Showing posts with label xbox one console. Show all posts
Showing posts with label xbox one console. Show all posts

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Buy SAW - Xbox 360

SAW - Xbox 360
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $28.65
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when i bought this game..i gritted my teeth at the counter when i purchased it, i was actually feeling a little embarrased that i was buying a game based on a movie..which we all know 95% are terrible..BUT...i was surprised to find out..it is one of the better games made from a movie..there are plenty of flaws yes...the combat ..the lighting..(hard to see at times)..repetitive puzzles..BUT..i couldnt stop playing, it was fun..addictive..i wanted to see what happened next..the other reviews explained this game rather well..ill cut it short and say, if you like saw movies and if you like survival horror, silent hill type games,you will enjoy it..the ending was cool..passing grade from what i expected..

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Let me start off by saying that I am only about an hour into the game, but have so far been pleasantly surprised!The controls are very good and the puzzles are interesting (if not a little bit simple at times, mind you I started on the easiest level...there are only two). What surprised me the most was the fact that the game is not simply puzzled based but rather includes a bit of platforming and combat.As far as the games relationship to the movies, it has the same gritty feel and sense of urgency (when it comes to the traps and devices) that the films have. So far I am loving it!

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The Saw franchise and I have a long history dating back to before the first Saw film was released. I had seen the trailers for it on Bloody-Disgusting and thought it looked awesome, so opening night I was in line, 16 years old, for the movie that redefined torture movies for many.

Now Saw is far from original, of course. If you look at the big picture, the story was already done many years before (and done better) with David Fincher's dark, gritty, and amazing film, Se7en. But Saw was welcomed into the world with open arms and for what it was, it was good. In fact, I walked out of the theater almost blown away by what I had just seen.

Come six years and five (almost six) sequels later, the Saw series is now looked upon as a joke by many. For instance, in an episode of Two And A Half Men there is a sequence with one of the characters dreaming of the future out front of a movie theater and there is a poster for Saw 27. Hilarious. But the films have been getting gradually gorier and gorier, so the fact that a game was made and ultimately released was really no surprise.

What was a surprise, however, is that it's actually a DECENT game.

Now of course this game has it's huge flaws. The biggest one would have to be the combat. It's absolutely terrible. The buttons are unresponsive and for controlling an ex police officer, you would think that he'd be better at using a firearm. Heavy weapons are pretty much useless to even attempt, because by the time you swing you're already half dead from attacks from your enemy. If they needed to improve on at least one aspect of the game, it's this one.

The second bad part would have to be the irritation that the game will induce. The puzzles are often on a timer, but the solutions are often very, very difficult and nearly impossible at times to do in the time limit, which will cause many deaths and many retries and only mount the frustration the player feels at the game. There have been several times that I have shut the console off due to irritation, and it makes it really hard to really want to keep playing the game when you can't get anywhere.

The voice acting is also pretty bad, minus of course Tobin Bell as Jigsaw. None of the other actors returned to reprise their roles, and it shows. It's not a pretty voice soundtrack at all.

The graphics aren't terrible, but they're not wonderful either, but they are passable. I rather enjoy them.

Now with all the bad, there is some good. The story is captivating and regardless of the irritation that the puzzles offer, it still makes you want to keep going just to see what happens next. It's worth it in the long run if you're a fan of the films as I am, but if you're not, it's not worth your time.

Honest reviews on SAW - Xbox 360

While I eagerly awaited the Saw video game with baited breath, whats come out, while decent, is neither enthralling nor original.

The graphics are alright, though considering Konami had three years of Silent Hill under their belt, they'd have been able to make the game scarier. While I was expecting mostly startle scares, even those are few and far between. Some parts of the building are good and well polished, but after you see the same medical cabinet four hundred times, you wonder why it took so long to pop out this puppy.

Audio is also rather sad. While some environmental effects were well done, the voices were not the original characters, and they couldn't find decent replacements, with the exception of Jigsaw. The tapes are delivered in the familiar gritty monotone. NPC voices are a bit better, and the enemies who want to avoid you even more so, they're not enough to make up for the main cast.

Gameplay is extremely hit and miss. The game helps you out periodically by making it rather easy to avoid combat, either through initiating traps of your own, or bolting enemies into locked areas. Both rather slick, but delivered too blatantly. You get forty lockpicks and health packs, but can only carry three of each. While its nice that they don't make you comb earlier portions of levels for hours looking for the lone missing nail you need, it doesn't sit well that you can only swing three. The puzzles are rinse and reuse, basic tracer games and a few gear boxes, but nothing you haven't seen before. The few unique puzzles thus far are strange and overly simplistic. There are too many deus ex machina moments as well. After getting grabbed by pighead 3 times, you'd think you'd be ready the fourth and fifth time.

Combat is also a real let down. Given the plethora of weapons and health items, you'd think that this game would really put you through your paces, but enemies are made of spun crystal. This is countered by you apparently having polio, or bags of sand tied to your hands. Your attack speed is pathetic, and its almost easier to fight hand to hand than risk picking up a weapon.

Overall, if you like the movies, you'll like the atmosphere and the spin this game tries to evoke. Why they handed off some of the most crucial elements to the interns I'll never understand though. Between Silent Hill and a handful of other gritty horror games they had to choose from, they decided to try modeling it after RE 4/5, which was an awful setup the first time it was tried.

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The game is really detailed. Great scene design and really makes you feel like your playing one of the movies. It's like a really long haunted house.

The only real difference in setting between the game and the movies are 2 things:

1) You are in an insane asylum with multiple people after you.

2) There is not the typical "start as a group to escape and only 1 or 2 survive" there is no group it is just you.

The biggest problem with this game can be found in:

1) The traps and such are great, but the deaths are not very realistic or graphically committed and compare to the 1990's Doom.

2) There seems to be a delay in response time when you press a button; the first 5 times you run into an enemy and try to shut and lock a door you will be surprised when the enemy magically floats through after you no matter how hard or fast you mash the X button.

3) The above same mentioned delay can be felt in combat mode, when you try to use a weapon (and there are weapons all over) to fight an attacker, it is like you are underwater while the enemy is hopped up on crack and mountain dew. It's better to use your fists than a weapon as you most certainly will have your ass handed to you unless their back is turned.

*Overall it's a great game and I'm happy I gave it a chance.

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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Discount Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's - PlayStation 2

Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's - PlayStation 2
Customer Ratings: 3.5 stars
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $4.96
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The Guitar Hero series has quickly become the premiere rhythm based gaming franchise, and with Activision now publishing the series, prepare for a yearly blitz of Guitar Hero games. Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's, compiles thirty songs from said decade. Many bands and group from the era; ranging from hair metal smashes like Poison and Ratt to legendary metal pioneers Iron Maiden and Anthrax, are featured here, along with songs from Asia, Twisted Sister, the Dead Kennedys, and Skid Row to boot. While many of the songs are incredibly fun to play, Guitar Hero Encore suffers from the fact that there isn't anything here that you haven't seen before. Combine this with the fact that the game is selling for the full list price and only features thirty songs with basically nothing else new, and you get one disappointing overall package. There's no unlockable tracks either, and some of the featured songs (like cuts from White Lion and Faster Pussycat) could have been done without. All in all, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's isn't bad one bit and offers a decent amount of fun for veteran players of the series, but the game is a disappointing quick cash-in attempt that doesn't offer enough bang for your buck to warrant the price tag.

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As a big Guitar Hero fan (I own the previous two installments) I was very excited that Red Octane was making an 80s version for us children of the 80s. Oddly enough, I didn't hear about it until literally the week before while doing some random research; it appeared as though Red Octane was barely advertising this and I think that was mistake no. 1.

Rock the 80s has a diverse track list that many a child of the 80s can enjoy. I personally enjoyed I Ran(So Far Away) by A Flock of Seagulls and Radar Love and my buddies got a kick out of Turning Japanese. However, that is where the fun ends. I bought it three hours ago and already I earned everything. As an encore I'm not surprised that Red Octane changed very little of the gameplay from Guitar Hero II but it seems as though they left out all the good stuff.

You can only purchase one additional character (Grim Reaper) so the other bonus characters are gone. This is sad as several of my buddies played exclusively as certain bonus characters. They also took out the bonus track section severely limiting songs. Red Octane barely edited the loading screen advice leaving most of the advice from Guitar Hero II on there.

On a few plus sides, I'm glad they kept co-op mode and many of the bonus guitars. I also wish they would've chosen better songs from certain groups (I think We're Not Gonna Take It would've been a better choice by Twisted Sister) but this is a criticism I have of the other Guitar Hero games.

Overall, I'm glad I waited in line to purchase Rock the 80s as I loved playing songs from my childhood but this could've been done a lot better with better bonus materials and less Guitar Hero II look-a-like but I should have expected as much when I saw "encore" under the title. An 85% overall with massive room for improvement.

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Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80s as a sequel to GH and GHII doesn't really measure up. It's still a fun game, mostly for people who grew up in the 80s like myself, but overall it really adds nothing new to the series. While GHII evolved the game quite a bit adding new multiplayer options and updating the hammer-on and pull-off functionality to make it more usable GH80s does nothing other than add a few new tunes to the mix. Barring a few tweaks the graphics are mostly the same throughout and the engine also remains the same. Apparently there are no plans to put this version of the game onto the XBOX 360.

