Buy Mad Catz Xbox 360 - Officially Licensed Modern Warfare 2 Combat

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After using the Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 XBOX 360 controller (camo color) almost non-stop since Modern Warfare 2 released, I can say that I am happy with it overall. If you're a big fan of Modern Warfare 2, and can see yourself logging a ton of hours into the game, I can recommend the purchase. It comes with a bonus "combat case" that is basically a plastic case for the controller not very useful. It is possible to buy these controllers at Walmart without the combat case, for $5 cheaper (do it). If you already have plenty of 360 controllers, or are not a HUGE fan of the multiplayer, you should probably put your $50 towards another game, like the upcoming Left 4 Dead 2 or Assassins Creed 2. Even though I have a lot of cons below, I think the pros are mighty significant, and enough to give the controller 4 stars.

PROS

+This is the coolest looking controller I have ever seen. I has an awesome digital camo color on the front with a Modern Warfare 2 logo on top, and gray on the back. I dont care for the "snow" color, but I love the camo color. And as another nice touch when the controller is on, the analog sticks have a nice green backlight to them.

+It has "soft feel" plastic all around, so it feels great in your hands. The sides of the controller, where your palms are when you're holding it, have a grippy rubber material. It helps prevent the controller from slipping when your hands are sweating. Modern Warfare 2 is so intense, you will be sweating.

+The overall feel, build quality, materials, and presentation are great.

+There are 2 "combat" buttons on the back of the controller. The left combat button can be programmed to activate the left stick button, B, or A. The right combat button can activate RSB, X, or Y. I have the left combat button set to change my stance, and the right combat button set for reloading. This is an excellent idea, and it is nice to see some third party companies come up with some custom controller ideas for consoles. I hope a lot more custom controllers become available in the coming years.

CONS

-The biggest con: this controller is WIRED! Why on Earth would a controller for this generation of consoles would anyone be manufacturing a wired controller?! I was shocked when I first read about the controller. I am guessing Microsoft had some legal/proprietary issue with it, as the Modern Warfare 2 controller for PS3 is wireless. If the price were lower, I might be ok with this as I dont need to bother with recharging a battery, and the cord is very high quality and nylon-braided.

-The controller will cost $50 at a major retailer like Best Buy or Gamestop. As I stated above, if the controller were wireless I would be able to justify the cost. A wired controller for $40 is tolerable.

-This controller is made by Mad Catz, which has made some crummy third party peripherals before. Who knows if the analog sticks will start to wear out and become less precise, or the triggers wont work properly, or some other problem will arise months from now. The OEM 360 controller from Microsoft is so well constructed and durable. They last for years. Only time will tell how long this Mad Catz product will last, even though it seems to be very high quality.

-The controller feels a bit cramped and awkward with exteneded use. Maybe my hands are so used to the standard 360 and PS3 controllers, that any other design is just foreign to me. I dont mind the ergonomics of the controller, and after almost a week I have become used to the feel of the controller. But, I can see how some people would say the controller doesnt feel right in their hands.

-The triggers are pistol-grip style, meaning they are a little shorter and wider than the standard 360 controller's. I didnt like this at first because I thought my fingers would slip off of the triggers. So far, I havent had that problem. When you are moving your fingers quickly enough between the triggers and bumpers, your fingers might miss the triggers occassionally.

-I really dont like the design of the left and right bumpers. They are a much bigger, and completely flat, compared to the standard 360 controller. They also take a bit more force to "click" them. When I am trying to quickly throw a stun grenade around a corner where an enemy is hiding, or trying to quickly throw a Semtex (sticky) grenade at a guy with a riot shield, I feel like I have to be more deliberate and careful with my button press with my index finger.

-The combat buttons are too small, and tucked to far away into the ergonomic creases on the back of the controller. I dont find myself using the left combat button very often because of this. I do use the right combat button to reload every time. I dont find my thumbs leaving the analog sticks as often because of this, so the combat buttons are still useful, but could be dramatically improved.

Thanks for reading!

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Hmm. I gotta tell you, I really wanted to like this controller. I really, really did. The mapping or the sprint and reload functions to extra buttons on the back is a great idea. Unfortunately, however, MadCatz implementation of this idea is a cheap, flimsy cash-in that you will be ultimately unhappy with.

Let me start with the good points (and there are only a couple), to get them out of the way. The "combat buttons" on the back are just a fantastic idea. They let you choose from some rather limited mapping options for some new buttons intended to be manipulated by your middle fingertips. I don't make much of an issue of the limitations to the mapping because, well, nobody has done it before and almost everyone that I can think of wouly map sprint to the left button (LB) and either reload (X) or switch weapons (Y) to the other. Being able to do all of these things without mucking up what you are doing with the sticks would have been great, but we will get to why it is not.

Second, the material it is made of is phenomenal. It is super comfortable and the raised grips on the sides give the controller a nice tactile feel and are not slippery at all, like the MS controllers tend to get.

Third, they look really cool. The backlighting and camo pattern is really slick.

Now, ON TO THE BAD!!!

First and foremost, the ergonimics are ATROCIOUS!!! It is so diffucult to manipulate the "combat buttons" that any benefit derived from their existance is completely outweighed by their difficulty of use. The L and R shoulder buttons are very difficult to get to. A huge hassle since the MS controller has them essentially resting under your finger and need only a slight roll or your knuckle to work. The wrist angle is all wrong. When you are using this controller you will feel like it wants your wrists to move in ways they should not. It is very uncomfortable once you have to start pressing buttons.

Second, the whole thing feels cheap. The D pad is muddy and has no tactile response at all. The triggers have not near enough travel or spring tension. The L stick button provides no feedback at all when the stick is pressed forward (which is the only time you would use it in this particular game).

Finally, and most unforgivably, it is CORDED!!! This is simply inexcusible. This may be MS telling them they cannot have some proprietary wireless tech or something, but it certainly is lame.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are a serious MW2 player you will look at this controller and want it. The features look really good on paper. Do not forget, however, that the stock controllers for the 360 are excellent. This is a great idea that falls completely flat in execution. Do not buy this thing. You will be disappointed (and your wrists will hurt).

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You can reload and crouch without leaving the joysticks, they were on to something very valuable here. Unfortunately, the controller lacks the ergonomic curvature of the stock controller; it is generally uncomfortable for me and it cramps my hands. The triggers are nice, but they have very loose springs, so it takes some acclimation. The L1/R1 buttons are big and cheap feeling. The joysticks don't have a distinctive click to them, so I'm not impressed with that either. Maybe worth it if you need another controller, but I wouldn't replace the stock one.

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The material that covers this controller is quite nice and I'd like to see it on the standard 360 controller. Other than that, this controller is rather filled with negatives and at best plenty of indifference.

The first problem is the shape of the controller. The contours of the 360 are clearly designed for the human hand. Almost all of those contours are erased from the Mad Catz controller and you instead have what is essentially a very controller that is kind of like attaching handles to a rectangular piece of toast. It also feels much smaller than a regular controller and far lighter. Almost small enough and light enough to be on the verge of feeling not just poorly designed, but cheaply made.

The D-pad doesn't feel right. It feels "mushy". The ABXY buttons feel cheap and clanky. The triggers don't have the right "feel" when you pull them. They kind of have the same tactile "give" of the trigger of a cheap squirt-gun. Worse, they're kind of tiny and thin, which feels odd with your fingers wrapped over them. As if those aren't bad enough, the bumpers are horrendous. They're very large and entirely flat. Not curved around the corners of the controller like the standard controller. I can't see this feeling comfortable after long term use. I don't see why they needed to change the default setup of the triggers and bumpers at all.

The main point of those whole controller is the set of "extra buttons". These are on the back. The biggest problem I have with these? They're TINY. If you hold a controller as I and most people I've surveyed do, you will be pressing these (near the base of the back/inside bend of the controller) with your ring fingers. How tiny are they? They're basically 'reset' buttons. You know, the kind of button you would use the tip of a paperclip on to reset a consumer electronics product to its factory settings. I looked forward to using the extra buttons for quick MW2 knifing or sprinting. These are too inconvenient and small to use with length (for running) or agility (for knifing).

