Manhunt 2 - Sony PSP Reviews

Customer Ratings:

Manhunt 2 by Rockstar Games is a perfectly serviceable adventure game that holds up very well on the PSP. As the game strongly advises from the onset be sure to play these games with headphones on and preferably in a darkened environment. To do so otherwise greatly diminishes the expertly crafted mood and atmosphere that truly is the best thing about this title. As for the gameplay itself Manhunt2 is a decent, but not great, adventure romp that most players should be able to complete in 10 hours or so. The game spans 15 episodic chapters (with 1 bonus chapter unlocked after completion) that delves into the character and story of Nathan Lamb, a man with no clue as to his past and present state locked up in a psychiatric ward. Graphically, the heavily grained and filtered visual style looks really sharp on the PSP and the audio is wonderfully layered with some excellent effects and a truly magnificent ambient score.

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When purchasing Manhunt 2 realize that it was modified after being threatened with an Adults Only rating meaning that the executions (one of the largest and most time consuming/exciting elements of the game) are censored with a strange blurring/coloring effect. This blurring effect gets really old, really fast especially when it completely masks everything that's happening and it is obviously an out of place tacked on addition; it's not enough to break the game, but it most definitely takes away from the experience (there's not much to be horrified or disturbed by except the executions well that and perhaps the language and bondage themes). The graphics are great, and the rest of the game is executed nicely mission areas are well developed, they load fast, there are interesting obstacles and 'puzzles' (very minor) to overcome as you move along. The AI is decent, though one wonders what kinds of shadows there are in the world of Manhunt 2, even while being thankful for their amazing powers of deception. The NPCs also say all sorts of funny things they're not comedians but you will definitely get a kick out of the things they say.

You have several feedback tools including alertness levels, noise meter and radar (based off of line of sight and noise it's not a freebie). Your view is a little restricted, but since the emphasis is on using your environment and stealth effectively (i.e. you'll have time to look around from shadows and such usually and plan your next move) it's not a big deal. The environments are interesting and well done, complete with plenty of action beyond the player's area, simply to create an immersive experience. The game saves at checkpoints automatically allowing you to progress quickly and without interruptions.

If you have the patients and interest in a horror survival game that focuses on killing in a real world setting as opposed to simply surviving or monsters and such then this is a great PSP game for you. The game recommends playing with earphones, and it truly is a better experience this way the sound effects are pretty good throughout (and the expletives are there throughout as well).

This game is not (in my opinion) particularly scary, though it does have a wonderfully dark environment and emphasis, even if the story is somewhat lacking in intensity.

This game is over the top, it's fun and it's unfortunately hampered by the fact that Rockstar Games was threatened with an AO rating. Thankfully it's still fun to play so good luck Danny.

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Manhunt 2 is a game that I figured I would eventually play sometime, it wasn't at the top of my list. I had recently gotten a PSP and a Wii and wasn't sure which one to get it for, if I was going to get it at all. My brother then surprised me for Christmas and got it for me on the PSP, not knowing that I was interested in it at all. I just completed it the other day and have some things to say about it.

Now let me preface this by stating that one of my favorite game franchises of all time is the Metal Gear Solid Series (MGS). The best part about those games are the stealth elements. You hide in a corner, tap the wall, the guard patrolling the area walks over to investigate, you grab him from behind as he walks away and choke him out. You can then either stuff him in a locker, carry him around with you, or leave him there for his buddies to see and wonder "I don't remember leaving this here" It's all real fun but can be very frustrating sometimes. If you fail to choke him out then you end up in mediocre hand to hand combat where all you have have is a stun gun and you're aiming frantically for his head, which never works.

Manhunt works the same way, where you hide in a dark corner, wait for the enemy to come find you, and choke him out. Where the games differ though is that if you miss the execution, either he walks away too fast, or you don't time it correctly, the melee combat actually works pretty well. Unlike the MGS games you usually have more than a stun gun with you. In a lot of the levels you're given a shotgun, or machine gun, and you can just gun fools down. On the psp it locks on for you, so all you have to do is run though, push a button to lock on, and fire away. It was a little easy, but it was very satisfying. The levels were very long too so it didn't feel like I was blowing through the game too quickly.

The executions, if you do pull them off, are awesome. They're extremely violent and brutal, and even though they are filtered due to controversy from the ratings board, you can still tell what's going on with no problem. I have always loved Rockstar's games, from the obvious GTA games, to the lesser known Max Payne or Table Tennis games. I am new the the Manhunt franchise and will probably go pick up the original game for the xbox sometime. The story may not have been as engrossing or cinematic as the MGS games, but I found the game play to be just as tight, if not better. The graphics also looked fantastic on the PSP, I was impressed at how well some of the levels looked, probably just as good as the PS2 version. Manhunt 2 is out for the PSP, PS2, and Wii (probably will take the cake as the most violent game to ever come out on Wii). If you're in to violent stealthy games, I'd pick this one up.

Honest reviews on Manhunt 2 - Sony PSP

The Good: Creepy unsettling atmosphere, gruesome, gory stealth kills, decent story, lots of weapons

The Bad: Censorship detracts you from the experience, story doesn't fill you in enough, most people won't be able to play the uncensored version

While this game doesn't quite live up to its controversy or hype it is a wonderful action game. You play as Daniel Lamb who escapes from an asylum trying to find out who he is and why he is there. While the story takes forever to unfold and is told in tiny bits and pieces it's there. The core game play is the stealth. While this game makes you use your skill over luck it makes for a more rewarding experience. You can hide in the shadows and sneak up on people and perform stealth kills which are gruesome and awesome to watch. There are three different levels of kills depending on how long you hold the action button down for.

Each level is more violent and gruesome and there are tons of different weapons and environmental kills to use. While the kills are somewhat censored with a grainy blurry filter over it this detracts a lot from the experience. I personally played the uncensored version because that's the only way to play. What makes this game so gruesome is if you shoot someone in the head you make a huge hole right through the middle and their brains splatter against the wall. You can saw off people's heads, smash scythes through their skulls, rip out their spines with crowbars, and even slice up their throat with a garrote wire. While not every stealth kill is gory they are bloody and look painful.

Due to Rockstar choosing the older hardware they couldn't pull off super gruesome kills where guts are flying everywhere. There is also gun play where you'll have to go out and kill people but this isn't as fun as the stealth. You'll LOVE Manhunt 2 and if you can tolerate the censorship then go for it. I'd give the censored version an 8.0 but since I played it uncensored I give it an 8.5.

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Manhunt 2 is an awesome game you get to kill people in fun ways what more could you ask for, does not get too repetitive, constantly throwing new weapons at you and the story is pretty cool. Suggest it to anyone looking for a great psp game for a great price.

Cheap Nyko Intercooler STS for Xbox 360

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $18.97
Today's Bonus: 5% Off

I didn't buy this off Amazon but it is so great I had to review it for others here. This fan is literally every last word it claims to be. It is fully automatic, and will even turn on and off by itself when the system is OFF if it's still too hot. It has a very powerful fan, and moves heat consistently and efficiently. I would recommend this to anyone.

I have had mine for almost 5 months and haven't had to touch it once since I installed it. It does the job, and it does it very, very well.

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To start I didn't think that this item would be worth it, that is until I received it and put into action. Placing the STS on the Xbox was a "Snap" and it cleans up real nice. Not to mention it is very quiet. You don't hear it running during gaming mode. It does just like it says it does, works when it registers the temp. going up and stays working even after the Xbox is shut down allowing the system to cool down. This Intercooler STS is well worth the price and Im sure with it keeping my Xbox at a normal temperature will add longevity to my gaming experience. I have recommended this Intercooler to all of my gamer enthusiasts. Thanks for everything.

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The product runs after the unit is powered off (good) and turns off automatically. It directs the air out and away from other components.

Honest reviews on Nyko Intercooler STS for Xbox 360

Ive owned quite a few consoles over the last decade and a half. Im telling you flat out that the best thing to do is buy one of these for your Xbox 360 slim. With a few other reasons of course.

The system generates enough heat that over time will cook itself. "If" you want to increase the lifespan of your Xbox 360 S console buy this fan for the following reasons.

It fits snug on the side of the console and neatly plugs into the back USB port, powered by the console itself.

The amount of heat it removes from the console is substantial enough that it dried my hands in 2 minutes after washing them. Thats an example of how much heat it pulls out of the console itself.

It runs quietly enough.

