Cheap NASCAR The Game: Inside Line

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List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $39.99
Today's Bonus: 20% Off

i was skeptical about buying this due to my disappointment in 2011, but let me tell you, this game is great! eutechnyx definitely showed that they can make a great game. the racing experience is near perfect, there are multiple difficulty settings (and let me tell you, hard is ACTUALLY HARD and their new mode 'champion' feels like youre actually out there on the track, it is tough!) the damage model was completely reworked and greatly improved also. there are just so many little details that make this game a great experience. definitely get this one.

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If all you intend to do with this game is run a 16 lap race at Daytona after work to wind down, you'll probably like this game. The graphics are stellar and the sound is very well done (The low end another reviewer mentioned is only prevalent when the in-car cams are selected, probably to replicate the sound and feeling one would experience inside a stock car. If you have a subwoofer, it will get a workout during this game), and in short bursts the gameplay is enjoyable. The tracks are perfectly recreated, and unlike the other nascar game most of the paint schemes for the drivers are already unlocked for you.

The challenge mode is be far one of the unexpected surprises of this game. Similar to Madden games of the past, the game comes pre-loaded with 'historic' moments that you can race and try to alter the outcome. Supposedly it's based on actual telemetry from the races which adds to the enjoyment of this mode thoroughly. It makes you feel as if you are really in that situation in real life. And many of these challenges are hard! I didnt think I would enjoy this mode as much as I do, but for those times when I can only play for short sessions, this is becoming my default choice for some quick racing action.

The racing is as hard or easy as you want it to be, although for my tastes it always seems to be a bit too easy or a bit hard...seems like they needed one more setting in between. Also, tandem racing at Talledega and Daytona seems very realistic, and is very challenging. I wont get into the tandem drafting racing debate at restrictor tracks, but suffice it to say I prefer racing the shorter tracks on this game :) The radar system makes it easy to locate your drafting partner...which i mostly prefer in my rear view mirror, thank you!

Play for any extended period of time though, you are bound to notice some glitches as others have mentioned. First, the cautions are still wickedly inconsistent. One of the annoyances of the last game was that if you wrecked another car, a caution would immediately come out. Yet, if someone steamrolled over you into the wall scattering parts everywhere, the race went on, even if you limped along the track at 35 mpg. Now instead of the caution 'never' coming it, it comes out 'sometimes'...but not nearly often enough.

On one very amusing (yet very annoying) instance racing at Charlotte, I was pushed from behind, careened off the wall (destroying the front end) and then barreled across the grass onto pit-row...at 140 mph. I was able to regain control, cruise down pit row, speed UP while ON pit row back up to 170 mph and rejoin the tail of the field. All under green. Since the race was already wrecked at that point on the next few laps I cut across the grass onto pit row at full speed. No cautions or black flags. Which is...i dont know, stupid?

The AI reminds me alot of Ridge Racer, i.e. the other cars seem to ride the rails on a predetermined line and barely deviate or react to your movements. Be prepared to wreck alot (again, see complaint #1 regarding cautions). Not giving up your position is one thing, its another to be outpacing the lap times of the cars ahead of you, and they still are completely oblivious. In real nascar racing, a slower car will often make way for the faster car (well, except for Tony Stewart).

Online play, I have not tried but based on other reviews I dont think I want to.

The biggest beef with the game though, is still no Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series which is an absolute crime considering the price tag of this game. At the very least, there is no reason not to add the Nationwide series since many of the tracks are shared between both series. All they had to do was add the additional paint schemes and the couple extra tracks like Road America that are only run in the NNS. Hopefully by the time Daytona rolls around in a few months they will add those series, but I wont hold out any hope.

Which leads to the last beef with the game. Why release at the END of the season? The Daytona 500 is the superbowl of racing...also in the beginning of the season many of the drivers, sponsors, and teams get shuffled around quite a bit. Right around the time this game was released it was already dated, Kurt Busch moved over to Furniture Row racing in the 78, Kenseth announced his departure to Joe Gibbs, and Logano announced the move to Penske. I would prefer to have the game released at the beginning of the year so i can play along with it all year, as opposed to having the 'new' game be dated by the time nascar's biggest event rolls around. But im sure the week of the 500 there will be a nice (20 dollar) add on pack available.

And come on, put the beer logos in the game already, will ya? I would think Miller Lite should receive some sort of a bone tossed their way after sponsoring the 2012 Champion and all instead of having just "Brad" on the hood. Just sayin.

So its a mixed bag. There's enough there to make it entertaining, but it isnt worth the full price (I traded in 2011 for this). It seems the series is heading in the right direction but it still doesnt feel 100% authentic yet. (Hint: Give DW a buzz for some in-game voice work, will ya?) But if you like NASCAR, this is pretty much your only choice. But its alot like the aforementioned Miller Lite. It tastes great, but its less filling.

Best Deals for NASCAR The Game: Inside Line

I was a PC sim racer for about 10 years and just got burned out on GPL, Nascar 2003, Crammond's F1 games, r factor, etc etc and just stopped playing about 5 years ago. Since then I've played a few of the Nascar releases on 360 and also the F1 releases in 2010 and 2011. The F1 game just took too freaking long to get to a race with the ridiculous trailer cut scenes. The Nascar games I played were just not drivable and just did not feel right. Over the last several months I have been following the pre-release of Inside Line and actually got quite excited about it and picked it up over the weekend. Some things are really well done but it needs work:

*The graphics with HDMI 1080 look fantastic. Everyone who walked into the room commented on how great it looked. Really well done folks. Sound not bad, for some reason I am not getting a lot of low end though.

*The load times are some of the best I have ever experienced and great framerates.

*Some of the on track action gave me the same feeling I used to get with GPL and F1 Championship Season, like I was really challenged.

*But OMG, there are some epic fails with the AI. At some tracks they make it almost impossible to race so I just drop back and let things get sorted out. Random stops, crazy lines, weird pit entrances, turbo race starts at a couple of tracks and on and on.

*The setup saves are somewhat confusing, half the time I do not know what setup I am going out in.

*Some bizarre yellow flag bugs or rules that don't really mimic Nascar racing at all. I can't even explain it to you, you had to be there for some of my WTF moments!

*Why can't I reduce the number of racers? Some of the greatest races I have ever had racing off line in other games were 30-40% runs vs. 10-15 drivers at highest skill. This game, at least from my 3 days of playing, makes you play with all 43. Given the AI problems that spells restart after restart after restart.

I don't race online so I can't comment but looks like they have a lot of problems. While I am obviously not real happy with the AI issues overall I really like the game. I think it was a tactical mistake to leave the obvious AI and online issues BOTH not fixed. You end up not making the off line sim and casual crowd happy or the online racers happy. Lose/lose. There is no one on this planet that could spend several hours with this game and not notice the glaring AI problems. But there is enough here to warrant your playing time, not so sure about $60 though until it is patched.

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a few glitches but nothing a patch wont fix. I've come to expect games to not be finishes when I preorder.

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My copy of Nascar Inside Line arrived on time and well packaged which is important to me when purchasing exspensive games. This game is not perfect but is a HUGE step up from Nascar 2011 with the deeper career mode and well developed versions of the All Star race and even the entire speed weeks event at Daytona. Graphics and sound also are a touch better and a download with the new Gen-6 cars is now available as well.

Review of Painkiller - PC

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $11.50
Today's Bonus: 42% Off

I almost think of Painkiller like two games. One of them is pure, addictive, incredible-looking, adrenaline-pumping action Nirvana. The other is a dull and sometimes frustrating game when Painkiller deviates from its formula by trying to give you something besides mindless action. Thankfully, the former is what you get to play most of the time, which is why Painkiller is such a great game.

When Painkiller is on, it is really on. This game does "mindless action" as well as any game has ever done. Picture yourself running around the edges of a room, never standing still, shooting at stuff like there's no tomorrow, trying to gun down and blow up dozens of enemies while dodging their punches, axes, swords, and bullets. A wide variety of enemies exists for you to blast into bloody chunks or stick to walls with your stake gun. The generally have simple behaviors. They rush at you, shoot stuff at you, or shoot stuff and then rush at you. There is just enough variety in the enemies though to keep you on your toes and force you to use all of the game's 5 well-balanced weapons. There are enemies that poison you, enemies that slow you down, enemies that take 3 shotgun blasts to kill, enemies that zig-zag when they rush at you, etc. You will quickly learn the hotkeys and alt-fire modes for your weapons and switch back and forth, based upon what situation you are facing at any one second.

The game only has five weapons, but don't be deceived into thinking that this is some kind of shortcoming. They are all really cool and useful, and each has a meaningful and useful alt-fire mode. Thus, the game effectively has ten weapons, all of which you will use frequently throughout the game. The game's namesake weapon, The Painkiller, is like a chainsaw on crack. The shotgun has an alt-fire mode that freezes enemies in their tracks so that you can blast them to bits with one blast. The stake gun is a powerful weapon that showcases the game's rag-doll physics by letting you impale baddies onto walls. The fourth weapon is a powerful chain gun/rocket launcher combo, and the fifth weapon can create a miniature electric storm that fries anyone who comes near it.

A couple of minor upgrades in this game make it slightly different from other run-and-gun shooters. The most notable is the collection of souls, which come from the bodies of your fallen enemies. The souls only stay on the screen for a short time, so you have to run and collect them. When you collect 66 souls, you morph into an indestructible demon for a short time. Thus, the game actually rewards you for not running backwards all day. Another feature of this game is the tarot card system. Tarot cards are basically power-ups that you can use once per level, and that you unlock by accomplishing certain tasks (like finishing a level using only one weapon).

