wii. If you have a Wii you will only ever play Lego Rock Band with those 45 songs. That's it. This was incredibly disappointing, because there are a ton of previous and downloadable RB songs that all my kids know, but that they need the extra-Easy modes to be able to play.

I absolutely would not have bought the game had I understood that, and I would have known if the product description hadn't been wrong, so I'm very frustrated. That being said, it's not that Lego Rock Band for the Wii is a bad game experience, it's just a big step backward for Rock Band on the Wii.

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***This game CANNOT be played with just a Wiimote it requires additional equipment.***

You will need at least a microphone or wii guitar to play and you can add a drum set & second guitar if you like. We purchased our microphone at a used game store for thirteen dollars and are using guitars from the Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock, G.H. World Tour, and an older G.H. Les Paul. We are also using the drum set from G.H. World Tour.

My husband loves to play guitar hero but the game is designed for teenagers to adults (sexy, somewhat scary characters and heavy rock music). Since we have two young children in our home, ages 7 & 1, I wanted a more family friendly option that the whole family could play together. We found it with the Lego Rock Band!

This game allows for up to four players: singer (microphone), guitar, bass guitar, and drums so it is great for families or groups of friends. We've had 3 people playing so far and it was great fun for all. My favorite thing about this game is that you can change the difficulty level for play before each song. This was important for us because originally we had 1 guitar and we were sharing it and taking turns playing. Dad could set his for "expert" on his turn and I could change it to "easy" on mine without having to back out to the title menu. Now we have multiple guitars, a drum set, & the microphone so we can all play at once but we trade parts between songs a lot and like the ease of changing the difficulty to make it challenging for each individual(our toddler sings along and provides the dancing and often helps out the drummer by banging away).

My 7 year old tried to play Guitar Hero with his dad several times but the songs kept shutting off because he would make too many mistakes and drag the crowd meter down too low. On the Lego Rock Band he can play either guitar part or sing and make it through the game feeling successful and having fun on the beginner or easy mode. He also has played the drum on the beginner setting and has been very successful in his mind, but the rest of us have great difficulty making it through a song when he plays the drum since he doesn't maintain the beat for us and he plays all sorts of drumming that doesn't belong:)

"Beginner" setting is great for younger kids since it allows any level of musical ability (or lack) progress through the game. On this setting the singer needs to make noise throughout the song (attempt to sing, say the words, sing la la la etc). This setting for the guitar parts means you strum when the notes come by but aren't held responsible for the fret. For the drum you just have to hit any pad when the note comes by...my son just bangs wildly on all the drums and attains about 80% or better on a song for drumming but as mentioned above it is hard on the other players since all his wild drumming is played as the drum beat for the song and leaves others nothing to follow but the visuals.

There is a just-play mode & a story mode. Both are fun to play and in either mode each player has the option of difficulty level. The story mode allows you to build up fans & money by playing gigs (getting stars for songs). You can spend your money on new guitars & stuff for your band. The practice mode just lets you pick & play from the song list. You can also make your own set list & play multiple songs in the order you choose.

I recommend this game for families to play together or for children who are interested in the rock band or guitar hero games but may not need the exposure to the costuming in the "teen" games or who are more interested in POP music than rock or metal. (My niece & nephew are both teenagers and while they prefer the "Teen" band games at their own home, they are not above jumping into our Lego Rock Band when they are visiting). The set list has a sampling of different songs that allow something for everyone and the characters while not sexy or scary are amusing and fun to customize and add a sense of humor to the game.

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Lego Rock Band ROCKS! It has a "Super Easy" mode, so even my 5-year-old could enjoy playing (granted, we're a musical family and he plays lots of rhythms already). My 10-year-old loves it, and so do I. We also have the "regular" Rock Band 2 (and the Beatles tracks), but this is actually my favorite right now. It's fun all playing together, and my daughter enjoys "Story Mode" when playing by herself. I had been hesitant to buy it, and I'm so glad I did. I think we'll be getting lots of use out of this disc.

Reviews of Drop shot, Auto-aim, Jitter Xbox 360 Modded Controller COD Ghosts

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $209.99
Sale Price: $99.99
Today's Bonus: 52% Off

Everything is working great and hes found other uses for his mod. Overall a great buy and considering picking one up for myself.

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The controller is really cool, although the controller you actually get may be slightly different from the one in the picture. Mine had matching blue triggers and a plastic blue guide button, although I'd prefer to have the default guide button. Also, the controller works pretty good mostly. Except sometimes I'll be playing Black Ops 2, and there will be an enemy right in front of me and my gun won't shoot because of the mods. And then I get killed. It's really frustrating. And also, if you press the left trigger and then the mods button, it will make the player four light come on, and I don't really know what it does but it sure as heck messes me up in the middle of the game. Oh, and then there are the messages I get from angry players, complaining about my mods. And lastly, the LEDs could be better...mine are uneven and they get dimmer when the controller needs charged.