OTHER TIPS YOU NEED TO CONSIDER

DONT stand your xbox up on its end. Lay it on its side. Statistics show scratch rings occur when using your console when its standing. The game disc then becomes unreadable, and uninstallable. It also makes the game "untradeworthy" when you stand your console on its side because of these pictures like the one showing this product. People think youre supposed to stand the console upright and thats ok. Its not. Another reason is heat RISES. So to get the most heat out of your console, lay it down. In the picture the fan is at the lowest point, heat is at the highest. Despite any vent at the top the fan is more useful when the xbox is laying down.

Install your games onto your hard drive (or USB/Memory device). When going to the xbox dashboard, and pressing "X" from the controller you can select "play" on the dashboard which confirms the console starting the game for you... but running it from its storage device WITHOUT spinning the disc after confirming its authenticity. That way youre not playing from a spinning disc which constantly wears down the engine, this will generate LESS heat, AND increases load up times and decreases lag in your games by running the game from data not from the disc but from the installed data from the game itself.

The only reason i didnt give this 5 stars is because the exact same product which i owned before purchasing another one stopped working after 3 months. The fan engine died. Hopefully this one lasts longer.

Happy gaming.

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I have an RGH Xbox 360. For those of you that don't know what that means, it is basically a modified Xbox. The system tells me what temperatures I am at on my CPU, GPU, Memory, and Case. Just for sh!ts and giggles I checked to see what exact effect it had on my xbox before and after putting it on. After using the xbox for about 2 hours the CPU's temperature was at 177.3 F. Within 10 minutes of putting this fan back on it dropped to 153.4 F. Everything else dropped proportionately as well. I actually just purchased a second one, one for my modded xbox and one for my xbox live xbox.

Discount KontrolFreek GamerPack ULTRA

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List Price: $34.99
Sale Price: $20.99
Today's Bonus: 40% Off

Bought the KontrolFreek extensions since i have big hands and the xbox controller is small to me. The extensions are great. I am using both styles and both work great.

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I've used the KontrolFreeks now for several weeks and have not found them to really be that useful unless you love sniping within your favorite FPS game. I found that my hand and even my wrist were uncomfortable after several hours of gameplay due to the elevated thumbs (These simply sit on top of your existing buttons making them easily 300% taller.) This also is a pain due to the fact that when you're transitioning your thumb to an analog button, the motion take just that much longer... All in all I would not recommend these and certainly would not purchase again.

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the most oddly shaped and hard to figure out, its a wast of money. put simply, sucks ass. complicated and poorly designed

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Due to the reviews and knowing my style of aiming in an FPS needed help I thought I would try these.

I was pleasantly surprised, again, for my gaming style in FPS games, such as COD Black Ops 2, BF3 etc..

that it really did calm down the aiming.

Product came as described, delivered on time as stated.

Would recommend to others that are looking to change up their game play in an FPS.

Very cool product!

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the steering is great for racing games on the left thumbs stick... but when you play cod or other shooter styles its makes your finger hurt and you cant get used to it... specially when you have to click in order to run.

the extra height on the right thumb is phenomenal for aiming though... it will improve your gaming scores once you get the hang on it.

i recommend for you left thumb some thing made or rubber than just slips on top and doesnt add height but rather surface area... i would not recommend any of the other style KrontrolFreek attachments for the left thumb.

IMO a rubber grip for the left thumb stick is the way to go... except for racing, then the steering one included in this kit works great...

Best Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition High Definition Game Capture Deals

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List Price: $199.99
Sale Price: $166.32
Today's Bonus: 17% Off

To start off, I'm writing this review solely from the perspective of someone using this to record footage from video game consoles (an Xbox 360, in my case), because that's why I bought it and that's all I've used it for so far.

Upon opening the box, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there was a component cable included, a nice bonus. The first thing you'll notice is how light the device itself is. The all-plastic body and the lack of weight contribute to give it a slight cheap feeling, but this is not reflective of the overall quality of the device, as I'm about to explain.

The HD PVR has pass-through outputs, which means you can plug your console into the PVR and then the PVR into your TV (with the included component cable), eliminating the need to split the signal. I was a little bit worried about any input lag caused by the pass-through, but I was thankful to discover that there is absolutely none. The one downside of this, if any, is that the PVR has to be on for the pass-through outputs to work. It doesn't have to be recording and the software doesn't have to be open, so it's not that big of a deal, but it's just one more device that is sapping power.

After getting everything hooked up, you have to install the included software on whatever PC you're going to be using to record. The software installation was pain-free, although I recommend getting the latest driver updates from their website and the latest software updates through the software itself. Make sure that you do NOT lose the CD, as you can only download the driver from Hauppauge's website, not the included software. One of the downsides of the PVR is that only the included software and a small list of 3rd party software will work with the device. Luckily, this isn't that big of an issue as the included software works great, with minimal issues.

One of the great things about the HD PVR is that it does all of the H.264 encoding on the box itself. In other words, you won't need a high-end PC to record in HD because the HD PVR does all of the heavy processing. You will need a high-end PC to watch and edit HD video, however. Unless you're just archiving or using the PC as a storage device (and then accessing the recorded videos on your 360, for instance), you're going to want a high-end PC to edit and playback the video that you record. There's simply no getting around this: if you want to produce videos in HD, you're going to need the tools for it.

The preview window provides smooth, full-quality video. There is a significant amount of lag between the source and the software preview window, however. If you were hoping to sit at your PC and play by watching the preview window, you can forget it. The input lag will make it impossible.

Overall, the video and audio quality are excellent. This will produce video miles beyond any SDi capture card you have. The device will record in whatever format you input (1080i, 720p, etc.). I would recommend going with 720p over 1080i. The lack of interlacing outweighs the gain in resolution, in my opinion (unless you're taking a screenshot or taking video with little movement). It support frame rates up to 60fps, maybe beyond. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 720p at 60fps looks absolutely beautiful. The device lets you change the bitrate from 1MBps to 13.5MBps, so you can increase the quality of the video and sacrifice a small file size, if you wish. I find 8MBps to be a good balance. It allows you to fit 1 1.5 hours into around 5GB, and it still provides video that's good enough for YouTube HD uploads and similar casual usage. If you're going for production-quality video with almost no compression artifacts, you can easily increase the bit rate, but you're going to pay for it in file size and the power it requires to process.

All video is encoded in H.264. The software lets you record in 3 container formats: .TS, which is a generic 'transport stream' compatible with many digital media players; .M2TS, which is compatible with the Sony Playstation 3; and .MP4, which is compatible with the Xbox 360. These are somewhat-confusingly labeled "AVCHD", "PlayStation 3", and "Xbox 360" in the software, respectively. It's important to note that *this has nothing to do with what you're recording from* it only has bearing on what device you want to play back the recorded footage. The MP4 format will play back on an Xbox 360, while the other formats will not. I recommend choosing the format that works best with whatever software you're going to use to edit the video, or whatever device you plan on using to watch the video. Note that most software will be able to open/edit an MP4 file, while I've found less compatibility with the other formats. If you plan to burn footage to Blu-Ray disk, though, go with .TS, as it's the format used on Blu-Ray disks and so your video won't require any transcoding, which is very nice (you can burn a Blu-Ray disk in just a few minutes).

If you don't want your footage encoded in H.264, there is an included converter program that can convert to variety of formats, but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't tell you how well it works.

The only two minor issues that I've had have involved the software. Sometimes the capture program will not recognize the device, requiring you to unplug it from the computer and plug it back in, at which point it should work normally. It's not that big of an issue, and it may be specific to my computer, but it's worth noting.

Secondly, the included playback application, TotalMedia Theater, causes a hard reboot whenever I try to start it. This also isn't that big of a deal because there's lots of other software that can play back the recorded files. Based on searches in which I've found only a couple of mentions about the problem it appears to be a very rare issue, but it's still worth noting. (I'm using Vista 32-bit, for reference).

Overall, the HD PVR is great for recording footage from hi-def consoles like the 360 and PS3. It's easy to use, doesn't require an insanely powerful PC, and produces good-quality video and audio in a good format at a reasonable file-size. Although the price is a bit steep, it's worth it if you really want to record high-quality, high-definition game footage from your 360 or PS3. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in a response and I'll try to answer them as best as I can.

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Here's the summary:

Not a DVR. This is a pass-thru from audio/video source to PC.