The graphics for this game are gorgeous, and they exist across a wide variety of scenery and environments. Everyone one of the game's 24 locations looks different. All of the scenery is inspired and creative. Painkiller shows an astonishing level of polish and attention to detail that I don't think I have ever seen in a first person shooter. One little example of this is in the game's fantastic Opera House level. All over the Opera House, there are at least a couple dozen paintings on the walls. And all of those paintings are highly detailed and unique. None of them repeat. This is different from most games, where scenery such as this repeats the same five or six items. As I said, this is a minor detail, but it is one of many, many little things that prove that an enormous effort went into this game.

The game's audio is also impressive. Most of it is consistent with the bizarre afterlife setting that the game tries to convey. In most areas you can hear low-pitched moans, whispers, creaks, etc. The exception might be the game's heavy metal action soundtrack, which isn't bad, but seems a bit out of place.

That's the great part. Then there's the "other" game-the one where Painkiller tries to do other stuff, like forcing you to break open a hundred containers on every level looking for gold. Yes, that's right. The game is like Diablo when it comes to breaking open boxes and chests to find treasure. You have to do it, because you need gold to use your Tarot cards. This stuff isn't much fun in RPG's, so it is TOTALLY out of place here. To make matters worse, a lot of the gold and ammo are hidden in secret areas. These areas are insanely hard to find, and just as hard to get to once you do find them. I was able to find over 50% of the secrets in Serious Sam, but I couldn't find 10% of the secrets in Painkiller without help from the message boards. You could spend 2 hours searching a level for the secrets and only find 2 out of 4 of them. Occasionally, the levels are set up in a way that makes it hard to find an exit. Once again, this is when the game is NOT fun. Painkiller would have been better without the material that disrupts the fast-paced action.

The end boss for this game was a huge letdown. I spent a frustrating hour trying to figure out what "magic trick" I needed to beat him. Then I went to the message boards, found out the trick, and beat him in about 2 minutes.

Painkiller takes the old Quake and Serious Sam formula to a new level. While doing so, it also provides an experience that is different from those games, and in some ways, better. If you enjoy defeating swarms of enemies in fast-paced shooters, then you can't go wrong with Painkiller.

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I agree 100% that this program is everything it should be. A fierce battle to the end. Lots of levels. Over a dozen hours of gameplay (on medium difficulty) , and some excellent AI. The levels are sprawling and the 'baddies' are very eclectic. A huge assortment of very intense battles with one very powerful weapon named 'The Painkiller'. This thing could slice through solid steel. And, it leaves quite a mess behind. Especially when you pull out the blade. The weapon selection is limited to , i think, 6 weapons. But, they all have a secondary fire, and that comes in quite handy. So, there's really a dozen weapons. Yes, it's a lot like what we are to expect Doom 3 to be. Much more shallow than we expect Half-life 2 to be. And, a definite stepup from Serious Sam. A blast all the way through ,if you're someone who believes that a shooter should be just that. Only a shooter. No side-missions that have you running around doing RPG stuff. Just direct, messy, in-your-face blastin'. I love this game.

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This is pure non-stop action. You will not be left in a big boring empty level trying to figure your way out or figure out some boring time consuming puzzle. There is no "wait here for half an hour and snipe" either. The weapons are mostly short range, so for most part you get up-close and personal with gruesome looking creatures. Most monsters are armed with melee weapons too, so this makes a great close range fighting scene with bodies flying around and gut splattering action.

The graphics are incredible, and extremely detailed. The screenshots don't do justice to this game. The levels look incredibly well polished, and the monsters are just very beautiful and scary looking as they try to impale you. The special effects are very nicely done, for example when you get hit by a monster, it is the best "getting hurt" effect I've seen in a game so far.

The physics are incredible. The monsters dangle around realistically as you part your way through a sea of undead creatures.

The sounds are great, the ambient noises really add to the scary feel of the game, especially since the levels are already very dark and scary looking.

It runs very nicely with all the settings set to the highest on my computer: P4 2.8, 1GB RAM, GeForce4 Ti4600.

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I bought this game to test out my new system (and graphics card) because of what I had read about the graphics. Well, the graphics are indeed well done; combined with the realistic physics engine they made me realize that I enjoy watching a well-animated mutant ninja corpse flipping through the air, ultimately being riveted to the wall by a spike impaled in its head. Since I never realized this would hold my attention for 10 or more hours, the game was well worth the $20 investment for this bit of self-awareness alone.

This game has "guilty pleasure" written all over it and it's better for you than the half-dozen Big Macs you should deprive yourself to buy it.

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I was wary to buy the game after reading several negative reviews, but thankfully I did anyway, and am fully satisfied. It is exactly what was promised, fast paced, mindless killing, That's even part of the damn story! "Kill everything you see!" It says to use CD #3 to start up, what the hell's wrong w/ that? And it runs perfectly, smooth and crisp. Just lower all the detail. A unique idea they added, which I love, is to completely customize your cross hair, minor but fun. The multiplayer is great. What else do you want for the genre? If you don't like mindless killing, go buy SOMETHING THAT ISN'T MINDLESS KILLING. There ya go, problem solved. dumasses

Review of Sony PS3 Hardware 160GB Core

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The PS3 is a great system. Easy to use, futuristic on-screen interface, quality sleek hardware, awesome graphics, lots of benefits. But should you get a PS3 or Xbox 360? And what about the Wii?

Note: I own all three devices, and I appreciate all of them. I don't have any bias to one system or the other, just my personal experience and opinion...

PS3============================================

What I like MOST about the PS3:

1) Future proof Blu-ray player (Sony updates the player over the Internet for free; it now supports 3D movies/TVs)

2) Clean, more futuristic on-screen interface (feels more mature then Xbox 360)

3) Better/Smoother/Faster graphics (in the 10+ games I own on a 60" 1080p HDTV)

4) Free online multiplayer gaming (no monthly/yearly fees like Xbox 360; which I hate about Xbox)

5) Watch your online netflix shows on PS3 for free (Xbox requires Xbox live account to use your netflix account; another thing I hate about Xbox)

6) Exterior: More futuristic, luxurious, mature "look". Looks more like a sleek Home Theater appliance. (Xbox 360 more oriented to youthful crowd; Xbox looks more like an 'entertainment' device)

7) Lighter, slimmer, smaller controller. Built-in longer lasting rechargeable battery. (the Xbox controller does not come with a standard rechargeable battery, and it feels heavier and more bloated then the PS3 controller).

8) Built-in wireless connectivity. (an option on the Xbox)

9) Built-in optical/toslink connectivity for home theatre audio connection. (an option on the Xbox)

10) I can use my (or any) wireless blue-tooth cell phone headset for voice/chat enabled games. (The Xbox cannot)

What I like LEAST about the PS3:

1) My first PS3 (the 'fat' one) had a disc drive failure after 13 months of ownership; 1 month beyond its warranty. The PS3 still works, I just cant use discs. That means I cant watch blu-ray discs on it and I cant play disc based games on it. I can still play games through the PlayStation store (demos, etc), I still can watch netflix on it, and I still can watch movies from my PCs over the network on it. The fact that my PS3 disc drive died after about 1 year of limited delicate usage really concerns me about the quality of the hardware and customer support/treatment. I paid over $400 for my first PS3, and I used it maybe twice a week. After searching the web about my problem, I found this was a rampant problem with the fat PS3. Did they fix this problem with the slim PS3? Time will tell; I sure hope so. I just wish Sony would have fixed my problem for free (as I feel it was shoddy hardware or poor engineering that resulted in this problem, not me).

2) Games (new and used) are generally more expensive then the Xbox 360.

3) I liked the glossy look of the first generation PS3. The new PS3 slim looks a little flimsier/cheaper. It is smaller though, and that's a plus.

4) The rechargeable battery in the PS3 controller is not swappable. That means if your controller dies mid-game, you have to plug it in to use it. (The Xbox controller has swappable batteries)

5) When I download a game (full or demo), I can't play it immediately. After the download (which could take over an hour), I have to install the game (which could take another 10-30+ minutes), at which time my PS3 is unusable until it completes. The Xbox downloads in the background and plays immediately without having to install the game. Also, if I turn off the PS3, the download stops (the Xbox finishes the download even when turned off).

Xbox 360============================================

What I like MOST about the Xbox 360:

1) More people have it. In other words, all my friends, family and coworkers have Xbox 360s. Which also means if I want to play online with them, I have to use my Xbox, which is also a con for me. (I'd rather use my PS3 because of the better graphics and lighter/smaller controller).

2) I can download games, updates and demos in the background, even with the Xbox turned off. So I can start a download and go to bed without leaving the box on all night. (The PS3 cant do this)

3) When I download a game (full or demo), I can play it immediately. On the PS3, you have to download it (which could take over an hour), then install it (which could take another 10-30+ minutes), at which time your PS3 is unusable until it completes.

4) My late generation Xbox elite has lasted longer then my first generation PS3 (surprisingly)

5) It doubles as a Media Center extender. I have a PC that records shows for me in Media Center (like a Tivo but no monthly fees). I can access these shows and watch live TV over the network via my Xbox. This is a VERY cool and under-talked about feature. And most people with a Windows PC can do this; look it up.

6) The console and games (new and used) are cheaper then the PS3.

What I like LEAST about the Xbox 360:

1) Still no blu-ray player. This is a major con compared to the PS3. It WILL play regular DVDs, however.

