Frag FX Shark Controller for PS3, PC and Mac

Customer Ratings:
List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: $99.90
Today's Bonus:

i'm a pc gamer. hardcore. mouse and keyboard since the quake 3 arena days. i have never been able to compete on the consoles because i can't get my thumbs to make a controller do what i want. while all of my friends play on consoles.

for people like me the Shark is a godsend.

i own the original wired fragfx, a fragenstein, and a scorch. the shark performs well above all of these.

the mouse movement on the shark is perfect. playing mw2 with the in game sensitivity at 9 and the shark set around 2.

my only problem with it is the size. the mouse is just too big. i need to hold my hand a certain way just to reach all of the buttons..kind of annoying. and we can really do without the rapid fire and macros.

when i wear this one out i'll definitely buy another.

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I play games in bed with my TV at the foot. It gets uncomfortable after awhile with my arms holding a dualshock 3 over my stomach. This controller allows them to rest on either side of me. You can also set this controller to the same input as your dualshock Eg. 1. That way you can have a dualshock in your right hand and the fragchuck in your left. I love the "fragchuck". It fits well in hand and everything for the left hand is there, plus motion sensitivity, macros, rapid fire, and more! Could pack 2-3 more buttons in, though.

The mouse feels good, the buttons take a little getting used to, but are intuitive and easy to adapt to. The mous pad is good too. However, it's a little too big for me and I have good sized hands 7 inches from my middle finger to the bottom of my palm. Because of the shape, It actually fits better in my left hand than my right, of course then the buttons are imposable to use. I could have gotton used to the size but didn't want to since it wasen't very compatable with some of my games (See details section below).

There is a lot of disinformation surrounding this product. There are a lot of positive reviews from people playing Calld of Duty (Newer ones) and a lot of bad reviews calling it a "rip off". Aparently compatbility is hit or miss since PS3 was not made for a mouse and the fragfx shark has to emulate a thumb stick. To be fair to Splitfish they made a niche product, great for some of todays most popular games, but it's game manufacturers that are not making their titles compatible with Splitfish controllers. But then, why should they? It is a 3rd party controller. Also, why would Sony make the PS3 compatable with mice when most console gamers like the dualshock 3? I should add that some users don't like to use mice and the only refuge they have from the advantage a mouse gives users is on a console.

Pros:

The Concept is sound

Wireless, no lag

The design looks sweet

The "fragchuck" is almost perfect!

Great Battery life

Works with some F.P.S. games

Cons:

Price!!!

Dosen't work with some F.P.S. games

PS3 Games were ment for Dualshock controllers

3rd parties don't get much support from developers

OK as an optical mouse (Not great, Not laser)

Mouse is a little too big in my opinion

Disinformation about it

THE BOTTOM LINE: DOES IT WORK, AND IS IT WORTH $89?

Yes and no to both points! It works with some games and not with others. It may be worth it if your game is supported, you get past the learning curve, and you really want to take your "hard core" gameing up a level, or if you seriously want to get into PC gaming without the keboard. Otherwise, it's not for you and you will end up unsatisfied. I suggest you keep everything, and thouroughly test out all your games as soon as you get it, then you can get a refund if it does not meet your expectations.

Price I would consider keeping it for (Opinion):

$34.99

Price I would buy the Fragchuck alone (Opinion):

$29.99

DETAILS:

There was no combination of ingame look sensitivity and "dead zone" sensitivity that removed diagonal "staircasing" without making tracking too slow for most of the games I've tested. I saw reviews that mentioned the same thing before I purchased. I decided to give it a try anyway. To their defence, I tried evey combination of dead zone to ingame look sensitivity in the games below with limited success.

Homefront (Demo):

Staircased at dead zones of 0-5 and required too much mouse tracking with 6-9. 6.5 was almost workable except it required me to repeatedly pick up the mouse and reset it to look around. Was less efiecient than the dualshock.

Call of Duty: Classic

Same as aboave, but worse.

Call of Duty: Black Ops (Demo)

Works really well but seems to move up/Down slower than lept/right. No staircasing/jittering with ingame sensitvity at max (Insane) and deadzone = 3. Workable but will take some getting used to. Recommended for this game but it's not perfect.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Demo)

Same as black ops aboave. Abviously, these are the game it was intended for.