Generates H.264 at Baseline Profile 1.0 only -not the High Profile 4.1 that x264.exe-based programs generate. The Baseline H.264 quality is not as good as the High Profile quality using the same bit rate.

Generates default .M2TS files which are difficult to edit -use the .TS file output instead for easier editing.

Arcsoft software is good for capturing and that's it. The software for creating a disk always seems to re-encode -a process that takes my PC days or makes my PC hang.

After capture, I have to use third-party software to finish production.

The product is not an easy out-of-the box solution. Hookup is easy, and the Arcsoft software installation is easy, capturing is easy, but it gets tricky after that.

When you capture, you can set bitrates. I set my 720x480i broadcast to 4.1 MB/s thinking it would be fine. When I made a disk and played it on the Blu Ray player, the video had a horribly compressed look. That was a straight H.264 file from the HD-PVR 1212 unit to disk without transcoding. But when I transcode some other high-quality 480i video using an x264.exe-based application with 4.1 MB/s the video quality is fine.

Now I made the mistake of capturing my first video in .M2TS. Tried to edit it. Lots of software doesn't like .M2TS. I didn't know that then, but I know now. Fortunately I was able to use the freeware TSRemux to convert the .M2TS file to a .TS file. Now apps like H264TS_Cutter and multiAVCHD are happier. Lots of crashes and failures with .M2TS.

Editing. I use H264TS_Cutter to cut out commercials. This app is handy -you take clips you want to save and create a cut without transcoding. This is important in the H.264 video world because transcoding takes days on my PCs, but the H264TS_Cutter makes a cut in minutes. You can also join two files in this manner. H264TS_Cutter has never crashed on me with .TS files. I tried using a little more complicated app for cutting -TS Packet Editor -but I had to reboot my PC after each file edit.

Creating a video disk. I use multiAVCHD. It lets me make a simple menu for the multiple titles. To get this to generate a Blu-Ray format file structure, I had to (after clicking Start) select the button [AVCHD compatible players] -the button [For all Blu-ray players] wouldn't work in my Blu-Ray player.

The size of the output files determines what size disk I can use. I use Imgburn to burn to DVD-5, DVD-9, or BD-25 -this plays in my Blu-Ray player as long as I choose the UDF physical format and UDF 2.50.

That's the quick way of taking the output from the HD-PVR 1212 and placing it on Blu-Ray compatible disk. If all this that I've described sounds like Greek, be wary of this purchase. You'll need to do your homework on using these 3rd-party apps (though fortunately the ones I've described are free) to keep the production time to a minimum and spare yourself days of needless suffering. Had these tools been included and described in the bundled software for this purchase, it would have saved me about two weeks of trial, research, and error.

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June posting

ok I would have given this 5 stars but this comes with current problem with it, this has optical in for 5.1DD recording at this time hauppuage can not get this to work so you are stuck with PCM 2.0 or audio from the analog imputs, now to the rest, it records video at 1920x1080 at same or near Blu ray discs, you have a choice of bitrate constant from 1 to 13.5 Kb or on variable all the way up to 20.2, this records in the same codeec (AVCHD) as blu ray and HD DVD discs, it will take any component imput, I have mine through my receiver where my Dishnet PVR HD, PS3, HD DVD and Oppo DVD player runs through, just for test purposes I tried all my devices and what I test recorded from dishnet, blu ray, DVD and HD DVD the test disc looked no different than the original source, once you capture your source you can then edit or add chapters then you get to add a real cheapo menu and then put in what disc you need to burn either a DVD-R or a dual layer DVD Disc, it takes about 10 minutes to author your recording to Blu ray standard and burn on your normal DVD as a true Blu ray playable Disc, beware once you burn your DVD as a blu ray playback DVD you will not be able to read it in your computer again unless you have a Blu ray Rom or Blu Ray Burner, once and if Hauppuage ever gets the 5.1 DD fixed this could be the killer to blu ray Discs, hauppuage claims by next driver release they will include the 5.1 fix. Beware this is Xp service pack 2 or Vista operating system only, also you must have a fast computer to use this device and its programs, I have a dual core 3.4 gig Intel, 2gigs of ram, 2 500 sata HDD and had to buy a nvidia 7600 512 meg video card to get this up to speed and at the fastest bitrate 13,500 I cant do anything else on the computer, but this is the problem with Hi def, its power hungry, now I can finally put my hi def movies of all 6 star wars and 3 lord of the rings on DVD for 1080i blu ray playback, you can also convert the finished files over to movie factory 6 to burn on a normal DVD for HD DVD playback also.

August update...

Ok been doing alot of capturing, have made 40 dual layer DVDs for blu ray playback and 10 dual layers for HD DVD playback. the video qua;ity is great if you keep it above 7.8 bitrate, only major drawback is no 5.1DD audio, I am now Beta tesing the 5.1DD audio driver right now, wow this makes a huge difference with the sound. Problems still, wont work with the arch software yet, sync problems, but works with TSmuxer. There seems to be heat related issues with some boxes, mine stays on 7, 10, 15 hours at a time never gets overly warm and never locks up. I have done well over 100 captures with this device. Having an Lg blu ray burner and blanks getting below $8 each, this might be the future for capturing and buring HD content at the PVR's full 13.2 to 20.0 bitrate in the future. If hauppauge can just tweak this 5.1DD driver a bit more I think this will be a great little device.

October update,

I am now a beta tester for hauppauge and I finally got 5.1DD drivers and TME software that works, so now I got a card that finally works capturing movies the way I wanted it to, 5.1DD and can also edit with the software and no more sync issues, burn to dual layers DVD's or $4 blu ray discs.

December Update

Ok Hauppauge support finally has Drivers and software out for general public that makes this device work properly. you can capture 1080i from any component ouput using the 5.1DD and you get a great captured TS or M2TS file ready to burn to a blu ray or dual layer DVD with or without menu. since october I have captured and burned over 50 movies onto disc in 5.1DD and they look great, the ones from the 1080p sources look really great. Now I manually record all my movies, so I do not know how this works with a timer or sageTV.

Feb Posting

some here wanted me to post to let you know of known problems with this and dishnet, I find there is no exact problems per say with the PVR1212 and Dishnet, you should know that sometimes when you use this device with the dishnet you get out of sync problems and digital tears in the picture, most, if no all is the blame of dishnet or most likey the channel the show is broadcast from. Example: I have tried 7-8 times to capture and record Spaceballs from MGM HD channel every time its out of sync and every time its being played out of sync on MGM HD over dishnet before I even capture it. Please keep in mind when using this device, HD content is never perfect and they "big hollywood" does not want you to capture and record their programs. So dont be surprised if "they" are always trying anything to foil you capturing a Hi Def Digital program, be it dish, cable, PS3 or HD-DVD. so far I have captured and burned onto dual layer DVD's 130 movies from all such sources all coming out perfect, be it analog, 2DD or 5.1DD audio. yeah where else can you watch on a disc, star wars, lord of the rings, batman, star trek movies in hi def, way to go hauppauge. :)

Honest reviews on Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition High Definition Game Capture

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)As long as you know exactly what you are getting with the Hauppauge HD PVR, you won't be disappointed with the performance of this little black box. It is designed for PC Windows users only, although Mac owners can use it with some add-ons.

First, you'll need to understand and accept what this PVR does not do: without any memory or hard drive inside, it does not store video itself, making the PVR label somewhat misleading, and it does not burn video to DVD. To use it, you must hook it up to a PC or Mac (more on the Mac later) for both recording and playback. And it relies entirely on software running on your computer to record, edit, program, and burn Blu-ray format DVDs. The box itself has no controls other than a power button. It has component, composite, and S-video connections (no HDMI) for video, and optical and stereo audio inputs.

So what does it do? It takes the HD signals streaming into it and compresses them in a format that preserves the HD quality in a savable AVCHD file; you can record/save manually or on a schedule. These signals can come from a set top box, camcorder or other video source that can connect with the above inputs. The included ArcSoft Media software for Windows allows you to record on either the computer hard drive or an external one. Once the files are saved, you may use your computer's DVD-R drive to burn a Blu-Ray-compatible DVD or HD-DVD, edit, play back on your computer or television, convert to iPod-, Xbox-, or PS3-friendly format (MOV, MP4, M2TS, or WMV), or share playback within the same wireless network. The included IR blaster can change the channels on your set top box to the one you've programmed to record. Note: the blaster works with the included software and therefore only on Windows.