Overall, I DID get the controller at a good price ($85) but sometimes it gets screwed up in the midst of a game and renders me gun-less.

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My remote was sent to me with a broken battery pack which was annoying and it over heats quite often

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Me and my kids play Black Ops 2, and this controller works great. If I play with mods and they have their mods turned off, I actually stand a chance against them! We play video games together as a family quite a bit, and we own a set of a few modded controllers. The tiger ones are my personal favorite, something about them just stands out from the others.

The rapid fire is very fast, and has never let me down. We've played it online and have had no issues. Everyone online seems to have modded controllers now, so we got some modded controllers to keep up with everyone else. Now I know how everyone has been dropshotting so good online.. these controllers make it so simple to do so.

Highly recommended.. Geniusmods will not let you down. Everything about them is professional. The manual was easy to read, came in full color with plenty of photos. Packaging was great, very professional, quality product.

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This controller is great I love it. It shoots fast and its not made cheap if you want a controller i would get one from genuis mods their cheap and great. Thank you Genuis Mods.

Best YELLOW TIGER Xbox 360 Modded Controller (Rapid Fire) COD MW3, Black Deals

Customer Ratings:

If you are looking for a reliable and fast shooting mod,Geniusmods360 is the company to purchase from..This company will work with you until everything is right.I have already had this controller only for one day and I already see improvement in my gaming.Best 10 mode on the market.

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Discount DISNEY INFINITY Figure Syndrome

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List Price: $12.99
Sale Price: $12.96
Today's Bonus: $0.03 Off

I got Syndrome mainly to unlock the vaults. He is rather slow when it comes to running. He isn't as agile and lithe as Violet and Mrs. Incredible. His moves include punching with an uppercut using his boosters. He can also equip Zero Point Energy, which is pretty neat. With the zero point energy, he can lift anyone and then catapult them into the air.

(The Incredibles can equip this superpower towards the end of the game right before the final showdown with Syndrome in the adventure mode. Once equipped, you can have access to the Zero Point Energy in the Toy Box mode.)

Do you need this Syndrome figure to defeat Syndrome in the final showdown?

No.

Buy Syndrome only if you want to open the vaults in order to access additional toys in the Toy Box mode.

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Grandchildren requested this for their collection of infinity figures. It is the new trend for them. These are true to the movie.

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My son loves this game and love this character. It's a fun game to play with his brother and friends.

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My kid loves this toy, it is used with Disney Infinity and he play all the time he can as well with the other characters for this game, it is amazing all the kind of things that can be used with Disney Infinity......

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My family plays this game and they were very glad to get this "villain" character. They were not interested in the multi-pack for the villains so this single pack was great. Thank you.

Rock Band Bass Drum Pedal Plate - PEDAL METAL BILLET- FACTORY Review

Customer Ratings:

I know some people will have a hard time ponying up yet more $$$ for their $170 game investment but Pedal Metal isn't to blame. EA is. This is just one of those facts of life, the Rock Band drum pedal will break even if you're careful. After a month in a half mine finally bit the big one.

EA requires currently you send in your pedal and they wait until they receive it. Then and only then will they send you your pedal. This process takes about 3-4 weeks. If you're feeling ancy (such as myself) you can opt that they send you a replacement pedal, then you send in your broken pedal after you receive your new pedal. There's a catch. There's a $150 hold placed on your credit/debit card. If you send it in within a month, its waved and EA will remove the credit card from their system. If you don't, you my friend are now the proud owner of a $150 Rock Band drum pedal. Previously the only offered option B, but without the money hold. However too few customers were returning their old pedals according the rep I spoke to.

So what was to stop my replacement from breaking and repeating same annoying process? Luckily while reading about others experiencing the same problem I discovered that someone had devised a clever solution. For those who haven't had a pedal break, the break in a particular manner as the Pedal itself breaks; between the plastic plate underneath and the toe. The actual springing mechanism and support is fine. Such a break is easily preventable, if the foot pedal were to be made of a more durable material. The solution? If you're a logical person, its a no-brainer to reach the conclusion that the pad needs reinforcement, preferable metal like a real kick drum pad. It's a great idea but if you're like myself you don't happen to have access to metal fabrication tools nor really the experience to manufacture such a piece of metal. However that's where Pedal Metal comes in. Its elegant in its simplicity. For the non-technical, there's even a pictorial instructions included with the pad. I'd even deem this easy enough for a particular ex-GF to follow. The Metal Billet is simply a stylistic choice, as diamond plate just doesn't move me. I doubt there's any difference between the two. Either way, props to Pedal Metal for giving the consumer choice.