Killzone 2 (Demo):

I was able to resolve staircasing and jittering. Requires maximum ingame sensitivity and a deadzone of 4. Too slow of movement, mouse has to be picked up and drageed all over in this one. Not recomended.

Killzone 3 (Demo):

Better than above but not as good as COD:MW2 or black ops. It is still too slow. too much mouse tracking.

Battlefield 1943:

No staircasing. I needed a dead zone of about 3 to get rid of the jittery/jumping when trying to "pixle point" at an object. Although better, I found tracking was still too slow/difficult to play with. Would take some getting used to. It makes driving vehicals or flying extreemly difficult, if not imposable.

Infamous:

Works well enough to play. Better feel than the dualshock but jittery/staircasing not completly gone.

PC USERS:

When set as a mouse it is fine, sweet to have four extra buttons! Not as good as my logetech MX 5000 laser mouse but it tracks as well as an optical (A cheap one). Also, since I was a console gamer before PC, I tried this on a game I have always dreamed of having a "fragchuck" for...The Descent series. Although windows 7 x64 recognizes it as a gamepad and all of the buttons/analog stick work, it would not recognize the anolog or mouse movement in Descent 1. In Descent 2 this problem is fixed but the mouse has dead zone issues, and when that is ajusted it's too slow, requires too much movement, and is'nt as accurate as my MX5000 laser (Not even close). So, it was esentially useless. Too bad! Fine, I can just use the MX5000 instead by choosing the mouse and joystick option. Worked perfect, very addicting. I set drop bombs to the motion sensative melee and afterburners to the joystick button (L3)! That is sweet and there are 10 buttons on the fragchuck, if you count L3 and the D-Pad, to assign functions to. They could have packed 2-3 more buttons in though. I also, tested a few other FPS games (Older School) that did not work to my satisfaction. Bottom line: if your game supports joystick and mouse operation in tandom (and gives you complete control over button reassignments) then it "might" work like you want it to, otherwise it's a crap shoot. Don't know about newer games like far cry, fallout, and etc.

Note:

I really wanted it to work for me and to give it a fair review. I even pulled it back out of the return box to test it agian on a few titles I forgot about, just to make sure I wanted to return it. No go. Given the range of experiance I got out of it and the problems I was able to almost resolve, I would say my unit was not defective. It just almost works. Maybe it will work better for the games you want it for. Good Luck.

PS:

that guy on youtube (zDD) is displayed prominantly on the packaging and endorsed by Splitfish. Not to say his videos are fake, but his incentive is to paint the product in a positive light. Therefore he's not going to post a video showing what games it doesn't work in! A one sided story is at best a half-truth. So, don't be supprised if your experiance is different form his.

Buy Frag FX Shark Controller for PS3, PC and Mac Now

After several hours of researching the Frag FX Shark, AIMON PS, EagleEye, and XIM3, I finally settled on purchasing the Frag FX Shark controller. Here's the lowdown:

The Frag FX Shark does work as promised, depending on the game being played (based on what I've read). I have only tried it on COD MW3. The best thing about the Frag FX specifically is the sensitivity dial on the controller. This makes it as plug and play as can be with this type of setup. No need to download game specific firmware or any other garbage. The controller is fully customizable as well (remap buttons, macros, blah blah). Basically, you plug in the wireless stick into a USB slot, turn on the mouse and controller, and presto -it works. It is recommended to set in game sensitivity to max and then adjust using the dial on the controller. I've found slightly past 2 to work best for me.

Yes, there is some staircasing with the Frag FX. It won't affect gameplay much for the average gamer and it might even get sorted out with a firmware update later on.

The wireless works well and I had 0 problems with interference. I have a wifi TV, 2 routers, cellphone, cordless house phone, iPad, and the ps3 all in the same area. Did not have any problems at all.

My biggest issue with the product is the ridiculous size of the mouse. I can get over the cheap feel of the plastic, but the size of the mouse is as if it was designed for Captain Banana-hands. This isn't enough to make me return the product.. it is, however, the MAIN reason I knocked the Shark down to 4 stars. The only other issue is more of an annoyance than anything else... even when the controller and mouse are turned off, if the USB stick is plugged in, the ps3 will assign it to controller 1-4. This is annoying in 2-player games if you want to use the dual shock controller and play by yourself as the game will ask player 2 to hit X to join (or automatically add player 2 into the game).