Chances are, you're going to have to do some thinking before you decide how to set up the PVR. The conversion box is 7.5" w by 6.5" d by 2/5 " h, so it doesn't take up much space itself. However, you will need a computer next to the HD source. For those who don't have their computer in the same room as the set top box, this may mean buying a computer specifically for video, and naturally, that increases the price of the set-up. However, if you don't plan on recording every day, you can hook up/unhook a laptop very easily just pull out the USB cable and your connection, if any, to the television. Hauppauge includes the basic component cables (HD source to PVR) and USB cable (PVR to your computer), but, if you want to play the video back on your TV, you will need to buy the necessary cables/connections for that. As of June 2009, the bundled PC software includes a program that allows your PC DVD drive to play the PVR Blu-Ray-format recordings. Depending on your set-up, you may want to add a USB hub, an external hard drive, and/or Apple TV.

Unfortunately for Mac users, Hauppauge does not support OS X, which means you'll have an additional software expense. Two software packages currently work with the Mac and the Hauppauge. The cheaper and less elegant solution is a program called HDPVR Capture, developed and sold privately by a Hauppauge engineer. The fuller featured, more versatile option is Elgato's EyeTV , but unfortunately, you can't use several of the features because it doesn't communicate with the IR Blaster to change channels. Both programs are available only online, although EyeTV 3 comes bundled with Elgato hardware products. If you can find a workaround for the blaster issue, the EyeTV 3 will be nothing short of awesome. It converts the PVR files to a wide variety of formats used by iLife programs. Hauppauge really needs to work more closely with Elgato to satisfy the rapidly growing Mac population. If you are a serious videophile and Mac user, you'll probably also want a product like Roxio Toast 10 Titanium Pro.

The minimum systems requirements for the PVR are: Intel Core Duo processor, 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended), graphics card with at least 256 MB memory, and a sound card. Windows users need either the XP Service Pack or Vista 32. I'm using a three year old Intel Core Duo MacBook without any difficulty. I bypass the MacBook's hard drive to save all my recordings on a portable external hard drive, the Iomega eGo 320 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400 Portable External Hard Drive 34403 (Ruby Red).

Consumers expecting a DVR with onboard memory and playback may be frustrated with the Hauppauge since it requires a computer, but for those who want to capture HD content and do something with it, you've found your equipment.

With special thanks to fellow reviewer Frank Miller.

-Debbie Lee Wesselmann

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition High Definition Game Capture

Let me say on the record I am very experienced with Hauppauge's line of HD PVRs, having owned the original HD PVR for years. When I heard about the HD PVR 2, I was ecstatic. On to the product.

The unit comes in a slightly smaller, stout box than the HD PVR1. It came with the main unit, power adapter, 2 HDMI cables (cheap, generic kind), AV connector, PS3 Component Cable, USB cable, Install CD, and various booklets.

Installation: 3/5

I plugged the unit in immediately to my Windows 7 PC hoping the advertised pass-through would work out of the box. Nope. The unit requires being on and the driver installed. So, I installed the latest drivers from the website. I eventually reverted to the on-disc drivers because of audio being flipped on the website drivers and problems with the component recording side. I also installed the Arcsoft Showbiz application included easily.

Software: 3/5

I'll say right now I'm not a fan of the bundled software, as I was not a fan of the TotalMediaExtreme software from the HD PVR1. This software does the job, but it is sluggish to record. Before you could disable the picture of whatever you were recording, but that option is now out. Initially, the button on the top would work and simply launch the application and begin recording. However, now it no longer works and I have to manually open the application, which isn't that big of a problem since I don't use it. To get to the capture software, you have to open Showbiz which to me is a bunch of bloatware. It would be much better if the actual recording program was separate from ShowBiz, if it was, I might actually stick with their software. I actually use a command line interface which doesn't use CPU or memory at all compared to the ShowBiz software. Google rcTVCap for more information.

Tweaking the encoder overall works fine. You can adjust the bitrate and recording scaling just fine through the encoder settings. The only problem I have is that when feeding a 480p signal (HDMI or component), it doesn't come out through the recording as 16:9, but correctly through the pass-through. I've tried this with both on disc and website drivers. If for some reason you were to feed a 16:9 480p, it'll be 720x480 which isn't 16:9 (854x480 is 16:9). Oddly enough, there is aspect ratio control in the encoder settings, but they'r grayed out, most likely because it's getting the wrong source resolution. But for 720p and 1080p the unit takes 16:9 ratios just fine.

Build Quality: 4/5

The unit looks much better than the original HD PVR. It's also much smaller, I'd estimate about 30% smaller. The unit doesn't get hot, even running or recording for extended periods. The cables included were of course bare minimum. But I think it was a bonus that they included a component cable for the PS3 and 2 HDMI cables to boot. Really, as long as the HDMI cable works, it's just as good as those "high-end" and high priced HDMI calbes (looking at you Monster). As for sturdiness, it's pretty light and I would guess that if you dropped something heavy like a brick, it would break. However, it should be common sense to not load anything heavy on top of the unit. It's sturdy enough for just placing on a table for extended periods.

Pros:

-Cheaper than other HDMI capture solutions.

-HDMI Capture 1080p30 and 720p60

-"Pass-through" for lag free gameplay (i have a couple thoughts about this).

-Doesn't have very specific requirements (i.e. Blackmagic Shuttle) at least for Windows Platform.

-Comes with HDMI and Component cables

-External, no need for PCI-E slot or high-end computer for that matter.

Cons:

-Installation can be a headache for some people

-PS3 can only be recorded via component (not Hauppauge's fault, due to HDCP on PS3)

-Website support and drivers can be iffy

-Component capture doesn't work half the time (have to restart computer to correct).

-Pass-through requires unit to be on and switched to appropriate channel (hdmi or av/component)

Other thoughts:

As for the pass through. I'll just say I don't exactly believe in it providing lagless gameplay. I compared a straight connection from source to monitor to having the unit connected. The pictures differ. The picture out of the HD PVR2 is ever so slightly fuzzier or less sharp. The colors also seem slightly washed out. I also play fighting games with a passion and I can most often tell if there is some sort of input delay. Unfortunately, I haven't tested through the hdmi connection, but from just playing on the PS3 hooked up via component, it felt like there was some sort of input delay. From my understanding, when converting analog to digital, which I assume is what happens when recording through component, there is definitely delay introduced. To not worry about all this, I use a powered HDMI splitter.

Conclusion:

Overall, the HD PVR has its share of plus-es and minus-es. Normally, I would think about returning a product like this. However, it gets the job done. Right now, it's the only way I can effectively record from HDMI (1080p) without need of PCI-E slots, or ridiculous specific requirements. Plus, I'm able to record via command line which makes the unit even better. I mostly use the unit for recording PC gameplay and so far without a hitch. I won't be using this to record anything from the PS3.

PC Specs:

Windows 7

Intel i7 3.4GhZ

Nvidia GTX 670

16 GB RAM

2x 2TB RAID 0

I will try to update this review as I get more experience with the unit and tack on more hours of recording.

Update: Apparently, the delay introduced when hooking up component through the unit is 60 microseconds, which is no where near one frame delay (60fps setting). So my gut feeling about input delay is most likely wrong. Again, I don't have equipment to scientifically test input delay and can only go off conjecture.

Best Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy - Nintendo Wii Deals

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List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $43.95
Today's Bonus: 12% Off

Brake your self...or at least others.

The game is in the vein of the show so if you like the destruction and absurdity of the show you'll enjoy the game. This is a button masher game, but it does have a little skill requirement as it uses just about every part of the wii remote. Worth it for anyone who wants a party beat 'm up game. A little boring in single mode. It's a battle game threw-n-threw.

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It's the hit show on Cartoon Network like you've never seen or played before !

The "Billy and Mandy" video game may look like your garden variety multiplayer combat game with weapons and destructible environments, but this has some of your favorite characters from the show such as the hapless Irwin, the chaotic Eris, the sinister Nergal and Nergal Jr., the prank-pulling Jack O. Lantern, the annoying Fred Fredburger, and much more. Each character has a special power move and alternate costumes that you can unlock. There are various modes of play including a "Mission Mode" that unlocks characters and other neat extras like a sneak peek at a brand new "Grim Adventures" special coming soon ! Plus the Wii exclusively has a SIXTH tier of missions that unlock even more cool stuff !

So if you like "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" on Cartoon Network, and if you like no-holds-barred fighting games, then this is definitely the game for you. You know you want it !