I imagine in the future EA may offer the pedals for sale separately but who would you rather give your money to, The tyrant corporation or the guy who was clever enough to capitalize on a poor design? I choose the later.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you! After our drum pedal snapped in half TWICE, we found this item. Not only does it repair the broken pedal, but it give us much assurance that this will not be an issue again! The directions are very accurate and thorough, leaving no mistakes to be made if you read them! The delivery was super quick! The pedal plate was easy to install. I recommend this to everyone that has a Rock Band set. I plan to tell all of my friends BEFORE their pedal breaks! Excellent seller, this product is well thought out in its design, sturdy craftmanship, and appearance! BRAVO!

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The original plastic pedal has to much flex in the middle. When you play your foot is not always pressing on the very top. That resulted in breaking my pedal twice at that flex point. I superglued and added some rubber stops in the middle of the pedal to help the problem but cracking and messing around continued.

Then I found this product. YES!!! PERFECT!!!

I installed this fine aluminum, brushed finished, counter sunk screwed plate on the top of my multi-repaired plastic stock pedal.

YES!!! PERFECT!!!

Buy it! Pedal to the metal!!!

Note: I did pre-drill the screw holes with a 3/32" bit instead of trying to bore the self-tapping screws (provided) through the plastic by hand. Install the screws by hand in the pre-drilled holes to avoid stripping the threads. The screws seat nice and tight.

Shall I say it again? - YES!!! PERFECT!!! -Enough Said!

Honest reviews on Rock Band Bass Drum Pedal Plate - PEDAL METAL BILLET- FACTORY

Stock pedals snap. That's just a fact of life. Try Blackend on Hard or Expert and tell me I'm wrong. This is the best thing you could ever purchase to protect your RB drum kit. I ordered it on a Friday night and it was waiting for me Monday when I got home from work. If you have problems turning screws, the install might challenge you. Not buying this product is just plain silly.

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This product is a great investment saver, i like others have had my pedal break how could u play hard rock songs with a breakable plastic pedal. add this to your cart and u wont regret it. comes with easy to read instructions

and shipped way fast.

Buy Monster Rancher 2

Customer Ratings:

Being a fan of the original Monster Rancher, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel. Let me tell you, it is worth every penny and then some. My whole circle of friends and acquaintances is hooked on this game; it's that addictive. If you're familiar with Pokemon, the concept is similar; you 'unlock' monsters, train them, raise them, help them learn, and eventually fight them in battles. The great thing about this game is the unique manner in which you unlock monsters; every cd you own creates a monster from the data on the cd! You can create monsters from Playstation games, Dreamcast games, PC or Mac software, music cds, you name it! The true addictiveness of this game becomes apparent soon enough; an avid Monster Rancher fan can be heard muttering, "I wonder what monster this cd makes" in the aisles of Sam Goody. Several websites devoted to cataloging cds have sprung up; the primary two being my own, ..., and Josie Nutter's, ....

By all means purchase this game, but you can kiss your free time goodbye. Believe me, you'll do it gladly.

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Some people may think that Monster Rancher is a stupid Pokemon clone with absolutely no entertainment value. They are very wrong. Monster Rancher 2 is one of my favorite games. You start out by either going to the market and getting a monter or regenerate one yourself by going to the shirne and using a "disc stone" (CD). The main object of the game is to raise and train your monster. You have to decide which stats will benefit your monster the most in a battle. Some monsters are better at some stats than others. For example, a Durahan has wonderful power and defense but awful speed. One feature that I really like about this game is that it never ends. To actually beat the game, you must beat the Major 4 tournaments, the hardest in the game. Once you do that, it doesn't stop. You can combine monsters together to make even more powerful ones. Some monsters aren't available at the start of the game, but they can soon be unlocked. The only drawback is that MR2 does get somewhat repetative, but it's still a great game.

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This game is one of the most interesting games I've ever come across! No, yes, it's a little similar to Pokemon Stadium, but not quite. You have more control over raising the monster... and there are mortalities in this game... so it's semi-true to the life cycle. Now the most innovative concept is the Shrine Disc Stone Generation method. To make a monster this way, you insert any CD... and I do mean ANY! You can use DVDs, music CDs, Computer CDs, PS CDs... and *gasp* even DC DCs. For example, I inserted my Enya's Celts CD when prompted, and I produced a NobleSaurus. Another example, upon insertion of the Spice Girl's CD, I produced a RockHound. The concept works based on the structure of the data on the disk.. so every one of the Enya's Celts discs will produce NobleSaurus. Now there are some CDs that don't work quite yet, but that's only because you must build levels to release those monsters... and through experementation you can create a monster that no one else may have ever seen!