And of course, on top of all of this, it is a wired controller. Regardless of if that's a decision by Mad Catz or enforced by Microsoft it's still inconvenient.

I saw the negative reviews on this. And the more common "meh it's fine, but there's no point in bothering with it" reviews around the web. I really sold myself on the two extra programmable buttons, though. I sure was let down. Probably the most useless purchase I've made through all of December and will never be plugged into the console for use again.

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I've had this controller for a month now, and overall I'd give it 3.5 stars.

Pros -

Looks cool: The camo pattern and the lit thumbsticks fit the MW2 theme well.

Combat buttons: These are an interesting idea, and their usefulness will vary depending on the user. Especially nice if you don't like clicking the sticks to sprint and melee.

Triggers: They are curved to be more like a gun trigger. I prefer the feel of these to the stock MS triggers.

Cons -

Wired: This has pros and cons of its own, but in the end the price is a bit steep for a wired controller. At least the wire is of good quality.

Slippery thumbsticks: The sticks are extremely slick. My hands do not even get very sweaty but I'm constantly wiping off my thumbs to keep them completely dry so they don't slip. I've considered putting a piece of hockey tape on them to add some texture, but haven't tried it yet.

D-Pad: I didn't think it was possible, but this D-Pad is even worse than the MS one. It's sufficient to call in killstreaks and stuff, but very mushy and somewhat inaccurate.

Combat button placement: This is a con only because you can't use the combat buttons very well right out of the box. It takes some practice to adjust your hands in such a way that you can easily reach both of the buttons.

Combat button selector switch: They advertise "on-the-fly" map swapping for the combat buttons, but the switch is poorly designed for that. I don't ever change the mapping but if you plan to -during matches, good luck.

Combat case: If you get one with the combat case, the thing is completely useless. I don't know how they expect you to get the controller in there with the cord, but I could never get it to fit properly. Good for holding index cards though.

One final note that probably won't apply to most users is that if you plan to use this controller with surround headphones, you may run into some incompatibility. I use the Tritton AXPROs(great headset, probably the reason I do so well in MW2) and I had to turn the vibration function off because this controller sent feedback through the microphone every time it vibrated.

In the end, I would recommend this if you are one of those people that really hate pressing the sticks(I don't personally mind it) or if you need another controller and can find this for about $30.

Dark Void Review

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For a concept of Dark Void, take the PC version of the original Gears of War, add in a jet-pack, knock it down to T-rating, remove the multiplayer and set the whole thing in the Bermuda Triangle in the early years of WWII.

Oh, and upgradeable weapons, too.

The centerpiece of Dark void is the aerial combat blended smoothly with Gears-of-War style cover-based combat. This is made possible by the jetpack you acquire about halfway through the first episode in the campaign. The flying is tricky to learn especially when you turn with the mouse. The first tutorial mission was the most frustrating part of the whole game. I felt like Avatar's Jake sully when he first rides an Ikran. In simpler turms, it sucked. invisible walls were everywhere, i got lost, confused and dizzy. But once you master it, this is the best part of the game, because it's very original. Plus, if you tire of your meager machine guns, you can Hijack enemy planes, I mean UFO's.

That's right. Aliens. Sadly, the originality stops short of the plot. Aliens (called Watchers) want to take over the world and have been manipulating humanity by assuming human forms and disguising themselves as world leaders, notably, the Nazis. Yawn.

But, it is an interesting take on WWII and there's references to the ancient aliens theory, which is cool.

The ground combat is just like Gears of War as I've stated before, so if you like that , you'll like this. the most notable difference, however is the vertical cover system. look up at a platform and press "c" for Will (our hero) to jet pack his way to it and grab it. Press "c" to blast to the next ledge, or "space" to clamber on top of your cover, or simply fire upon the enemies in your way. It's a refreshing take on cover that helps this game stand out even more from the other cover based shooters, and allows a platforming element to seep into the mix.

Now there is DlC coming for this. A survival mode, similar to horde should be releasing on Xbox 360 (2/10/10 400MP) and PS3 (2/11/10 $4.99) though no word yet on a PC version yet (as of 2/10/10), believe me, I've asked. A lot. But, until I play it I can't tell you any more abut it.

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I just finished playing Dark Void all the way to the end. For those of you who get window mode, just try the Alt + Enter function for full screen. The game isn't all that bad. I enjoyed the game play, and flying around in a jet pack is extremely fun. I had no problems with just using a keyboard and mouse. However, I had to change the mouse sensitivity when I was flying and when I was on the ground. This wasn't a problem because my mouse includes macros for that, but I could see it being a pain for those without macros available on their mice. The game is also incredibly short. The single player experience is even shorter than Modern Warfare 2. bucks is still a bit much for the game. I'd say its worth about .

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The first ten minutes of playing Dark Void I was frustrated beyond belief with the flying controls. I considered uninstalling the game and calling it quits. Luckily I decided to take a break, come back and readjust the controls a bit more. Once I did, I really started to love the game. Set in 1939, Dark Void allows you take on the role of Will, an airplane pilot hired to transport unknown cargo through the Bermuda Triangle. Of course, they encounter an unidentified flying craft causing them to crash on a strange island. Here begins the story of Dark Void and my thoughts on the game;

Pros

+ Some nice graphics. Character models, aircrafts and buildings all looked great.

+ Villains had a really cool look and feel as did the Survivor resistance fighters in their air goggles and oxygen masks.

+ Excellent voice acting across the board, including Nolan North (Drake from Uncharted and Deadpool from Hulk vs. Wolverine) and Paul Eiding (Colonel Campbell from Metal Gear Solid).

+ Very tight controls over all. Some aerial movement can suffer without patience and practice.

+ Lots of aerial dogfights.

+ Most missions are approachable by play style whether it's ground, aircraft or jetpack.

+ Excellent combination of aerial and ground combat. Unlike some reviewers I didn't find the combat repetitive at all.

+ Mission starts didn't feel forced like an arcade game. For example in this stage you'll only be flying and in this stage you're grounded. I really liked how the developers handled these mission combinations.

+ Vertical combat was extremely well done! The fact that you could go from vertical to horizontal on a ledge in combat was great. I've never played a game that handled this type of game play so well.

+ Ability to hijack and control both enemy and friendly aircraft.

+ Commendable musical score composed by Bear McCreary of Battlestar Galactica fame. While I didn't enjoy his work on Galactica I did enjoy this. The thumping tribal drumbeats and flutes fit very well in action sequences. There were only a few grating parts of the score where he used synthesized electric guitar or bagpipes (one of the things I despised about his Galactica soundtracks).

+ Story was left open for a sequel.

Cons

Aerial controls take some tweaking and getting used to.

Dialogue can be a bit contrived at times. The story is also cliché and filled with a few logic holes.

Annoying checkpoint save system. It was difficult to tell when the game was actually saving or just creating an in game checkpoint. After a few setbacks due to the game not actually saving when I quit I learned to just finish the chapter I was on before exiting the game.

Some graphical glitches where the textures would pop in and out, especially the detailing on the jetpack. The ground textures were also often pixilated and ugly.

Game would stutter from time to time at checkpoints. There was also one really awful instance where the game stopped and slowed to a crawl (during the final "Rescue the Prisoners" hangar boss battle). It happened all 3 times I attempted to pass this portion of the game. There was also another level where the mouse controls required double clicks before actually responding which was very frustrating, especially when trying to use the sniper rifle. However, I'm not actually sure if these issues were in the game or simply my computer.

Waypoint markers during missions would sometimes not update to the next objective.

Jet pack couldn't really hover still. It could only burst thrust up and allow you to strafe in all directions. Let's just say it wasn't exactly like Space Harrier.

Protecting the Ark against the Archons was a bit too difficult. It took me about 10 attempts to accomplish and even then I was barely successful.

Vertical bird's eye view stages of the game can be very disorienting if you suffer from motion sickness or are afraid of heights.

Journals (detailing other's experiences in the Void) and a few weapon upgrade points are simply not enough of a reason to explore every area of the game.

Weapon upgrade globes dropped by enemies disappear shortly after opponents are destroyed. Too often you're pinned down or in a heavy fire fight and are unable to retrieve them.

Weapon/jetpack upgrades are too costly.

Two weapon carrying limit was realistic but disappointing in an action shooter like this one.