Overall the songs are a lot easier to play through all difficulties with the exception of certain ones like Seventeen and Play With Me. For those who had a hard time progressing past the Medium difficulty this might be the right version of GH for you to break into Hard or even Expert. The songs themselves sound pretty decent overall and there are no glaringly bad vocal covers.

Songs by the original artists are:

"I Ran (So Far Away)" A Flock of Seagulls

"Because, It's Midnite" Limozeen

"The Warrior" Scandal

"I Wanna Rock" Twisted Sister

"Electric Eye" Judas Priest

This will be the last GH game from Harmonix as they move on to do Rock Band. GHIII will be developed by Neversoft Entertainment.

Honest reviews on Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's - PlayStation 2

If this game cost me $25, it would be the greatest game ever. I would love it for hours, I would master every single song on it, and I would be very, very happy.

It costs $50.

There are only 30 songs, no bonuses, no quirks, no unlockables to speak of. It's Guitar Hero 2 bonus tracks with a palette swap.

That being said, I really love the songs. I am a huge fan of 80s music, especially the ever present metal.

If they ever plan on doing something like this again, they need to do three things.

First off, they need to either reduce the price or put in more effort. $50 is a lot for a game, and if I pay it, I expect an actual game, not just an expansion pack.

Second, they need to do playtesting on it a lot more. No, I don't just mean put in more effort, I mean... it skips, it jumps, it's awful. Many songs are unplayable because of the skips.

Third, they need to do more than just make songs more difficult. This version is *much* harder than Guitar Hero 2, and to a certain extent, as someone who plays exclusively on expert, that's a good thing, but even though I would kill for an Yngwie Malmsteen track on one of them, I have to confess, enough is enough. If you play on expert, expect endless triple chords and transitions from the first song. If you play on easier difficulties, expect it to be so easy that you will scream.

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The price of the game $40-50 is too high for only 30 songs. But had those 30 songs been real gems of the 80's I could have forgiven the price and reveled in my teen years.

However, despite a couple of good 80's songs, the most loved of all the 80's bands were completely ignored and left out! I understand they have to pay for rights to these songs, but with as many copies as they sell and as high as they are charging, they owe us some decent 80's music. This is not a tribute to the 80's, it's a desperate attempt to throw us some cheap music for high profits.

I was a teen in the 80's and listened to rock for 18 hours per day. I've never heard of many of the songs on the tracks. I've never heard of some of the bands on the list!

Where are Bryan Adams, Pat Benetar, Prince, ZZ-top, Van Halen, Run DMC, Wham, Duran Duran, Springsteen, Def Leppard, Dire Straits, Guns N' Roses, and 90 others I could list that top most of the artists on this edition.

A huge disappointment. I would pay 50 per month for a new version if they had decent music on it.

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Saturday, January 24, 2015

Best Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Xbox 360 Deals

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Xbox 360
Customer Ratings: 4.5 stars
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $16.94
Today's Bonus: 15% Off
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First off, I loved the feel of Assassin's Creed, but hated the game play. Assassin's Creed 2 completely sucked me in and made me absolutely love the game. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood brought a big smile to my face that completely satisfied every impulse, knee jerk reaction to what I wanted from the second one.

It starts with a combination of two events. 1) Right after you defeat the Borgia pope you return to your Villa. This, of course, is where you are lead to your training sequences for the new maneuvers of the game (which incidentally is much easier to use. instead of going to your Villa to train you can simply hit Start and choose training). 2) You are taking part of the 2012 world of Desmond and your exploration of the Italy of that time, with its typical 21st century erosion on the old world. Both are fantastic. I couldn't help but love returning to the world of Ezio and exploring around. Even more so was the absolutely huge world of Rome, noticed straight away as you pan around to the distances. This is an absolutely different and way more majestic world than the world of Assassin's Creed 2. You know that although you will not travel to as many cities you will certainly explore more just by the huge size of Rome.

The graphics are amazing, touched up and refined from the last one. The controls are almost identical, allowing you to jump in to the game with ease. The added addition of the Brotherhood adds a lot despite the tendency to overuse your assassins and leave yourself vulnerable, when you would certainly want to use them. Regardless, the overall game play has improved, despite the fighting mechanisms still feeling a bit droll and not to unique.

Finally, after trying for awhile with little success I was able to get in and log on to the multiplayer server. This seems like a problem straight away because it shouldn't take 5-10 minutes to log in to a server, and then the next time you log in a matter of seconds. I found that after I waited for 5 minutes I had to cancel out and go back in in order to play. The play itself is a joy. You play anywhere from 6-10 people mixed in amidst a ton of "civilians" for about 10 minutes, stalking and hunting your prey or just straight up chasing them. This multiplayer has a much different feel than the typical slugfest and bullet ridden multiplayers of other games, simply because you literally have to get up close and personal before you can make your kill.

The campaign play is long and worth it, definitely not feeling like an add on and more so like a real stand alone game with its own merits. The multiplayer is well worth it as well, although not sure if the replay ability will get old or die down, something of which only time will tell. Add the two together and you have an absolute winner in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. A definite recommend.

5 stars.

Update: A direct comparison would show the following. AC2 has considerably more collectibles than ACB, but ACB's collectibles are much easier to find since maps are made available for any and all of them. That being said, there are a lot more side quests/missions that you can go on in ACB. When all is said and done I spent about 32 hours in AC2 and it took about 24 hours for ACB, athough there are still a lot of side quests to be completed (and clusters) and so it will take a bit more time. With game complete and all feathers, flags and treasures found, I am only at 51% sync, which shows that there are a good amount of hours left to be played. That being said I still haven't found all the feathers in AC2, and thus could still spend a lot more time there, so it is a wash. AC2 had 5 cities, plus a visit to the Vatican at the very end. ACB has just one large city, although you visit several other places on your missions.

I found that there was only one aspect that I wish were done differently which would have made the game that much better. You visit several villas when completing the quests to destroy DaVinci's war machines, as well as Firenze (sp?) and Viana Castle. It would have been so simple to make these places that you could visit and explore after you completed your mission. Viana Castle and its surrounding countryside, for example, would have been fantastic to explore and just run around. Instead you only visit it briefly and you are running and fighting the whole time you don't get to see it. Additionally, you don't get to climb up or explore around San Pietro. You see it always in the distance, then at the end you get to go up to its gates and then nothing. There is the Lair of Romulus that puts you in San Pietro but you are chasing a Cardinal at such a frantic pace you barely get to notice the huge and majestic building that would have been absolutely fantastic to just stop and hop from ledge to ledge. A simple touch to allow us to explore it after the game is compelte would have made this game that much better.

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Like many people, I enjoyed the first Assassin's Creed for what it was but felt that it was lackluster in it's mission variety and repetitive in nature. Assassin's Creed was leaps and bounds ahead of the original, and the good news is that Brotherhood is a continuation of that winning formula. Coming out a year after the previous game might make this seem like a glorified expansion at first glance, but Brotherhood is anything but that.

The story shifts back and forth between Ezio, returning home to find that war has broken out and his arch nemesis does some nasty things that warrants Ezio's motive for revenge and overthrowing him, and to Desmond in 2012 as he and the rogue scientists attempt to unravel the past in order to escape the murderous templars in the present. The plot is not overly engrossing, however it's the characters that bring everything to life and Brotherhood really excels in this area. Ezio is a compelling character a always, and the game is filled with a rich cast of colorful characters that are both new to the series and returning from the previous game. The difference in this game is that you are not supposed to run through the story on your own; you are expected to recruit assassin's to assist you througout the game and they are yours to summon whenever needed. Sadly, the AI is not spot-on and sometimes they are not as useful as you would hope, but they do come in handy when you are getting slaughtered in battle. A character in and of itself, the city of Rome is vibrant and bustling with interesting and sometimes amusing people. Beggars line the streets, prostitutes beckon you to hire them and groups of vigilantes gather in the public squares, all adding to a sense of realism that made the previous game so endearing. The bulk of the game is spent in Rome, which may feel like a step back from Assassin's Creed II, where you would travel between cities, but Rome is so vast and populous that you'll easily overlook this. The story missions are well paced and full of intense action, and the platforming segments in the shrines are fantastic as well.

The gameplay is largely unchanged from Assassin's Creed II and the free-running mechanic works as well here as it did before, so anyone familiar with the game can dive right in. Rome is a huge city with plenty of rooftops, so it's sometimes fun to just run around and take in all the sights. In addition to the story missions, there are various things you can do around town to earn money. Like Assassin's Creed II, there is an economy system here in which you purchase shops and they add to your treasury balance, which is essential for upgrading your weapons and armour. A new addition that's a nice touch are the areas of the city that are under the tyrannical rule of Borgia and his armies, and you can liberate these areas by destroying their towers and killing the captains. This adds some of the most intense and exhilarating moments in the game, since these tasks ramp up in difficulty fast. Graphically, this game is a sight to behold and it is easily on par with Assassin's Creed II. The character animation, cutscene quality and design of the city are all well done and, despite some noticeable pop-in, it provides a wonderful sense of immersion.