If you are a typical gamer, this is a great product at a great price. It's not as great as a PC mouse in terms of accuracy or quality, but it does do the job.

If you are a hard-core FPS gamer looking to dominate everyone just get the XIM3. This is one area where you definitely get what you pay for.

For reference: (based on my e-findings)

FRAG FX SHARK $60 (when I purchased) $90 now

See above for review

pros (no setup, sensitivity dial, includes lap board, great fragchuck design, 'snipe' button which slows mouse movement)

cons (cost, mouse size, staircasing, works better on some games than others)

AIMON PS ELITE $80

pros (better mouse, less staircasing, better 'quality')

cons (complicated setup, firmware flashing required for each game, no MAC support to do said flashing, possible wireless signal issues, cost, no sensitivity dial)

EAGLE EYE $55

pros (real keyboard and mouse, cost)

cons (complicated setup, need PC to set up the hardware, game specific settings required)

XIM3 $150

pros (unsurpassed accuracy and quality, real mouse and keyboard, LCD screen to assist setup, 1:1 conversion)

cons (requires an xbox controller to be plugged in, can make a mess with all the cables necessary to use product, very high cost, no mac support for updating firmware, made for xbox and requires adapters to use on ps3)

note: $300 on amazon market. It costs $150 at the maker's website (google xim3)

SUMMARY:

Average gamer who wants a plug and play solution? Get the FRAG FX SHARK

Want a higher quality product and don't mind tweaking settings and tinkering? Get the AIMON PS ELITE (then head to their forums and read up)

Want to use a real keyboard and mouse at low cost? Get the EAGLE EYE (then head to their forums and read up)

Insist on the absolute best, regardless of price (hardcore gamer)? Get the XIM3 (then head to their forums and read up)

You can't really go wrong with any of the 4 options.. I got the Frag FX because there's no setup and amazon prime shipping was offered.

I will update this review after testing the Frag FX on Battlefield 3.. I've held off because I doubt it will work very well as the game itself currently has lag issues.

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I was scared when ordering the shark. I thought it may not be worth the money. but i am glad i did get it. It works great in call of duty and battlefield bad company 2. i also tried it in fall out 3 and new vegas. I works ok but it does smoothly go diagonally in these games. ALso in the fallouts you can not get the sensitivity high enough to make it seem like you are playing on computer i have to constantly pick up the mouse. In call of duty is where it shines it gives me pixel by pixel aiming i can turn quickly up down side to side diagonally it all works really good.

i mostly play call of duty black ops so the controller was worth it to me if you play games other than fps it might not work good but for fps it is alot of fun. It makes target acquisition much easier as well as following moving targets.

the build feels sturdy doesnt feel cheap. It is really easy to set up

comes with a mouse pad that is pretty good

Want Frag FX Shark Controller for PS3, PC and Mac Discount?

I just picked up the new fragfx shark... I have never used a mouse for gaming before, as I never game on a pc. Been gaming on consoles since Atari, but wanted to try this out based on all the hype about mouse being better than analog sticks for aiming and all. The thing cst $90 plus shipping, but I took the plunge to try it out with black ops. Got it in thursday after playing black ops for a few days with my dualshock 3. The first day I thought i had wasted over $100 on something that I could never learn. My first 3 matches I went roughly 1 kill and 23 deaths average. Considering I had been going 21-16 K/D with the dualshock it wasn't very promising. I decided to stick it out for a week before putting it on craigslist and ebay.. I am sooooo glad i did that, because after only 2 or 3 days I finally got used to using the mouse to aim, and now I feel quicker and better in game. Played a round of Battlefield and went 36-9 K/D playing conquest on white pass, No camping , moving from flag to flag the whole time. On Black Ops had my first ever 7 kill streak and did it twice with a k/d of 21-9 in one game. granted the game is new and I undoubtedly got better as I learned the maps, but I have been playing BFBC2 since launch and this was my best round ever.. I got the Shark which is wireless, and I have noticed no lag, but the price is steep. I have no experience with any of the other models, but this one works great for me and I will probably never go back to using the dualshock for an fps.