Hijacking enemy ships took too long to accomplish to be extremely useful.

Enemy transport ships were destroyed way too easily. I realize this isn't Star Trek but why wouldn't large transport cruisers have shields? Many of the smaller enemy ships did.

Too short! I finished the game over a weekend. Just when it started to get really great (weapon upgrades etc.) it was over.

Despite all of my cons listed above I really enjoyed the game and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the genre. Sure it was over way too soon and the story was cliché but it was an extremely fun ride while it lasted. It wasn't worth the full price they charged at release due to its length. If you can get for less than $15 then it's well worth the play through. Hopefully Capcom will come out with a lengthier sequel in the future as the story was clearly left open.

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Dark Void is a game made by some of the same people who made Crimson Skies High Road to Revenge and it shows. The flying segments of the game work pretty much exactly like the planes in CS: HRTR which is a good thing. It is easy to control after a few minutes geting accustom to what buttons do what. (I used an xbox 360 controller while playing. I'm not sure how tough it would be with a mouse and keyboard). The shooting aspect of the game is alot like gears of war, you can take cover, hop over cover and jump from cover all with the press of a button. You can also jump up vertically and down off ledges just as easy. It is done very well and I never struggled with the controls. The graphics in Dark Void are good and use the Unreal engine but there are many times where the game is trying to stream information for the level or save a checkpoint which can lead to some horrible slowdown. Its not gamebreaking but I would have rather the developer use a cutscene or something to mask this because it is really noticeable. The art design is done well and you with see areas that are similar to areas in games like uncharted or tomb raider while others have a futuristic look. The character and enemy design is also done well and all though its nothing amazing, overall they look good. The enemies are a bit repetitive but the devs mix up the things you do well enough to overcome this. Dark Voids main problem is that it seems like the developer ran out of time or money to finish the game. I think it needed at least another chapter with 3-4 more areas to tell the story and add a build up to the end of the game. Even the end of the game comes to an abrupt halt just when you think its going to get really good. I think they figured they would fininsh the story in part 2 unfourtunatly I dont think Capcom is going to make another game. Its a shame because Dark Void is a good game that could have been a great series. I enjoyed Dark Void but have to knock a few points of for the framerate issues and the unfinished story. I give it a 7.5 out of 10.

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This game gone a TON of flak as soon as it was realeased, and I do not think that's fair to the game. So, allow me to adress the critics remarks one at a time:

1:Bad Controlls

Now, yes the controlls are a bit hard to get used, it is not a game you can just pick up 'n' play. If you are just a casual gamer looking for something easy to play for a little bit, I do not reccomend this game. However, After about 30 minutes (hour tops) you will have the controlls sown pretty good. After a while the controlls just feel right and you can really see where the programmers were coming from.(For Keybored Controlls I have no clue, I use 360 controller, I highly reccomend)

2:Bad Graphics

Partly true, not the best but I think they work for the games style. (Just don't look real close)

3:Repetitive

I strongly disagree. The game blends Flight Combat, ground combat and Car Jacking? Plus The vertical combat I think is really cool, Infact I really wished there was more in it. (However, I do not suffer from motion sickness, It my cause headache, blurred/imparred vision, or nausia, in the weak among you)

4:Short

Yah, the it is about 10-12 hour game. Not Real long, but I have played games shorter. Plus it gives you incentive to go back and play again, and I know that I will be happy to go back and play it a second and maybe even third time.

5:Bad Music

To that complaint I simply say quit whining. People who complain about the music in the game are just TRYING to find negative things, just to not the game. The music, served it's purpose. It set the tone for the level. It gave you a hint of unknown, of fear, of excitment, pain, victory, grief, anger, you get the idea.

So overall I say don't listen to the review that are negative and say it is a worthless game, that is a matter of opinion. I am just telling you the facts of the game. It is not for everybody, but I know some will enjoy it, I did!

Reviews of Coffin Case Stick & Mic Case

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Great design. Well built. Holds the following: Up to 4 pairs of Drumsticks, Microphone, Game Disc, with some spare room left over. Great for travel. I'm a youth pastor, and transport RB2 back and forth to our youth meetings. This is a great way to keep everything in one place while the kids are playing Rock Band. I'd also recommend the guitar cases from MadCatz.

NOTE: This case is not designed to hold a guitar! I'd recommend the Guitar Coffin Case if you're looking to protect your guitar controller. This is just for the sticks, mic, and accessories.

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Much better in person! I love the skull & crossbones printed on the outside. This is probably large enough to use as a stick bag for a real drum kit. It is just a bit smaller because of the tapered shape at the bottom.

The zipper pockets are a little small, but the Rock Band and Guitar Hero mics will fit in them. However, the case won't zip closed if I put them both in. This isn't a big deal as I can probably hang it off of the tabs at the top of the kits, but thought I'd mention it.

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Looking for a safe way to transport my high quality Rode NT1A Vocal Condenser Microphone I took a small risk and purchased this case from Amazon. (I was extremely lucky because it was on sale for $8 when I ordered it!) It has done a great job keeping my mic safe. I also keep a very long cable for my mic as well as my Icicle XLR to USB Mic Converter/Mic Preamp so this thing has been great! Nice red padding and durable zipper as shown in the image.

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this stick case is awesome!

absolutely beautiful! the skull design on the outside is excellent. the "coffin case" tag on the outside is actually a cool lil metal plate! the fabric on the inside is even brighter in person which i love!

i had seen a case similar to this one on another web site for like $30! i was so glad when i found this one for $11 :-) I use it exclusively for drum sticks.

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A great way to keep our cats away from the microphone cord/drumsticks when we're home. Makes it easy to "take the band on the road" too. The only negative I see is that the inside corners of the picket flaps are both semi-permanently bent due to the design of the case, but it's really, really not a big deal. I know what they were thinking with the strings, but I don't think they're needed/work I'll probably cut them off once I confirm that they're as useless as I think they are. Anyways, fun item!

Cheap Virtua Tennis 2009 - Xbox 360

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I love tennis, yet I have never owned a tennis video game before, so I took a look at the two "known" games on the market: Virtua Tennis 2009 and Top Spin 3. I won't go into a review of Top Spin 3, but I will say the differences are HUGE! First off, VIRTUA's graphics are PS2, at best. This really surprised me for being an XBox 360 game. The characters are very repetitive in their appearances, sticking with the same base model and changing only slightly. As for the "pros", forget it. They look nothing like the real pros (Top Spin does). The gameplay is unrealistic. Unforced errors are pretty much non-existent, so hit away. You can only get points off of aces and outright winners. The Career Mode is really poor in the fact that it takes a really, really, really long time to get through the various stages. For instance, you start out in the Amateur ranks at #100 and you must play many matches to advance. Typically, you will only advance one or two spots per tournament, depending upon whether you also play doubles or not. At no time can you move-up and challenge a high-ranking player. You have to stick with the players in your ranking bracket and move up from there. This process takes a very long time and the opponents offer you absolutely no competition once you get the hang of things. Once you reach the Top 10 of the Amateurs, you can then enter the Pro Tour. So, what's in the Pro Tour? More of the same, except you start at #150 and have to climb from there. Again, the competition is sad and boring. Thus, playing through Career Mode is completely boring. What's worse (or good) is that you do not play 5 set matches. In fact, you don't even play 3 set matches. Instead, you play 3 "game" matches. Although this does speed you up through the ranks faster than if you had to play alllllll of thooooooose matches while trying to win best-of-three set matches. All in all, just a really dull game. Now, if you're just trying to have some good old fashioned fun, then have at it. There are a variety of "side games" to play as well as simply entering the Tournament Mode and using one of the unlocked Pros. If you want realism in your tennis, then choose Top Spin 3 (However, be prepared for absolute realism. The game is technically difficult as all 2k games are.)

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Virtua Tennis 3 is so much better then this. Someone stepped in and tried to make the game too real. In all actually they stripped the excitement out of the game. Where are the hard slams? The epic dives? I play the multiplayer with my co-workers religiously and this game is by far the biggest let down we've had all year. Avoid this game and stick with the previous version.

