Archive for October, 2009
Set 200 years in the future in an epic universe, Mass Effect places gamers in a vast galactic community in danger of being conquered by a legendary agent gone rogue. A spectacular new vision from legendary developers BioWare, Mass Effect challenges players to lead a squad of freedom fighters as they struggle against threatening armies to restore peace in the land. Mass Effect is the first in a trilogy of games with an overarching story, where the real conflict between organic beings and artificial intelligence comes to life in startling clarity. Intense, in-depth story where the fate of life as you know it depends on you Features six character classes, along with six more unlockable ones – each class contains several talents As each talent is leveled, the character either gains stats (extra health, stamina, etc) or unlocks new abilities. Players can fully customize their appearance, gender, abilities and even military background. Four classes of conventional weapons ESRB Rated M for Mature
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars AMAZING!!!
This is one of the GREATEST games I have ever played in all my life! It has no multiplayer, it is a third-person shooter but a RPG as well. It’s story is so gripping, the action is intense, and it is overall an amazing game.
The story grips you immediately right from the beginning, and no matter where you go in the game, no matter what path you choose (and trust there’s so many different ways you can play this game) it is always different and always a whole other experience. There is excellent replay value if you really enjoyed it as I did.
The shipping for this game was fast, quick, and the game was in perfect condition. I have never had the game freeze, it wasn’t scratched, it was wrapped in protective plastic. I am very pleased with the both the game, how fast it arrived, and how great of condition this game was in.
5 Stars awesome game but…
it’s definitely not for everyone. combat is exciting, but for those who love shooters, battles may seem repetitive after a while. especially since the sound effects for the huge arsenal of weapons stay the same for each class. another aspect of the game that may become VERY annoying is item management. weapons, armor, upgrades, etc are found frequently throughout the game, and they become excessive in your inventory. what’s worse is, each item has 10 models, each a higher level than the previous, and they are painful to scroll through and organize/scrap.
that being said, the single greatest thing about mass effect is its storyline. from the second the game starts, the game immerses you in an INCREDIBLE universe. the detail is simply amazing (there are “codecs” found throughout the game that provide background information on eeeeeeeeeeeeeverything, from weapon systems to alien races) and the dialogue is epecially intriguing. even the music has you on edge.
i myself fell in love with game, even with all it’s flaws. mass effect is another game that has shown how jawdropping a good sci-fi story can be.
5 Stars Great RPG
This is a very good game. If you are into sci-fi at all and like RPGs, you will not be disappointed. The plot is quite good with excellent voice acting and characters who show emotions the way real people do- with body language and intonation. You can choose to be male or female, you can change what you look like, and you can choose from three combat styles or a blend of two of them. You can choose to be a shining paragon of diplomacy and lawfulness, or a ruthless renegade, doing anything to make a buck. The history of different species and their interactions with each other is extensive. That and the pseudo-scientific explanations of the “mass accelerator” idea behind game mechanics such as faster-than-light travel and unlimited ammo weapons are thought out well enough to make you want to suspend disbelief and immerse yourself in this fictional universe. This is more than enough to make this game worth getting.
Combat in mass effect is enjoyable to me personally. You can choose from four types of weapons, plus use special powers depending on what class you choose (this game’s version of magic, but all sci-fi). I’ve only played as a soldier so far so I The weapons make this game play a bit like Halo if you choose to play that way, but it’s much easier to use the right bumper to pull up the power wheel. This pauses the game but still lets you move your aim around, so you can aim while paused, release the trigger and fire (works great with a shotgun). Yes, it’s kinda cheap if you are used to FPSs, and it definitely breaks up the action, but this is an RPG and it makes you use strategy more than quickness.
The mediocre side of this game is the side quests. While they do greatly increase the feeling of being able to explore and make the game much longer to complete, and while they do have small side stories that aren’t all bad, mostly they just feel like drudgery due to the necessity of exploring vast, nearly featureless, nearly enemy-less worlds in the frustrating vehicle called the Mako. The Mako can be fun if there are enemies around, but when you just have to drive around on a lifeless planet in search of mineral deposits to scan or bunkers to enter, even a minute of driving is a minute of mind-numbing boredom. Why anyone thought getting stuck trying to drive over, around and between featureless mountains again and again would be fun is beyond me. To add insult to injury, the bunkers you find on these side missions are often exactly the same layout as other bunkers, just with different enemies and items in them. Zzzzzz. The combat and item collection isn’t fun enough to make up for going through all this, and the side stories usually aren’t either.