Best Deals for Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy - Nintendo Wii

Billy and Mandy prove to be quite fun for children. The graphics are quite good. I find the game fast paced and hard to follow but the kids love it! It has some qualities that remind one of days gone by with atari and nintendo at their earliest.

Honest reviews on Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy - Nintendo Wii

I bought this based on the good reviews. My 9yo son was very disappointed in the game. It sounds way more fun than it actually is. Glad I bought it cheep!

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I bought this game because i once played it at a friend's house, it was fun, although characters dont move fast its still fun to kick and punch and throw stuff at other characters.

Review of Turtlebeach X1/X11/X31/X41/PX21/PX5/XP400/XP500 Xbox Live Talkback

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These cables for turtle beach headset are not worth the money you pay for them.. They last about 2 months and quit working... 20.00 every few monthes gets quite expensive. getting reading to switch over to a wired headset..

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First off,love the color love it all looks like the original but my original was white and my original broke because i sat and laid on it and it would make crackling sounds and echo this one does not and thank you guys for this amazing replacement.

Best Deals for Turtlebeach X1/X11/X31/X41/PX21/PX5/XP400/XP500 Xbox Live Talkback

When my chat cable for my X41s starting shorting out, I went on the hunt for a replacement. I originally purchased a cheesy one on the cheap, but within 3 months I needed another. My buddy recommended these to me. It's actually better than the original chat cable. You will not be disappointed in this cable. If your Turtle Beach chat cable took a dump on you, this is the replacement to get!

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looks good on my xp500s and finally something to help me so people are not shouting in my ear can finally control their loudness

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Come on people, Google "Turtle Beach" and go directly to their website. I just bought an OEM replacement cable for $5.95 + tax and shipping. A whole $12 after all is said and done, but you want to pay $20 + shipping from a RESELLER?

Don't buy into the BS about this being "better than the original," because this is the original. This the same OEM replacement that you can find on Turtle Beach's website

Discount Retrolink Nintendo NES USB Adapter for PC and Mac

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List Price: $22.00
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People who rate this low were probably having the same problem that I was (until I fixed it)--

Windows recognized the adapter/controller combo, but pushing buttons and moving the d pad didn't seem to do anything (or it would like like I was pressing *everything* at once).

-Fixed by *slightly* bending the pins inward (outward might work too) to make better contact with the sockets on the controller. I *think* the pins are slightly smaller than on the original NES. Whatever the problem is, if the connection isn't made, the device will appear to be broken.

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I attempted to buy the "Retrolink" adapter shown in the image above, but was shipped a "Retro-bit" branded adapter. I was disappointed not to get what was shown in the image on the Amazon.com web page where I added it to my shopping cart. I'm even more disappointed by the adapter's performance. When I use it to plug in my NES controller, I find crosstalk between my buttons, and I'm unable to properly calibrate it. Up, Left, and Right on the D-pad work, but Down crosstalks with Left, button 1 crosstalks with button 2, button 2 crosstalks with button 3, button 3 crosstalks with button 4, and button 4 crosstalks with Up. The result is that my games get multiple button responses when I press only one button. This is terribly disappointing. It may be possible to crack open the adapter and do some soldering or other surgery on its guts, but I lack the tools and skills for that, and I'd rather have my money back. Two big thumbs down for the shoddy workmanship of the product that was shipped to me instead of what I ordered.

Best Deals for Retrolink Nintendo NES USB Adapter for PC and Mac

This is like the sweetest thing ever made. It turns your computer into a nintendo, a nintendo with every nintendo game ever made. No more using the stupid keyboard to try and blast aliens in Contra. No more running Bo Jackson out of bounds when your finger slips going for the last score in tecmo bowl. Serious, GET THIS THING. You won't be sad.

I use it with Nestopia for my mac. You need to download and install the emulator enhancer (don't forget to restart) Then it should ask you to configure the joystick when it reboots. If not just go to configure joystick in the menu and you're good to go.

Honest reviews on Retrolink Nintendo NES USB Adapter for PC and Mac

If you're using an NES emulator, you've probably run into the same problem I had: finding a controller that mimics the originals. It seems no modern USB controller quite got the D-pad right. This simple accessory solved my problem. Finally, Mario is once again able to climb those bean stocks without constantly falling off.

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It is a "retro-bit" adapter, as all the other reviews mention.

I first thought I was going to have a problem with this adapter. I use Windows 7 and the VirtuaNES emulator. The adapter was recognized automatically, no drivers need to be updated. So Windows 7 recognized the adapter as the "NES Controller USB" in Control Panel. Right click the controller and choose "Game Controller Settings." "NES Controller USB" should already be highlighted and then choose "Properties." Go to the Settings tab and calibrate the controller.

What happened to me was this: the regular NES controller did not function properly. I initially tried to calibrate it and nothing would work. However, I moved the pins a little as another reviewer suggested to get a more "snug" connection, and that seemed to allow most of the buttons on the original NES controller to function. The D pad still did not work completely, only certain positions, even though it works completely fine on my NES.

However, I tried a different controller, an NES Max controller, and everything calibrated fine and playing games worked great. So the adapter does work, but I guess it depends on the controller. I really think the "snug connection" is the main issue as others have mentioned, that my NES Max controller just had a better connection to the adapter than my regular NES controller. And the bottom line is this: if the controller won't calibrate properly, then it will not work properly with the controller, so you have to check the calibration in control panel first.

4 stars because it works, but it took a little extra time to get it to work. I would have given it 5 stars if I didn't need to troubleshoot all of this.

Luckily, I had a second controller.

Best Mario Protector Skin Decal Sticker for Xbox 360 Slim (1 piece Deals

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Think this is a great idea my son has a wii and a 360 ,but he loves Mario everything . This will complete his collection

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I don't understand the logic of putting a Nintendo character on your Xbox 360. And I expect that the good people at Nintendo and Microsoft don't either.

Reviews of Crysis 2 - Xbox 360

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This review is coming from a guy who after playing the demo for 6 hours still wanted more

The good:

*Campaign is big, and took about 11 hours with a fair amount of graphics ogling and exploring (to put this into perspective, I beat modern warfare 2 in about 4.5-5)

*The levels that take place directly in the heart of the city have this sandbox feel to them that I haven't felt since metal gear solid 4, you really feel like you have freedom to approach the situations as you see fit.

*Just finished my play through on the hardest difficulty. You can get through 16 of the 19 levels without firing a bullet if you're stealthy enough, and the other 3 only have one required firefight in each. Very impressive for an fps.

*Slipping in and out of cloak for stealth kills on the humans is badass, especially when they are aware something is wrong

*TONS of weapon and suit customization, you wont get all of it in one play through.

*Graphics(HD tv, probably the best I've seen all year)

*The musical score is absolutely amazing, Hans Zimmer working on this project is just awesome

*Didn't know this, but apparently it supports 3d, for the 8 of you out there who that applies to

The Bad:

*Multiplayer matchmaking is still kind of wonky

*Complaints from the demo are still present(Stealth kill animations don't work right occasionally, host migration sometimes fails and ends the match, etc)

* As usual the writing suffers at a few points, but show me a game that doesn't

I would put it as a contender for game of the year, but with Skyrim, mass effect 3, Arkham ciy, uncharted, portal 2, La noire, witcher 2 and sooooo many other high profile games to come, crysis 2 sets the bar high, very high, for this years video game entertainment along with the likes of killzone 3 and dead space 2. 2011 is off to a great start but Crysis 2 is definitely leading the way.

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I got Homefront and Crysis 2 on the same day but I'll leave my Homefront review for another day because since Crysis 2 went into my 360 it hasn't left it.

Graphically really nothing comes close to Crysis 2. Now let me clarify that statement from the angle from a retired video game programmer : there are other games currently available such as Halo Reach or Mass Effect 2 which do seem to offer equivalent next gen visuals but they're fudging a lot of what you see. In many cases the lighting may not be dynamic or the reflections aren't really true, the game engine instead falls back on pre-rendered shadow maps and refmaps to use the geeky jargon. The Crysis 3 engine does it all and seemingly for real. A good example would be at the beginning of the game I came across a blue flashlight just laying around. I thought it was important and picked it up thinking it would come in handy later. But no, it's just there to show off the realtime shadows that EVERYTHING in the environment casts. It was toy the devs put there for you to play around with. And your onscreen character also casts shadows everywhere not just where the programmers thought it would look cool in the level.