2) In my experience, graphics are a little lower quality then my PS3. In Grand Theft Auto IV, I can see farther and more objects at a time on my PS3. The PS3 has a faster frame rate, where the Xbox feels almost blurry. The colors are more crisp on the PS3, the Xbox is more washed out, like water colors. Some may not even notice this, I do.

3) No built-in wireless connectivity. You have to buy a very expensive adapter to have wireless connectivity.

4) No built-in optical/toslink connectivity for home theatre audio connection. You have to buy an adapter to do this.

5) No rechargeable battery. You have to buy a rechargeable battery and kit to do this.

6) Not a major deal, but the on-screen interface is more kid-feeling then the PS3. I'm an adult and the PS3 feels more like its targeted to adults then children/teenagers.

7) YOU HAVE TO PAY TO PLAY ONLINE. I don't understand this. It's ridiculous to me. It's way overpriced. I can't play online with my friends unless I buy a monthly or yearly Xbox live pass. I hate this about the Xbox. I HATE THIS. I already gave them hundreds of dollars in the console, games and accessories; stop asking me to pay to play. As you can see, this is a major con to me. I also cant watch my Netflix account without paying for an Xbox live account. Boo!

8) The Xbox has a pretty bad reliability record. I believe they have eliminated most of the issues that plagued the earlier consoles, however. My neighbor has replaced his Xbox 4 times; FOUR TIMES! I have not. He plays his every day all day though; I play once or twice a week for less then an hour.

Wii============================================

I bought the Wii after playing it at a friends house. I was blown away by the idea and experience of motion based controllers. We played golf, boxing, tennis, ping pong; it was an amazing experience for the first time.

After I had the Wii, I quickly lost interest.

Here's why:

1) Horrible graphics. I paid a lot of money to have a 60" High Definition full 1080p home theatre. The Wii graphics look like absolute kiddy crap on my TV. The Wii has no high def. Its like playing a first generation Nintendo NES on a HDTV. Its horrible, and for this 1 reason I can no longer enjoy my Wii. Nintendo is way behind the modern day high end graphics of today.

2) The motion controller novelty has worn off. Its fun on a few games, horrible on others. I don't know, the novelty of the Wii has just worn off for me; and several of my friends.

3) It just doesn't feel like a modern quality device. While I'm sure its reliable, it just feels like a child's toy; the exterior, the interface, the games, etc. Sorry, I guess I've just grown up.

Conclusion============================================

In conclusion, I would say the Wii is more suited to young children. The Xbox is a great device, and so is the PS3. I can live without my Wii; but I would have a hard time choosing between the Xbox and PS3. For that reason, I choose to have both. If Xbox made online multiplayer free (eliminated the Xbox live cost), and included a blu-ray player, I would choose the Xbox over a PS3 (even with the better graphics on the PS3). But for now, I say buy both. By the Xbox as a gaming device, and justify the PS3 as blu-ray player with benefits.

If your a parent shopping for a teenager and only want to buy 1 device, go for the Xbox 360. Chances are, most of your child's friends will already have one, and they can all play online.

If your an adult that demands the best and has little time to play games (like myself), get a PS3. Its sleek, its got better graphics, its wireless, and it has a blu-ray player.

I hope this review gives you some insight and help with your choice, and a little knowledge of all the systems from an experienced and unbiased owner.

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I just bought the PS3 slim a week before posting this review and I'm extremely happy with it. To be honest, I'm not a gamer and may never buy a game for the PS3, I bought it strictly for its streaming video and blu-ray playback capabilities, in my opinion it is the best.

My first blu-ray player was an early Panasonic 1.0 blu-ray player, it played blu-rays beautifully, when researching it they said it was almost as good as the PS3, at the time the PS3 was the gold standard. I didn't buy a PS3 then because of its price and its original bulk, it would not fit in well into my AV setup. Also, you needed a separate remote for blu-ray/DVD playback if you didn't want to use the controller, the PS3 is not IR capable. I then traded "up" to a Samsung blu-ray player because it offered streaming Netflix capability, I really enjoyed the streaming Netflix, but I noticed that my blu-ray disks didn't look as good as on my old Panasonic and DVD upscaling on the Samsung blu-ray was no where near as good as my old Panasonic, but I really wanted the Neftlix streaming service so I stuck with it.

Since my initial look at the PS3, a lot has changed, first the new slim model, it fits perfectly in my AV setup. Also, Netflix streaming finally came to the PS3, first via software on a disk, now it is totally integrated into the PS3 OS via a firmware update.

I primarily bought my Samsung blu-ray player for its Netflix streaming capability, but I was getting frustrated with the Netflix interface on the Samsung, you could not search or add movies to your Netflix queue directly from the player, plus loading titles from your queue took almost a minute to launch.

Several friends at work have had the PS3 from its beginning and they were always taunting me when new features arrived to the PS3, when they told me about the new Netflix features available on the PS3 I decided to take the plunge. The PS3 was the first platform to get 5.1 surround sound from Netflix streaming, and to date, the only platform to have full 1080p movies via streaming, plus I can search and add movies to my queue directly from the PS3. Moving through my queue on the PS3 is a breeze, on my Samsung, the interface displayed the movies from right to left and left to right. I currently have over 360 movies in my queue, it can take a long time to maneuver through this many titles going left to right or right to left. On the PS3, the titles are tiled 5 or 6 wide, you can move up, down, left or right, when you finally launch a title it is up and playing within a matter of seconds!

What about blu-ray playback on the PS3 slim? It is awesome (video and audio), as good or better than my old Panasonic player I loved so much! DVD up-scaling is also excellent. The thing that really sold me on the PS3 is Sony's commitment to continually improve it and keep it current. Firmware updates over the years have kept PS3 up to date in every respect. One of my co-workers bought the original PS3 the day it was released, it is still going strong 5 years later, actually better and has more features than when he bought it!

Last, but not least, the remote control issue. A few years ago I moved to using Harmony remotes to control all my AV equipment. I have a drawer in my coffee table that has 8 different remotes for all my various equipment, on top of my coffee table I have one Harmony remote that controls all of my equipment perfectly. The new PS3 is still not IR capable, but I bought the Harmony PS3 adapter, this is a bluetooth/IR device that accept commands from your Harmony remote to control the PS3, it took about 10 minutes to set up and works perfectly!

Oh yeah, I hear that the PS3 really does play games, maybe one day?

Best Deals for Sony PS3 Hardware 160GB Core

Let me give a little bit of background before diving into a review. When the original NES came out, I was hooked. I didn't think anything could be better than Super Mario Bros. Then there was the Sega Genesis...and as I entered college, the original Playstation. Wow!

After college I settled down, got married, had children, and stopped playing games for a while. Just 2 years ago I picked up a wii "for the family" and have enjoyed it since. Mario Galaxy 2 looks great and is a great deal of fun to play...and there are other great games on the wii as well. For the record, I'd never played a PS2, PS3 or Xbox.

Don't get me wrong, the wii is great. There are a number of wii exclusives that I love. But I was still wanting something with some better graphics/games and thus began my research between xbox and ps3. Both are great systems! This was going to be harder than I thought. In the end, I felt like the game selection for the PS3 slightly outweighed that of the xbox for the family. The PS3 has LittleBigPlanet and Ratchet and Clank, as well as Uncharted/Metal Gear/etc. And while the xbox has some great exclusives as well, I was leaning toward the PS3.

When I saw that the PS3 slim increased the hard drive from 120gb to 160gb I finally bit the bullet. I was wanting to get a blu-ray player sometime so I figured I'd just get the ps3. Just set it up last night. Set-up was a breeze and the graphics, wow, they truly are stunning. As I said, the wii is great and I'll continue to play and enjoy wii-exclusive games, but compared to xbox/ps3 graphics, there really is no comparison. I'm really looking forward to NHL 11 and Gran Turismo 5 (as the wii is lacking in these types of games).

Overall, I'm thrilled with the PS3. I'm looking forward to getting my music and other media files loaded onto it and finally beginning the world of blu-ray movies and advanced gaming. While I do wish I could load files to it from a device formatted to something other than FAT, it's certainly not a deal-breaker. The PS3 works as it should, set-up is simple, has free online, great exclusive games, and so much more. Whether or not it's the right choice for you is up for you to decide. The Xbox is also a great system, but I'm happy with my final decision.

Note: Extras you may need:

Extra controller, PS3 blu-ray remote control, and an hdmi or set of component cables depending on your video capabilities.

Honest reviews on Sony PS3 Hardware 160GB Core

I recently purchased my first Play Station 3 last week on Saturday, February 12, 2011, and I have loved having it. I primarily purchased the PS3 for its DVD, Blu Ray, and Online Media capabilities like streaming movies from Netflix and Hulu Plus because I wanted an all-in-one device than can do pretty much everything I want, and the PS3 has lived up to my expectations, thus far. Here are the best and worst features that I have found about my PS3:

PROS:

1). NETFLIX CAPABILITIES The Netflix user interface is FANTASTIC! The Netflix application on my PS3 allows me to manually search for ALL streaming movies and TV shows, add movies/shows to my instant queue, browse for movies/shows by genre, watch movies/shows based on Netflix's suggestions for me, and rate the movies right from the PS3 itself. The only bad part about the Netflix app on my PS3 is that I cannot add DVDs to my DVD queue through it, so I still have to go onto the Netflix website via my computer and add DVDs to my DVD queue, but I am still glad to be able to search and browse for my all of my streaming movies on the PS3, so the DVD issue is not so bad. Overall, the Netflix application on my PS3 is so much better than Netflix on my TiVo box because Netflix on TiVo does not even allow searching, browsing or adding movies to my instant queue AT ALL I can only watch the movies in my instant queue on the TiVo box, so I will stick to watching movies and TV shows from Netflix on the PS3 from now on.