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This year's version plays better and more fun than Virtua Tennis 3. The new developer seems to have responded to some of the criticisms of the previous game and fixed some issues but I'd still consider Top Spin 3 a benchmark for the tennis games so far. VT 2009 is a bit more realistic overall than VT3 with those silly dives taken out and the positioning of the players relative to the ball greatly effect the quality of the shots like in real tennis. The general crowd atmosphere is a nice touch with the tension building up in the audience during long rallies. The individual player animations are a lot better than the prev edition but still not totally accurate(the forehand topspin swing of nadal for example). There are other significant shortcomings regardless of the improvements to the game. First of all for simplicity's sake I guess, there are only only two types of main shots offered, slice and topspin. What happened to the flat shots that almost all of the tennis players use today? This is like trying to simulate a racing game but all the cars have a 4 cyclinder engine. Having those three basic shots modeled accurately in the game would increase the depth and variety greatly. Right now the game feels like you only hit the ball and run like crazy and that gets boring after a while. And there is no real life like passing or drop shots whatsoever! You can't really spice up your game like in a real tennis match. I understand the developer's instincts in trying to keep everything to a bare minimum in a game to appeal to everybody but that is still not an excuse to serve a half baked tennis game. The overall presentation of the game is so so with a forgettable music and sound effects. The graphics are good but not great and a lot of the top ten players are still missing in the roster. The online play is fun but a bit laggy especially in doubles. This is basically still the same virtua tennis game from the dreamcast days with only a fresh coat of paint on it. We've been there, done that. We want something more!! Hopefully with the next year's edition, and the remaining issues adressed, we'll finally get a complete virtua tennis game. Keep your fingers crossed!

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Not as good as the older one that was on dreamcast but still great for the price and for playing 2 on 2..

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MY SON AND ME LOVE IT, IS VERY FUNNY, AND THE PRICE IS GOOD, I RECOMENDED, GREAT GAME, GREAT SERVICE

Persona 4 Golden - PlayStation Vita Reviews

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This game deserves no less than a 5-star review. Every single aspect of it was perfect 4 years ago, and now, WOW, there are no words. You HAVE to play this game with your headphones on, so that you can truly appreciate the music, the audio, and the voice acting, which are all TOP-notch. It's a game that you want to pace yourself while playing too, so that you can get the most enjoyment out of it. There is so much to do, after all, so playing for just an hour or two every day after school or after work can be very satisfying. The story is rich and engrossing, and you'll probably find yourself thinking about it even while you're not playing. And the gameplay is fantastic as well, of course, but can be quite challenging. I recommend you select Normal difficulty if you're a newcomer, and that you grind a lot, buy a lot of useful items to increase your HP and SP at any time, and keep your equipment up to date too. Oh, and SAVE. Keep multiple save-files because there are other ways that you can get a Game Over in this game besides being defeated in battle.

Overall, this a MUST-OWN for any self-respecting Vita owner. It's almost worth getting a Vita over, even if it's been out on the PS2 since forever. Don't hesitate and buy yourself a copy of this game ASAP, either physically or through the PS Store for the same price but at an added toll of 3.5 GB or so to your memory. Either way it's totally worth it. So BUY, BUY, BUY!!!

And encourage others to do the same of course! This game is life-changing stuff folks!!! LIFE-CHANGING!!!!!

P.S.: I almost forgot! Bring your philosophizing cap you guys! This game has a serious ability to make you think, consider, and look at things from a totally different perspective than what you might be used to. If you pay attention, you will certainly be rewarded with a fresh and new outlook on life... Don't believe me? Play it then, and see for yourself! :)

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I played the PS2 version of Persona 4 last year and still I eagerly found myself downloading this title on launch day. Why? Because it's that good. So good I couldn't wait to jump back in and solve a mystery with my friends in Inaba.

And here it is. It's back, and better than ever. We all know the graphics are much more crisp, but what actually took me by surprise is how much additional polish they put into the game. Menus are rife with color and I love watching the opening cinematic everytime I turn on the game. It's like a bag of Skittles exploded, yet somehow all of the colors blend well together. And the soundtrack is spectacular, and yes, there are some new tunes in this updated version.

One of my favorite new features of the game is the updated Shuffle Time post-battle. Instead of randomly choosing cards, you're given chances to score multiple prizes and go for a Sweep which will give you further bonuses on your next Shuffle Time. It's ridiculously addicting.

The skill cards are also a great addition that make it much easier to customize your favorite Persona to your liking. Want a Jack Frost with Bufu, Garu, Zio, and Agi? Farm the cards and knock yourself out! I recommend giving them to the all new NPC, Marie, however. That way you can get the skills whenever you want for a monetary fee.

My only knock on the game is Chie's new voice actress. I understand they couldn't get the original back, and while the new VA does a great job, it's hard for me to shake the feeling that something is off. This is probably because her old voice is still fresh in my memory from recently playing the PS2 copy. Teddie's VA is also new, but I think he comes really close to the voice of the original, and it was much easier to adjust to him. Of course, if this is your first time playing, you don't have to worry about this paragraph at all. They do a great job, it's just different from the original!

Overall, I think everyone with an interest in JRPGs and turn-based combat should play this game. It's a unique adventure with amazing personalities, and you'll have an unforgettable good time!

Best Deals for Persona 4 Golden - PlayStation Vita

Short and simple review. For people who enjoyed Persona 3 and persona 4 you will enjoy this ! Persona golden is a RPG game and a remastered version of persona 4 which was release for the ps2 a few years back. Persona golden features many new things which wasn't avaliable in the ps2 version such as an extra character , personas and social links. The persona games takes a crap load of time to complete and has alot of replay value even after finishing it. Overall for people who enjoyed the persona games it is HIGHLY recommended that you pick up this copy ASAP !! and for those who are new to the game or the RPG genre give it a go and I know you wont regret it as there is soooo much to do in this amazing game.

Honest reviews on Persona 4 Golden - PlayStation Vita

This review is from the perspective of someone who has played the PS2 version of Persona 4, P3FES, and P3P.

Of the 4 games that I consider the modern SMT school RPG's, Persona 4 Golden is hands down, the most polished experience. In fact it is the best Shin Megami Tensai RPG... actually it is the best RPG on the VITA.

Wait, no that's not quite right. P4G is actually the game of the year.

Story: the basic storyline is the same as the first iteration of the game. You are involved in a circle of high school friends gathered together to try to solve a murder mystery in a small town. While not the most innovative, the plot in P4G is far removed from normal fantasy/sci-fi quests in typical JRPG or Western RPG games. However, the plot twists and discoveries made throughout the game about the central mystery greatly extend the intrigue and will have you pushing forward just to find out what happens next.

Characters: Perhaps the most important aspect of RPG's is the characters. Persona 4 Golden maintains the excellent cast from the first game and extends it by introducing Marie, a new character reminiscent of Elizabeth from Persona 3. Marie is sarcastic, poetic, and feisty. She's awesome. For those new to Persona 4, the characters really bolster the story and make the game not just about leveling up to become more powerful in battles, but also about developing relationships and really interacting with the entire cast.

Gameplay: The excellent gameplay in Persona 4 (which I consider much superior to Persona 3 FES) returns. In addition, you get multiplayer !!! (that's right) elements introduced with the SOS function. This is kind of reminiscent of Dark Souls or Demon Souls, where the multiplayer element is not required to finish the central story of the game, but adds depth to the gameplay. In general, Persona 4 Golden is a turn based game based around mastering elemental attacks, conditions, combinations (including paired attacks when using certain characters), and smart usage of items.

Video/Audio: The graphics are simply stunning. On the VITA's OLED screen, the amount on which P4G improves upon any other SMT game is absolutely awesome. Now all we need is a true 1080p+ home console SMT game (Persona 5 on the next gen consoles, please?) Audio wise, the excellent score and very good English voice casting returns. I'm going to have to chime in like others and say one thing about Chie's voice actress -she really could have used a bit more restraint.

Replay value: A lot.

So why is this the game of the year? Persona 4 Golden will provide you between 60-70 hours of gripping storytelling, engaging gameplay, and fascinating discovery. You will be glued to the beautiful OLED screen of the Vita passing long hours without realizing it. You will miss classes, call in sick to work, ignore you girlfriend, and forget to eat. You will love this game and realize just how shamelessly inadequate the polish of nearly every other JRPG released on current gen consoles and handhelds has been.