Buy Red Faction Armageddon - Xbox 360

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $8.25
Today's Bonus: 72% Off

When I saw that another Red Faction game was coming out, I was very excited since I loved the last one on the 360, with its open world where you could take things at your own pace, do challenges when you wanted to, and other sandbox elements.

Don't get me wrong, the game is quite fun while it lasts, and the magnet gun is by far one of the nicest weapons in a game. The destructibility of the environment was quite nice as well, meaning that in most parts of the game you can get through using only the magnet gun. Once you beat the game, you unlock an extra very strange weapon, 'Mr.Toots" who is quite destructive if bizarre.

The main problems that I had with the game were twofold:

1. The game is short. I was searching every nook and cranny to try and find extra content, and still finished the game at a brisk 8 1/2 hours.

2. The sandbox elements of the last Red Faction are gone. The game leads you around by the nose at all times. At many points, if you are trying to back track a bit to go pick up some ammunition you left behind, the game starts a 10 second countdown telling you to get back to the area you are supposed to be in. (I assume that if you do not, you will lose the game, I never tried to goad it too much to be honest) At any point in the game, if you are at all uncertain as to where to go, you can press a button on the control pad to create a glowing trail showing you exactly where you are supposed to go.

I joked to myself when I saw the SYFY games logo on the front that it would be much like SYFY movies, entertaining, but lacking somehow. How correct I was.

Good for a rental, or to borrow from your friend, I wouldn't suggest buying it until the price comes down to $30 or under however.

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Red Faction: Armageddon.

First let's talk about what's not to like: the story is paper-thin, there are no real plot twists,

it's about as linear as a game can be, and only seems to exist to fill the gaps between stopping about laying waste to and abundance of enemies,

be they human or otherwise, and while the voicing is bearable the dialogue isn't, and SAM, your faithful Situational Awareness Module has more personality then any other sentient life.

The ending is rather anti-climatic so don't expect things to end on a high note.

Collecting salvage is eventually rewarding, put still a pain to collect.

Scenery is bland, granted this is the barren planet mars we are talking about, but they could have made it more interesting.

That said, let's talk about the good:

You start with access to only a few weapons, but as you progress you will find more either dropped by enemies or laying near the mangled corpse of someone who failed to utilize it properly,

everything from assault rifles, to rocket launchers and MUCH more. (don't want to spoil it.)

You gain access to exo-suits, the first being a construction suit used for heavy life, later a military version complete with a high-caliber machine gun and heat-seeking rockets.

The nano-forge is a useful tool as well as an awesome weapon, knocking back your opponents, repairing destroyed materials, creating a protective shield and more.

There is a new game+ that carries over all upgrades you purchase for the nano-forge and unlocked weapons, and you can start on any difficulty setting. i.e beat it on easy, then play it on hard will all weapons unlock and nano upgrades.

Infestation is fun, up to for player co-op fighting waves of aliens, and any upgrades and salvage from single player carry over and vise versa.

Blowing things up is a blast.

Combat is very satisfying.

All in all I found Armageddon a lot of fun, I believe you will to as long as you are not looking for depth.

Graphics: 8/10

Gameplay: 9/10

Audio: 8/10

Story: 4/10

Replay value: Excellent.

Worth $59.99?

I would say no, $49.99 maybe, if you tried it and really liked it, I'd say around $40.

I also thought it might be worth mentioning that I have heard of freezing and other glitches, just so you are all aware.

I rented this game for five days, beat it on all difficulty settings, and completed all waves of the infestation mode and had no problems whatsoever.

Hope you found this helpful, cheers!

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I had my hopes up for this game and for the first time in a long time I can say I was not dissapointed! The destruction engine is great, the Magnet Gun is an absolute blast to use and u get it fairly early and it has not left my arsenal since. The campaign has a very sci-fi feel to it, including the soundtrack, which I very much enjoyed. Keep in mind that the destruction in this game is NOT scripted like 97% of other games out there, YOU decide when and how a structure is damaged/destroyed if even at all as well as how its repaired.

Here is my personal opinion on the main parts of the game.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10

GAMEPLAY MECHANICS: 10/10

STORY: 8/10

SOUND: 8/10

WEAPONS: 10/10

VARIETY: 9/10

GRAPHICS: 7/10

CONTROLS: 9/10

Overall I highly recommend this game!