Like all video games, Brotherhood is not perfect and it does have it's share of flaws. The free-running mechanic is tight and responsive for the most part, but it is not always accurate. There have been several occasions where I meant to jump in one direction and I ended up going the other way, sometimes falling to my death or losing valuable seconds in some of the time-based objectives. This even happens when you are clearly facing a place where you can jump. Additionally, there is some glitchiness with your AI controlled assassins and even some of the friends you need to interact with. For example, they would get stuck in walls, stand there doing nothing or simply teleport to another area. It's not a huge problem, but it does pose some annoyances when you really need things to run smoothly. Thrown in to add a level of challenge, you can now achieve full synchronization by completing missions a certain way. For example, if you complete a mission in under a certain number of minutes, avoid losing health, or killing someone in a particular manner, you will achieve full synchronization and this will add up to achievement points/trophies. Unfortunately, some of the sequences are lengthy and it's disheartening to know that you've failed this so early into the missions. This does add some frustration, but it's hardly a deal-breaker and some might actually view this as a strength.

The last thing I'll touch upon is the multiplayer, which is something very interesting and unique. You are thrown into a large area with other players, given a person to assassinate, and likewise someone is after you. The objective is to kill your target before you get killed, and the style in which you do it will determine how well you do. For example, if you run up and knife someone in the back, you've achieved your objective and move on. But if you do it with style and stealth, you earn more points. This is a refreshing change from all of these online shooters that mainly focus on kill streaks, so being a hardcore online player doesn't ensure that you'll do well here. It's definitely something different. On the other hand, the pace will definitely feel slower to those who prefer the breakneck pace of online shooters, so this is an acquired taste. If you don't like multiplayer, you don't lose out because the single player campaign is 20+ hours long and there is plenty to keep you busy.

The speed at which this game was released certainly attracted some sceptics, however I am happy to say that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is every bit as fun, challenging and beautifully done as the previous game. Those expecting an entirely new game with a new plot and cast of characters might be disappointed, but anyone who loved Assassin's Creed II is really missing the boat if they don't pick this up as well. Highly recommended.

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The story line is awesome. But the biggest improvement in this AC is that there's always something to do. You can wander off and find other things to do besides the main storyline. You'll come upon all kinds of side quests and towers. I love how well designed everything is. One giant city with non-stop activity. Catching pickpockets and couriers is way less frustrating. Combat is way more balanced. More challenges more content. And they scaled back the whole collect the flags/feathers/etc stuff to just 111 items total.

And the huge set piece puzzles are amazing too. In ACII I loved the church where you had to get all the way to the top because it was epic. It seems like there are pieces like that everywhere. So if you enjoyed just trying to figure out how to climb the different things there are so many different things in this game that it puts the first two to shame. And what a real shame is is how this game came out so late in the year and might not win game of the year.

I'd say I like it as much as Red Dead Redemption in story telling arc. And it blows most other games away with it's action combat and graphics.

I'm thinking possibly game of the year.

Honest reviews on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Xbox 360

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood picks up right where Assassin's Creed 2 left off with Ezio in Rome. You do not need to play AC 2 to enjoy this game, but you will enjoy it more if you do.

High Concept: 10/10

Take a character like Batman, make him an assassin, drop him into Renaissance Italy, and surround him with corrupt government and church officials that need to be exterminated for the good of mankind! Allow this character to become a millionaire and renovate Rome while building a guild of Assassins.

Story: 10/10

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood has a story within a story. On the outside, you play Desmond, the ancestor of Altair and Ezio, who's hooked up to the animus (a virtual reality simulator) in order to uncover clues from the past to stop a diabolical secret organization by recovering a powerful magical artifact known as the "Apple of Eden."

In the Virtual World you are Ezio, an aristocrat who gets swept up in the political turmoil of 15th Century Italy. A change in the government makes you a fugitive, so you use your assassination skills to tip the balance of power and rescue Rome. You get your weaponry and gear from none other than Leonardo Da Vinci and you form the Brotherhood of Assassins with Niccolo Machiavelli.

Ezio is up against a megalomaniac named Cesare Borgia who wants to rule Rome. Under his influence, Rome begins to crumble. It's up to Ezio to cleanse Rome of his foul stench. Through the story, you meet many fascinating European historical figures with their own dark pasts. Similar to the Da Vinci Code, the story may have you questioning your beliefs, researching historical figures, or wanting to take a more active role in the world around you. It's rare that a video game story actually makes you want to rethink history.

Gameplay: 9/10

The combat is similar to Assassin's Creed 2, but the animations and gameplay are more fluid this time around. You can kill enemies with daggers, swords, hammers, maces, poison darts, crossbow bolts, throwing knives, a pistol, hired thugs, summoned assassins, and stun them with smoke bombs. The combat is also very easy. As you kill one enemy, you can insta-kill others by pointing the analog stick at them and pressing the X button. You can easily kill 12 guys in 20 seconds and you do feel like an assassin while doing it.

Although, the free running is good, it's not perfect. At times, Ezio may jump in the wrong direction and fall to his death. This is extremely rare, but when it happens, it sucks.

The Open World: 10/10

The problem with most Open World Games is that moving through the world to your next objective feels like a waste of time. You often spend 2-7 minutes just traveling. Well, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood has created some interesting ways to mitigate this.

This time around, it is a lot easier to get from one place to another in Rome. The overall land mass is a bit smaller than Assassin's Creed 2 and Ezio runs faster. You can also go about 25% faster by pressing the Y button to summon a horse, or horse-jack someone. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood also uses underground sewer entrances as "Fast Travel" Spots. Enter them, pick where you want to go on the map, and you teleport there.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood also rewards you just for playing, so there is NO Downtime between missions. The main objective of the game is to expunge the Borgia influence from Rome. You do this by assassinating the magistrates and burning down their watchtowers. As you destroy the tower, you are free to renovate shops, blacksmiths, and landmarks in the area. Improving Rome also pays you in dividends. Every structure that you renovate adds to Ezio's bank account every 20 minutes. You get paid for playing!

Another way to profit from downtime is the use of the Assassin's Guild. Halfway through the campaign, you get to recruit rebellious townsfolk to your cause. By using messenger pigeons, you can send your recruits on missions to gain more money for Ezio and XP for the recruit. It works similar to a Facebook Game. You scroll through a list of missions with a difficulty rating of 1-5. You choose which assassin(s) will perform the mission. The game gives you their % of success and the time it will take to complete the mission. You press a button to send them on their way. If they succeed, you get rewarded. If they fail, they die. As the recruits gain XP, you can upgrade their weapons and armor. This makes them more powerful when you summon them in game. So, as you are running through the world, you get text updates that say: Mission: Assassinate a Herald Complete. When the mission has been completed, you are free to upgrade them and send them on more missions. This is a really innovative idea with only one drawback. You have to believe that an assassin can travel from Rome to Constantinople, kill a guy, and return to Rome in 6 minutes. It's best not to think about it and just count your gold.

Missions: 6/10

The only flaw in this game that prevents it from being a true masterpiece is a handful of mission designs. Every Mission in the game has an objective, "Kill the Magistrate" with a condition "Avoid Detection" and an optional condition "Kill him with your hidden blade." The optional condition makes the game more challenging and gives you a 100% synchronization bonus. If you were to kill the magistrate with your crossbow, you only get a 50% rating for completing the mission. The synchronization bonus isn't really used for anything though, it just makes the game more interesting.

Some Missions are amazingly great and drive the story, while others are just plain bad.

Here are some tips for Mission Designers:

If the Player can Fail a Mission within 1 second of starting it, while they are reading the objective, it is a bad mission.

If you need checkpoints every 10 meters with a paragraph explaining what to do, it's a bad mission.

If there is only 1 way to complete the mission and 142 ways to fail it, it's a bad mission.

If the Player can fail a Mission because an arbitrary clock on the HUD hit zero, but Ezio still has a chance of completing the mission in the world (he's standing right next to the target with no guards around) it breaks game fiction and is a bad mission.

If the Player can fail a Mission because an arbitrary distance counter on the HUD said you were too far from your target, even though you are in a locked room with the guy, it breaks game fiction and it is a bad mission.

If the whole purpose of the game is to upgrade your weapons and gear and you have missions that forbid the player from using their weapons and gear that they have spent 15 hours upgrading it is a bad mission. (Especially when there are six in a row.)

If the rules of the mission are inconsistent with 99% of the rest of the game, it is a bad mission.

Your mission designs should never get in the way of the Player feeling like an assassin.

Note: The game is broken into 9 Sequences. After you complete Sequence 7, the game becomes a linear string of missions that you cannot decline until you complete the game. If you want to do optional missions or upgrade your guilds, do this before you finish Sequence 7 or after you complete the main campaign!!!