But graphically there's so much more the water effects, the smoke, the mist, the ultra realistic fire, the in-game rendered cut scenes and of course the massive NY buildings are all a step above what any other game offers. I could ramble all day about the visuals but really you should download the multi-player demo to get a tiny taste of it.

Of course, visuals alone do not a good game make, and the gameplay has to be equally as good. Thankfully Crytek learned from their other 360 outing (FarCry) which was rather lacking in the things-to-do department, and with Crysis 2 they added a slew of entertaining ways and unique tools to approach any situation. Sure, what we have here is a glorified corridor shooter where your direction is preset due to the commands barked at you from a static intercom. But most of the action is in huge open areas with distinct hints depending on your choice of play want to stealth it out and take out the bad guys silently? No problem. Want to go in guns blazing? Again that's no problem. Want to do a bit of both, heck that's covered too. I never felt rushed even on levels that were applying pressure to get to the end and I completed the missions at my own pace. The tension is real, caused by the intense on-screen action, and not because of some fake clock timing down in the corner of the screen. This game deserves to be savored at your leisure and let's you do so.

I really don't have anything negative to say about the single player campaign even though the game has a couple of my ultimate pet hates. One, you will lose all of your weapons and powers at some point and there's nothing you can do about it and two, boss battles. Boss battles can destroy a game for me turning what could be a fun experience into an exercise in repetitively learning the correct way to kill the boss but not here. It all felt flowing and natural and not forced or repetitive.

I completed single player on the easiest setting in 9 hours and 45 minutes. It felt long and these days that's a good thing. I immediately started a new campaign from the beginning on the hardest setting. I want to get some of the collectibles that I missed but also relive the game's finer moments. You can tell it's a good game when despite needing sleep you decide to do one more mission.

Multiplayer is where I'm holding off. It can take weeks, months sometimes to get enough experience in an MP game such as this to decide just how really good it is. Frankly I consider MP to be a bonus and would easily have paid the full price for the SP alone.

If you read my other game reviews you'll see I'm quite harsh on games. It's rare, although not unprecedented, that I consider a game worthy of all stars. This is one and it should be in your game collection immediately.

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I had been playing Halo Reach and Black Ops since release and got burned out on them so I switched over to Crysis 2. I have had the game for a couple weeks now and I have really enjoyed the game. In my Opinion the Campaign is much better than Black Ops and if there was an inclusion of Coop it would have been on Par with Reach. Multiplayer is also fun but for me is slightly behind both Reach and Black Ops for multiplayer.

Maybe as I progress through the multi more it will get better. And one thing it does MUCH better than Black Ops is pairing you up with opponents that are at an equal playing level to yourself. In Black Ops you were almost always completely over matched or completely dominating. There was no middle road in the matchmaking and Crysis does a GREAT job with this.

The Campaign has an AWESOME open fell to the levels and the aspect of the Nanosuit are great for gameplay. The storyline is also very well written and played out. The campaign also does a great job with the difficulty levels in the campaign allows new FPS players to get there feet wet but also making the very difficult for experienced FPS players.

The best part of the game in the GRAPHICS, they are INCREDIBLE!! The Cry Engine from game one (Far Cry) has been spectacular and the new CryEngine3 is the absolute best yet.

Pros:

Campaign

Graphics

Matchmaking in Multiplayer

Nanosuit

Cons:

Multiplayer as whole not as good as COD or Reach

A few bugs in the game but will be fixed soon!

Lack of Coop in campaign (single person story line i know but inclusion of another twist with Coop would have been AWESOME!!!)

Honest reviews on Crysis 2 - Xbox 360

this was a day one buy for me. i was fairly confident from my research into this game and my time playing and watching the demo, that this was going to be something special...understatement...

since i had played the demo and no other previous crysis games, i decided to engulf myself in the campaign. i watched my buddy play multiplayer a bit. it looked like it had a few changes. otherwise i've only experimented with the customization a bit. so let me just get to the good stuff..

graphics-10/10 this is the most beautiful game i've ever seen on the 360. it is amazing! installed on my old school jasper xbox it runs with no issues. fast, beautiful, nutts...and i don't own a flatscreen tv either. this game has 3d options, which i think would be even more gorgeous.

gameplay-9.7/10 controls are very solid. one of the complaints that you might get is that you have to double tap y for grenades. but come on! this game utilizes the back button for multiple things!? yes, the back button. so the controls take some getting use to, but are very solid like i said. it more about honing your skill as this super ninja, then the controls...and when i mean honing your skills; it looks like the more you kill and through the different difficulties your suit abilities stack. not for sure but it looks like it. also i'd recommend trying out tactics in campaign, because most of the suit abilities that are in multiplayer. (also try all the guns..try all the guns while on the move..etc)

story(campaign)-9.5/10 i promise, no spoilers.. i thought the story was pretty good. everything together with the story is awesome. but i can't compare to the other crysis games because i haven't played them. i watched all the cut scenes on my first playthrough and i thought it great.

music-10/10 hanz zimmmer did an amazing job with his music for this game. i tried listening to my own music while playing, but it didn't feel the same. the zimmer music is amazing with the game. like i said, overall as one package its well done.

multiplayer9.0/10 i believe theres 12 maps and 4 game modes. 6 vs 6. amazing and fast paced. to me it felt more like battlefield than cod. some halo. i felt i really needed to us this pimped out ninja suit to my advantage. situational classes. lol. (i'm a geek) controls are similar to campaign, same for abilities. you have 3 stats; strength, speed, stealth. by using those you can gain abilities from there tree of "perks". the customization is pretty indepth. not black ops, but doesn't fall too much short of that. from the abilities and guns that i've tried i really think they did a good job of balancing things. considering that everyone has a nanosuit... just like cod by using abilities they can get better and theres all these other "assessments" that are similar to cods challenges. multiplayer really take some insight into your strengths and weaknesses to figure out what your good at. like i said, use single player to figure that out.

overall this is well worth the 60 bucks. multiple playthroughs for sheer awesome-ness and collectibles, furious multiplayer, and an overall very well done and polished product. i said to my friends this was going to be my filler till BRINK came. well....i feel silly for calling something as amazing as this filler...buy it. trust me on this one...

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Crysis 2 reminded me heavily of Avatar. The two are dissimilar in almost every way except the one that matters most. In both I was left feeling like despite the amazing visuals, neither connected with me because everything contained within them felt contrived and unbelievable. I could not relate to anyone or anything going on because it was all so one-dimensional.

How could you relate to the events of the game, it's about an alien invasion, right? Well, yes. But that isn't the issue. The real problem with the game is that things happen that are so illogical you can't even suspend your disbelief to enjoy the game, even as fun popcorn schlock.

So I'm just going to say it: I don't know what the big deal is about the graphics.Obviously this aspect is a lot more important to some people than it is to me. But to me, graphics in video games are much the same as looks are when evaluating attraction in another person. Good looks aren't everything, but they aren't nothing either. However the greatest looks in history don't stop some people from being rotten and horrible people. The same is true for good graphics. They aren't nothing, but if it is all you have, you don't have very much. Not to me, anyways. I have an HDTV and I was underwhelmed by he graphics. Probably because it is common now. Metal Gear Solid 4 probably still has the best graphics I personally have ever seen, and that is just my objective opinion. But my point is, you can't just make things shiny and smooth and have that make it a great game. That's not how it works. I suppose that might be the easiest way to appeal to the most people, but for people like me, who appreciate even decent storytelling, I just spend the game looking at the plot inconsistencies instead of immersed in the action.

With such high production quality focused on the detail of the game environment, it is very unfortunate that seemingly so little attention was paid to the fluidity and cohesion of the story -what little of that there is. The whole game you are ordered around like a mindless grunt. Crysis 2 also uses one of my least favorite game techniques, and that is playing a main character that never speaks. I assume this is so that the player can imagine the character having whatever voice they want. But to me, it just gets irritating, especially when another character calls you over the radio and asks you a question, and then continues talking even though you have not made any indication that you can hear them. Voiceless main characters should be used in RPG's only, if it must be done at all, because typically in an RPG there are multiple variables depending on how you make choices. Crysis 2 is not that. It is linear storytelling. And there is nothing wrong with that, except that your character essentially has no personality whatsoever because he never speaks and never makes decisions on his own.