2). HULU PLUS CAPABILITIES I love Hulu Plus on this PS3, as its user interface also allows ALL of the same functions that Netflix does, and even more. Additionally, Hulu Plus allows me to view any TV movies or shows in my history, and play them. It's a shame that some other devices that have Hulu Plus don't even allow searching, browsing, or looking at the user's viewing history.

3). DVD, CD, & BLU RAY DISC PLAYBACK The playback of these discs is great, too. I love the fact that I can play DVDs, Blu Ray discs, and just regular CD's on the PS3. The playback and quality of Blu Ray discs on the PS3 is also visually stunning.

4). EASE OF SETUP Even though it took me over an hour to set up the PS3 and get everything running (including connecting to the machine the Internet, setting up my account on the PlayStation network, updating the PS3 with the new software, connecting to Netflix and Hulu Plus, etc) the set up flowed smoothly, and was very simple. Basically, I definitely did not need any assistance from customer support to set up the PS3 because the set up was easy and simple.

5). BUILT-IN WIFI This is a great feature because it has eliminated me from having to use an Ethernet cable to connect my PS3 to my router or having to buy an external adapter to connect to the router. The Wi-Fi connection has worked great for me, and the PS3 instantly connected to my wireless network once I entered in the Passcode to connect to the network. Also, I have NO lags or dropped connections when I play movies from Netflix and/or Hulu Plus. My internet connection on the PS3 seemingly works even faster than the internet connection to my TiVo box, as all of my movies from either Netflix or Hulu Plus just instantly begin playing, yet the movies take more time to play on the TiVo.

6). ONLINE MEDIA CONTENT The PS3 also allows me to watch YouTube, and surf the web, which are both great factors.

7). PLAYSTATION NETWORK The PlayStation Network is great, as it allows for many downloads and there are tons of free games and movie content that can be downloaded right from the PlayStation Network to my PS3.

CONS:

1). COST OF DEVICE The only real con that I have noticed about the PS3 is the high cost of $300.00 for the device itself, but it was well worth the price for me because I now have an all-in-one device that does practically everything that I want and need for it to do.

2). NO DVR CAPABILITIES Another con is that the PS3 isn't a DVR and it cannot record TV shows like a TiVo, Moxi, or cable DVR can do. I only wish that Play Station will add DVR features to their next generation of Play Stations that will come out sometime in the future. If Play Station will add DVR functions and capabilities to their PlayStation 4, then I will throw away my own TiVo DVR.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

I highly recommend the PS3 to any and everyone out there who may want an all-in-one device. Also, I recommend the Harmony One Remote and Harmony adapter for PS3 users who want to control their PS3 with just one remote instead of using the wireless controller. For excellent wireless networking, the NetGear N600 DualBand Gigabit router is great, too, as this is the same router that I currently use for my wireless network. Overall, I am definitely NOT disappointed with my PS3!

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In this review I am going to cover the Play Station 3, the Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii. Hopefully by the end of this review you have a pretty good though on which console is the right one for you. Without further hesitation, here is the main review...

Play Station 3 (PS3) by Sony:

The sony PS3 has two prices. The first price being $250 (Retail) for the 160 GB version and the second being $300 for the 320 GB version. Now obviously if you have the extra $50 to spare go for the 320 GB Version as it is double the amount of storage as the other. Both are exactly the same except for the difference in memory

Now, when you first buy a PS3 it comes with the console, one wireless controller that works with bluetooth technology, the necessary cables, and a Free Play Station Network membership (PSN). An HDMI cable is NOT Included with the purchase, so if you are planning to connect it to a HDTV I would go on ahead and buy an HDMI cable as well to get the full experience of the PS3.

Now, Motion Gaming is available on all 3 systems; however, the only one that comes ready to motion game out of the box is the Nintendo Wii. The PS3 and the Xbox 360 require additional purchases in order to use motion gaming.

The PS3 and the Xbox are only available in black, while the Nintendo Wii has the option in between white & black; however, both the PS3 and Xbox look really nice in black.

Now the PS3 has a big advantage when it comes to what it can actually do. The PS3 can read Games, CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray Discs. Unlike the other two consoles, the PS3 definitely has an advantage here.

This version of the PS3, Ps3 Slim, is not backwards compatible with the PS2 games; however, it is compatible with most PS1 games. It would be great if it could read PS2 games, but unfortunately it can't.

The PS3 has a full 1080P Resolution! With an HDMI cable of course, so if you are thinking about getting a PS3 I wouldn't hesitate on getting an HDMI cable as well

So Who is the PS3 for ? It can be for almost anyone. Lots of teenagers enjoy the PS3 as it is free to play online games and Adults tend to go for the PS3 as well since it has a Blu-Ray Player unlike the other two. I own a PS3 System and I use mainly for Listening to Music, Netflix, and watching Blu-Ray movies. The games on the PS3 has some really nice graphics as does the Xbox 360.

Overall: I would rate the PS3 a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

Xbox 360 by Microsoft:

The Xbox 360 is also available in two prices. The first being $200 for the 4GB model and the other being $300 for the 250 GB model. As you can see there is a major storage difference in between the PS3 and the Xbox. If memory is not that much of an issue for you then the Xbox might be the one for you.

When you first get the Xbox you get the console, one wireless controller, the standard definition cables, and a month Free Xbox LIVE Gold Membership. As with the PS3 you will have to buy an HDMI cable in order to get the full resolution display of the Xbox. As for the Gold membership... After your first month of a free membership you will be required to pay for additional online services like playing games online. A 12 month membership will cost around $50-$60. This is one of the main reasons as to why some people would prefer one of the other two consoles, but some people claim that the online experience is better on the Xbox.

The Xbox 360 can play games, CDs, and DVDs. It cannot play Blu-Ray discs like the PS3. All (3) consoles are capable of online streaming with services like Netflix.

On the Xbox 360 you can play kinect games, Xbox 360 games, and the original Xbox games. This is good as you can still play your old Xbox games on this console whenever you get the urge to do so.

Who is the Xbox 360 for ?

The Xbox 360 is for everyone. From kids who will enjoy playing games in 1080P Resolution and Kinect if you purcahse it. To Teenagers who will enjoy playing games online with their friends. To even Adults who want to play games once in a while or just simply stream content from Netflix.

I would rate this 4 stars out of 5.

Nintendo Wii by Nintendo:

The Nintendo Wii is available in one price for $149 with the Mario Kart Wii. Unlike the PS3 and the Xbox the Wii comes with a very low 512 megabytes of internal flash memory. This is expandable with an SD card. This is a negative on the Wii as you will have to purchase an SD card to get better memory on it.

When you open the Nintendo Wii box you will get the console, the Wii Mario Kart game, One Wii Remote Plus Controller, one Nunchuk controller, the sensor bar to play motion gaming, and the standard cables. The graphic quality on the Wii is a lot lower than the Xbox and the PS3. With a 480P Resolution graphics are no where comparable to the PS3 graphics or the Xbox Graphics.

Unlike the Xbox or the PS3 the Nintendo Wii comes ready to motion game right out of the box! Although it has a lower resolution display motion gaming is definitely a plus for the Wii.

The only thing the Nintendo Wii will read is games; however, you can add music onto an SD Card and then play music on the Wii as well. Movies and Tv Shows are also available on the Nintendo Wii if you have a Netflix Membership!

The Nintendo Wii can also Read your Game cube games! Bring back some classics whenever you want with the Wii!

Who is the Wii for ?

The Nintendo Wii is mostly for kids and Family Fun. I would recommend buying a PS3 or an Xbox if you are looking for something for your teenager. With most of the Wii's games being based on family fun and party games it is fun for a family night.

I would rate this 4 stars out of 5.

Overall: The Nintendo Wii is the least expensive out of the (3) consoles. It is aimed mainly for small kids & Family Fun. The Xbox 360 & the PS3 are aimed for everyone else. From Teenagers to even some Adults. There are many disputes on which is better in between these (2) consoles, but that is up to you guys!

I hope this review gave you some better knowledge and/or information as to which system is the right one for you!

AVERMEDIA C281 Game Capture HD Record Xbox 360 and PS3 in Real Time Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $138.13
Sale Price: $117.27
Today's Bonus: 15% Off

Before I start this review I'd like to mention that you DO need an external or internal hard drive in order for you to be able to save your recorded content. Now on with the review. The ease of installation is amazing! Simply plug into your console, and there you have it. The component itself is very lightweight and extremely portable. Out of all the hd pvr's I've owned, this one stands out because of how user friendly it is. In a push of a button, your recording sick gameplay footage in full hd. This was meant and designed for video game recording. I cannot stress enough how easy it is to use, Its like you have a personal guide with you through the whole recording process with on screen instructions and notifications telling you how to make the best of your recordings. After your content is saved on the external or internal hard drive, all that's required then is a simple transfer from your hard drive to your pc or mac, and you'll have your vids streaming on youtube or facebook in no time. I can see this product being extremely useful for those looking to create a successful channel on youtube of commentary gameplay. That seems to be very popular in the youtube community. Also, I can see this product being very useful to the casual gamer who wants to show an awesome replay through social networks and what not. Considering the price, your getting a really good deal. Some of the previous hd pvr's I've owned cost me $200 and over. Overall this product is outstanding! It gives you great hd gameplay recordings with little to no hassle. I'd definitely recommend this product to those seeking to share their gaming records or amazing gamplay footage with either small social communities or even the world!