One thing to keep in mind is there is no versus multiplayer! Only the co-operative survival mode, which is up to 4 players via xbox live or system link.

Honest reviews on Red Faction Armageddon - Xbox 360

Red Faction Armageddon is not amazing, doesn't do anything new, but it is a great shooter that you should definitely pick up at around 20 bucks. The infestation mode gets old quick and Ruin mode gets boring in about 5 seconds, but the campaign is definitely worth a playthrough. It will take you probably around 8 hours and even though the story isn't great, it is good enough to serve its purpose of getting you through location to location. The magnet gun was awesome and is definitely a highlight of the game.

8/10

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I had played a demo of this game and wasn't impressed, but when I saw it on clearance at Target I picked it up. I was ready not to enjoy it, and I almost stopped playing the game early on. For some reason they had a really difficult section where you're on a slow moving elevator being attacked by a bunch of the giant aliens. I died over and over, until I finally got lucky and survived just by running back and forth and firing some shots. The funny thing is, I didn't really have much trouble with any other part of the game, overall it's relatively easy. I'm not sure why they had such a difficult section so early in the game.

I really grew to enjoy this game, I mean it's not without problems and annoyances, but the destruction, badass weapons, and big enemies were awesome. The game is a little claustrophobic, especially after the previous games, but I felt that it worked. The story is decent, although I felt it was a little unnecessary how they killed the one character off. One of the best parts of the game has to be the pacing. It moves along very well, with fun and varying mech levels, interspersed with repairing things, destroying things, and killing monsters. Also, while I didn't mind too much the repairing of things, the tech was completely unbelievable and I fell through the floors multiple times while fighting, though thankfully it didn't usually result in death except in the lava levels.

So overall, you could do a lot worse than this game, it's a relatively long campaign with lots of excitement, at the current price I consider it a 5 star game.

Best The Last Story Deals

Customer Ratings:

Not long ago the Wii got one of the best JRPG's of this entire console generation, Xenoblade Chronicles. This game is nothing like that. That said, this is a terrific JRPG, complete with everything people love and hate in the genre. There are the normal cliches, but unlike other JRPGS which extend their length through 20-30 hours of tedious grinding, The Last Story can be fully completed in under 25 hours if you are so inclined. Finding and doing everything will take around 35 hours.

This is, again, entirely different from Xenoblade Chronicles, in that I logged well over 100 hours in that game. And yet in some ways I feel like the 25 hours I spend with The Last Story was more substantial. There is no wasted time, the story flows quickly and without long drawn out speeches the genre is known for. And the combat is simply amazing. Think of a mix of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Gears of War. You have magic, real time battles, and you can duck and cover to avoid enemies or wait to execute an ambush. It is very, very fun, and quite simply the best combat system of any RPG I've ever played, and I have played a lot of them over my 20 year RPG gaming history.

The graphics are simply amazing. Granted, that is for the Wii. These would be run of the mill on a 360/PS3, but you can tell the developers squeezed every ounce of power out of the Wii. Sometimes they are a little too ambitious and the game chugs a bit with lots of enemies on screen, but this is few and far between.

As for the music, well, it is downright amazing. Can't really say any more than that.

Overall, this is what Final Fantasy's should have been for the last decade. Since FFX, (arguably) the series has gone stale. The Last Story has fantastic music, graphics, and a FUN battle system to go along with a fast paced story that hooks you and keeps you playing until you finish it. I played almost straight through and will play through again. It is that good. It is an RPG for RPG gamers that don't quite have the free time that they used to or the attention span. After 10 hours you will feel like you have accomplished a tremendous amount. After 10 hours in Xenoblade Chronicles I felt like I had just begun.

What a way for the Wii to go out. I highly recommend this game. The added art book, case, and CD, (for the first print copies) is an amazing value, and rest assured, this game will be worth quite a bit to collectors in a few years, so keep everything in great condition.

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I am an avid fan of role playing games in general and have enjoyed many console-based RPGs since Dragon Quest was released on the NES. When I play a RPG my enjoyment and satisfaction is based on four elements in order of importance to me: 1) Character development and depth of character relationships, 2) Story development and believability, 3) Interaction and engagement with the world, and 4) the battle system. Below I talk about each one of these, but if you are not interested in reading my detailed review, this is how I rate each on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best:

Characters: 4.5

Story: 4.5

World: 4.0

Battle System: 5

====Characters====

Development of characters and their relationships among each other is important to me because this is what drives the rest of the game. Many recent console-based RPGs have suffered with flat characters and/or underdeveloped relationships of the characters. Typically, only the main protagonist receives focus, leaving others (especially antagonists) flat. In terms of individual character development in The Last Story, this game does a wonderful job not only in showing confusion, suffering, and enlightenment in the main character's (Zael) growth, but in the other protagonists as well. This is usually done through optional side quests and conversations among themselves. One area that was lacking in the game, however, is the antagonist is not developed enough. I feel like the game developers could have enhanced the motivation and background story for the antagonist more (at times it felt cliche).