Multiplayer: 6/10

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood features an interesting Multiplayer Mode where you are in a room of 200 clones. 6-8 of the people in the room are players. Some are trying to assassinate you while you are trying to assassinate someone else. There is no combat, you just press X to kill them for the most part. You are awarded "Style Points" for your kills. It is an interesting gameplay mode, but it lacks depth. As you gain XP, you can upgrade your character and unlock more gear like smoke bombs, disguises, throwing knives, and poison. The gear is designed to give you a better chance at killing your target or escaping from your pursuers. If an assassin is about to take you out and you see them coming, a B button icon appears above their head. If you press B you have a chance at punching them in the face, and stunning them to escape. There is a problem though. Pressing the B button doesn't aways work. I'm not sure if it is a latency issue or what, but it just seems odd that the game tells me to Press B to escape, I press B, and die. The game should give the player a 1.5 second invulnerability window to press B and escape. 60% of the time that I press B, I die. Games should never kill the player if they do exactly what they are supposed to do.

There are also some team modes where you work in groups to take out another team and they try to take out your team.

There are a few major drawbacks to the Multiplayer Modes. The wait times to actually join a game can be from 1 to 40 minutes long. To make matters worse, you can't do anything while you are waiting to join. You can't organize your gear, set your preferences, study the map, research the complex scoring system, choose the map that you want to play on... nothing. You just stare at a static progress screen. There are also a few problems with assigning targets. This is a major problem because the only way to score points is to escape assassins or assassinate other players. I've had 3 minute stretches of a 10 minute match where I wasn't assigned a target and nobody was sent after me. I could only wander around the level and watch everyone else outscore me.

If you can actually get into a game, the Multiplayer is pretty fun, but you can tell it's very rough. It's very simple and rewards you for playing, but it lacks the depth needed to keep people hooked for months.

Graphics: 10/10

One of the best looking open world games of all time, in terms of art direction and quality. The environments, characters, effects, and animations are all phenomenal. The highly detailed buildings, clothing, and props all realistically fit the world. The characters look and animate great right down to their facial expressions. It actually feels like you were transported into 15th Century Italy!!!

Sound: 10/10

The sound track and sound effects are amazing. The music is appropriate for the setting and gives a sense of action, mystery, and danger. The sound effects put you right into the action or they'll make you want to seek comfort in the shadows as you stealthily plan your next assassination. The soundtrack is also available on itunes!!!

Replay Value: 7/10

Assassin's Creed II offers 12-24 hours of gameplay, which is especially impressive in this day and age where most action games are 7 hours long. After you finish the game, you have the option to keep everything that you've earned and continue playing to collect items, finish side quests, or unlock achievements. However, there's no reason to start the game over from the beginning. Even with limited replay value, you're still going to get your money's worth. There is also a multiplayer mode where you assassinate other players and gain XP to upgrade your characters.

Overall: 8.5/10

When the concept, story, art, and music are all amazing, you have a very immersive world. The criticisms about Assassin's Creed Brotherhood are that it doesn't offer much of a challenge, and 10% of the missions are unfun.

Buy it if you liked Assassin's Creed 2 or Prince of Persia.

Buy it if you like fun and easy games that constantly reward you.

Buy it if you want a thinking man's Action RPG.

Rent it if you want to try it out and have about 15 free hours.

Avoid it if you like a challenge or hated everything about the original Assassin's Creed.

Avoid it if you are EXTREMELY Catholic. The portrayal of the Vatican may upset you.

Avoid it if you don't like the idea of being a dude, who's playing a dude, who's playing another dude.

And there you have it. If you can't trust a guy whose name is Poisoned Blade and dresses like an assassin (seriously look at my profile pic) then who can you trust?

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I've got mixed feelings about this game. Having played both of the main previous iterations (I passed over the handheld side games, however) I wasn't sure what to think of this one before I played it, especially considering that AC 2 only came out about a year or so ago. In the end, it does a pretty good job of what it set out to do, but it'd be a stretch to say it did a great job.

One of the biggest improvements over AC2 is that, like in the first game, you can replay *every* mission, not just the side missions. Of course, this makes it all the more curious why Ubisoft STILL hasn't updated the second game to allow for replays. A great innovation in the mission structure is the "full sync" feature. This time, to get the maximum out of a mission, a certain sub-objective must be met, which can vary from taking no damage to remaining undetected to using a certain weapon to kill the target. This is definitely a great innovation, although the fact that failing this means restarting the ENTIRE mission is an automatic docking of one star. Even if the sub-objective is failed after the last checkpoint and you reload, it's still failed. I didn't let that slide with Grand Theft Auto 4 or Mirror's Edge, so it'd be hypocritical to ignore that flaw with this game. With one glaring exception, I did enjoy trying to get full sync with the Leonardo's weapons missions (anyone who's played the game most likely knows which mission I did not enjoy; rhymes with "the bank mission.") There is no reason why we should have to keep on retrying the same mission from scratch and having to completely redo everything that we have already successfully accomplished just to get to the one part that tests our ability to do the full sync requirement. The aforementioned mission is a prime example of this. Also, replaying a mission doesn't allow you to keep a treasure chest if you exit the replay. For some reason, you can keep a feather or a flag you collected, but not a treasure chest.

Some other minor gripes include the fact that courtesans still automatically break off to distract guards, even when you need them around to distract another set of guards. Why Ubi couldn't be bothered to fix this problem is beyond me. And what I like to call the "What the H are you DOING, Ezio?" problem still plagues this game in full force. This usually manifests itself when you're trying to escape the guard, and instead of running through a doorway, Ezio instead runs up the side of the doorway, even though no path exists. Three games running, and this problem still crops up! Sometimes music will play for a mission, then restarting it means the music is gone.

The story doesn't feel as inspired, either; it feels similar to an expansion pack's storyline as compared to the main game. This is at least partly due to the fact that early on in the game, a key ally is killed off, rather needlessly at that. A lot less dialogue this time around, too. It's almost as if Ubisoft decided that the minimalist approach to character development used in almost the entire middle and end game of AC2 was the best way to go with this game. Obviously, the whole concept that assassins are truly this noble, enlightened group of saviors meant to protect us from the evil Templars is just as ridiculous as the Da Vinci Code (search History Versus Da Vinci Code) and the hidden blade isn't based on any real weapon, but the story world is still interesting. It's just that the story itself in this game felt a little bland.

But there's plenty to love about this installment. For one, the crossbow is a nice addition. As it makes killing unaware guards far easier, and because that was one major obstacle both games had to complete a mission undetected, I only have good things to say about this weapon. And if you don't like the crossbow, then don't use it. The game's not putting a gun to your head and forcing you to use this weapon, and there are plenty of other guard-killing items at your disposal. In fact, don't even buy it. You don't get it from the start of the game; you buy it at a weapon's shop. Poison can now be used as a projectile as well, so it's actually useful this time around. And while not necessary a must-have, Leonardo's final innovation does come in handy for missions where falling a great distance is a part of the mission, but to get full sync you must take no damage. And those who remember the end of the first game likely remember thinking "Well, okay, so what happens now?" The ending for this game will also instill that feeling, along with a healthy dose of "What the hell did I just do?" It's one of those things that you won't likely see coming until 10 seconds AFTER it's too late to do anything about it. Kind of the same feeling you get when playing Jade Empire and the major plot twist is about to happen, and all you can do is sit back and watch. Also, do Subject 16's puzzles; it's worth the time spent. Speaking of time spent, this is definitely a completionist's dream, as there is more than plenty to do in Rome, from renovating the city to hiring new assassin recruits, to helping out the friendly courtesans, to assassinating minor targets to collecting stuff; there's no reason to just stick with the main storyline. Although, another major disappointment in this area is that two unlockable capes, both of which are very difficult to come by, both do the exact same thing; lower notoriety to 0%. Why one couldn't be full notoriety and the other 0 notoriety is beyond me. I enjoyed having the Auditore cape in AC2 and retrying the side missions to see how much more of a challenge it'd be to have every guard notice me almost immediately.

So this game is definitely for the fans of the series, although people who didn't like the second game for whatever the reason probably won't find much to like this time around either, as it does for the most part feel like an extension of the second game, whether that's a good or bad thing. It seems like that's largely what the developers were going for; to give us another dose of the series while the next iteration is being made, and to that end they do succeed. It's not perfect, but it does an admirable job of what it set out to do. The one and only thing that I do miss from the original game is that when a target was killed from the first Assassin's Creed, each kill had a true purpose. Like in the second game, this is more about just finding and killing the person. You don't take the time to learn more about the target before going in to make the kill, you simply find them and kill them. While I don't miss the STRUCTURE of how you gained information on your target in the first game, it wouldn't be a bad thing to have the concept put in. It should just be a lot less repetitive.

In any case, the good outweighs the bad, hence the 3 stars. The full sync requirement loses one by itself, and the other complaints combine into another negative star, so 5 stars minus 2 equals 3.