Please leave a positive vote if you found this review helpful. Thanks. Also, feel free to leave any comments regarding this review or the product itself. I'll be happy to respond to any questions or comments posted.

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I've had mine about a week now and can report how awesome this device is. Recording in HD without a pc is of great value! There is no lag in video quality whatsoever. I DID see a slight audio synch issue at times BUT a firmware upgrade seemed to take care of that (from the Avermedia website kudos to them for jumping on that quickly). I use mine for tv recordings as of now. Once recorded, the avi format is easily converted to any other format you may need. This device really is amazing and can't believe it's really so affordable. I'm using an external hd formatted in ntfs (recommended by vendor). Satisfied consumer!

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I've tried a number of capture devices over the years. The Happauge HD PVR while great when I could get it to work had a frequent tendency to crap out on me. Later on, I decided to get an AverTV USB HD DVR. It worked great for me until I bought a new Windows 7 PC a few months ago. About a week into being linked up with my new PC, I started getting Capture Failed dialogs whenever I'd try to record, and haven't been able to get it working since. AverMedia support even sent me a replacement, but we were still never able to get the issue resolved.

Ultimately, I ended up purchasing the Game Capture HD. After a couple years of dealing with USB devices, I was a bit skeptical about using a standalone device. I didn't want to have to worry about buying additional storage. Plus I thought it'd be inconvenient to have to swap a flash drive between the device and my PC every time I wanted to start editing. Once I got into the swing of things though, neither were a problem. I might even say I prefer it now. Keeps my PC's folders tidy, and I don't have to worry about having the device attached to my computer's hip at all times.

The good about this device:

1. The Remote: AWESOME idea. I can't tell you what a relief it was to be able to just press a button and instantly get right down to business (as opposed to having to fire up a computer...and then a capture program). There's also a handy screencap button and a nice settings/playback menu accessible through the remote.

2. Comes with a component cable that works for 360, PS3 and Wii. I didn't need it, but was impressed to see that they went the extra mile by including it. Many companies don't.

3. Has an auto on/off mechanism tied to whether or not it detects an input signal. So if you turn on your PS3, for example, the device will turn on along with it. If you turn off your PS3, the device will shut itself down 10 minutes later. Pretty cool feature, considering many other devices don't even have a manual on/off button, let alone something like this.

The bad about this device:

1. Video Quality: It noticeably degrades the video feed, both on your TV and in your recordings. I'm a longtime PS3 user and like I said earlier, I've been around the block a few times with capture devices: so I know what my console's picture is capable of, and I also know what a decent recording looks like. This device drops the ball on both. I'm guessing the pass-through components are just really cheap (the device as a whole feels cheap, actually). The picture quality it reduces you to is something like a poor medium between 480p and 720p. It takes away a great deal of crispness from your console's raw feed, and produces slightly fuzzy recordings (though you probably wouldn't notice the latter much, once you upload to YouTube). I've never seen anything like this in any other capture card I've used, so I was pretty disappointed. I ended up returning my unit solely because of this issue. It's a shame too, because this device really has potential. It may not be a deal-breaker for some, but for me, I've spent way too much money on my TV and on Blu-rays to have this thing hooked up to my TV, giving me some crappy "600p" quality on my PS3. I'm thinking about ordering a replacement in hopes that this is just a fluke. If so, I'll update my review.

2. Recording Options: This device gives you options of 12mbps, 10mbps and 8mbps. I would've liked to had seen a wider range. Using other devices, I've been able to skate by at 4mbps (which helps me preserve storage space). Even 1mbps doesn't look too bad on my YouTube channel. With that said, I think the choices provided are overkill. Even its lowest setting eats up twice as much space as I'd prefer. I have to wonder if they only allow these higher bitrates to help keep the aforementioned poor picture quality from getting exposed even further.

3. Lag: There seems to be occasional lag with the audio and/or video when using this device. Nothing to be overly annoyed about, but it's reminiscent of playing an online game (even when you're not).

4. Recording Format: I have no idea why AverMedia continually insists on using these godawful formats in their devices. I put up with it on the USB HD DVR (and had to convert each file just to begin my editing process). I figured since the file container is the fairly-common .avi this time around, maybe I'd get some relief; but I suppose the way it's encoded still makes their files incompatible with my editing programs (Sony Vegas, for one). To the company's credit though, I can import the audio of my recordings into Vegas; just not the video. I guess that's a step up from the files that their other devices produce, which simply make the program freeze and crash. Who knows: maybe a few years from now, I'll get something that works completely. Seriously though, would it really be that much trouble to at least give consumers the additional option to record in a flexible mp4, wmv or mpg format?

5. I had some trouble getting the device to recognize my 2GB flash drive. I don't know if it was the unit's fault or mine, but that's just a heads up to you guys working with smaller storage space. My 16GB drive worked just fine though.

Overall, I really want to like this device. I just can't get over the video quality issue though (new firmware and cables didn't help, btw). If the company can ever get that worked out, I'll come running back to this product. But in the meantime, I'm yet again looking for a new capture device.

Honest reviews on AVERMEDIA C281 Game Capture HD Record Xbox 360 and PS3 in Real Time

I've had the device for nearly two weeks, giving myself enough time to test two different consoles and the recorded footage from separate games. I'll include some tips I've discovered to make this device even more simple once it arrives for you. Yep, I'm sure you'll want this after reading some customer reviews.

First off, make sure you update the FIRMWARE! You will run into some hiccups if you're not running Ver. 1.7.2, the latest update for the device. It's simple to find the update by going to AVerMedia's webpage for the product and clicking the "AP & Driver" tab. Scroll down, download the file, put the file on an EMPTY (helps the device locate said file) USB flash drive, and done.

Lets actually get into the product and its components though. As you may be aware, this device is very lightweight. Even after adding an internal hard drive, the AVerMedia Game Capture HD is very portable. It does need to be plugged in, but it's not a demanding piece of tech because of the method it records your game footage. Rather than being dependent on a PC/Mac, plugging in a hard drive (internal or external) or USB flash drive is all that's required to store recorded footage. I personally went with an internal hard drive as after upgrading my PS3 to a 250GB hard drive a year ago, I had a spare 80GB 2.5 SATA internal hard drive laying around. I also have a handful of flash drives, so keeping one for transfer purposes isn't a hassle.

This may be a negative for some of you, but this doesn't record 1080p due to no HDMI ports. You'll be using component cables for the console and your HDTV. What's fantastic is that the Game Capture HD comes with a handy 3-in-1 console component cable. Yep, on one end you'll have a connection for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo Wii! However, as a tip, in my experience I had to leave the cable plugged into only one console at a time. When plugged into both my Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3, the Wii would only receive video input, not audio. With the PS3, nothing was displayed. This could be dependent on your HDTV though as, well, I don't have a wide range of HDTVs as my disposal to test this further.

Finally, I'll talk about the video files. You will want to download AVerMedia's "MP4 Builder" as the AVI files the Game Capture HD records can be either incompatible with video editing software, or simply a hassle to work with. If you have outdated video editing software, like me, I've found changing the extension to M4V will allow the MP4 file to import and not hinder the file's properties. Now ANOTHER TIP! If you do plan on recording Nintendo Wii footage, you must know that the Wii doesn't actually output 16:9 widescreen. It's anamorphic widescreen, meaning that the video is horizontally squeezed to fit a 4:3 aspect ratio. Maybe you haven't noticed this before because HDTVs tend to automatically fill in empty space. Some low-end HDTVs will require you to manually fill in the screen. What does this all mean? If you want that 480p widescreen, you'll have to edit it either through aspect ratio correction in a video converter or stretching it with video editing software.

I could talk further about the quality, which is rather great, but I would suggest viewing some footage on YouTube. I will say though that the picture does dull a bit when recording. I believe I've covered many points, but if you have further questions feel free to ask. I'll be honest, there do exist better capture devices for the purposes of recording video games, but as I'm being honest here, you would be paying at least another $80 to have a high maintenance device that works optimally if you have a high-end desktop PC. I dunno about you, but I've got a laptop. For $140, you can't find a better product to record your video game footage.

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The AverMedia Game Capture Device without a doubt My Favorite and Highly Recommended Game Capture Device for this Year. I once Owned the Roxio Game Capture and it while it was nice to be able to play in HD, It had Issues Recording, Sometimes it would lag in either the video or audio, but Not the AverMedia Game Capture. Neat thing is you Don't need a PC or Mac To Record, all you do is hook up a flash drive or extended hard drive, press the "record" button and Boom your recording in either 720P or 1080i!! On top of that you Get a spare of Universal Component Cables for all Systems and the Size of it is very small. It weights less and more compact than the HD PVR

CONS: You Wont be able to Stream with this device because you can't plug in the device via USB to USB if you so choose, Doesn't Bother me since i Don't Stream :)

Verdict: Heck yeah Buy it So far My Favorite Game Capture and its Ideal for any inspired YouTube Gaming Channel!

If you Are intrested in watching the AverMedia Game Capture Review then Here you GO!!

Discount 320GB HDD Hard Drive Disk Kit FOR XBOX 360 320G Internal Slim Black

Customer Ratings:

its been three months since I've had this xBox HD. Works as advertised, fits just like the OEM version.