In terms of developing relationships, I think this game does an amazing job. You truly get a sense of the camaraderie (or lack of, at times) of the group. Also, the interactions within the protagonists' party show subtle nuances of where friendships lie as well as trust. The relationships don't feel forced and the characters respond to each other based on how they view themselves within their group (which changes as the game progresses). The voice acting is superb and the accents of each character (even NPCs) fits their personality. Overall, I felt the directors and producers of this game did an outstanding job on the characters and their relationships. Again, the only hesitation I have with giving a perfect 5 is an underdeveloped antagonist (though some may disagree with me).

4.5 out of 5

====Story====

The story is the second most important aspect for me. When I think of the story, I think of the overall progress of the game and the elements that drive it. What motivates the protagonists to action? Why are they together? What major events exist in the world influence their action and thoughts? I won't reveal many of the events that are surprising jewels in this story, but I will say I love this story. The events in The Last Story are logical in their sequence and existence in the storyline. I didn't feel like events were forced in. In some games, certain events are forced into the storyline because the developers need it to drive the story and motivation of the characters. This can leave the player feeling confused and frustrated. This doesn't happen in this game (except perhaps one part in the dungeon with the archaeologist). Each event has a part to play and it fits with the overall theme. It engaged me and I never doubted its believability. The reason I rated the story 4.5 instead of 5 is that it felt too linear to me. I enjoy RPGs that allow me to roam and go at my own pace. Many times I felt that the story would force me to move on when I wanted to interact with the world more. However, the story is still enjoyable to make up for this lack.

4.5 out of 5

====World====

Even good characterizations and a great story won't work if the world the characters live in is dull and boring. I love a world where the developers have not only made it very interactive and desirable to explore, but look real (i.e. moss on stone, stunning details on trees in forests, etc.). The majority of your time will be limited to the city and castle on Lazulis Island. Those of you who are like me and played Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy since their inception expect the ability to explore an entire planet (even underground worlds or the moon!). Not so in this game. While other locations off the island are played, the play is limited in those areas and you are not at your leisure to explore. This can be very frustrating, especially since events involve the entire world.

Now, the reason I didn't give this a poor rating is that the city and castle are very rich in detail. The city itself has much to do and much to explore. Many NPCs will ask for your aid in some task that sends you searching throughout the city (even the castle). Of course, these are optional. The interaction does not stop there. When you bump into people they are thrown off their course and respond to you in like kindness. You can even knock your head into overhanging signs! The detail of the people, buildings, and even the weather is amazing in how real they are portrayed.

One specific area in the world is worth mentioning: the Arena. Whenever I am tired and need a break from the main story, I can fight various creatures in the arena to test my group against. In return, I receive dropped items from the creatures as well as items people have bet on the group. This allows players of the game the opportunity to earn extra gold, experience, and items if you don't want to return to a dungeon.

4.0 out of 5

====Battle System====

The battle system is not turn-based, but action-based. While hacking and slashing enemies is a simple affair (you just walk up to them and your character attacks), the system is more complex, especially in tougher situations. Enemy units have different abilities and you must plan your attack prior to engaging them. For example, should you take out magic casters first? If so, do you assault them head on or use a sniper? The terrain will influence your tactics and so different locations offer different types of battles.

As your characters level up they gain special abilities. These abilities can combine to create new offensive and defensive benefits. Once Zael learns the command ability, you can command your teammates to perform certain abilities against certain enemies.

In terms of negatives, I do not have any problems with the battle system itself. When engaged in melee combat, the camera doesn't always operate how I control it and it causes confusion. However, this isn't such a big deal. I thoroughly enjoy the battle system and would place it in my top 5 for console-based RPGs.

5 out of 5

====Bonus Material====

I love the bonus material that came with this game. As other reviewers have mentioned, the music in this game is beautiful and high quality. It is great that the game comes with a CD with the following tracks:

1. Theme of The Last Story

2. Chitsujo to Konton to

3. Yorokobi no koe ga kikoeru

4. Machi no neiro

5. THE LAST STORY Kizuna

6. Jyajuu

7. Toberumono

In addition, the game comes in a wonderfully designed box showcasing the art of the game. Inside the box you will find the game as well as an art book. I love the art and as I looked through and studied each of the pages I got the sense that the characters were given the most attention for details. The creators of the game spent time in getting the characters' clothes to match their personalities. I can't imagine how much work went into designing and creating the characters, non-player characters, and scenery of this game!