The last big problem I have with the game is the AI. Crysis 2 is unique to me only in that it is an FPS stealth game. Especially on the hardest difficulty, you really can't have an out-and-out firefight with enemies, you die after just a few hits. So what that means is you will spend a good portion of the game cloaked. Which is actually interesting to me. However, being cloaked from enemies and having to sneak by them is only tenuous when the AI is decent enough to detect you. And they aren't in Crysis 2. I played the game the second time through on the hardest difficulty, and it is actually really boring. I spent most of the game cloaked, and the rest of the times were "boss" battles where you have to fight in order to progress to the next area. Considering that cloaking is one of the two main abilities of the Nano-Suit, the developers really didn't make it very exciting to be cloaked.

I really cannot talk about what plot inconsistencies there are because they involve spoilers in the game. But they are there, if you pay attention.

However, I couldn't do a fair review without also talking a bit about what Crysis 2 did well. The levels are big, and there is quite a bit to explore if you have the inclination. Weapon models are good, and the graphics are very well done. The game is also very smooth, considering the on-screen action, explosions, and everything else. It is also a fairly lengthy game, considering that it's a shooter.

In the end, I felt Crysis 2 was a game I could have lived my whole life without playing and I would not be sad to have missed it. I am glad that there seems to be a highly positive response to the game, but I just cannot agree with it because of so many blatant problems in the final product. If you enjoy good shooters regardless of plot, or if you like good multi-player FPS games, buy this, it is definitely for you. But if you're looking for something with any sort of complexity or originality, look elsewhere.

Review of High Speed 1.4 HDMI with Ethernet Gold Plated Cable Supports 3D

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Exactly what I expected. Actually ordered this for in in-wall installation where I figured (correctly) that the bend behind the TV would benefit from the flat cable. Also it did well holding up dragging through the wall. Most importantly the 1.4 rating is superb as I am able to hook up a video camera to the TV and it routes the sound into my receiver. One TV, One HDMI....it's the way it should be (and wish I could get a refund on all the redundant hook-ups on the TV!!

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Discount Turtle Beach Call of Duty: Black Ops II Tango Programmable Wireless

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List Price: $299.99
Sale Price: $180.75
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I am posting because I was looking for a comparative review between the Astro A50s and the Turtle Beach Tango before I went out and bought one and I couldn't find one. I saw gamers here waiting for a similar review so I decided to do one. This isn't a professional comprehensive review this is just my take and how I ended up with one over the other. I am not saying which you should buy I am just noting my opinion. IF you have either one of these headsets then you have a great headset and you will be very happy. For me there were some things that stood out over the other and because of that I was able to make my decision and I feel I made the right choice!

So I picked up both the Astro A50s and the Turtle Beach Tangos to test out. I used each one for about two days on various games and tried all the features to help me decide which of these 300 dollar headsets I wanted to keep.

In the end I felt the Tango's are well ahead of the Astro A50s in terms of awesome features like software to create user custom EQ presets for audio or chat, surround angles, removable microphone and Bluetooth, which makes it compatible any Bluetooth device like a real headset. The sound quality on both the A50s and Tango are great so any edge the A50s may have isn't enough to lose out on all the features the Tango's give you. Honestly even if the Astro A50 were $100 cheaper I would still opt for the Tango's. The Astros just don't have enough features, and with no Bluetooth you have to use them with the transmitter only. The Tango's have incredible features and since I can use them with my Vita, smartphone and tablet I feel has more use and therefore a better value.

I am not a fanboy I have wanted the Astros for a long time, when the A50s came out I decided to make the plunge, I was a bit disappointed which lead me to try the Tangos. Between the two the Tango's are it. Turtle Beach really made an awesome headset that is packed full of gaming features and is comfortable and stylish. The Astro A50s are bare bones compared to the Tango and the lack of features and comfort does not make up for the slight sound difference.

So on to it!

Setup: Verdict: Tango

Astro A50: It wouldn't power on via the PS3 Slim USB port. I had to go online and install a firmware for both the headset and the transmitter. Once I did that it worked somewhat. Every time I would power off the PS3 and power it on again the transmitter would not come on I have to keep switching USB ports to get it to turn on. Not what I want to do for a 300 dollar set of headphones. Also you have to turn on both the headset and transmitter manually. No charge and play cable so I had to wait for it to charge before I could use it (I didn't have a long USB)

Turtle Beach Tango: No issues. When you turn on the headset the transmitter turns on automatically small but great feature. The Tango's also came with a long charge and play cable.

Sound : Verdict: Astro A 50 (but only by a slight edge)

Astro A50:

Very nice, warm deep rich sound. I wouldn't say I was blown away but they were nice. They have a bit more bass and volume then the Tangos.

Turtle beach Tango:

As with the Astro I wasn't blown away but again these sound great. The Tangos produce a different sound from the A50s, they aren't as warm but they do seem to have great clarity and still sound very awesome.

Surround Sound: Verdict: TIE

Both do surround sound and both sound awesome, listing to both I am happy with either one. The A50s do 7.1 the Tango's do 5.1. I don't think you need 7.1 as most movies and games aren't even in 7.1 and really that is more used for bigger spaces. Also the 7.1 is almost too much for headphones and can make it a little harder to pinpoint direction like footsteps you still will be able to great it just may be a little less accurate. 5.1 are plenty for headphones and you will be able to pinpoint better in my opinion. So for surround sound, they are both great!

Surround Sound Angles: Verdict: Tango

Astro A50: none

Turtle Beach Tango: 6 surround angles. This is a very cool feature that lets you select 6 different surround angles,. The angles are basically simulating different distance and angle setups for the front and rear speakers and it works well. I use setting 5

Comfort: Verdict: Turtle Beach Tango; Feels great even with extended gaming.

I wore both headsets for extended periods of gaming

Astro A50:

They are a heavy headset. The ear cushions feel great no issue at all however the head strap felt uncomfortable after about 40 minutes due to the weight and was definitely noticeable. After longer game time I started adjusting the position of them on my head.

Turtle Beach Tangos

They have memory foam, are lighter and they did not get uncomfortable at any time of extended gaming, they never got heavy feeling.

Presets EQs: Verdict: Tango

Astro A50s: Have 3 presets

Out of the 3 presets only number 3 sounded great, the other two I doubt I would use they just didn't sound that different yet they weren't as good and the volume was weaker.

Turtle Beach Tangos: Have 9 presets:

I use number 4 and it sounds great. Each preset sounds different from each other. There are presets to focus on footsteps, action, chat you name it.

Customizable EQ: Verdict: Tango

Astro A50: no option for user generated EQ settings, the 3 presets is what you are stuck with

Tangos: Has an awesome feature and software that allows the user to create customized EQ presets for audio and chat. The online community will even upload presets specific for various games. Treyarch even has a preset specific for COD Black Ops 2.

Microphone: Verdict: Tangos

Astro A50: The microphone is hardwired to the headset so you can't remove it. This concerns me because if there is ever an issue with the MIC you will need to pay to ship it to Astro to have them repair it. To mute the Mic you have to flip it up, to un-mute you flip it back down so this will be getting plenty of wear. I do not like the idea of not having a removable Mic and I don't like having to flip it up and down to Mute and Unmute.

Tango: Has a super bendy removable microphone which is nice, if I ever need a new one I can just order it and put it on myself. To mute the microphone there is button you press which I prefer. I can also remove the mic if I am just streaming music or using it with my tablet or vita.

Chat clarity: Verdict: Tie

Both sounded great

Chat Presets: Verdict: Tango

Astro A50: None.

Tango: 9 chat presets, some even alter the voice pitch. Again you can create custom ones if you want.

BlueTooth: Verdict: Tango

Astro A50: No Bluettoth feature at all. You have to use these headsets with the transmitter or they will not work on their own. You can run a wire to the back of the transmitter from a headphone jack of something like an Ipod but you need to stay connected to the transmitter.

Tango: Bluetooth on the headset. You can connect two Bluetooth devices at once so you can answer or make a call while gaming or even stream music. You can also use the headphones as a real stand along headset with a tablet or smart phone or even a Vita. This feature alone gives me so much value out of the Tango headphones. The Tango's can be used for any Bluetooth device and doesn't need to have the transmitter in range, they can be used as independent headphones I can take them to work if I want and stream music from my smartphone.

Style: Verdict : Tango

Astro A50: The head set is nice but the stand looks cheap and doesn't form fit the headphones very well. I actually thought it looked bad on the stand, lots of dead space and kind of just hangs there.

Turtle Beach Tango: Looks great, the stand is the transmitter and fit the headphones. It looks awesome with the orange trim on both the headphones and transmitter.