If using it with the 4GB xBox Arcade version it will mount as an additional drive NOT replacing the internal HD. This means when doing game saves you have to select one of the two drives. No option to set a default drive. For the price I can live with that.

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Worked out of the box perfectly. Unpack, open Xbox 360 side panel, slide in hard drive, close back up, turn on Xbox and it's there and ready to store data. :)

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I purchased this for our xbox and it could not have been simpler. No more kids complaining about hard drive space!!! Works just like the one for $130.

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The HD was just what i wanted. Works perfect. Except that it came with around 290gb instead of 320gb. But otherwise. I recommend!

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BUY IT! My Xbox 360s now has so much memory, I don't even know what to do with myself, I am able to install all my games so they run nice and smooth. It also tricks your Xbox into thinking its a genuine Microsoft hard drive.

Best uDraw Pictionary: Ultimate Edition - Xbox 360 Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $14.99
Sale Price: $13.95
Today's Bonus: 7% Off

This game is quite a fun party game. It is an instant hit with everyone that has had a chance to play it.

There are different modes to further increase fun and challenge.

The game has a small learning curve but once the drawing tablet going around once, people cant wait to get it in their hands again.

You can also make up your own clues as well which adds for some extra fun as well.

I wish you could make up categories as well to put the clues in but one can only ask for so much.

One problem I have is that people have to look away at certain points, so basically playing this game requires some trust factor.

Another problem is some of the objects are impossible to draw. Things that even I (25 Male) have never heard of or had no idea how to draw.

The final problem is that sometimes the clues do not belong in certain categories. I notice this a lot with the action category.

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I went into this purchase knowing that drawing on this tablet would NOT be as easy or user friendly as drawing on a piece of paper. Once you get used to drawing on the udraw tablet, however, you shouldn't have many issues with it. In fact, one way to look at playing pictionary on the udraw is that the udraw tablet is a bit of an equalizer as far as drawing talent goes. I'm a pretty good "picturist" as they call it in the game. If I'm drawing on paper, I'm a lot better than some other family members. However, drawing on the udraw tablet evens the playing field and we all have to abide by the "quirks" of the udraw tablet. I can tell you that the convenience of having the "game board" up on the tv screen is well worth the price of admission alone. My family has had a lot of fun with this and will continue to have a lot of fun. One note that I will mention is an apparent "bug" that does not allow you to choose the winning team at the end of seemingly random "all-play" rounds. This has only happened a few times, but considering how basic the game is to begin with, a bug of this type is pretty unacceptable. I'm hoping that a quick patch will remedy this. Otherwise, I do recommend this game. I'm noticing drops in prices on both this game and the udraw tablet, so you can probably pick both up for "cheap" in the near future. My sister found a used "like-new" tablet on warehouse deals for $23, so keep your eyes open for a good deal!

Best Deals for uDraw Pictionary: Ultimate Edition - Xbox 360

So my son and I opened up the UDraw that he got for Christmas. First we tried the U Draw: Instant Artist that comes with it and it works well. We decided to try out Pictionary and it does not work properly. While attempting to draw, if the pen comes near the tablet at all, you begin drawing regardless if the button is pressed down. Sadly, there was even an update as soon as we put it in. So this bug has not been addressed. There are no settings to adjust sensitivity or to check function of the tablet within the game

I even went back to instant artist to see if there was something wrong with the tablet itself as we were frustrated with this title. Instant artist worked as expected and my son is having fun with that. 30 bucks out the window on this game.

Poor game. Do not buy!

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Kids love this game and have lots of fun with it. We enjoy trying to draw and guess the drawings.

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It's old and it sucks just play the real thing its way more entertaining than this game so save your money

Reviews of Jmt X Bond Template for Kamikaze Hack X-bond for Xbox 360

Customer Ratings:

Worked exactly as it should. Was very nervous, but it works perfectly. Just remember to take off the cooling pads on the IC chips that sit under where this template sits, for a nice flush fit. Then don't forget to put them back on when you're done.

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Best Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Spyro Deals

Customer Ratings:

spyro is back and better then ever. with his new wow pow he is able shoot up into the air and slam down into the ground sending fireballs everywhere causing massive damage

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not very powerful but if used right he rocks and i love his wow pow move it adds alot to his earth slam move

Best Deals for Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Spyro

Been waiting on this one to come out. The main reason for Skylanders was Spyro. Remains one of my favorite characters and I love the new sculpt.

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The shipping was fast first off but second off my son and I have SOOO much fun playing this game together... we love the Spyro character amd all the magic element characters most!

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i really really really really really love it and i got it on time and i enjoyed it operates just fine!!!!

GAEMS G155 Sentry Personal Gaming Environment (Xbox 360/ PS3 Reviews

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List Price: $249.99
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I am deployed and this item is a GOD send. Doesnt require much space ... loud as hell and the t.v best 15 inch i have ever seen !!!

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I managed to get this bit of kit overseas at an American PX. Its amazing. Most of the guys including me had never even heard of such a product, but now we can play Xbox in our down time.

Everything is easily contained in a hard wearing small case, which is really important for military personnel. All the cables neatly pack in either side of the console itself and there is also room for a few games. The screen is bright and clear and the sound is also loud when you want it to be, or has a dual 3.5mm headphone socket for when you don't want it to be.

Using the Xbox also means I/we can use it as a DVD player or use any of the Xbox's USB ports to plug our external HDD's into to watch downloaded films/TV etc.

An amazing product and I can't think of any faults?!

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I bought this unit so I can take my PS3 slim with me when I travel for work. The G155 Sentry reaches above and beyond my expectations. The HD monitor is top notch if you play in front of it. On the angle, it gets a little dark so if you're playing a two player game, it could be a handicap. The sound is what really is amazing. It is so crisp and can pump up to very loud volumes. The console and its wiring fits perfectly and the case itself is well-constructed and looks like it could take a beating. Surprisingly, even with the system in tow, the weight is still pretty light. The style of the case has a really cool logo on it too. Extra bonus is that you can use it as a second TV in your home. My girlfriend can watch Sex and the City for the hundredth time while I pulverize zombies all in the same room, so no more earful complaints that I'm not spending time with her. Success! Love it. Great product. Unbeatable value. A must buy for regular travelers or for those with nagging significant others.

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My husband is in the Marines and he travels and trains a lot. If he's away training or always on the road away from home, PERFECT BUY. Its so inconvenient to check into a hotel that doesn't host video game capability during our numerous stays when we travel. So I got him this and all you need is internet connection if you're playing online. He loves it and now I can have the TV while he enjoys playing PS3. Its clear and very easy to load up. pace for your chords and controllers. This was the best thing Ive brought him. GREAT GIFT! GREAT INVESTMENT.

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This product is amazing and i always use it for travel to play and haven't to use someone's else tv. The sound is awesome, the picture is great (even tho it 1080p which the box claims it 720p) and dual headphone jacks to listen privately.

Best product to recommend

Reviews of Castlevania Judgment

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Sometimes, albeit not often, the Wii has decent, if not stellar, third party contributions.

and...

Sometimes reviews can be wrong.

Case in point: Castlevania Judgment. A combination slasher/fighter/action title that is unfortunately destined to be headed to a premature death in the bargain bin due to both the tsunami of software releases over the next few weeks and to its less than stellar review scores. A game that really doesn't know what it's supposed to be, but yet got beaten up in the mainstream press far more than it deserved. A game that, surprisingly, manages to look fairly good graphically for a non-Nintendo title especially to those that dig its anime-inspired over-the-top art style. A game that controls just fine, provided you toss the waggle-stick aside and put your classic controller or GCN Controller/Wavebird to good use.

Perhaps we'll never know why Iga decided to make this game rather than a true-blue 2D Castlevania title for Wii, and those who were expecting something like that are of course going to be extremely disappointed with Judgment. That being said, though, there's a lot to like here. Far more than the reviews would have you believe. So I suppose the best way to handle a review of this game into the genres which it represents, and then dealing with the typical criteria of graphics, sound, and control.

As a fighter, Castlevania Judgment is: 2.5/5

Unbalanced and toned down for the Wii audience. There are some technical moves to pull off here, but it's a very mash-friendly fighting game with a few exceptionally overpowered characters. The subweapons aren't all that useful, and "super attacks" (that are activated with a push of the X button on the GCN controller when the super meter is full) can drain an opponent of 75%+ of a life bar. There aren't that many characters to choose from, and the hazards in the environments feel like an afterthought (remember Mace: The Dark Age on N64? Yeah, kinda like that). I can't help but feel that this game wasn't meant to be a balanced fighter. All that said, it's still leaps and bounds ahead of Namco's sophomore Wii effort Soulcalibur Legends... then again, just about ANYTHING would have been better than Soulcalibur Legends.

As a third-person action game, Castlevania Judgment is: 3.5/5

More or less, if you liked the 3D titles in the Castlevania series... Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness, this game plays like a jacked-up version of the boss fights from those games. The controls are a bit different, and due to the emphasis on 1 on 1 fighting, obviously there are differences in how the game "feels", but its action roots are certainly apparent. I can't help but wonder if the game began life as a new 3D Castlevania on the Wii. Thanks, but no thanks. I actually prefer Judgment's current gameplay when compared to to running through empty corridor after empty corridor with little scenery, stopping to fight some guys, and then do the whole thing over again. Though all of these issues could have been avoided if they would have just released a real 2D Castlevania on the Wii... Judgment isn't bad, it just isn't that great either.