====Conclusion====

Overall, I give this game a 5 because I can't give a half star. Many years have gone by and I have not played a RPG as amazing as this. I definitely get the sense the creators and developers gave everything they had to make this game. While my scores reflect an average lower than that, I feel together those aspects as well as the effort put into developing this game deserves a 5. I hope a sequel (or prequel) is planned because I would not hesitate in purchasing it.

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I have just finished this amazing game, as a fan of Chrono Trigger and classic Final Fantasy games, I'm very satisfied with it and I really enjoyed it through about thirty hours of game play. I went from a SNES and classic Game Boy from my childhood days to a Wii, PS3, and DS Lite recently just for nostalgia and this game is among the best I've played. A few months early I was playing Final Fantasy XIII and I didn't finished it as it barely resembles what a JRPG was for me, but with Last Story... I was feeling like I was twelve years old again.

Honest reviews on The Last Story

The Last Story is a fantastic game, and I can honestly say that it has been some time since I've had this much fun with a JRPG. While it is ultimately the engaging gameplay and battle system which makes TLS shine and stand out from the majority of its other peers, the game still contains a solid, interesting story filled with an amusing cast of characters for those, such as myself, who enjoy that most about the genre.

I've been a huge fan of JRPGs since the mid 90's and have played all the classics from the earliest FF games to a good number of more recent titles. JRPGs have always had a strong emphasis on story and characters, and that is the experience that has endeared me to and kept me coming back for more. Over the years, however, I've noticed a good many developers/design studios attempting to evolve into something to appeal more to western gamers by shifting their focus to gameplay, and most have been disappointing because they have, typically, dropped the ball on story and character development. TLS keeps a great balance with strong gameplay and engaging story, and I must applaud Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and his studio, Mistwalker, for that rare achievement. While it has not topped Lost Odyssey as my favorite Mistwalker game, it is, nontheless, a very special game in its own right and one in which I would highly recommend. I wanted to give this game a 4.5/5(9/10), and because I couldn't, I decided to round it up to a 5 purely for how much fun it was.

Pros:

+ Interesting story with touching moments

+ Engaging gameplay

+ Fun, unique action battle system that mixes up a lot of different elements(the command mode feels reminiscent of turn-based battle systems)

+great graphics

+nice cast of characters

+Fantastic music scored by composer Nobuo Uematsu

Cons:

-Due to the Wii's power, frame rate can be slightly annoying at times when there's too much going on.

-Shorter than the typical JRPG(30 hours average). Some have played theirs within 20 hours although I, myself, spent 40+ hours on mine.

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I originally beat the Pal version of this game, But i wanted the US version to play it on my Wii U.

This game looks like a PS3 game. the graphics are really up there, the voice acting is super top notch, I've grown an appreciation towards English voice actors thanks to this (as well as Xenoblade and Pandora's Tower)

Controls are tight and feel very comfortable (once you switch it to manual, auto sucks)

Sounds are great, there done by Nobuo Uematsu, and the game itself is done by the original final fantasy team (1 ~ 9)

So you know your in for a treat.

Upon playing this game your gonna witness ALOT of things you'll NEVER thought you'd see on a Wii. This is one of the most impressive games EVER to be on the wii, so sad its a swansong.

MUST BUY, YOU WILL LOVE.

Reviews of FIFA World Cup 2006 - Xbox

Customer Ratings:

I just started getting into the World Cup this year. I can't believe that all these years I thought soccer was boring. I have pretty much watched every game of the World Cup this year, and my enjoyment of the sport prompted me to get this game.

I don't know much about soccer outside of the actual gameplay, so I wouldn't know what to tell you what is missing in this game. Some reviewers mention that their is no club play, but being that this is my first soccer game in about 10 years, I never seen a soccer game outside the world cup, so I honestly don't know what I am missing.

One thing I would have liked to have seen is the national anthems of each team. But other than that, to me this game is a complete World Cup game. You can start in the world cup finals with the 32 teams that qualified this year, or you can actually play through the qualifiers with teams across all continents (not just the 32 final teams), to create your own world cup finals. This seems like a welcome addition because from what I heard from past WC video games, you were restricted to the 32 teams that actually qualified. I perfer it this way as well, because I would think that it would get boring after a while being limited to 32 teams all the time. However the game is very restrictive in playing the world cup games, you can only choose 8 teams, and you HAVE to play them, you can't simulate them, and you can't play with any team but your own. If you are eliminated, then the game automatically advances to the final match without keeping you update of what is going on. I would have liked to have seen the ability to play ANY game in the world cup. You can make your own world cup in a way, but you have to unlock the round of 16, 8, semifinals, and finals before you can play in those games as you would like.