If you do not have this game, and have a VITA... Why? Click the cart link on this page and if you have Prime, pay the $3.99 for 1 day shipping. You will simply not regret this decision.

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I've imported this game and it works without any problem here in Europe. What is left to say about Persona? About one year ago i bought "Persona 3 Portable" for the PSP just because of pure curiosity... a mixture of RPG and "The Sims"? What?!?! But when i started playing it, it hit me like a thunder: this is such a great, deep and emotional game, it is hard to believe if you do not play it for yourself. I still can remember every NPC, i can remember things they said and things the have done. The characters in Persona may be heroes on the battleground, but during the rest of the day they are normal people with normal problems. This is so special about Persona: you really do CARE about the characters. After i finished P3P i knew that this was maybe one of the best games i ever played. Now back to Persona 4: It is like Persona 3 but with improved graphics, more features, a new story and new characters. Simply said: i love it like i loved P3P! I really can recommend this game to everyone out there, give it a try! It is worth your time and maybe one of the best games for the Vita.

Best Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 Deals

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I recently got my hands on this game, and have enjoyed it very much. The animation is well done, as is the voice-casting (which is a frequent problem in video games). Also, the Dragon World story mode is much more fun (if not a bit repetitive each time through) than Dragon Ball Z: Budokai I's.

The game has a good variety of characters, and has all of the main characters. I had hoped such villains' as Garlic Jr. would find themselves in it, but that did not happen. The gameplay is very good, the fighting is fun. The game isnt at all easy, but its not impossible. That is part of what makes this game fun. Also, this game provides an excellent selection of moves, powerups and more.

What can get a bit frustrating is trying to unlock certain special functions (fusions, breakthroughs and some ultimate attacks), which require you to go through the story mode one full time, for a chance to get what you are looking for. Since the story mode is fun, this isnt a big deal.

The World Tournament mode is fun and requires a different mindset for fighting. If you're knocked out of the ring, you lose, so you have to avoid edge and maybe even try and knock your opponent out, and get a quick victory. The prize money for coming in first or second can be used to purchase new techniques in the skill shop. The game also includes duel mode (a one on one battle with any character) and training mode (to hone your skills against an immobile, mobile, attacking, defending, or any sort of opponent you like). Training mode is very helpful for committing moves to memory, especially more complex moves like Goku's Ultimate Spirit Bomb attack.

The game has about 29 characters, including Goku, Gohan, Trunks, Vegeta, Piccolo, Goten, Videl, Yamcha, Frieza, Cell, Buu and many more.

If you like unique fighting games, then you will like this one. If you like Dragonball Z, then you will like this one. This game comes highly recommended, and I hope a third one is not far in the making, with a much expanded cast.

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First of all I would like to point out that the game will NOT be 3-D. It will be cel-shaded because that seems to be what everyone is doing now. But one amazing thing this game will have is a fusion capsule. It will enable you to fuse any two characters in the game!! The game will contain 34 characters in all including the ones from the first Budokai. I'm pretty sure this one will have Majin Buu, Kid Buu, Super Buu, Videl, Dabura,and for some reason Dr. Gero although it would have made more sense for them to put him in the first one. And don't delete your data from Budokai from your memory card because all of your skills will be transferrable to Budokai 2. One thing they decided to change is the Story Mode. Sadly there will not be a Story Mode to Budokai 2. It will be something called Dragon World. You and your party of 3 more people will go around the world and search for Dragonballs but if you meet up with a villain who wants the Dragonball you must fight him. You can let the COM fight him or you can fight him yourself... And you will actually get a reward for finishing the Legend of Hercule. I was never informed on what the reward is though. Nor do I know what you will be doing in the Legend of Hercule mode this time either. But I can tell you from searching for it on the net that your character will move more swift, the blast will be bigger and cause more damage, and the new battle places like Capsule Corp or Orange High School (Where Gohan goes to school), will be MUCH more destructible if you happen to be knocked through a wall..... Or 5 or 6....... If you'd seen the clip that they had up at dragonballz.com then you know what I mean. But no doubt Budokai 2 will be something worth waiting for. Pre-order yours from amazon.com now!!

Best Deals for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2

This Game Will be better than the first the new characters will be supreme kai videl adult gohan dabura super buu kid buu majin buu goten young trunks and android 20 . You know when your opponent shoots an ultimate move at you and you just needed one more puch to defeat him? well now you can shoot back his death beam or whatever just by pressing a button faster than your opponent!!sadly i don't think they made it so you can fly without getting hit though And that's not the worst part they got rid of story mode!!!!! but they did add a few new modes like survival mode and training in babidi's ship and last but not least Dragon mode dragon mode is you and 3 other characters go searching for the dragonballs against the computer when you and your opponent are on the same square you have to fight him or let the comp do it for you the loser has to stay in the square for 1 turn in short it's a dragonballz board game that's all i can remember about the game now for pics of the game go2 gamespot atari and dbz.com

Cya!

Honest reviews on Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2

After waiting countless months, people can finally get their hands on this sequel to DragonBall Z: Budokai. Does it live up to all of the hype surrounding it? Well, that depends on what you're looking for in this title. The graphics have been beautifully enhanced with a new cel-shaded look that fits this title appropriately. The fighting has also been improved to a degree with the character fusions in which two characters can fuse together to make stronger characters to fight with (Gotenks, Vegito, and others that weren't even in the show). This alone adds much more variety to the building of characters. The character customization has been slightly improved as well, with and easier shop system so that you won't have as much trouble finding all of the skills that you want. There have been many new skills added to the mix like Super Saiyan Level 3 and new characters like the three different forms of Majin Buu, which will surely appeal to all of the fans of the show. With all of the good things I've said, this game also has a few glaring flaws. My first gripe is that other than the fusions and new abilities, the fight system itself is still very average and may seem to be too simple to people who are just looking for a serious fighter and couldn't care less about DBZ. Others may also not appreciate the fact that the story mode that was done so well in the first game has been replaced with a new mode called Dragon World. It puts the characters on small maps in which they move like chess pieces to find the dragonballs and fight whomever they run into, until they reach the next stage. While this mode is still fun, it is not nearly as appealing as the story mode that was introduced in the first game. Overall, I still felt that this game was a decent follow up to the origional that should definately appeal to any true fan of DBZ.

P.S. Upload your data from the first Budokai to receive a set number of capsules at the beginning of the game!

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I know a person who works for a Atari and so i decided to interview him about the game, This is how the fusion system works. If you watch the videos of you will see you have to push some buttons, You dont have to push all of them to get a fusion, EXAMPLE: Lets say i push Square, Circle, Triangle and Right i might get Gokule (Goku+Hercule=Gokule) or if i push something different i might get Vegetto (Goku+Vegeta=Vegetto). Sadly story mode is removed... But we got Dragon Mode this is how dragon mode works, Lets say i pick Vegeta and i have to fight Raditz (Either for a dragonball or elimination) Before i fight Raditz, on the map below Raditz's face it will show a circle that means i have to beat him once. Now if i fight Kid Buu then i might have to beat him 6 or 7 times. The controls are the same, so know need to flip through the instructions! GOOD LUCK GUYS BECAUSE THIS GAME IS A LOT HARDER NOW!!!!

Buy NBA Live 07 - Xbox

Customer Ratings:

My sister bought this game for me five six years ago. It's 2013 and i still play this game because i still love this game. I will never get tired of playing this game because thats how much i love it. Anybody that doesn't think this game is a good game is bugging yo because this is one of the coolest nba live games ever. You know that any game that has tmac on the front cover of it must be a great game. Buy this game you will like it just as much as i do.

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good service on time mailing plays good work well well well well well well well well well well well well

Best Deals for NBA Live 07 - Xbox

It was not forxbox 360 It would not play. Grandson upset because he couldn't. Play game.I will Deirdre this game.

Honest reviews on NBA Live 07 - Xbox

I Ordered NCAA 07 XBox 360, Not Plain Old Xbox!? This Game is Incompatible With XBox 360 !!? I Want My Money Back !!!

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I have every one of the last 4 series. Slight improvements. Would recommend if want this, but the NBA rosters changes so much, I'm getting tired of buying one every year. They should have updates or patches so we don't need to buy a brand new game every year.