Addendum: Just finished the DLC package "The Da Vinci Disappearance," and I can see why it got so many mediocre reviews. It's not that it's bad, it's just not very good. The gameplay is standard fare for the Assassin's Creed games, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but it doesn't tread new ground or have any big reveals save for the end, which history buffs will smack themselves in the head upon viewing. I get the whole higher powers leaving clues for man to find thing, but there is the slight logical problem that standardized longitude wouldn't be invented for almost another 400 years. Notice I used the word "invented." Latitude of course was always standardized, given that the equator is always the same, but the same cannot be said for longitude. It wasn't until 1884 that the Prime Meridian was established, and that was subjective in itself Greenwich was picked as the point of reference for 0 degrees longitude because it was the largest seaport yet used in its time. (And like many other things, it was determined by rich fat cats.) So if the course of historical events were different and the PM would have been instead established in, say, Rome, or if Spain never lost its major naval influence and the PM would have been selected for its port, for example, then the same coordinates would be in a whole different area.

But the main problem I had with spending $10 on this DLC is the simple fact that the story was very threadbare. Also, the fact that the final mission's full sync requirement is to take no damage unquestionably the single most frustrating requirement, and especially for this mission didn't help. It bothers me all the more because I've seen just how engaging the story can be when the writers strive to make a good story, so this lackluster effort is all the more disappointing. Mediocrity is mediocrity whether the game is great or otherwise. But, Revelations is right around the corner, so I am cautiously optimistic that this will be the game that outshines the others.

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Sunday, January 18, 2015

Review of AVerMedia C985 Live Gamer HD 1080p Capture Card

AVerMedia C985 Live Gamer HD 1080p Capture Card
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
List Price: $224.99
Sale Price: $177.20
Today's Bonus: 21% Off
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Hey just to give you a brief background. I have been a Youtube Commentator & Streamer for a few years now. For the last several months I have been using the Hauppauge HD PVR for my capture device. I was interested in the Live Gamer HD because of its ability to deliver 1080P through HDMI. The PVR used component cables and could only output 720P.

So far this is the best recorder I have ever used. I am no techie, but I got the capture card installed and running with no problem. The quality is outstanding and I LOVE the Easy Button that allows you to start & stop recordings painlessly. The recordings are easily managed and the output is MP4 in 1 file no matching files together like you have to when using FRAPS.

The capture software is sufficient and will allow you to record gameplay & stream. I tested the streaming through Recentral & XSplit and both worked flawlessly, however I recommend that serious streamers use Xsplit for the added feature of scenes.

Avermedia is promoting Low CPU & help with dropped frames.

My PC Specs Are: Intel i7-2700k 3.50 GHz |8 Gig Ram |NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 It is a newer computer so it is hard to tell just how beneficial this is to me, but I can tell you that CPU usage stays low while using the program. I also had no issues with dropped frames on TwitchTV.

I read other reviews that mentioned they were having trouble with Audio Sync and other issues. I can confirm that these issues WERE happening when the device was released, but Avermedia was pretty quick to upgrade firmware and push out updates to correct these problems. I wanted to mention that because I think it is important to recognize a company that keeps its users up-to-date with information and fixes issues promptly.

I can tell you that the latest build is running great on my system.

I created an in-depth Review & Walkthrough of what all is included and a quick tutorial of how to hookup your Live Gamer HD to Console & PC. I also demonstrate a quality test with 1080P HD Xbox360 & 1080P PC gameplay.

Enjoy!Channel:

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Before I give this review let me give you my background. I currently host the #1 MMO Live stream on twitch.tv. Now as a broadcaster I need a few things.

1 I need to be able to capture games flawlessly with the least FPS drop humanly possible. Now before I started using this card I was using Dxtory to capture my games and it was decent but still a big hit on the FPS.

2 I need to be able to maximize the quality of the stream with a minimal upload connection in order to give my audience the best streaming experience without any lag whatsoever.

I have tried quite a few capture cards in the past. BMI was a decent card, but I could not stream in 1080p 30fps. I think most I did was 720p 30fps. I tried AVerMedias own Live Gamer HD but was once again held back by resolution restrictions on it. Finally the Live Gamer HD came out. At first Xsplit, the program I use to stream with, did not cooperate well the Live Gamer HD. Like any piece of hardware there are going to be issues at launch. Now I am speaking from a streaming standpoint here. In terms of capturing PS3 and XBOX360 gameplay the Live Gamer HD is flawless. No FPS drop like when you are using Fraps or DxTory. I have 2 videos on my channel capturing the XBOX360 Mass Effect 3 in 1080p and then Battlefield 3 in 720p PS3.

When Xsplit and AVerMedia started working together to get this card to work I got excited. Finally Xsplit came out with a version that supports AVerMedia and AVerMedia updated the firmware and drivers on the card to help fix some issues with 1080p resolution encoding capturing.

Let me tell you folks when I say the Live Gamer HD has given me the best experience performance wise live streaming this past week. I currently own a GTX 690 and when I stream AT 1080p, which mind you is a CPU hog and computer killer, my stream plays as if I wasn't even streaming. The Live Gamer HD has no flaw. It caputres my screen and gives the audience that 1080p loving we all want to see at no FPS loss, or CPU bogging down.

All it took was the work of the people from AVerMedia to find the problems and fix them asap and now I have what will be my capture card for live streaming and recording games for the next few years. The Staples like button "that was easy" to capture is also pretty nifty for recording console gaming on the go.

Specs:

i7 2600k OC to 4.5

16GB Corsair Vengeance RAM

GTX 690 EVGA

The Card also came with an Xsplit 3 month personal license code which is good for anyone trying to get a stream going on twitch.tv or any other streaming website. Came with all cables needed to get started. I would be surprised if AVerMedia can one up this card in future.

Towelliee

Towelliee's HD Gaming

twitch.tv/towelliee

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I've used programs like Fraps and Camtastia for years to record PC footage, and while those usually work just fine, you do come across games that suffer frame rate and response time issues when using a software screen recorder. This is even more of an issue when streaming live. Games like Alan Wake, Metro 2033, FSX+mods, etc all have issues with Fraps for me, even with a 1090T CPU and 16GB RAM. Often the frame rate will be halved or worse when using a CPU-intensive screen recorder, which is unacceptable for any kind of serious work.

With this card, you don't have to worry about that anymore. All installs easily, from hardware to software, and then just load the program and press the glowing red button whenever you want to record the screen. Captures anything on-screen at 1920x1080p down to 640x480. Also records from external devices like game consoles and other PCs, but it really shines when recording the PC it's installed in. Passthrough HDMI & DVI cables/adapters are included and the image is nice and clean. Also worth noting it captures 4:2:2 YUV color.

I've not had any A/V sync issues like some seem to be reporting. The only small issue I have is with the software, which at this point is somewhat limited. It's supposed to be updated so more customization options are included in the future (for custom bit rate, frame rate, codecs, etc.) As of now you can only choose a few preset options. It would also be nice to be able to record at 60fps at 1080p, but you're limited to 30fps. Lower resolutions provide 60fps, but 1080p you're out of luck. Also, if you want to record through something like VirtualDub using DirectShow or whatever, you can do that, although it doesn't seem to capture using the on-card hardware encoder.

The Live Gamer HD also works very nicely when live streaming, and comes with a 3 month personal license for Xsplit at the time I got it. It's not fully supported by it yet, but once Xsplit v1.1 supports the card this will be even more awesome.

I'd recommend this card entirely. It may cost you a bit upfront, but the cost of a stand-alone PC to record externally is going to be even more, and even if you have an extremely powerful CPU you're still going to have more of a hit with that than you do with this. It also encodes directly to compressed MP4 up to 15,000kbps, so even slower hard drives writing at 40MB/s have no problem keeping up. For both users with older PCs who have CPU usage issues and newer PCs who are serious about the highest-performance on a single PC when capturing, the Live Gamer HD is great.

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UPDATE 8-17-2012: If you read my previous review below, you can see a host of issues that I originally had with this card. It really did feel like the card was completely useless. I have been reporting issues and giving feedback on their support forums. Through this process, AVerMedia approached me and asked if I would be willing to help test an unreleased beta build of their driver. I can tell you that once that version of the driver is officially released, the card will function nearly perfect. That driver release, combined with the upcoming features being added, makes this card a good buy.

AVerMedia is a good company that obviously stands by its products and works to serve their customers. I give this 4 stars instead of 5, simply because of the initial trouble that I had with it. It feels like they really should have done some more QA before fully releasing this product. But, they have fixed the major issues at this point. If I purchased this card and had access to the test driver from the beginning, this would have been 5 stars all the way.

PREVIOUS REVIEW: As of 8-13-2012, I must advise against purchasing this product. The following is a list of the major issues with the card (not minor gripes):

1) Recorded sound is distorted and over-amplified

2) Audio has issues syncing the longer you record, anything over 5 minutes results in a 1-2 second delay of sound

3) FPS is variable. Despite setting it to record at 30 FPS, it's a crapshoot between 28 and 30 FPS. You never know what you'll get

The above issues combine for a very bad experience using this card. It produces 100% useless videos. I feel like AVerMedia is trying to correct these issues, albeit slowly. But so far it seems like each update has added more issues or, worse yet, amplified existing issues.

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So, I purchased this so I could capture some PC Gaming with hardware H.264 encoding. This thing performs like a beast. It captures, up to 1080p at 30FPS, flawlessly with no hit to FPS at all. However, the way you hook it up to get your computer that the card installed to is a little tricky.