The actual game play is very fun. While the controls seem kind of cumbersome, I think that is because I have not played a soccer video game since the World Cup on the old 8-bit NES that was on the same cartridge as Super Spike V-Ball. The players movements are done pretty well, but it does seem a bit sluggish at times. Also the graphics are nothing spectacular and I feel that the net, and the field could have been rendered a lot better. The players are not very detailed, but detailed enough so that you can recognize them.

The flaws in the graphics do not take from the actual game play, because it is still very fun to play. If you are like me and new to any recent soccer game, you may find yourself getting very frustrated because it seems that semi-pro(the default difficulty) is a bit too hard. I have played 10 matches and only acculmulated 2 goals in all of them combined. However, just like the real game, scoring a goal is very rewarding, because it is just so hard to do. I finally lowered my difficulty to amatuer and had a little more success in passing the ball and scoring. I even managed a 5 1 victory over Togo.

For those of you wondering the clock can be accelerated so if you don't have 90+ minutes to play through one game, all you have to do is set your half length to a lower time and a half will still be 45 minutes, however it will be accelerated based on what time you choose. The default is 6 minutes, so eventhough the clock still goes up to 45, the actual time played is 6 minutes. This makes stoppage time pretty much useless, because 3 minutes in an accelerated game is really only seconds in real time.

One of the most enjoyable things about the game is that it has the real players from the actual teams. It was real easy for me to get into the game because I could play with players that I have actually seen play in the World Cup. This was real important to me because being new to the sport, I would like to relate to real players, rather than generic ones. This is what steered me away from Konami's Winning eleven series.

In summary I am very pleased and suprised with this game. I almost was late for work this morning because as soon as I woke up I started playing this game. Admittedly this is a great game from the evil empire at EA. Its good that they focused on actual game play, rather than extras. The graphics could be a bit better, but to me gameplay is most important. EA should carry this strategy to their football franchises, instead of introducing new gimmicks every single year without fixing the actual gameplay.

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It's a fun game it's a good game, but EA drops the ball again this game should have been so much better its like they didn't tested, here's and example: in the spanish commentary when you pass a ball to a player they say he's name but a lot of the times they say the wrong name, during half-time why can't you see the stats or make subs, i remember FIFA Road to the world cup 98 for the Sega Saturn when you had a stop ball you could pass the ball in 3 different ways: 1. Pass the ball to a specific player 2. Pass it to a specific area 3. Just guess the area or player you want to pass it (like in this version). I feel they are telling me how to play i cant pass the ball to a player behind me in a stop ball, i cant controll my player when my opponent's goalie has the ball, when its time choose your 23 players to go to WC you can only really choose 18, if you modify a player you cant reset him unless you reset all of them. Your opponents goalie is always 10 times better than your own even if your's has a 99 rating and the other one was 50.

I get frustrated because i've played almost all the FIFA games since they started the series in the early 90's.

I dont why they take of good features off one year and improve the bad ones to make same thing next year. Please dont take away the good things!!!!

Even though i think this game could be a lot and i mean a whole lot better i still recommend it.

Best Deals for FIFA World Cup 2006 - Xbox

It was fun, it was cheap..... but definitely not worth the wait!! But, then again when you have an Old XBox (which pretty much belongs to a museum right now) you can't really complain! Although, for all buyers please remember that this edition doesn't feature the clubs and you are better off buying Fifa Soccer 07 if you love to play Liga BBVA like me !!

Honest reviews on FIFA World Cup 2006 - Xbox

My husband loves this!! He is still discoving new things you can do. Different kinds of games, different places you can play, i can make all his players ugly...LOL. You can change the skills of the players without cheats. You can make a player for your team, the players that are there look like the person in real life. I put ugly yellow goggles on all of his favorite team and saved it. LOL He had to take them off one player at a time.

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This game is very good! At the start, you choose a team from zones: European, Asian, North American and Carribean, African, Oceanian, and South American zones. You are placed in a group that you can randomize or seed. The game alerts you if you get to the next round or get eliminated. Once in the World Cup itself, the competition gets harder. Practice mode can help make plays to get the ball in the back of the net for sure! The amateur difficulty is way too easy, so if you're looking for a challenge, try semi-pro. Good Graphics and controls are in this game, too. So, if you're a soccer fan, get this game!