Regardless of the side quests, this is a great game with a good bit of replay value. Even if you just do the main quests, there is enough there to be well worth the price.
4 Stars It’s no KOTOR, but it’s the next best thing
I’m sure I’m not the only one who passed up Jade Empire because he was waiting for Bioware to make another Knights of the Old Republic. I”m a huge fan of sci-fi and I love RPGs, so naturally I was excited to play Bioware’s first sci-fi RPG since KOTOR. While most RPGs are pretty much a series of turn-based battles followed by long text readings and long cinemas, Mass Effect takes things into a very different direction. At its heart it’s a hybrid of a squad-based third-person shooter and a branching-dialog RPG like Knights of the Old Republic, with plenty of land-vehicle driving around nonsense for good measure. Effect is a totally original story in a brand new universe. Unfortunately, the story and gameplay is not better for it.
First all, the feel of the world in this game might seem a bit tired and run-of-the-mill (especially after the Iraq War cools off and people get over their shaved-head space-marine mania). The back-story of the Mass Effect universe might have been written by Elizabeth Moon or David Weber, except their worlds offer better space-army colonial sci-fi back-story than what you’ll find here. Heck, Firefly is or Outlaw Star is better too (for the TV and anime fans out there). So Star Wars it ain’t.
Then there’s the character generation and trait-building. While it’s nice to be able to totally customize your character’s appearance, Bioware, like so many other game designers these days, goes about it all wrong (Guitar Hero World Tour made the same mistake). You basically can either pick from a dozen or so generic ugly space-marine faces and modify them slightly, or go all-out and change the height and size of eyebrows and ears. As far as I can tell the other game creator who ever got this right was Sega, who in Phantasy Star Online and Virtua Tennis game us around 24 UNIQUE faces, and 24 UNIQUE hair styles, and COMPLETE control of height and weight. I would much rather make my character look like like a lean Luke Skywalker or a tiny elfin chick than space marine old lady number 5, thank you very much.
The branching dialog and RPG elements of KOTOR, while legendary in of themselves, for the most part have NOT been improved here. You’ll still have the same conversation over and over with a character, you’ll still find characters in EXACTLY the same spot in your ship for most of the game. So while admittedly a massive (pun intended) amount of work went into creating the story elements, there are still things that pull you out of the game that should not (if game characters just wandered around the ship like real people would or said nothing if you already had that conversation it would go a long way to making it feel less like a game and more like an experience).
The action gameplay has likewise come under heavy criticism and for good reason. While its great to have a hybrid gameplay attempted, here the execution is clearly not up to snuff compared to other first and third-person shooters. And the special attacks (non-gun attacks), while a nifty idea, in execution are pretty much the same (they knock back, slow down, enemies, ect, and protect your squad). That said, it’s a whole lot of fun! While by the end of the game it starts to get kind of tiresome, but some excellent weapon upgrades (I love the weapon mod that literally freezes enemies solid!) keep things fresh. And it keeps the RPG elements from weighing down on you too heavily but throwing you some action now and then.
The vehicle segments, on the other hand, could have been cut from the game entirely. When you’ve got cartoony games like Jak 3 and Ratchet and Clank 3 that get vehicle control down so perfectly, this kind of loosey-goosey Halo-style control just doesn’t cut it. Add in the fact that nothing you destroy with the stupid vehicle matters anyway (all you have to do is get to your next objective, not destroy anything), and you have recipe for a game element that you’ll likely skip past as often as possible. Fortunately, once you get to your main game planets, you rarely need to use the awful off-road vehicle. You will however, miss out on side-quests if you do just go for the main game.
The graphics in this game are pretty nice. Personally I don’t care for the film-grain effect, but you can easily turn it off. The frame-rate drops pretty low during combat at times, but nothing nearly as bad as KOTOR (to me it felt more like a Ridley-Scott choppy-camera effect that just made the combat feel even cooler). You’ll never see the frame-rate drop to nothing and suddenly find yourself dead not knowing what happened. The music is generic 80’s style synthesizer music for the most part, pretty darn bland, maybe even a little annoying. Thankfully, for the critical points in the game (boss battles, ect) the music far better. Passable overall I would say. The cinemas in the game are likewise passable, but Square/Enix has no reason to worry about competition from Mass Effect.