You need 2 HDMI cables (provided), and a monitor or display device (Television) capable of 1080p or the resolution you want to record in. You need to take the HDMI out from your video card, and plug it into the HDMI in of the Live Gamer HD, then take the HDMI out of the Live Gamer HD and put it into the HDMI in of your Display Device (Television or LCD). Basically the Live Gamer HD just mirrors what your graphics card is doing and captures it in real time with RAW data. This offers massive performance over programs like Fraps or Camtasia as they use system resources while the game is running.

This device isn't limited to PC Recording in that crazy config.

Out of the box, you can hook up your Xbox 360 and record beautiful 1080p video, take lovely snap shots and share them with anyone. You can live stream using Twitch, Ustream or a custom URL if you know all those settings. I did a few test streams and it ended up looking great on the other end. With the amount of settings the software has, you can easily tweak it to your hearts content and to what your current cable internet package allows you in the form of upload. Be careful if you set it too high, you will not be able to play multiplayer without severe lag.

Now, onto what I hate, and that's the movie industry. There's this thing called HDCP or High Definition Copy Protection, the MPAA (devil) thought maybe you and me might use HD video feeds such as from our Blu Ray players, PS3, and other devices to record content that we have. The implemented this encryption in all hardware since the beginning of HDMI almost, so it's no doubt that most everything has it on there. I'm not sure why the Xbox 360 doesn't have this on there, maybe they opted not to spend all that damn money on licensing or they just didn't care if people recorded their gameplay to show others and promote their product free of charge?

Well, if you want to record your PS3, iPhone, iPad, Blu Ray Player, or any other device that might connect to HDMI and was made in the last decade or so.. you're gonna have a bad time.

I attached some screenshots from the software of this application and it does have HDCP restrictions. It's not the fault of the software company, or the hardware. You can't find a hacked software that disables HDCP, it's a HARDWARE encryption. Without going into to many details, suffice to say, it's some next level crap.

If you do some googling, and try to find out that your PS3, MacBook, iPad, and any other devices that have HDCP can't be bypassed without 100's of dollars worth of equipment, it's pooh talk. Amazon, the wonderful company they are, actually sell the best and cheapest option to bypass HDCP. The product is a Sweell 1x2 HDMI splitter, I will try to link the item in the description so you guys can order it as well.

After you hook that baby up, HDCP is rendered invalid, and this hardware can really take off!

10/10 would buy this again. I'm actually installing the hardware on an Intel Atom PC so I can dedicate it to recording all sorts of inputs. Because this PCI device has a hardware encoder, the only processing power you need is enough to copy to a hard drive, and of course h.264 playback.

Feel free to ask any questions, you can check videos out on my youtube as well that I record with.Sewell 2 Port 1x2 Powered Hdmi Splitter V 1.3b 3D Certified-Up to 1080p

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Sunday, January 4, 2015

Reviews of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 - Xbox 360

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 - Xbox 360
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $15.79
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My wife and I played through the first Lego Harry Potter game, and we loved it. We've played other lego games, but by far the Harry Potter game was our favorite. So, we were way excited when we got the second Lego Harry Potter today. After playing it for several hours, I am very pleased with how similar the gameplay is to the first game, yet it's different enough to keep it interesting. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has played and enjoyed the first game. It's great!

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Having owned every Lego game in recent years we were excited about this game, unfortunatly they rushed it out the door for the holidays. The common glitches are using pets and item assembly. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to use a pet for a puzzle and the game will not let you unless you are standing in an exact invisible spot to release the pet. Some assembly challenges had to be abandoned and retried because of lego parts getting stuck so assembly could not be completed at that time.

Game play is similar to previous lego games, but it is not always clear what needs to be done to continue the story. Couple this with game glitches and it can be a frustrating game at times.

If the game maker fixes the glitches in an update then I would change my rating to a 4+. Until them the game is a mixture of pleasure and pain for any age.

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This game is just as fun as the first! There are a few updates to hogwarts and the spells, but that makes everything new and exciting. The game is very in depth, there are so many levels and side stories to play through. I have experienced a few glitches but no freezing unlike all the other lego games.

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I'd wait to get this, a few bugs need to be worked out and it should be about ten bucks cheaper than what it is right now.

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An improvement over the first. They incorporated some elements from the books that were missing from the films. Gameplay and controls work well. Music is film fare which I enjoy. Graphics, well its a Lego game but the backgrounds are done well and the pieces are well done. Overall a funny enjoyable game for fans of the series.

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Saturday, January 3, 2015

Best Sharkoon X-Tatic True 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound Gaming Deals

Sharkoon X-Tatic True 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound Gaming Headset
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
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This headset rocks! I definitely took a chance on these despite not having seen any previous reviews or ratings, but it was worth it. I wanted to test it out for a few weeks before writing a review. Also, this is my first Sharkoon product.

Along with the headset itself, it includes

optical cable

"sound control unit" (your little magic black box where all cables run to)

adapters for PC (comes with 5.1 analog for those w/o pc optical), 360, ps3

detachable boom mic (it does flex to your preference)

power supply (single cord which splits off to power your SCU and headset separately) Ex.) you can still disconnect the power to the SCU and still have power running to the headset by itself. The power supply comes with swappable heads. I guess this is if you go out of the country and want to use their foreign outlets.

It took me a little bit of time to figure out all these adapters, settings, and wires (there are a lot of wires.)

The Sound Control Unit (SCU) is where your optical, power supply and 9-pin headset connector come together. You can also adjust the general volume here, but I usually just use the volume adjust attached the the headset cord. There is a 5.1 analog output as another option for those PC users without an optical option. With two 9-pin headset jacks, a second person with the same headset may also listen in. Two Dolby options include Dolby Digital and Pro Logic. There are two included settings called Time-Delay and Dynamic Range Control located on the SCU.

Both of these passages taken directly from the manual. Either setting can be turned on or off.

"Time-Delay The Time-Delay function allows to define a time delay for the sound reproduction for each speaker. Thus a spacious playback of the audio signal can be achieved. Note that increasing the delay too much may cause unnatural results."

"Dynamic Range Control Dynamic Range control limits the dynamic, decreasing the level differences between loud and quiet passages in the Dolby Digital 5.1 signal thus balancing the effect of loudness."

Other nice features include a volume adjuster which is attached the headset cord. The X-tatic logo on the headset AND also the attached volume adjuster light up. Looks good to me! The volume is indicated by the different colors lighted up on the volume adjuster ranging from green (very low) to red (very high). The sound volume from each speaker can also be adjusted individually. So say you're sniping and you want to hear even more of the sounds behind you. You can "up" the volume on the rear speakers to do just that. Or you might be looking to get more "boom" from your sounds. You can increase the bass volume while keeping the other speakers at their current volume.

There is a switch to turn off your voice. You can't hear your own voice while speaking, but I prefer it that way. Voice volume from other people can also be adjusted independently from game volume. So when I hear a lobby full of annoying kids, I lower the voice volume and just "up" my awesome game volume. Bliss.

Comfort 5/5 Took a night of gameplay to "break-in", so now it fits comfortably. Good padding so it sits well on your head. The ear cups can be tilted and also swivel to match your unique head shape (a BIG plus for me.) I can wear these 4-5 hours easy.

Sound 5/5 Amazing! Playing MW2 and GOW2 is a whole new experience now! Sounds I never knew existed in these games gave me a whole new appreciation! Distant gunfire, rustling of bushes and grass around me, and even slight downpour can be heard. With that said, the 5.1 directionality will add a whole new dimension to your gameplay. For me, there is a clear distinction between if gunfire is coming from front, rear, front left, rear right, etc. Footsteps come in loud and clear. This keeps me more aware of my surroundings. Hurray for situational awareness!

Price 4/5 It is quite the steep investment for me at $159.99, even with the free shipping from Amazon (love ya for that Amazon!) I did have to think twice before my purchase solely because the price. Now that I look back on it, it was the right move.

Overall, this headset definitely meets my expectations. It looks good and has some surprisingly cool features. Maybe if they could fix the amount of wires, but I guess that what it takes to work on the pc, 360, and ps3.

Good Hunting!

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This isn't meant to be a very technical review, but I will share my opinion with hope that I can answer some questions that I had when reviewing these headphones.

I've been using these headphones mainly for PC and PS3 games. For those of you with intention of using these with an xbox 360, be warned you will need to purchase a specific xbox360 adapter for the optical audio (I would have tested MW2 already if I had the xbox360 connection). The PS3 has and most newer PC motherboards even have the optical audio connection. If you're really serious about having amazing PC audio, you might consider an aftermarket sound card ... but then again, if you ARE really serious, you'd be buying an ACTUAL 5.1 system and not just headphones.

These aren't meant for stereo sound and only do a mediocre job at best when just listening to music, unless you connect the 5.1 analog adapter and use the orange (center and sub channel), then it sounds better. I haven't compared these to any other gaming headset, but I have no complaints on the sound quality. You do have the ability to adjust the volume of the front, center, rear and sub channels which is very handy for getting the sound just right. You can go further and adjust other settings, but I haven't tinkered with that.

These headphones are also very comfortable. Most of the weight is on top of your head and not on or over your ears which greatly reduces ear fatigue. I have used them for 3+ hours with little discomfort!