A few side notes. I have heard reviews say the mousepad isn't good. I am hoping to buy a better mousepad to compare but the one it comes with does seem a little smaller than I would like.

I bought a 4 pack of pre charged duracell 2000 MaH rechargeable batteries with the charger at walmart for $13 and still haven't ran the first 2 batteries dead. The battery life is very good, and with rechargeable batteries cost should be minimal.

UPDATE...... I bought a rocketfish gaming mousepad from best buy and would highly recommend it. A little bigger, way more responsive, and has a speed and control side. I prefer the speed side but both are better than the one provided by splitfish.

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Test Drive: Ferrari Legends

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $19.99
Today's Bonus: 60% Off

I was really looking forward to this title, but I now have the biggest case of buyer's regret that I think I've ever had with any game. I play a lot of racing games, and I think this is the biggest ripoff I've ever experienced in a game purchase. Understand that I'm playing on the "Easy" difficulty setting and "Novice" driver setup with all assists on, and I've still only been able to get through about 8% of the campaign, and unless Atari comes out with major update to either dial back the difficulty and/or fix the really bad, twitchy handling, this is probably about as far as I'll ever get. I wouldn't mind so much if you were given unlimited access to all the tracks and cars in Arcade and Time Trial modes, but the vast majority of the game's content is locked until you unlock them in the campaign. So as things stand right now, I only have access to 9 out of 36 tracks (nothing from Nordschleife) and 12 out of 52 cars.

Atari, you are hurting yourselves and gaming in general when you make games this inacessable and frustrating. I applaud your choice to have selectable difficulty settings in the game (ALL GAMES SHOULD HAVE THIS), but if you're going to have an Easy setting, IT SHOULD ACTUALLY BE EASY. By all means, have a Difficult setting for hard core gamers who want to spend hundreds or thousands of hours pursuing a near impossible goal if that's what they really want. But for the rest of us mere mortals who want to have fun, and not another freaking job, please give us (and yourselves) a break.

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The game starts out well in career mode, then about halfway through the first set of missions, there is an obstacle course track that is IMPOSSIBLE to get past. And that's just ONE of the missions that are too difficult....on the EASY SETTING. To get past this mission and on to the next one, you have to meet several criteria... ONE, beat a lap time that is difficult without obstacles and TWO, weave in between obstacles without touching them even SLIGHTLY while keeping off the grass. OH and by the way, do this while driving one of the worst handling cars in the game. The developers of this game made it too much work, and not enough fun. Total fail on their part. My son plays tons of racing games and we do our best to unlock all the cars and tracks so he can access all the content on his games. He is autistic and to not be able to use items that are clearly in the menus causes him stress. Keep in mind that I have played over 50 PS3 and Xbox 360 games with him and I'm a very skilled video game driver, so when I say something is TOO HARD, it's TOO HARD. On the EASY setting! C'mon Atari! At the very least offer some DLC that will unlock all cars and tracks in career mode (not online obviously for competitive reasons) or even offer an 'update' to the game that....I don't know....makes the EASY setting actually easy? Some developers have figured this out (such as the Need For Speed series). Total letdown, aggravation when there should be fun. If you want your games to test the limits of your patience, buy this game. If you want to have fun playing your games, avoid this game.

Buy Test Drive: Ferrari Legends Now

I really liked this developers earlier games (Shift 1 & 2), so I was quite excited about this game as well. That went away as soon as I got it. You've got three different sections in career mode, Golden Era (the really old Ferraris), Silver Era (stuff from the '70s and '80s) and Modern era. I started on Golden Era, which was okay. The cars handled okay, the tracks looked okay, everything was just okay. Problem is it was pretty boring. I don't know if it's the physics or the force feedback or what, but I didn't feel as if I was actually driving a car I felt like turning the steering wheel made the scenery rotate on the screen. Didn't feel connected to the track at all. I tried the Silver Era, and they put me in a 512 BB that handled as if half the air had been let out of the tires. It didn't even turn it just slewed sideways and slid. Good grief, my '99 Chevy Cavalier handles 10 times better than this nonsense.