With all that negative stacked against it, you’d think this would be a 3, or even a 2 star game. But what saves it is the Bioware style, the way the game is played. Because like KOTOR, some of your conversations are wildly entertaining, some of the action scenes are incredibly memorable, the characters are awesome, and despite the bland gameplay world the execution nails all the elements exceptionally for the most part. And of course, with all the classes, branching dialog choices (with moral implications), gender choices, ect, you can play this game multiple times and see things work out multiple ways, which adds a huge amount of replay value. And while the story isn’t exactly the most original in the world, it still manages to pack the classic Bioware plot twist (who the true villains are) and tell it in a very mature way (while there is some rough language and blood, the game is at about the level of a typical PG-13 movie, and it’s maturity is in its more realistic handling of real-world issues instead of cartoonifying things.
While this game isn’t as long, or as good as Knights of the Old Repblic or it’s sequel, it is a bold new direction for RPGs, and very exciting indicator of what they will become in the future (free-roaming action games with RPG elements like the aforementioned Jak and Ratchet series, but with far deeper storylines). If you are craving a new RPG in the style of Bioware’s former triumphs, this is literally the only game in town until Mass Effect 2, the KOTOR MMORPG, or Alpha Protocol (which has me the most excited actually). If you love the new breed of western-style RPGs, and like to play them through multiple times, buy it now. You’ll trip over it’s design flaws, but grow to love the heart of the game, it’s well-story story and great characters. If you’ve never played a Bioware game before give a rent first. You may find yourself becoming a fan and itching for the sequel.
4 Stars Good,Solid RPG
Mass Effect is a really good RPG and so that being said it does require a lot of time to play. So if you have extra time on your hands and are a fan of RPGs then it is a must buy.
Guitar Hero 5 Stand Alone Software with Van Halen Offer
Living room legends will rock any way they want in Guitar Hero 5. The entire set list is at your finger tips from the start, featuring genre-defining hits from some of the biggest rock artists and bands of all time, including The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Santana and Vampire Weekend. You will take complete control as Guitar Hero 5 allows you to personalize and customize how you experience music by being able to play with any in-game instrument combination – multiple vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers, in any game mode. With the game’s all-new Party Play Mode, getting the band back together has never been easier. You can now jump in or drop out of gameplay seamlessly, without interrupting their jam session. Elevating the Guitar Hero series to new heights with unmatched social gameplay, an enhanced style, new in-game artists and more rock legends, Guitar Hero 5 features new surprises and challenges that will fire-up long-time fret board fanatics and create a new generation of addicts. The Band that Plays Together – Bands can earn bonus multipliers by hitting new special note streams in unison. Make and Share Music – Produce hits in the redesigned Music Studio with improved editing tools for easy use, new guitar samples and mix patterns and share them online with GHTunes to create what could be the next breakout hit.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars Many Advertised Features Missing on PS2 Version
Yes, I’m still playing these games on my PS2. I have no problem with features being left off for the PS2 version, but I can’t find anywhere online that explains what’s missing. So, here’s the caveat emptor for the PS2 buyers:
1) Party mode is useless on the PS2. It’s basically the same as freeplay (you can’t fail a song), but the game randomly picks the songs. You can’t drop in and out seamlessly, change difficulty or instruments on the fly, or any of the other features touted for this mode. I was really excited about the prospect of being able to leave the game on at a party and just pick up and go when a good song came on. No luck there; party mode is included on the disc for the sole purpose of being able to say it’s there in promotional materials; it doesn’t work at all like it’s supposed to.
2) There are no song challenges in career mode. On the other systems, you can earn up to 3 extra stars for completing challenges specific to each song (like strum upward a certain number of times, or earn a certain high score.) There is no such feature on the PS2 version; you can only earn the standard 5 stars on each song.
3) There’s no music studio feature like there is on the other systems, but given what a dog this was on World Tour, I don’t really miss it at all.
That said, the interface and tracklist are significantly better than World Tour’s.
1 Star Doesn’t even work!!
So I go to put in my brand new game the menu screen loads and I go to start a song and nothing but a loading screen. Ive tried 5 different songs so far letting it sit for quite a while and the song never loads. waste of money, I want a refund.
Kingdom Hearts: Greatest Hits is a classic role-player for the PS2 — now rereleased at an affordable price, for those who missed out the first time around! This is the story of Sora, a 14-year-old boy whose world is shattered. When a violent storm hits his island-paradise home, he is separated from his two best friends and goes to look for them. Meanwhile, King Mickey is missing from Disney Castle and Captain Goofy and the court wizard Donald are off to search for him. When Sora, Donald and Goofy meet, they hear about the Heartless: Strange and powerful creatures who caused the terrible storm and kidnapped King Mickey. They’ll work together to help each other meet their goals – and have an incredible adventure as they go!