Reviews of Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Lightning Rod

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List Price: $9.99
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My son loves Skylanders. This one is mine. I found it some what blasphemous yet funny at the same time. Some of the things he says like, "I am going to smite thee" and "One strike and you are out". All in all he is fun to play. He is slow, so I trained him up in that area. Different hats help that as well. If I am moving, I put a speed hat on, If I am in an area I put on a damage only hat. He comes level 5 with 2100 points.

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My son went nuts over this. He has wanted Lightning Rod for ever and it was never in the store. Thank you for the great price and for making my son one happy camper.

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My 7 year old grandson is collecting the skylanders and was very enthralled with it. Nice collection for this age.

Honest reviews on Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Lightning Rod

Can't find anywhere in our area so very excited an got for a good price cheaper than store an son loves it

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product pkg done correctly arrived very quick item was sealed as stated grandson thrilled with purchase venders description was right on and will purchase from him again

Reviews of Tomba!

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First, I have to say that I love this game. My little brother (he is 7, I'm 21) discovered the game on a demo disk that came with our Playstation. As soon as we got it we both had to start a game. The game is simplistic enough that he could play on his own but challenging enough that I never lost interest in the game. The individual "events" that you have to clear can sometimes be a little difficult to figure out, but usually the supporting characters that you "talk" to in the game give you enough hints to work out the solution.

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I play a lot of games, and it seems like since I've played Tomba, nothing compares to it. It's an extreme strategy game that takes some brains to figure out. It's an absolutely incredible game, and now that it's so hard to find, it really stinks. My cd's keep wearing out from playing so much and I have to buy the game over and over again at $20 a pop cause it's so rare. Play Tomba! and love it!

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Ive like tomba for about three years. I have beaten every event (hardest one being gold metal) I must of played this game about 6 time but i never owned it i just rented it from a videostore. Now its getting rarer i wanna own it!But it is hard and Challenging i sometimes had to go online and get the cheats. I own tomba 2. Thats a great game also.

Honest reviews on Tomba!

I bought this game for my younger, 10 year old brother. The graphics were very simplistic and colorfull, obviously designed for children. However, after watching him play for a few days, I decided to begin my own game. And what I discovered was one of the most adictive, and difficult games I have ever played. It seems like a simple, childish game at first; however it progresses into much more. Like a 2-D zelda game, it gives the player the ability to explore a multitude of worlds. Yet it is far more challenging than any zelda game that i have ever played. It gives the player that great feeling of discovery, be it of a new level or weapon, that continues throught the gameplay. I am disapointed that I am only the first review of this game. Please, buy this game. It is truely one of the unknown gems of the gaming world.

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what do you get when you get the best aspects of RPGs, Platformers, and adventure games? you get Tomba, an open ended masterpiece. its filled with dozens of unique areas to explore and creatures to deal with. Packed with 130 quests, you'll be busy for hours, and they arent all necessary to finish the main game, many side quests and activities to keep you busy long after finishing the main story line.

Basically you play a wild cave-boy with pink hair, and you're trying to stop the evil pigs and their plot. yeah. pretty random = ].. theres tons of lore and backstory behind the world you explore, but in many cases you need to discover that for yourself, by talking to various friendly characters in towns and other areas you learn about them and pick up a quest or two along the way, this is where the open ended adventure comes in, the entire game world is streamlined and fully explorable, with only a short load time between certain areas, and more areas become available are you finish the quests. you can upgrade your health multiple times throughout the game, and you find new abilities and weapons very frequently.

as crisp, detailed, and colorful as a 32-bit platformer could be, Tomba looks and plays great for its time, its pure fun. this is the Mario of the 32-bit era. and thats saying a lot. a classic in the strongest sense of the word. its a shame how much you have to pay for a copy of this fantastic game anymore, but its worth every penny. 5/5

Gears of War 2 - Xbox 360 Review

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To start off, I played the first Gears for the campaign/co-op campaign. And I purchased this game for the same reason, so if you're looking to know more about multiplayer gameplay, check out another review. That said, this game plays very well, very much like a thrill ride for the most part. Story can use a lot more refining and better integration. This gets a 5-star in its own right. But Halo 3 and BioShock are still better games overall than GoW 2.

GAMEPLAY: A+

This game still plays like the first Gears, except with a wider array of weapons and features (ie, chainsaw battles, different modes of executing a downed enemy). This is a third person shooter, for those who have not played the first one. And also, expect a lot of blood and violence, so if you are parents considering this game for your children, this serves as fair warning.

The campaign takes longer to beat this time around (10-20h I think). The graphics are very beautiful and realistic, and a lot more 'vibrant'. The first Gears was in general a very dark and gloomy game. You see a lot more color in this one. Co-op campaign gameplay continues to be addictive and I think a strength in this game. It is still as immersive an experience for all players involved as the first Gears was.

Further, the creators definitely outdid themselves in design of the levels. You should expect to be pleasantly surprised with every single level that comes up. While you can clearly expect to see yourself running around in the streets battling waves after waves of Locust, you will also see another order of magnitude of fighting, with sometimes even as many as 80-100 Locust rushing through your field of view. To emphasize the creativity of the creators, there was also, at various points later in the game (spoiler warning), a section where you had to traverse a pitch-black tunnel to safely escort a vehicle across, and even a level where your squad somehow ends up inside one of the Locust beasts and had to fight your way out...

Overall, this game has been quite an experience. It deserves an A+ and Game of the Year awards.

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STORY: B

Given that this game promised to have more leads on the storyline of the series than the first one, it does a better job. A lot of the early story is centered around Dom and him trying to find his wife, amidst all the fighting. The voice acting is compelling for the most part, and you can tell a lot more easily that it's a dark time for humanity on this fictional planet. In the first Gears, playing through the story was mostly humorous because of the way all the guys were joking around in between fight scenes and the light talk that went on. In this Gears, those dialogues are still present, but with a lot more of a sense of urgency mixed in here and there. And cutscenes are well made. The script is definitely that of a cheesy scifi as some of my buddies like to call it.

Finally, instead of COG tags for collection, we have bits and pieces of 'collectibles' like newspaper clippings, ads, so on and so forth that in some cases contribute to the backstory a little bit, kind of like the way those terminals worked in Halo 3. All of these, when found, are put in some scrapbook that's accessible from the Main Menu, and arranged in a more or less logical order.

The reason the story only gets a B+: if you think about games like BioShock and Mass Effect and the Halo series with their very immersive storylines, GoW 2 is still not quite there. But it is closer to that state now than it was previously.

I won't reveal any more in this part, but definitely expect a lot more of a plot that serves as a backdrop to all the fighting that's going on. Epic Games did a good job of piquing your interest and making you want to learn more.

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CHARACTERS: B

The characters come across a lot more human in this one. I have mentioned that the mood in this game comes across with a lot more of a sense of urgency to beat the Locust. As you play the game, you begin to feel more and more of a connection with each of the characters and in some cases, almost have to just stop playing when certain characters die... Let's leave it at that.

All that said, the game needs a better scriptwriter if it is to convey a stronger storyline.

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REPLAYABILITY: A

With the first game, I recall beating it my first time around with a friend on Hardcore, and then on Insane, and then going around and helping each of my roommates and a good number of friends beat the game on both difficulty settings. The same will probably hold for this game. I think it's a thrilling enough of a ride that I wouldn't mind going over it over and over and over...

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To sum up, this game is definitely worth the $60.

PROS: This is all about gameplay and the feel of the game. Even on top of all the additional features and improvements, it is still undoubtedly Gears of War. The controls remain very intuitive and easy to learn. It's easily one of the best 3rd person shooters out there, in my opinion.

CONS: I think storyline could have been a lot deeper. I guess they are saving this for Gears of War 3. Violence may be a little too much for the unprepared. Right now, this is all I can think of.

FINAL VERDICT: A. This is a very well-made game. I have the tendency to buy games and sell them back when I'm done. But I think GoW 2 will probably be a mainstay in my library, just as GoW was. For that, plus all the +'s I have mentioned, I think this game deserves an awesome grade. Can I hear Game of the Year?