Take note that these are in no way noise canceling headphones. If you have the volume down low, you will be able to hear what's going on around you, and those around you might hear what you are listening to if you've got the volume up very high. That's not a big problem though.

I've used the mic over Skype and in games such as SC2 and have had people comment on the good quality of the sound of my voice. It's nice that the mic is detachable, but honestly, it's never really in the way and I never detach it.

The headphones themselves glow green, quite brightly. This is a nice feature if you're trying to impress people with cool hardware, but it's annoying to have them sitting beside my bed on my desk at night when I'm trying to sleep -an acceptable annoyance.

The mess of cables isn't really an issue considering I already have a mess of cables on my desk where I have a PC, PS3 and Xbox360. If you are worried about the mess of cables, you might consider purchasing a longer optical cable as the supplied one is quite short (approx 2 feet). This way you can have the adapter and all the cables hidden somewhere. The cable from the headphone is very long, so don't worry about that.

One last note, this purchase was a shot in the dark. I had never heard of Sharkoon before and am quite pleased. I was debating over this and the TRITTON AXPRO and chose these. I don't regret my decision!

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I ordered the Sharkoon Xtatic after quite a bit of online research. I was at first going to buy a surround sound system to play my PS3 with. After considering this and the fact that my roommate might not appreciate my midnight Call of Duty "boom sessions," I decided to check out surround sound headphones. These can range widely in price, and my budget was admittedly low.

After some browsing the web and reading lots of reviews, I came to the Sharkoon Xtatic. Not much was available online about it, as far as reviews go. I couldn't find many other 5.1 headset for the PS3, so I decided to take a gamble.

The verdict: I like my headset. It is a lot of fun to use and really immerses me in my first-person shooters, like Call of Duty. I also enjoy having the mic built in, as opposed to a standard 5.1 headphone set. However, I don't think the performance justifies the price tag. I feel like a stereo headset would be only a hint behind the Xtatic in performance, as the surround sound in the Xtatic is not very great. It does have a somewhat surround feel to it, but not what I had hoped for. If I could go back, I would have either paid more for a surround sound speaker set (and annoyed my roommate), or I would have paid less money for a nice stereo headset. I just don't think this headset performs well enough to justify the price. Also, I will add that the Sharkoon has quite a tangle of cables to connect in order for everything to work properly. This isn't a deal breaker for me, but for anyone obsessed with maintaining a clean, clutter free wire setup, I don't think you want this headset.

One more thing. I have noticed some nasty distortion when I play Guitar Hero World Tour. This tends to happen during the loading screen when the crowd is cheering. Haven't had any sound problems in CoD:MW, or MW2.

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Astro? Turtle Beach? Tritton? I own many gaming headsets from these companies, including each of their flagship models. How do they fair against the $139 Sharkoon X-Tatic True?

In the interest of brevity:

Astro A40($250+): Although more comfortable, the Astro A40's do NOT come close in Sound or Build Quality. Winner: Sharkoon, by a long shot.

Turtle Beach PX5/XP500($213-$240+): Nothing shines with Turtle Beach PX5's/XP500's. Horrible even if they were to retail for $99. Winner: Sharkoon, NOT EVEN CLOSE.

Tritton AX Pro($160+): Better than the Turtle Beach Brand, even though Mad Catz shall lead them to their doom. Build quality: FAIL. True 5.1 Implementation: Fail. Even though they are considered to be exactly the same as the Sharkoon X-Tatic True... they are not. Winner: Sharkoon, Superior Sound & Build Quality.

Funny right? The headset with the lowest cost DOMINATES it's competitors that cost $21-$111 more.

Build Quality: 5/5 Most solid of any of my 20+ headsets.

Comfort: 3.25/5 Heavy & In-Line amp could use a belt clip like my A40's have.

Mic: 4.5/5 Clear & Flexible but could be a bit longer

Incoming Chat(PS3): 4/5 Clear but volume is a bit too low

Sound: 4.75/5 Superior Sound Quality. #1 Gaming Headset.

Sound Sub Categories:

Gaming: 5/5

Directional Recognition: 5/5

Gaming Booms(Bass): 5/5

Music: 4.5/5

Surround: 5/5

Music Bass: 4.25/5

Movies(BluRay): 5/5

Surround: 5/5

Movies Bass: 5/5

Top Quality Headset. Don't Fear this purchase as I did. You will not regret this great buy.

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Well based on the reviews, I purchased these headsets and I've had them for two days and I'm very satisfied. My review is from the point of view of a PC user and not X-Box.

I have a set of Klipsh 2:1 Speakers and was considering a surround sound system, but the family is already complaining about my loud music and games. I figured a better alternative was to get a surround sound headset which I can play loud as I'd like. I mostly watch movies and Game a little. I researched up and down and found that these have 4 speakers per side and claim to provide true surround sound in a headset.

Below are my impressions:

1. I have a Soundblaster Fatality Titanium Sound Card. Maybe your results will be different with a different card but these speakers work well with this model. I tried running the headsets both through the box connected to my Digital out put and through the analog plugs and by-passing the box. There is an option to not use the little box and connect the headset directly to your PC using analog cables. I had to pull out the manual because the color coding on these cables are European and don't match the Sound-blaster Color Coding. But using both manuals I matched up the right cables. There was no improvement without the box on any type of listening and you didn't get the full Dolby effect on the digital type sounds. The digital optical output through the box is the only way to run these you need the box to interpret the sound and bring out the beauty of Digital sound. Blue-Ray Digital Discs sound fantastic with these headsets.

2. Be careful there is a setting on the box (Button) that turns on Pro Logic. If the sound source is not Dolby or Digital than it sounds like crap. I believe this is why a few people may have given these Headsets bad reviews. Their fault they had the Dolby Prologic on with the wrong source. By the way the base is very strong on these at normal settings with options to turn it up directly through the headset control.

3. Music, If you are buying these to play YouTube stuff, forget it. It sounds fine but it just isn't Bose or Sennheiser Quality. If You are an audiophile about music and getting it from non digital sources, get a digital splitter and/or a different headset. This speaker set excels with gaming and movies and with anything that is using Digital DTS or Digital Dolby 5:1 or surround sound effects. Blue Ray Disks are incredible. You tube stuff is very mediocre.

4. Netflix When I first turned on Netflix it sounded horrible than I unchecked Dolby, wham 100% turnaround. I believe that my Soundblaster EAX took over because the next thing you know

I was listening to Apocalypse Now and Bullets are sounding all over the place I was wowed by the excellent sound. These don't just simulate surround sound, they are surround sound. I confirmed this in another scene from Apocalypse Now. In this scene near the end Sheen is first talking to Brando. The camera is switching perspectives. The stuff happening from behind sounded from behind and the stuff in front to the front. It confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that these do more than just simulate surround sound. I heard sounds behind in front and to the sides!!

4. Games. I played Crysis and it was very immersive. I haven't played enough games on this to comment but I believe that it excels at gaming, I was getting the forwards backwards sideways sounds and to it was great.I think alot is going to depend on the game and how it's programmed. But digital games are going to sound awesome!!

5. Comfort. I don't know why but even though these are huge they aren't hot and sweaty. This is the first two sided enclosed headset that I've used where I wasn't sweating rivulets. I really can't figure why they are so comfortable. I wear glasses and have no problems.

So in conclusion, don't buy these for Non-Digital Music. Buy them for gaming and High Def Movies and you'll be a happy camper. Be careful not to use the Dolby button with non Dolby sources. Use a Digital Optical output along with the box.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Add on to original Review.

One of the complaints I've heard is that you can't turn these off. Actually you can, funny thing is that I picked this trick up in the reviews of a competitors Headset that's supposed to be similar to this one. If you push the Volume button and the "Front" buttons in at the same time the Headset will turn off. Kind of nifty because you'll never turn it off by accident and once you know the trick it's very simple.

I also felt that when I raised the volumes on the Box and used the volume of the headsets at lower volume that quality increased.

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Saturday, November 29, 2014

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Reviews

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
Customer Ratings: 4.5 stars
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Okay, this is a awesome game. It has wonderful graphics, the airplane details are superbly represented, and the sound is really good. One of the signature differences between this new title and the previous Ace Combat 4 is the addition of the CGI cutscene movies, whereas the Ace Combat 4 used the storyboard type representation. If you have played Ace Combat 4, this game is easy enough to pick up and jump right in to the action. Minor changes have been made to controls to allow for the "wingman" control scheme with the D-pad. This enables you to direct you wingmen to either cover, attack, disperse and use their special weapons on a target. You can also use the dpad for the standard yes no reply to questions that your wingmen will ask you throughout the game. It does add a nice touch of realism to the game with all the chatter you hear over the radio.

Now, since it has been 3 years since Ace Combat 4, I must say that I really did expect more in the way of advancements, but it truely feels like the same gamestyle, typical storyline, and overall general feel. Of course that is not berateing this game one iota. The graphics are much sharper, the land elevation scenery is much more detailed with trees and brushes now visible. The buildings are also nicely detailed with a higher polygon count. Perhaps the best change made for me is the missile animation you now see when you launch a missile. The missile stream is now much more realistic with the way it curves and actually winds through the air.