As a Wii game, Castlevania Judgment is: 4/5

I'll be the first to admit I popped this game into my Wii expecting it to suck hard. Really hard.

After reading the reviews I wanted to remove it from my Gamefly queue to avoid wasting both my time and theirs. I was completely expecting a Castlevania-flavored Soulcalibur Legends style turd to be squeezed out by Konami to capitalize on the waggle craze. Thus I can't help but give it points for being BETTER than completely horrible. And that's a sad thing, but a true one. As a fighting fan, and a Castlevania fan, I'm having a good time with this game. I know it's shallow, and I know I'll probably be returning it in a few days, but for the moment, it's a lot of fun. The online is smooth and doesn't require friend codes, and the graphics are beautiful (especially with the anti-jaggie filter turned on) for a Wii game. Lots of particle effects, very little slowdown. The development team had love for this game. I don't think they had as much time as they would have liked to work on this title, but what's there is solid. And that alone is worth a rating boost, because this is one of the few third-party efforts not in the "Bratz Babiez Partyz Fashionz Dolphinz Happy Fun Ninjabreadz Manz" line of titles that sadly continue to sell to the idiot masses.

Note to the Hardcore:

As I said above, and I can't emphasize this enough: DO NOT PLAY WITH WAGGLE TURNED ON. It's just as broken as Soulcalibur Legends or Bleach, probably moreso. There's nothing I hate more than a Wii fighting game that forces waggle for every attack it's just stupid, and I know most of you agree.

Treat this as a fanservice game, a "popcorn game" that won't have much longevity but will be fun in short bursts or to pull out at parties. It's very simplistic.

As far as how it plays (with existing games for reference)... it's two parts Destrega and one part Power Stone, coated with a thin Castlevania shell sprinkled with bits of Mace: The Dark Age. I know Destrega and Mace are pretty obscure games nowadays, but they contained several elements that made their way into Judgment: simple controls, over-the-top moves, half-baked environmental hazards, and 1 on 1 versus gameplay. In fact, Mace and Destrega keep coming up in my mind as I play Judgment. Since I liked both of those games back in the day, I don't have a ton of complaints. It's a light snack of a game in-between rich, calorie-laden first-party Nintendo goodness. That being said, it's also one of the best non-Capcom third-party efforts on the system so far. That's intended as a compliment to Konami... I'm not saying rush out to the store and buy it, but definitely give it a shot. Chances are you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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I'll admit, I scoffed at this game when it was announced. Outlandish new character designs? A fighting game? On the Wii? I love Castlevania, but I dismissed this game outright, and totally ignored it at retail. Later, a friend gave it to me as a gag gift, but I decided to actually play it. At first I couldn't even beat the first match, and was convinced the game was a broken mess, just as it had been (widely) reviewed.

Of course, the next day I made another attempt, this time going through the in-game tutorial. This time was completely different. I found that the game had a unique, and surprisingly deep system. I was intrigued. I played more.

Now, I've played the game to death, and can honestly say that it's one of the most fun fighting games I've played in recent memory, and easily my favorite of the 3D Castlevanias.

It's hard to really call Judgment a fighting game, mostly because it doesn't entirely play like one. If pressed, I'd say that the game plays more like the Boss Rush mode of the ps2 games than anything else. This is actually a good thing, because the biggest problem with previous 3D Castlevania games was never the action; it was the running around aimlessly down featureless hallways to get to the action. Judgment removes that element entirely, and structures the game around fast-paced arcade action, not totally unlike the classic NES roots of the franchise. There are enemies to fight, items to get, hearts and meat to pick up, so in many ways this is classic Castlevania stuff; you can even perform the Item Crash, like in Dracula X! Even the arenas manage to be more evocative of the franchise than the uninspired hallways of the ps2 games; stages are full of interactive elements like traps, pitfalls, and monsters. The prerequisite "crossing the collapsing bridge into the castle" stage appears for the first time since the SNES, and the Clock Tower stage is the most functional incarnation of the classic Castlevania trope to grace home consoles since the N64. Overall, this game manages to capture the feeling of old school Castlevania better any of the recent console games in the franchise.

Despite all the action game style play, Judgment takes on the structure of a fighting game, and as such introduces many of the typical tropes of the genre. Combat is combo heavy, with lots of special moves and even super attacks. The classic sub weapons, cross, axe, knife, etc, are incorporated quite well, and can be chained into any combo or used alone, provided you have the hearts necessary. The combat is easy to learn, but surprisingly deep for a casual fighter. There's a counter to everything, provided the player has the skill to do it, and the game is overall very well balanced. There are no infinite combos, no chip damage, and no stockpiling super combos. Every character has their own unique play style, and the variety here is very impressive; they all move, jump, dodge, attack in their own ways, moreso than in any fighter I've played this generation.

This is where the game really shines, because it makes playing with each character a new experience. You really have to learn what each character is capable of, their subtle nuances, their strategies, strengths and weaknesses. Some are easy to get into, others a bit tricky, but they all have their pros and cons. They also interact in unique ways, as you'll frequently get special intro and win quotes based on who you're playing as and against. It's a nice touch, and will likely bring a smile to old school fans of the series.

To round out the experience, Judgment also features a Castle mode. Players move from level to level on a map of Castlevania, completing special goals or winning battles under certain conditions. Save rooms are scattered throughout the map to restore your health and serve as starting points when you die. Playing through Castle mode unlocks accessories to equip to your characters. They seem to be purely aesthetic, but collecting them is fun, and their descriptions are often quite funny. Overall Castle mode can be a bit daunting, but provides a good challenge for players that have exhausted the Story mode.

Finally, the soundtrack is great, and is composed mostly of remixes and rearrangements of classic Castlevania tunes. Some of the original compositions, like the title track "Darkness of Fear" are really great as well. As a long time fan of the franchise, the music is one of the things I look forward to most in a new Castlevania game, and Judgment did not dissapoint.

Although largely maligned by critics, Castlevania Judgment is by no means a bad game. As an experimental foray into the action/fighting game genre, it takes a bit to get used to, but ultimately pays off as a satisfying and fun game, whether you're looking for single player action or multiplayer fun. It's basically dirt cheap now, unfortunately, so anyone craving some action on their Wii with an open mind shouldn't hesitate to make a purchase.

For anyone on the fence, IGN's Mark Bozon's review is one of the best I've read. He does a great job of detailing the game's pros and cons, and I recommend it for anyone considering this purchase.

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Since the Wii first came out, I had been waiting for Castlevania to be released. This game takes the 13 most popular characters from the series (Dracula, Alucard, Simon, Carmilla, Cornell,Grant, Maria, Trevor, Eric, Golem, Death, Shanoa, and Sypha) and adds a new character, Aeon, to a fighting game. Some people dislike this game because it is a 3D game and isn't a classic travel through the castle and kill dracula kind of game. Others also say its wrong to mix these characters together. Personaly. I think it's good to have a different type of Castlevania. If you can get over the fact that this a completely new style of gameplay, this an amazing addition to the series. Another cool feature to this game is that you can play with friends. This is a first for the Castlevania series that really does enhance the play.

One more thing to say: the Wii remotes are terrible for this game. They are way to hard to maneuver. I found them impossible to use and went back to using the Gamecube controller. Once I figured out to use the old controller, I really loved the game.

Honest reviews on Castlevania Judgment

First of all you can't compare fighting games from xbox or ps3 to Wii. So, from the perspective of a Wii console owner, this is a great buy if you enjoy fighting games and anime style characters.

Using the wii mote for attacks takes some getting used to, but if you actually do the three tutorials you'll be just fine. I haven't played the game using a classic controller.

The graphics are great (for Wii). Each character is fairly unique to play even though you use the same motions to trigger abilities for all characters. Makes switching around characters easier once you get the basic mechanics down. Each character's special attacks can have different gameplay effects even though they are executed the same on the remote.

My only complaints are sometimes the camera angles briefly get in the way of the action. The AI for some characters seems more difficult than others. And it seems the CPU is able to block super finisher moves rather easily.

That being said, when you pull off a character's super finisher move you'll be smiling that you bought this game!

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I'm a fan of fighting games. From Mortal Kombat (the original) to Street Fighter and Virtual Fighter -I've been playing them for ages. On top of that, I really liked Castlevania. I used to play it when I was a kid (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest was the first I'd played), so there was nostalgia there, as well. Honestly, I really wanted to like this game, but I just can't. Now, if you remember the old Castlevania games, you remember how hard they were and all of the frustration involved in playing those (remember the rib in Simon's Quest?). This game just wasn't at all what I'd have thought, or wanted. I was hesitant, as Castlevania had been an adventure game, but I wanted to see what they'd do with a fighting game.

I found that the controls were clunky and awkward (it takes time getting used to Wii instead of classic console controls, anyhow). Some may pick up on those faster, but in all honesty, even after going through, they're not that responsive. While spending more time with this game would probably have made this easier and more fun to play, it just isn't that fun to learn.

Story line? What story line!? This game has about as much story as the Arcade mode in Soul Caliber (in fact, a bit less). I was very disappointed about that.

This game is difficult. There's no doubt about that, and the challenge is part of the fun. However, when you're struggling with controls and unresponsiveness, it can be a bit much.

It's not all bad, though -you still get that dark and gloomy feel that the old Castlevania games gave. It definitely brought enough atmosphere to make me feel nostalgic, so I will likely keep this game and try to get better with the controls, etc...

The fighting system is new and very against the grain of most fighting games I've played. It's a bit refreshing and has the feeling that they tried to do something very cool.