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There's an unfortunate trend in action games nowadays: dividing content in a game so that it favors either fans of single-player gaming or multiplayer gaming (more so towards the latter in many high-profile franchises), but rarely letting fans of both feel like they're getting the most out of the whole experience. Often, the multiplayer experience is useless to those who are offline, or is just not that enjoyable for those who don't have the time or lack of interruptions to go through a series of matches without being seen as a quitter or bad team-mate. The good news is that Gears of War 2 is not one of those games; in fact, each of the 3 core experiences (Campaign, Multiplayer, and Horde Mode) can be enjoyed to some extent either alone or with other players. Sure, a botmatch will never really have the same level of excitement as an online match against real people, but it still beats not being able to get any enjoyment out of the multiplayer part of the game.

For those who aren't familiar with the Gears of War franchise, the first Gears of War was a different take on the kind of testosterone-laced, big-budget action gaming genre dominated by the likes of Halo, Call of Duty, and other such shooters. Coming out in 2006, it was in effect the big unveiling of Epic Games' Unreal 3 engine. As opposed to most other shooters, Gears of War eliminated the ability to jump, and instead placed an emphasis on taking cover and third-person gunplay. You followed a group of ridiculously steroid-enhanced, armor-clad soldiers on a planet where humanity is beseiged by a mutated army (the Locust) rising up from the underground as they try to locate a high-tech bomb over the course of a couple of days, and deploy it against the Locust forces. While Gears of War wasn't the first game to use the cover and shoot mechanic (see Killswitch or 007: Everything or Nothing), it did popularize it greatly, and attached glossy production values to the gameplay. The problem was that the game felt more like a tech demo at times, and didn't have the scope of say, the original Halo: Combat Evolved. The game felt somewhat abbreviated, and attempts to provide variety, such as a lone nighttime vehicular section, or avoiding darkened areas where light-sensitive flying swarms attack, felt somewhat undercooked.

Gears of War 2's campaign, on the other hand, feels like a game first, and tech showcase second. Taking a page from the Call of Duty franchise, GOW 2 moves the player through what seems to be a constantly changing series of events, while still keeping the core gameplay concepts intact. To this player, the shifts away from the 3rd person, cover-based firefights are much more smoothly integrated into the game, whether they involve riding shotgun on a huge, mobile drill as it advances through mountainous terrain, driving a tank across an ice-covered lake, or flying a monstrous creature in a surprisingly entertaining rail-shooter segment. Whether fighting it out through delapidated city streets, exploring a snow-covered village, advancing through enormous underground citadels, or attempting to make it out of a creepy, weed-overgrown, Resident Evil-inspired abandoned facility in the middle of a metallic hailstorm, the situations you're placed seem to neither last too short a time, nor overstay their welcome. In fact, only the very ending battle is a letdown, in that it is too easily won. While the somewhat clunky speed you move at takes some getting used to, the game is otherwise smoothly executed, with one notable improvement being the ability to grab still-living enemies and use them as shields. As before, the campaign can be played co-operatively, although this time co-op is more smoothly executed. While the game is as linear as it gets, there's nothing wrong with that here. It's an over-the-top, ridiculous thrill ride, that's not meant to wax poetic on the nature of humanity (although there's one surprisingly effective scene that I won't spoil which stands out from the rest of the overly macho gruntfest that characterizes the story).

A new addition to the franchise is Horde mode, which lets either a lone player (in Training Ground mode) or a team of players try to survive as long as possible against an onslaught of enemies, while racking up points. In many ways, this is like a modern, 3D take on Smash TV, but with more organic settings. The mode was influential enough for Bungie to take notice, and add a similar "Firefight" mode to Halo Reach and Halo 3: ODST. The multiplayer modes, which can be played offline with bots by a single player within the Training Grounds menu, are team-oriented, and include modes such as King of the Hill and Submission (aka "Meatflag").

If there's a negative about the game, it's that it popularized the use of "Day 1" downloadable content; in other words, content that was taken out of the game (in this case, 5 multiplayer/horde maps), and has to be downloaded using a 1-time use code linked to your gamertag. Ostensibly, this is to create an incentive to buy the game new, which is understandable. However, as we've seen, this idea has snowballed out of control once other developers started abusing it. (This overreliance on digital distribution also afflicted the Game of the Year edition, which, unlike the Fallout 3 GOTY edition, doesn't contain the additional content on a disc, but rather requires downloading the new content (around 19 extra maps, also available as the downloadable All Fronts package) using a code.)

That being said, Gears of War 2 epitomizes what a linear game sequel should strive for: provide a fuller, longer campaign, add new gameplay mechanics, refine what works, add new modes, and make all aspects of the game worthwhile and playable for both solo and multiplayer oriented gamers. Sure, it might be laughably gory, and far too "manly" for its own good, but it's a damn good time, and you'll get your money's worth.

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The prototypical third-person cover shooter, "Gears of War 2" is a solid rush of now-standard gameplay conventions and action movie dialogue. It has its charms, and is a pretty solid game, but isn't without its problems.

GoW2 operates under the same basic principles as the first game: you play as a bulky space marine, using cover-shooter mechanics to carve through waves of enemy monsters. Most shooting is either done "blind" (shooting from behind cover) or popping out and shooting. Like in the first game, there are a few things that separate it from other cover shooters. The first of these is the "active reload" system, where timing your reload properly allows you to do it faster or even improve the damage of your next magazine. The second is melee combat, most famously the "chainsaw bayonets" mounted on the standard assault rifle. However, for the most part GoW2's combat is formulaic, like the first.

There are a few new weapons to spice things up, though. These include a gatling gun (that must be mounted on cover and cranked to fire) and a mortar launcher (good at distances, but less so at close range). The action is intense and fast-paced, but the main issue is that even with varying weapons, you're still basically doing the same cover routine over and over and over. There are a few sequences to break up the monotony, but they don't disguise the fact that the main game is kind of simplistic.

Multiplayer is one of the game's strongest points. There are basically three kinds: cooperative, competitive, and horde mode. Cooperative refers to the ability to play through the campaign with multiple players. It's simplistic, but fun. Competitive refers to the standard set of multiplayer modes deathmatch, capture-the-flag, etc. Horde mode is an expansion of cooperative mode that allows up to five players to try to survive against waves of enemies. It's probably the most interesting mode, and allows for the most strategic options (figuring out where to hole up, setting traps and killzones, etc).

The game's production values are good. It's visually exciting, if a bit repetitive. The guns sound neat, and there's certainly nothing more ominous than the revving of the aforementioned chainsaw-bayonets. Gears of War 2 is most fun as a multiplayer game it's the kind of game where you can get some friends together and play all afternoon. As mentioned, it gets kind of repetitive, but the multiplayer experience is enough to overcome that.

Rating: 8/10.

We purchased this game with our own funds from a game store.

Honest reviews on Gears of War 2 - Xbox 360

Gears of War 2 Circa 2008

GOOD:

Intuitive cover system, the cover systems (called Stop-n-Pop) works well and is easy to pick up it also makes for a fun realistic gameplay experience.

Great Co-op Gameplay allows two players to go through the entire game from start to end.

Multiplayer Hoard mode allows up to five players to fight up to 50 waves of enemies on the multiplayer-maps using team work.

Intense multiplayer versus action with plenty of different modes to choose from.

Gorgeous graphics which look even better then the first title, and the animation looks better too.

BAD:

The plot is trite and too over the top at times, as well as being confusing.

Vehicle and turret shooting sections are not very fun and can be tedious.

IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:

A Sci-Fi First third Person Shooter (Camera behind the player) with quick pacing (Although slower gameplay then lets say Halo 3) that has an emphasis on shooting from behind cover and big explosions.

Cover Play's a big role in this game much like it did in the last, similar to that of Mass Effect and

A Team orientated game especially in the multiplayer sections like Hoard mode

This game is not meant for children or the immature; this game is gory/bloody/violent and has many foul words, although you can turn off some of these features.

Co-op, online versus and Hoard mode will keep you playing this game long after you beaten it.

GAME IT'S MOST ASSOCATED TOO:

Gears of War (Xbox 360/PC)

Halo 3 (Xbox 360)

Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360/PS3)

Dead Space (Xbox 360/PS3)

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ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Some limited collector's editions of this game (that can be found on Amazon) will give you a real to life replica of the Lancer Assault Rifle for home use.