Connection

No issues on either one, no static or pops. Both use the 5ghz band

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Ordered these on October 25th 2012 and they were released on the 26th for shipment. Being that was a Friday the 1 day business shipping didn't get them to me until the 29th as expected. First impressions: These appear to be MUCH better made than my Turtle Beach x4's that they are replacing. They are solid, appear to be made of good material and have a nice feel to them. Included in the box were the headset, transmitter, Bluetooth chat puck, (1) optical cable & (1) USB power cable (The transmitter is powered by a USB power cable & does not plug into an outlet but into your Xbox), (1) short USB cable to plug into the headset for charging purposes when sitting on the transmitter, & (1) long USB cable to charge & play. The headset is factory paired with the Bluetooth puck so no set up required. Just hook up the transmitter with the two cables to the Xbox and go. WOW! Sound is amazing. 100% better than my x4's. They are paired with the transmitter via dual channel wireless where my x4's were infrared. IR required line of site & anybody or anything (my very large Weimaraner) walking between you and it would cause static or fallout of sound. There is NO problem like that with the Tango's. Sound is very crisp with no static, hum, popping or fallout. Since Black Ops II isn't out yet I fired up Modern Warfare 3. FANTASTIC! These things flat out ROCK!!!!! There are a number of presets built into the headset for different sound profiles that can be accessed by just a button push. These cover both chat & game sounds. It appears you can even program your own which I will try at some point. I have been using the presets but will experiment with all of the available options later. Also another very cool feature is the Bluetooth is dual pairing which means you can pair it with another Bluetooth device. I paired it with my Samsung Galaxy S III with no problems which enabled me to listen to my music while playing the game and chatting. How cool is that!!! Also supposed to be able to use your phone to make & receive calls while playing. Have not tried it yet but see no reason it wouldn't work since the music does. My son has Astro A40's and these beat them hands down. They also make my TB x4's seem archaic. If you are an Xbox gamer & and can afford them then I don't think you will be dissapointed.

PROS: Too numerous to list! Best headset I have ever used or owned.

CONS: None at present except maybe price. But I guess you get what you pay for.

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Ok so this is my third headset, the others are Turtle Beach X12 and Tritton 720+ (I highly recommend both of those).

After getting tired of seeing "OMG this headset sucks it has such a low volume" I have to make an update and put it first

THIS HEADSET HAS PLENTY OF VOLUME

USE THE ADVANCED SOUND EDITOR PEOPLE!! THIS IS WHY ARE YOU PAYING SO MUCH MONEY FOR THIS HEADSET

Pros

-Sound Quality is great, in MW3 I could easily tell where the enemies were. I'd give these 9.5 and Trittons 720+ 8.5

-Advanced Sound Editor (ASE), make all the adjustments you want to your audio and chat. With a lot of room for presets.

-Mic is 10/10 just like the X12

-Very nice design

-Wireless with no interference at all, everything works great

-Voice morphing, yeah, this may be stupid and unnecesary but it can be real fun, you can make tons of jokes with this option

Cons

-Sound out of the box is meh, you have to go the ASE to get great sound quality

-"EAR GUARD" THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE HEADSET TO HAVE "LOW VOLUME", YOU CAN TURN IT OFF IN THE ADVANCED SOUND EDITOR! DOWNLOAD THE MANUAL FROM TURTLE BEACH WEBSITE

-The most disappointing thing for me is that they do feel a bit cheap not what I would expect from a $300 headset, To me the X12 and Trittons are way better in this category, both feel more resistant to falls and everything

-Optical cable, it is sooooo slim but I guess this isn't a big deal...

-Price is a little high since they feel cheap and the sound out of the box is not what you would expect

I had to return these because I had some problems (sound would cut off for 5 seconds from time to time and it would make a distorted noise in the right earcup every 10 mins approx)

Even with the problems I had with the Tangos I would say this is a nice headset (although a bit pricey imo) and probably better than the Astro A50 (I am sure my Tangos were one of the very few that were defective, but the A50 it seems like 50% are good and 50% are defective) and from what I've seen all over the internet the Warheads sound is somewhat mediocre for $300.

UPDATE 01/25/2013

After trying the old Astro mixamp with the Sennheiser PC 360 (which, lucky me, they were defective too) I am back with the Tangos.

I wanna say the old mixamp is really good imo.

The Sennheiser PC 360 are beautiful for music but in games I don't know if it was because they were defective or I had to get used to their sound (like it happened to me going from TBs X12 to Tritton 720+) but it was harder for me to hear footsteps, I am not quite sure as I just tried them for a few hours.

Anyway, I am back with the Tangos and I am pretty happy with these, no defects so far, everything works great as I was expecting. This is the best headset for gaming I have tried so far.

If you can get them for $199 that is a great price or even $249 would be fair imo.

Honest reviews on Turtle Beach Call of Duty: Black Ops II Tango Programmable Wireless

I've had both the A50s and the new Tangos. Sound quality is close probably favors the A50 ever so slightly but the other features pushes the Tangos way ahead

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Turtle Beach Call of Duty: Black Ops II Tango Programmable Wireless

I received these headphones in good shape. I have been using them for about 30 hours and have had no issues. They are much more comfortable than the XP 500s. Also, there is absolutely no cracking of connection and in fact I was able to wear the headphones and still talk and hear game play while two rooms away from the receiver, still no crackiling or cutting out.

Voice is clear and concise and I was able to hear my music through BT while playing without any problems. This is a expensive headset, but extremely worth it. I have not tried voice morphing or manipulating any of the sound functions through the computer.

Pros:

Sounds Quality

Presets

Range

Voice Quality

Comfortable (caveat: ears were sore after 8 hrs of straight game play, but any headset would be at that point)

Detachable mic

rechargeable battery

battery life

Con(s):

Pricedefinitely takes a while to save up for them

lack of carrying case

Warm around the ears

top of the head can get sore from the weight

***Update 8 NOv 2012***

Was able to chat with the wife while gaming. I was interested to see if the voice morph would work just with regular cell phone usage. It did and it was pretty damn funny, think it was preset 8...start laughing and it gets the creepy demon like laugh. Wife didn't care for it too much though :)

Bummed...order this early and pay 299.99, now it is 269.99.

Reviews of HDE Lime Green Replacement Xbox 360 Controller Shell Cover Kit

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List Price: $24.95
Sale Price: $8.50
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My controller looks awesome now. Only thing to remember is that you will need a special screwdriver to take on/off the screws and that the final screw is below where the battery pack goes, UNDERNEATH the serial code sticker on your controller.

Once you take all of them off be careful and its pretty straight forward. When in doubt look up the youtube videos for help.

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its pretty easy to switch out the shell of a controller, i thought id give this a shot instead of buying a new controller to save money.It was a good decision, i like the lime green color and the feel of the shell, it feels like an original xbox 360 controller. the only problem i had with this controller shell was the sync button. There was no way for it to stay on, no matter how i put it. Eventually i had to glue it on the corner which worked fine. Besides that one flaw the controller shell was a great buy and ive already recommended it to friends. If you are reading this review just make sure you have a T-8 hollow tip screw driver, to take apart the old controller. Dont lose any screws in the process!

over all a great buy.

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I bought this shell kit because I had controller with a broken shell. After I purchased it I thought it would be cool to use the green trim pieces on my black controller and the black trim on the green controller. They both look amazing!!

I only had 2 issues...

The first issue was the "connect button", I had to superglue the button to the housing. also I had to trim the button with a hobby knife because it was hitting the circuit board.

The Second issue was the screw holes. I had to press really hard to screw the two halves of the shell together. But honestly I know its screwed together tight.

Overall I am very happy with this product!

Honest reviews on HDE Lime Green Replacement Xbox 360 Controller Shell Cover Kit

The Only Problem is that the sync button wont stay in place unless you use some glue or tape. everything else worked properly

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Bought this for my boyfriend for his birthday, he was super excited since green is his favorite color. Put it all together only to realize it only came with one button for start/select when you need two. Pretty useless now...

Best Tour de France 2011 Xbox 360 Deals

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at first, I thought this was going to be a typical racing video game, turns out it's just like the real Tour. It took a few times to get used to it, but now i like it, and enjoy playing it.

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There are a lot of bad to mediocre reviews of this game on-line but I have enjoyed it very much. There is room for improvement but this game does a pretty good job of simulating racing strategy. I am looking forward to playing the 2012 version.