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Kingdom Hearts
Postive
1.The game has a great story
2.Fantasy fantasy characters cloud,leon,yuffie,aerith,and sephiroth
3.Tons of fun and creative worlds
4.you can travel to diffent world based on the disney films
Negative
1.None
A must buy for final fantasy and disney fan
Kingdom Hearts begins on Destiny Islands, where Sora, Riku, and Kairi live. The three friends want to leave the islands to explore new worlds and have prepared a raft for this purpose.[14] One night, the islands are attacked by shadow creatures–the Heartless.[12] Sora seeks out his friends, finding Riku, who disappears into a dark portal. At the same time, Sora obtains the Keyblade, a weapon effective against the Heartless. However, the islands are destroyed and Sora drifts into space. Meanwhile, King Mickey has left his world to deal with the increasing numbers of Heartless and left instructions for mage Donald and knight Goofy to find the “key” that will protect the worlds from the encroaching darkness.[25]
5 Stars Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts is a very well thought out game. The interactions with various animated Disney films is genius. The game is hard to beat though, but what person wants to play a game that they can just go through in one day? Overall this game is recommended for anyone who likes fantasy role playing games.
5 Stars ONE OF THE BEST GAMES OF THE CENTURY!!!!!!
This maybe an exaggeration for those who have NEVER played this game! And to those people I have to feel sorry for not having experience the magic of this game! OK. So I admit Disney being in the mix makes one hesitate but GIVE IT A CHANCE! I for one have never played a FF game EVER! And if its any good as Kingdom Hearts I will be playing them. The game shows Disney characters like Donald Duck and Goofy among with many others help Sora in the search for his friend Riku and Kairi who end up missing after their island is destroyed. Sore along with his two Disney companions go world from world in search for his two friends. The game play is excellent! The game has excellent movie scenes that advance the story line. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS 4 ALL AGES!!! You will not regret purchasing KH!!!
5 Stars Story is better than the game play
The characters are fantastic and make the game. The game play itself if not as enjoyable as other games made by SquareEnix, as the combat is relatively simple and the autotargeting and camera angles are frequently not up to snuff when flailing about with your Keyblade at the heartles. It would have been better to have a wider or more zoomed out 3rd person view as Sora takes up a fair amount of the screen and it is hard to see what is next to him unless it is directly straight ahead. I would have preferred moving the camera with an analog stick instead of the triggers, particularly in battle since it is hard to see what you need to whack. Regardless, the combination of Disney and Square characters is what makes the game. So many characters from movies and video games that I grew up with and already have some sort of attachment to are present in the game and really make you want to move forward and develop the story. The cliffhanger of an ending is annoying, but more for setting up what happens in the sequel. The gameplay itself is only slightly above average, but the story with many great characters makes the game worth playing.
5 Stars Great Game
I really enjoyed this game. It was a lot of fun and it was all I could think about when I first got it. Years later and I still find myself putting it in and plaing it and finding something new. I did have to use some online cheats occasionally to figure some things out in the game.
Dragon Age Origins Collectors Edition
From BioWare, the makers of Mass Effect, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Baldur’s Gate comes Dragon Age: Origins. An epic tale of violence, lust, and betrayal, Dragon Age: Origins is a single player role-playing game (RPG) set in a fantasy game environment, and featuring three playable character classes, accessible in the form of three races. In addition, the game features extreme character customization, a new game engine, party-based gameplay utilizing non-player characters and a built-in personal history system for each hero character rooted in a variety of possible origin stories.