In the limited collector's edition you can get a download for a Golden Lancer Assault Rifle for use in multiplayer only.

Downloading the `All Fonts' (A.K.A. Dark Corners) collection package from Xbox Live Marketplace gives you a ton of new multiplayer maps (which can also be used in Hoard mode as well) and a cut single player/co-op story chapter called `Road to Ruin', which can be played either stealth or "guns blazing".

By beating the original Gears of War on Hardcore mode you can unlock characters (like Kim and Carmine) for use in multiplayer for Gears of War 2.

By beating the game on hardcore mode you can unlock even more characters for use in multiplayer as well as a new difficulty `Insane'.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Gears of War 2 - Xbox 360

When I played the first Gears of War I was a little in awe because of how different it was, how great it looked and how well it played. Gears of War 2 is still different than other games, still looks great and still plays well. However, I noticed that there was one thing missing: fun. I just wasn't having any fun playing this game. All the things that wowed me in the first game were still there, but they didn't make the game fun. I'm sure for many people this will be an awesome game and they will love every minute of it, but for me it was pretty to look at, but not something I will re-visit multiple times.

Discount Xbox 360 Official NFL Cincinatti Bengals Controller Faceplate

Customer Ratings:

I LOVE MY BENGALS & HAVE A BENGALS FACEPLATE FOR MY XBOX BUT NOW I HAVE 2 FACEPLATES FOR BOTH OF MY CONTROLLERS. I WISH THEY WOULD HAVE A BOSTON BRUINS FACEPLATE CONTROLLER, LET ME KNOW IF YOU EVER GET ONE. THANKS FOR A GREAT WAY TO SHOW TEAM PRIDE & A GOOD DEAL, MARK.

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Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo Reviews

Customer Ratings:

This game starts out as very fun, but the more you play the harder the levels become, and I mean TOO hard. I played this game with my boyfriend and we are both very good gameplayers in our 20's, and even we were having the worst time beating the levels near the end of the game. There are a lot of tricky parts near the harder levels that I had to play around 7-10 times over again, sometimes more, in order to complete. This game became more frustrating than fun after a while, because you had to move so precisely it became almost impossible to move on to the next part.

Another really frustrating part of the game was that as you moved Gromit through the levels, when you get to a hard part where you need to adjust the camera angle in order to complete the task sucessfully all of a sudden the camera angle moves, and it became really hard to adjust back. This would happen EVERY TIME you needed to do a tricky task.

And another note, the game does look very beautiful in the beginning, inside this tropical green pretty looking place, but the next few levels have very ugly scenery, one is a rusty mine, and the ugly scenery does not improve the enjoyment of the game.

My best advice would be that if you want an accurate review of the game, make sure the reviewer has played through more than 1/2 of the game. The game is VERY decieving through the beginning.

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Any fan of Wallace and Gromit will love this game. The game starts with a long intro to set up any non-fan with the important characters, and introduce the player to the off-kilter storyline Wallace and Gromit are famous for. Feathers McGraw takes over the West-Wallaby Zoo and all it's animals. Your job, as Gromit, is to assist Wallace in freeing the animals and especially Wallace's adopted polar bear (part of an adopt-a-bear program). The game-play is very fun, fluid and fully of silly gadgets. I enjoyed it fully and think most who play it would agree. peace.

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I like Wallace and Grommit. I don't like Wallace and Grommit the game so much. The graphics are decent and the sound is ok overall with some fluctuations. This isn't really an adult game which is surprising because it gets very hard at times...way too hard for kids. Kids don't play this game with an adult, because you will hear alot of cussing. Now for the biggest problem the camera angles....yeahhhh! The camera has a mind of its own sometimes....a big detraction from the gameplay.

Honest reviews on Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo

I knew NOTHING about video games, I bought this game for my son, I'm divorced, and his father has an xbox 360, we both thought the games worked for all xbox systems, but they do not, and so now this game is useless to us, so just a warning, don't buy this game unless you have the right xbox system

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I am an accomplished gamer. I've been playing for about 15 years now and have worked my way up through the ranks. I purchased W&G: Project Zoo because I frankly am not interested in the violent and offensive games anymore. I am happy to report that I thought this game was awesome. The three things I would say that it lacks is that some of the audio is a bit off, the graphics can be a bit lame, and I became a bit frustrated at times with the camera action. Aside from these minor grievances, the game was incredibly fun, engaging, addicting, and well planned. I really expected a "kid" game to be not well thought out and developed. This began to remind me of Mario 64 with it's intricate levels. I am very impressed. The cons I mentioned didn't get in the way enough to hurt my overall impression.

Scooby-Doo: Mystery Mayhem Reviews

Customer Ratings:

My son is 4 years old and I had bought him the first Scooby Doo game (Night of 100 Frights) thinking that it would be great to start him off. That game is, frankly, way too hard for kids his age (some of the levels were nearly impossible for me to get past). I wasn't sure when I bought this one, if I was just going to be subjecting us to more frustrationbut he saw the commercials and desperately wanted it.

My first impressions are that it is MUCH easier to navigateas there are actually some hints as you go along helping you accomplish tasks to move forward. In this game, Scooby and Shaggy travel around togetherand you can switch between whether you want Scooby leading the way or Shaggy. And, this time around, the goal isn't to eat all the Scooby Snacks along the way you have to find clues and accomplish tasks to move through each location. There are helpful little animated scenes that play at certain pointsand if you walk away from the game for more than a few minutes, Shaggy droops over and starts snoring loudly. It's cute.

We are still just beginning to learn how to play this gameand are not hardcore gamers by any stretchso I can't give technical features of the game. I would say the graphics are goodpretty true to the cartoon, and the music is not terribly thrilling, but definitely in keeping with creeping along in spooky places.

I would reccomend Mystery Mayhem for game players in the 4-10 age range or so.

Hope this helps!

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Okay, put in the disc; watch the re-vamped 3-D classic Scooby intro while your kids dance around. Now turn your x-box back off -nothing good will come of actually *playing* this game.

Really. If your kids are good enough gamers to successfully play this game, they're going to find it repetitive, confusing, and stupid. If they're too young or unskilled to successfully navigate a mine cart through about ten successive rounds of 'turn left!', 'turn right!', 'jump that boulder you can't actually see!', 'ooh, you missed -start over again at the beginning!' you're either going to find yourself playing the blasted thing for them or hiding it when they're not looking. As a not-so-hot-gamer, it took me about an hour to get through the aforementioned mine cart level -I vote for hiding the game.

Which is really my biggest complaint: this game is just too hard for young kids. Had they included an actual 'easy' level your average five year old was capable of finishing, it wouldn't be so awful. As it is, with the lack of save points, even fewer save slots (why!?), and scooby-snacks (necessary for restoring health) that don't regenerate, you're going to find yourself playing certain pointless and frustrating sections of the game over, and over, and OVER again, until you finally get it perfect.

And as I can vouch, my 10, 8, and 5 year old Scooby-Doo lovin' gamers handed me the controls over and over again. (Did I mention the importance of hiding the game *well*?) And by the time I finished whatever stupid thing they were stuck on, *none* of us cared anymore. Total target market failure, imho.

But what about the plot, you wonder? While you *can* collect clues and take them to Velma (good luck on finding all of them, btw) your characters are so busy being pushed on fetch quests, monster hunts, or mini-games that the mysteries serve only to begin and end each level. Controls? Mushy. Sound and picture are the only things I can even *begin* to recommend.

Sadly, this is yet another francise game that *could* have been fun -the concept is okay. Too bad they couldn't actually build a game worth playing.

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This was the first Xbox game I got. I was 6-ish when I got it. This game is amazing and sooo much fun! You can play as Scooby or Shaggy and switch when ever you want. The only part I could never pass was at the very end of the game. I STRONGLY reccomend this game to anyone looking for a game for their kids 4-10. Heck I'm 14 and i still love to play this game. It is easy enough for younger children to play but is still challenging enough to keep the older generation entertain for hours on end. The graphics are amazing considering how old the game is, and the characters look very true to the cartoon. In all I highly recomend this game to any one who loves the cartoons.