The career mode is set up in such a way that you choose an era and then you have to win race 1 to unlock race 2, etc. So if you really hate a car, too bad. You've got to win 5 or 6 races in it before you can do anything else. Even in arcade mode, most of the tracks are locked and you can't use them until you've progressed to a certain point in career mode.

I'm a big fan of racing games I platinumed Shift 1 & 2, Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, spent a huge amount of time with GT5, played a whole season of F1 2010, and several others. But this game didn't do anything for me. As another reviewer said, wait for a cheap used copy there will be plenty of them.

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If your expecting any kind of a decent game say gt5, supercar challenge, psns ferrari the race experience, um really any decent game, shift or 2, ull be really disappointed. So lookin forward to it preordered months in advance played for 5 mins n turned it off. I'll give it another chance when I'm not furious but this is in all aspects a brutal effort

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The game is good up to the moment that the cars are just sliding sideways like on ice (the abiliity to drive could be better with other driving devices, the ps3 pattern joystick don't do it properly).

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Prototype 2

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $17.45
Today's Bonus: 42% Off

I've been a fan of the first prototype ever since i've played it. Prototype 2 really steps it up from the first in all aspects. I have been following for a bit of what the developers have said the changes in this sequel and it delivered. The graphics got a big boost, the game definitely seems longer, combat system is even better, new combat skills with a boost to the same ones, and what I probably noticed right off is that the environment seems to be scaled quite well compared to the first. Even though there is a new protagonist there are still quite a few tie-ins from the first game. If you haven't played the first, but are interested in Prototype 2 I recommend playing, although there is a prototype recap on the menu (I haven't messed with yet).

So far from playing it there really hasn't been any cons at all besides a few tad nit-picky things. The story is better than the first overall, but it still kind of feels like the first in terms of a little repetitiveness and kind of goes off trail. I recommend trying to get the Radnet edition to make the game more worthwhile. I was thinking the game had challenges like the first one, but radnet gives you some new challenges each week (for now anyway depending on when you purchase). With completing the challenges you get a few new things in terms of content. I guess it is a little trade off since there is the blacknet side missions you can do.

*Update. The //Blacknet Side missions kind of tie in with the story line missions, but are optional. The game length will depend on how you play also, with the challenges slowly being unlocked on Radnet.

Oh and don't listen to Timetorise, definitely is a troll trying to be funny.

Update:

I also wanted to add that everything in Radnet Edition content is free even the 5 system themes you get that are coming up EXCEPT the 2 DLC: Colossal Mayhem Pack and Excessive Force Pack. The Colossal Mayhem (May 8th) will be 4.99$ on PSN and i'm guessing the Excessive Force Pack (May 29th) MIGHT be the same cost as well.

Update 2:

"Received" The First Freebie Thursday and installed the 2 wallpapers and I would consider them "Premium Themes" since there is animation on them, but doesn't change your XMB icons. They are cool nonetheless.

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The first "Prototype" was a game that, despite it's amazing potential, fell short of what it was capable of by the last few hours of the game. While it was an enjoyable experience for sure, there was a certain type of magic missing, not to mention a decent mission structure and polished gameplay. This gamer loved it, but knew that there was much more Radical could have done to match the greatness of their fantastic last-gen title, "The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction." But given that people love running up walls and blowing things up in video games historically, it sold well enough for Activision to give the talented developer another crack at the franchise. That's a good thing, because while "Prototype 2" will certainly not be the best game you play this year, it will give you some of the best times you're going to have with one.

Taking off a few years after the initial entry, this sequel puts you the boots of Army sergeant James Heller, who has lost his wife and daughter to the Mercer virus that has turned New York City into a parasite-infested wasteland. Fueled by PTSD from the Iraq War and rage from losing his family, Heller swears vengeance on Alex Mercer, the originator of the virus. For those unfamiliar with the franchise, Mercer was the protagonist of the first game, and seeing him in a whole new light really broadens the scope and perspective within the continuity. In this, he's a maniacal sociopath who has been corrupted by the virus that turned him into a superhuman, and on a whim, he decides to give this superhuman virus to Heller because he displays a large amount of spunk. This is a big mistake due to the fact that Heller has a burning hatred for Mercer, and what occurs is a fun and compelling revenge yarn between the two men.