Story Dragon Age: Origins is a 3D oriented RPG based in a dark, heroic, fantasy realm where moral choices have a lasting impression on the people you meet, the members of your own party and the world around you. The inclusion of subtitle “Origins” in the game’s title refers to the six unique origin stories available to new heroes as a new game begins. Each of these has an impact on the player’s motivations and his or her experience, and renders a unique prelude, path, and possible ending(s) to the game. There are many different endings to the game based on the origin story of the character and the choices you make as you play through the game. The game features three character classes–warrior, mage, and rogue–and three races of being–Human, Elf or Dwarf–that can assume these classes. Although most game elements, such as weapons, magic, etc., are available to any character, each class and race has different strengths, abilities and affinities which lend themselves to better utilizing different elements. Dragon Age: Origins is a single player game based on party-based gameplay and combat where the player can join, control and quest with up to three non-player characters (NPCs). Players can also quest alone if they so choose, but with the chance of survival are slim. Convincing NPCs to join you, and treating them well may be necessary depending on the varying sentiments between the player and the NPC, or between the NPC’s in the party based on the chosen history written into the origin story accepted at the beginning of the game. This uncertainty allows for a variety of possible dynamics within the party ranging from open hostility, all the way to romance. The game progresses in real-time via a pause-and-play tactical combat system that allows the player to check inventory levels, equip a character, etc. in a slight vacuum. Additional features found in the game include: a combination of a standard loot system and a currency system based on gold silver and copper; advanced character customization functionality; the use of poison, traps and herbalism; dual-wielding skills; and “spell combos,” which allow players to chain together different spells to create a unique effects. Key Game Features
Bonus Items Included with Dragon Age: Origins Collector’s Edition for Xbox 360:
|
Two decades ago Madden NFL exploded onto the scene with staggeringly authentic football action and a strategic, by-the-playbook approach to the game previously absent in sports video games. With Madden NFL 09, 20 years of innovation culminate in a new apex in the series’ groundbreaking realism. Savor the pulse-pounding excitement as Madden NFL 09 delivers an intense, real-world pro football experience like only legendary coach John Madden can. The action of the gridiron comes alive with stunning graphics, innovative plays and multiplayer competition that thrusts you into the center of the game with no nonsense and no mercy.
|
Key Features
|
|
||||
| The NFL bursts from your screen with multiplayer action and gameplay that pushes you to the limit, no matter what your skill level. In Madden NFL 09, the play is more realistic than ever before with the all-new Total Control Animation System. Execute instantaneous combo moves, bobble catches, user-controlled celebrations and more for a game that looks and feels like it’s straight out of the NFL. Stadiums leap off the screen to dazzling effect with an enhanced graphics engine that delivers turf and grass so realistic you can almost feel it give beneath your feet, as well as authentic weather and stadium lighting effects. New player models more genuinely replicate the real physiques of the pros, from sleeker receivers to bulkier linemen, to provide an even more authentic experience on the field. Immerse yourself in the full NFL experience with an all-new network television-style broadcast featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond. The new Options OnDemand Picture-in-Picture window gives you instant access to stats, tips and more without having to pause the game. Plus, for the first time make a run for the postseason online as you battle among up to 32 teams. Live the NFL experience in all its brutal glory with Madden NFL 09 as you savor the thrill and punishment of professional football like you can find only in this renowned series. | ||||||
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star 2 camera choices!
I used to play w/madden classic view when you could see the whole field and every player- but they digressed and don’t even have it anymore. This game is truly pathetic. 360 is sucking big time.
4 Stars Madden 09
Madden 09 is once again madden. It doesn’t break any new boundaries. It’s fun to play if you like football. Madden 10 is coming out in about a month so i would just wait for it, but if you want to get a leg up on competition then go ahead and buy this to add to your collection
5 Stars Madden 09 – Great game!
Unbelievable price and quality from this sellor–the squeeze wrap was torn but all security seals were in place on this x-box 360 game and it was easy to tell it was brand new when examining the DVD. I trust and would not hesitate to do business with this sellor in the future. As for Madden 2009, it is a great game once you get past the learning aspect–there are decent tutorials. Lots to keep you learning in terms of game play. Excellent graphics and controller response. Very popular so easy to find on-line opponent.
2 Stars Overall Disappointed for the Price
I bought this game September of 2008. Overall this game is a disappointment. Madden not only is able to prevent NFL 2k series from being revived but there’s numerous shortcomings. In-game interface for this game is completely lackluster. It is difficult to navigate and call plays. Also, the game speed is too fast for having potentially 11 players to switch control over to. The overall interface and gameplay in ESPN NFL 2k5, Madden has yet to make a product close to it.
5 Stars Madden is Wicked!!!
Decided to upgrade from my Madden 98 and have not stop yet with this game. Keeps me alert and love the graphics that I was so used to. Just think I was never into football that much.
- September 2010 (3)
- August 2010 (2)
- July 2010 (3)
- June 2010 (4)
- May 2010 (3)
- April 2010 (3)
- February 2010 (1)
- December 2009 (1)
- November 2009 (111)
- October 2009 (133)
- September 2009 (126)
- August 2009 (135)
- July 2009 (92)
- June 2009 (17)
- May 2009 (33)
- April 2009 (10)
- March 2009 (2)
- February 2009 (17)
- January 2009 (2)
- December 2008 (3)
- November 2008 (4)
- October 2008 (1)
- August 2008 (1)
- June 2008 (2)
- January 2008 (1)
- June 2007 (1)
- December 2006 (2)
- October 2006 (1)