Overall: This isn't going to be a game for everyone. Absolutely not. It's a niche game, and definitely will appeal more to those who are looking for a bit of the past. If you don't mind getting used to the very off the wall controls and fighting system (and have the time), it's well worth more than the low price it sits at now. For the rest -do yourself a favor and get Soul Caliber or another more popular and mainstream fighting game. Overall, I'm a bit disappointed, as I really wanted to pop this in and say, "Wow! This is great!" Unfortunately, I took it out after an hour, and have played it a couple of times since I've made the purchase.

Review of Percy Jackson - The Lightning Thief

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i bought this game for my nephew for Christmas. He's a big fan of the author Riordan. So with the tie in to his love of the books and video gaming, I got him this one. He says it's not too difficult, but he is whiz at these games (what 12 year old isn't) He's already gone through the game once, but he's going back to collect items. i like that it's entertained him for awhile.

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"It would be better if there were some actual explorations. There's nothing but fighting." So says my 15yo Percy Jackson lover, who also decided on the number of stars.

On the plus side, she does love the game, even though she had expected not to because it was a movie tie-in and these games are notoriously bad.

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don't get suckered in to buying this game. it was again rushed to the market to capitalize on the popularity of the movie. a typical well playing games takes 18 months to 2 years to make it to the market but with a lot of these rush to market games it is just the basic sequences played with some familiar characters. it took my 9 year old about 5 hours to play through the entire game.

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I purchased this for my grandaughter who is eleven. she said it doesn,t show instructions on how to play it. The graphics are cartoon like.

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This was for my nephew. He loved the books, so when he received this, he played with it for hours.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Review

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As promised I'd post an actual review of the game after beating it to a pulp.

Needless to say that this is an amazing game with a gripping story, and defintely a worthy sequal. To say that it has perfect top notch graphics and music that will blow you away. Not to mention its great character development and plot twists.

I won't give away any of the story where as to me (and a lot of other people) this game has some of the best Plot twist in history. All I will say is that the game is divided into two parts. The "Tanker" chapter and the "Plant" chapter. They both link in everyway and you can see if you play through the game.

The characters are a true treat in this game. There are several new characters introduced and they all have their own reasons for being where they are. However the main villian...compared to Liquid Snake isn't the best. Next to Kefka (FFVI) Liquid was probably the best villian of all time. In comparison, the main villian didn't live up to Liquid.

The music is breathtaking done by Harry Gregson-Williams (The Rock and Enemy of the State if you don't know him). The music will really catch you, and that intro music is just awesome!

I'm not much for graphics but I will say that the graphics are so good that when watching the cinema scenes they look like real people! Can't go wrong with that. Also, the voice acting is sheer brilliance. They actually show emotion and they have a change in tone when they're upset or sad.

It'll take you about 10-15 hours to complete the game your first time through but it is worth it. However, movie cinemas make up at least six hours of the game. This may bother some people as they said the first one was short. Sorry to say that the game is NOT short. But that means you actually HAVE TO WATCH THE CGs!!!! Also, watching the CGs is the only way to understand anything thats going on.

The game doesn't really present any BIG challenge. In fact with the new gear and stuff you can do I'd say it makes the game EASIER than the first (is that possible!?). To say the least though the new gear isn't much different from the old gear in MGS.

Lastly the fun factor. The game is very fun if you don't take it too seriously. What I mean by that is don't be ashsmaed to break some of the stealth rules and have fun with the guards every once and awhile. That was the funnest part of the first one.

One final note. In the HARD and EXTREME difficulty setting you can choose to have a game over if you're spotted. Being that you take so much damage I'd probaly suggest that you take that oppertunity on EXTREME.

OVERALL

Graphics: 10

Plot/Story: 10

Music: 10

Gameplay: 9

Fun Factor: 10

Overall score: 9.9

You won't be disappointed

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Metal Gear Solid 2 is an excellent masterpiece made by Hideo Kojima. This game has superb graphics made with the excellent hardware the Playstation2 has. The gameplay is very good. I like the style of gameplay. The third-person view makes the game more realistic than some other some other first-person shooters on Playstation2 like "James Bond: Agent Under Fire" and "Time Crisis 2". The game runs at a nice, crisp 60 frames per second (fps). The game is violent in some ways, because you have to kill people with guns. The game has a very good story, with makes it more realistic, and the superb graphics tie it all together. I think that Hideo Kojima meant to make this game into a mini-movie in a way. There is many excellent FMV's (movies) which look very good. Some times in the game, there is too many movies, and to many Codec (communicator) calls. That gets in the way, and starts to get on your nerves. But it's okay. Some times the Codec calls last like 10 minutes, and that is annoying.

But even though they have minor problems, there should be no hesitation of picking this title of the shelves or off the online cart. If you don't have a Playstation2, get one, or if you have any Xbox,(which you shouldn't) Konami is being a good sport and is producing Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance for Xbox and Playstation2. You must play Metal Gear Solid for PSone to understand the storyline of Metal Gear Solid and Solid Snake. I believe it is available at Amazon.com for ... . Buy both today!

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The most import thing to know about this game is its heavy reliance on story and movie. I find linear plot and strong cinematic scenes to be an enjoyable genre of gaming, but many people won't agree with that and be frustrated by the seemingly endless cut scenes that constantly interrupt game play. I'd say you spend about half of the game in non-interactive scenes, and that's being conservative.

That being said, I'll talk briefly about the plot without any spoilers. The plot is weird, outlandish and never stops twisting. You can't know what's going on, because it changes quite often in ways you couldn't imagine. Along with it are large numbers of references to previous Metal Gear plots, so it's worth playing through Metal Gear Solid 1, or at least being briefed on it, because the Shadow Moses incident comes up time and time again. In fact, you'll notice a lot of subtle allusions to Shadow Moses if you watch for them.

The game play is amazing. It's strange to have an action game where the best strategy is not to get into any fights. Still, since you're an infiltration agent, this style of game play is very realistic. When you're seen by an enemy, their first reaction is going to be to call for backup and jam your radar, likely making you flee for hiding spot until the commotion dies down. Still, crouching, crawling, sliding along walls and hiding under cardboard boxes are a lot of fun. And for the times when there are enemies you can't sneak around, you can always shoot them with a silenced gun and drag their bodies out of sight.

For those who just want action, they'll likely be sated by the various boss fights. Taking out Harrier jets with the rocket launcher or even large forces of soldiers with a sword is action packed.

The environment is incredibly interactive. You can shoot mirrors and glass and watch them break. Shooting pipes can send out jets of steam that can hurt you or guards. Blasting something full of powder, like flour bags or fire extinguishers, releases a substance that can reveal IR beams, but will make you cough. You'll even find adult material that can distract guards if properly placed.

Replay value in such a linear story is somewhat low. Still, upping the difficult level and trying to collect dog tags from the various opponents can give the game some added life. It took me about 13 hours to beat (including story scenes) which makes it a prime candidate for a good weekend rental.

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This really is a great game in many aspects. The graphics, the gameplay, the story line.....all top notch. Easily MGS2 has the best eye candy I have seen for PS2. The visuals are downright stunning at times. The gameplay is vitually the same as MGS (why mess with a perfect system?) The storyline is one of the most original, complex, and well written scripts I have seen on a game.

I only have two problems with this game. First, the animated storyline sometimes drags on too long. There were several instances where I felt I wanted to get on with the game instead of watching a 15 minute (I kid you not) movie. Also, the story line has so many twists and turns you really have to pay attention lest you become lost (an ill timed phone call made me miss a couple minutes of story and left me scratching my head for awhile). Finally, I thought the game itself was too short. I beat it in three days time (this on normal level). I was hoping for a longer game (not as long as say Grand Theft Auto 3 but definitely more than just three days).

Overall, though, and excellent game. It is definitely a must have for PS2 owners. I look forward to the next installment of this great series.

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Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is without question, one of the finest games on the market today. It's predecessor, Metal Gear Solid, though a very good game, was not the fantastic achievement that Konami has worked hard to earn. Players assume the role of Solid Snake initially, but change characters several times during the game. While many people find this to be an annoyance, I found it to be a interesting change in the flow of the game. Graphically, the game is beautiful, one of the best out there, save for Final Fantasy X. And though Konami was meticulous in detail, they did a very good job of keeping the "blood n' guts" level down. The Mature rating is not for the gameplay itself (in my opinion) but for the cinema scenes, placed somewhere between a PG-13 and an R rated movie. Fantastically done, they sometimes make you think you're watching a sequel to "The Sixth Day" or "Minority Report"!

The gameplay is very nicely done. The character is mostly seen from a 3rd person perspective, with some switching to 1st person.

The controls are easy and comfortable, allowing you to move the character in almost any real position! The weapons are very diverse, as well as being based off modern guns and then upgraded to fit the future theme. Though great thought and detail has been put into the weapons, this is NOT a Golden-Eye style game where you walk through the levels blowing away anything with two legs. A strong emphasis has been put on the stealth/spy theme of the game, requiring players to disarm traps, disable sensors and cameras, bug rooms, repair vehicles and evade guards rather than get from point A to point B with as much kills possible. Due to the particulary smart AI, staying hidden is usually a smart idea.

With the difficulty set on hard, it will take most players around 20 hours to complete. As for replay value, two or three times will probably be enough to grasp the entire story, which is one of the most complex and well-thought stories in the Playstation 2's career. Voice-acting is superb, which makes it even more enjoyable second time around.

All-in-all, Metal Gear Solid is a wonderful game and a must-have for any PS2 owner.