Unlike the first game, "Prototype 2"'s story starts off kind of weak but soon turns into something genuinely compelling and fun. Both Heller's conquest of revenge and his one-man attack against the oppressive Blackwatch military that abducts innocent civilians to test new viruses on them make for some good, B-grade entertainment. The more characters that get introduced, the more perspectives the player is given access to, and watching these different outlooks and personalities mesh makes for a fun time during cutscenes. No character, though, is as entertaining and fun as Heller himself. A walking profanity and trash-talk machine, James isn't written off as the "stoic and angry African-American male" cliche that too many games use, and instead is one of the best and most believable Black leads in gaming. While the story isn't really anything groundbreaking or tearjerking (in fact, it's one of the weaker parts of the game), Heller makes it an overall more entertaining experience.

But one could ignore the story in "Prototype 2" and not miss much from their overall experience, because one element in the game itself is flawless through-and-through: the gameplay. Instead of forcing the player to work themselves up to a level of power equatable to Mercer's in the first title, Heller starts off with the most of the abilities an average gamer had at the end of "Prototype", and begins to get stronger at a rapid pace. This gives an untold level of power and control to somebody who picks up this title, which is a treat in and of itself. How Radical takes it one step further, though, is that every little gripe people had about the core gameplay before has been addressed, and now everything works the way it should. Heller adjusts perfectly to ledges he stands on, aiming is far more accurate, and gliding from roof to roof is streamlined to perfection. Vehicle controls no longer feel too sketchy, and doing large maneuvers such as ripping the missile launcher off a helicopter in mid-air or duel-wielding different abilities in the heat of battle can be pulled off with minimal effort. For the first time in my long history with video games, a developer has given a player the opportunity to be a superhuman and not held them back with cumbersome controls or overpowered enemies. Running up the sides of skyscrapers, karate-kicking helicopters hundreds of feet above ground... almost nothing in this game is impossible. Radical finally "gets" what people want from a title like this, and so many developers could take a cue from them.

Running around with insane abilities is nothing without a compelling setting, and the level designers obviously knew that. New York Zero is a gorgeous city whose imperfections have been coded with loving attention to detail and overall aesthetic. Every crack in the pavement and every hole in the building are all rendered with the utmost care. The same can be said for both the character models and enemy designs. While the NPC passerby are more or less drab, the main characters all look quite slick, with special notice needed to be given Heller's design. Moreso than Mercer, Heller's model is quite impressive, and always looks completely natural with the parasitic attachments his body grows. To top it off, his movement is fluid and realistic, making for a more believable "hero" than the previous protagonist. Overall, this is game is very pretty to look at, despite the ugly setting.

That's not to say it's all sunshine and daisies in this otherwise stellar game. What really holds Radical back this time around is the fact that their mission structure is questionable, to put it in kinder terms. Which is to say that many of the missions for the approximate first-third of the game are drearily repetitive, to the point where I thought my initial score for the game would be a good bit lower. The majority of these missions involve absorbing a Blackwatch trooper, infiltrating a base, and killing a new enemy/destroying something/absorbing somebody to gain information. It's a cool concept, but it soon wears thin, especially when considering that you're still doing these types of missions near the end of the game. For a game that houses gameplay so wonderful, it's a crying shame to see it getting bogged down by missions that lack creativity. And don't even get me started on the cookie cutter side-missions, which offer little to no incentive outside of gaining some extra experience points. This is a fun game, but the basic structure of the missions might have you believing otherwise at first. Don't worry, though, because when vehicles get introduced, much of this initial boredom is alleviated.

The only thing that never really improves is the music. I can't remember one bit of "Prototype 2"'s soundtrack, and I just finished the game last night. Nothing here is even remotely interesting to listen to. It's not really bad, per se, more than it is uninspired and very cliche. If you've listened to a big budget action movie with swelling orchestra pieces during crucial moments, then you've listened to the soundtrack for this game. What makes up for the lack of an original soundtrack is the phenomenal voice acting, which possesses the rare distinction of having a perfect actor for each and every role in the game. To be honest, that's one of the things that makes the plot more compelling. In the wrong hands, it would've been revenge tripe addled with cliches. Hats off to the voice director for preventing this work from falling into that lamentable pitfall.