If you enjoyed Ace Combat 4, you won't regret buying this game. If you never played Ace Combat 4, then you will truely love this game moreso than the typical veteran Ace Combat player. Great visuals, good storyline and good sound design make this a winner in anyone's book.

Just to mention that you can either play the campaign mode or arcade mode. Arcade mode will have you reprise your role as Morphius from the Ace Combat 4 game. The campaign will carry you in the role of flight leader and allow you to fight with and control your wingmen. Enjoy.

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The only other Ace Combat game I've ever played was the first one for the PlayStation. It was impressed with the look and feel of the game. Ace Combat 5 effectively helps me to relive the same enjoyment I had playing the first game.

AC5 does a fantastic job of putting you in the pilot's seat of a fighter jet. The realism is astounding. Plane models look just like real jets, with good detail and believable movement. There are multiple viewpoints available both inside the cockpit and out that can be adjusted. The landscapes in certain missions are stunning to see from 2000 feet in the air. Finally, instant replays with adjustable angles appear after the completion of a mission (or in the event of the player's untimely death). They're reminiscent of the cool-looking replays in Gran Turismo 3.

The music is movie-quality and suits whatever action is taking place. As for sound effects, I don't think they could have been any better. For example, the farther away you are from an enemy when it's destroyed the longer the sound from the explosion takes to reach your ears. If possible, use a 5.1 stereo system with AC5. It sounds awesome.

There's a nice variety of missions, and none are excessively long. Once the campaign mode is complete you can replay any mission from that mode singularly. With 50 models of jets to unlock and use there's plenty of reason to keep playing.

As if all these pros weren't enough, AC5's story isn't bad either. How rare to witness a well told, positive moral in a video game. Communication between pilots during missions adds character depth and makes the gameplay more involving. Some players have complained about the audio chatter being annoying but I didn't find it bothersome.

At it's core Ace Combat 5 is a game with heart. I wholly recommend it.

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Better;

* Excellent graphics, particularly the aircraft models, weather effects and cutscenes.

* The same great gameplay as AC04 with some nice tweaks (e.g. enemy stealth planes are actually harder to detect).

* Lots of missions with a choice of paths through the game (though not as many as AC3), plus refuelings and carrier landings.

* Well written and absorbing plot.

* Numerous and varied aircraft and special weapons, including a fun new super plane and a kill-based 'evolution' system for unlocking improved variants of planes.

* Greatly improved arcade mode, again with a choice of paths, making for a nice half-hour blast.

Worse;

* Ropey mission design. Targets constantly pop up out of nowhere and you get teleported around the map after every cutscene. The action feels more scripted and less like you're flying around a real battle. This is reinforced by the fact that while the target areas are highly detailed, the rest of the maps are quite empty.

* Some of the missions feel like pale shadows of AC04 missions.

* The dialogue is often whiney, unprofessional or just annoying, and often gets out of sync with the action.

* The stats on the aircraft seem to be made up at random, and don't have that much affect on gameplay anyway. The missions aren't designed to make best use of the available weapons, and hence players will never use most of the basic planes and will have little incentive to unlock most of the improved variants. The loss of selectable secondary weapons is a shame.

* Rare but highly annoying bugs; planes fly underground and through buildings, missiles sometimes mysteriously fail to track.

* For the most part the difficulty curve is smooth if a little too easy (even on ace difficulty), but there are a couple of missions that are just unnecessarily frustrating (White Noise and Four Horsemen).

* The two player mode and target shooting range have been removed.

Missed opportunities;

* Fewer targets and no re-arming, making things less frantic. This is a shame as there are some missions where landing and rearm without leaving the battlefield would've worked well.

* The medal gallery is nice, but more unlockables (e.g. rendered beauty shots of aircraft) would have provided more motivation to get those special rankings.

* Giving wingmen orders is fun, but they don't seem to do much or need your protection. Similarly the interactive dialogue could've been cool, but doesn't actually seem to do anything and is hence just distracting.

* No bombers, choppers or VTOL aircraft, to fly or give orders to.

* Music is generally great, but the score for the final missions don't quite have that spine tingling thrill that AC04 had.

Ace Combat 5 is great fun and a high quality title in its own right. However while the graphical tweaks and new features are appreciated, it isn't a major advance over AC04, and the niggling problems prevent it from delivering the same outstanding all-round experience that Shattered Skies provided.

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I'm updating my review because I have now gotten all the planes--every last one--and must declare it well worth the effort. When I had only 'the best' planes, the missions were not nearly as interesting and oftentimes very difficult to do a sortie at Expert or Ace level because the plane I was using was too fast, didn't perform well at low altitudes, or featured weapons that were only really good for dog fighting. I could be flying the Falken through a mission and my wingmen would get the most kills because I would overshoot my target before I had a chance to lock on and fire and therefore have to go at it again, and the enemy aircraft would shoot me down as I literally jetted past them. The Falken is a great example because, unless your targets are all out in the open, you likely wont be as successful as if you flew something less 'super.'

Which plane you chooose is as important if not more than how you fly it or what kinds of weapons it features. For comparison, if you wanted to play a really great game of golf, you would need a full set of clubs--not just a driver and a putter. Likewise with planes--and I imagine this absolutely must be so in the real world of jet fighters--there is no one super plane that is the absolute best for all situations.

The best thing about this game--even more so than with Ace Combat 4--is how it demands you use strategy in addition to making appropriate choices in which planes your team flies.

Unlike Ace Combat 4, you can't just pick the right plane for yourself and finish the level or all levels practically solo. You need not only the right plane for yourself, but the right plane for your wingman and sometimes a complex combination of plane capabilities for the three other pilots at your command in addition to yourself. And then you have to give them appropriate commands--or you'll fail. Sometimes you even have give the most important strategic role to yourself while giving the more exciting dogfighting role to one of your other pilots.

You can't just have your team cover you and blast away at everything--you'd likely run out of missles and/or time--and even when the software suggests other choices of commands or planes, you have to take command and make the real decisions.

So what I wrote about Ace Combat 4 is far more true of Ace Combat 5. This isn't a game for dummies, and the amount of choice making you have to do in addition to outflying your opponents is what makes this an intelligent game.

They even included a bit of flight school in this one--nice.

My only complaint is about the Arcade Mode. You have to do it all the way from beginning to end. You can't save and finish it off later--which is no good for those of use who don't have hours at a shot to sit there and play video games. I'd rather be able to do a few bits in arcade mode, save it and do more later.

Campaign Mode is just perfect though. Sometimes you're stuck having to do more without saving after a really long and hard level, but it's not over the top difficult or lengthy. Even this adds to the challenge though, as you have to choose planes that you can succeed with in a variety of situations.

Great game; much improved over its previous version without losing anything in the process.

I do wish the playback at the end of each mission showed the weapon strikes at Ace Combat 4 did.

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I had long been waiting for this game to come out and now that I've played it; I could have waited longer. Yes, the backgrounds look amazing and the detail of the planes killer, but it was not what I expected.

The contsant chattering from your squad gets very annoying during the game, to the point that I just turned the voice off completely and put a CD on.

I played the game on Hard/Expert/Ace, and the Arcade Mode on all levels. After playing on Expert I really had no desire to play it on Ace, besids that fact of just wanting to beat it on that level. I did not find the game all to hard. I currently have no intension of playing it again. The replay need for this game is simply not there. Its too bad that they took away the VS Mode. Thats one thing that made Ace Combat 4 really fun.

Now we get down to the fighters. In this game you are provided with 50 aircraft from around the world. Most are the same from AC4, but look much better. A bad thing that I found was that you were unable to pick the weapons load for your plane via Ace Combat 4. The need to have to gain experience with a plane in order to get it upgraded model was not worth the time. Planes like the the French Rafael are only allowed to carry their Sidewinder variant for AA Combat and the Exocet Anti-ship Missile for ground targets. Where as in Ace Combat 4, you could load her up with medium ramge missile or air to ground. The same thing with the British Typhoon, nothing but air to air, and no waepons for ground operations. Air to ground missiles on the A-10 & SU-32 have no range what so ever, so why even bother putting them in.

In my opinion the upgrade was interesting yet could have been better,EX: The MiG-29 is not only a bomber but also a Fighter. Plus there is a Carrier version of this plane the MiG-29K as well a Carrier version of the SU-27, the Su-27K. The Britsh Tornado GR4 in Ace Combat 4 is more interesting than the ones in this game. They could have gotten rid of some of the upgrade versions and added more fighters in, Example: A-4 skyhawk, SU-22 Fitter, F-111 Ardvark, SU-24 Fencer, & SU-25 Frogfoot to name a few. Also, what is the point of in-flight refueling when you never run out of fuel?

If your a die hard fan of the series as I was then you'll love the game. If they would have left the VS Mode in then Iwould probably still be playing the game. Also, the ablitly to choose payloads. I guess I'll go to PC Games for a better flight game. If they come out with a # 6, I'll wait to rent it before I get it. Yet, remeber guys this is my opinion, its up to you to make your own. Laters

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