A merely functional story, forgettable music and an often boring mission structure still don't hold back this unstoppable beast of a game when all is said and done. "Prototype 2" gives gamers more power than any superpower-driven open world game out there, and while it is nowhere near perfect, it's still a fun game that knows all of the sweet spots to hit. If you're willing to turn your brain off and just have a good time, few games come more highly recommended.

Plot: 7

Gameplay: 9

Sound: 8

Graphics: 9

Overall: 8.25

Buy Prototype 2 Now

Game Type: Single Player Action (offline/online)

Multiplayer: None

Graphics: 720p

Rated: M for Mature 17+

Replay Value: Moderate

The reemergence of a deadly virus is loose in New York City. Its side effect is mutation and homocidal rage. The virus is actually a biological weapon developed by Gentek Corporation. The release of the virus is blamed on a Gentek scientist, Alex Mercer, when in actuality Gentek is running human trials on the populace. Gentek employed Blackwatch, a highly trained private military to enforce these trials and protect their employees.

Sgt. James Heller returns from his tour in Iraq to find his wife and daughter were killed by mutants after he had told them to trust Blackwatch to control the situation.

You are James Heller and you blame Alex Mercer for the death of your family. Upon returning to America you request duty in the heavily infected Red Zone. Feeling depressed over your family you go to the red zone to die. However, when you encounter Alex Mercer you become bent on revenge, but Alex Mercer has plans of his own.

You become infected, but the virus reacts differently within you and enables you to mutate your body into various weapons you'll use to kill and consume your prey. You'll be able to impersonate everyone you consume right down to their DNA.

To get the information you seek you will have to infiltrate military bases, commandeer APCs, tanks and helicopters, explore lairs of the infected mutants and you will have to kill...a lot.

This is open-world and as in any open-world game, detracting from the main story is decided by the player. With that said, some of these detractions are in forms of finding collectibles such as black box recording devices and tasks such as eliminating field operations teams. Performing these tasks will give you upgrades. You can place a waypoint to aid your search. Once close enough, you're notified on screen with an icon and distance meter. From there you must seek it out on your own. I like this concept because it gives some purpose and reward to exploring.

The interface is intuitive. Pull up your map, cycle through what's available in the area you select, set a waypoint and off you go. It does require two button presses to exit the map, but this is nothing to complain about. You will access the map frequently. The ability to place multiple waypoints would have reduced having to frequently access the map.

Controls are responsive and rarely are camera angles an issue. Heller's feet seem to adhere to verticle surfaces well, especially narrow surfaces. This solves a frustrating issue from the first game. In Prototype 1 trying to run up a narrow surface often resulted in falling off and causing you to utter some explicit words at your TV.

RADNET: Introducing RADNET was a great idea. It was a way to add fun to play content in the game while keeping them separate from the main story.

If you played the first Prototype you know there were things in the game that just didn't fit. Things like collecting glowing orbs for various reasons and other mini-games. It seemed like filler in an otherwise good game.

With RADNET these things are outside of the story and yet rewards gained from completing them are carried into the main game. It's a win-win. RADNET does require an internet connection.

Mission design flows well. The story unfolds gradually as you progress. It makes you want to continue to the next mission to discover more about the story.

As odd as it may sound, Prototype 2 feels more real than its predecessor. Not only are the graphics substantially improved, but I was able to slip into this world and lose track of time and reality. To me this is indicative that a game is doing something right. After all, games are not just entertainment, they are an escape, a way to experience things on an interactive level we likely will never see or do in real life. To that end Prototype 2 delivers.

There is repetition in that the searches for black boxes and field teams are the same in all areas. In fairness, the hunt for black boxes is alright because it makes you explore to locate them and rewards you when you find them all. I think the field team missions could have offered a bit more variety, but they fit with the story.

Prototype 2 improves on the first game with graphics, story and gameplay. It has music fitting the sequences of the missions. It's easy to get absorbed into the game and just have fun.

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A lot of people compared the first Prototype with competing videogame Infamous, even though the similarities between the two games were minor. Prototype 2 on the other hand has a lot more in common with Infamous. In fact, this sequel manages to combine many of the qualities of Infamous with the first Prototype to create a game which is much more focused with regards to story, mission structure, and the acquisition of new powers when compared to its predecessor. Taking place a year or so after the first game, Prototype 2 opens with New York City suffering a second outbreak of the Blacklight virus, now being referred to as the Mercer virus since it was supposedly Alex Mercer himself who caused this second outbreak. Sgt. James Heller arrives back home from active duty in Iraq and finds the city under siege from the infected monstrosities born from the virus, but even worse, his wife and daughter were killed as a result of the outbreak. Swearing vengeance on Alex Mercer, the one responsible for spreading the virus, Heller throws himself into battle and takes any and every opportunity to kill the infected so he can eventually find Mercer and make him pay. While on a search and destroy mission in the more heavily infected area of what is now known as New York Zero, Heller's transport is destroyed by Mercer himself. Heller then pursues Mercer through the destroyed city streets in a (obviously) futile attempt to exact his revenge. Mercer casually digs his Claws into Heller and infects him with a modified strain of the Blacklight virus. After being picked up by Blackwatch soldiers and Gentek scientists to be studied and then disposed of, Heller uses his new superhuman abilities to break out of the base. He is then intercepted by Mercer, who informs him that not all is as it seems and recruits him to his cause, which is to take out Blackwatch and Gentek once and for all. Now set loose to discover the truth for himself, Heller's journey will take him through three of New York Zero's islands that he eventually gains full access to as the main story progresses. The first island is designated the Yellow Zone, which is fully under the control of the military and has many refugee camps set up for all the citizens who have been uprooted from their homes due to the outbreak. The second island is the Green Zone, which also has a strong military presence and is the most well put together of the islands, with its citizens going about their daily lives as best they can. The infected occasionally make it through to these first two islands and will attack anyone they come into contact with. The final island, the Red Zone, is what used to be Manhattan Island and was where Alex Mercer had his adventure in the first game. The island has now been fully overrun with the infected monsters and even some of the buildings are on the verge of collapse due to all the fighting between the infected and the military. Other buildings have tendril-like infected tissue growing on them. It's like an episode of The Walking Dead on steroids.

As far as the graphics go, this game does look better and overall more detailed than the first one, although there are significantly better looking games out there. The CGI cutscenes are an exception; they actually look pretty good. They're done in a style of black and white that mirrors what was done in the movie Sin City; only red objects (Heller's hood and infected tissue) and blue objects (computer terminals and the goggles on Blackwatch soldiers' masks) appear in full color. This wouldn't work for most games, but it does for this one. One thing the first Prototype lacked was drive. It's story was interesting, but didn't focus a whole lot on character development. Instead, it concentrated more on what was going on around Alex Mercer and the conspiracy he was trying to unravel about the virus and his past, making the whole experience feel somewhat hollow. This game goes the other way and focuses more on Heller and his interactions with the other characters he encounters, whether it's his old friend and ally Father Luis Guerra, the cold-hearted and dedicated Blackwatch commander Col. Rooks, or Heller's "maker" Alex Mercer. While Heller is no saint and will do whatever it takes to find out who is responsible for the death of his family, he is a more relatable protagonist than Mercer. Also, despite the fact he's a potty-mouth, he provides some genuinely amusing moments when he expresses strong desires to inflict harm on certain characters such as a Blackwatch soldier who calls him out and insults his wife, or another Blackwatch soldier who continuously (and annoyingly) refers to people as "bra". Ignore the other reviewers who say the story for Prototype 2 is rubbish: they're simply wrong. It's not the best story out there and some of what happens is kind of predictable, but there are plenty of interesting twists and turns that will surprise you if you're willing to make the effort to pay attention to the story. Well, before I lose those of you with short attention spans, I'll get to the juicy part of Prototype 2: the gameplay. I'll be the first to admit that this game starts out a bit slow and doesn't really pick up until a little bit before Heller reaches the Red Zone. Still, the missions Heller goes on can be quite fun and normally involve sabotaging Blackwatch's plans to weaponize the infection or destroying infected monsters. Most of the missions will have Heller consuming soldiers or scientists and copying their forms to sneak into their bases, destroying specific targets such as tanks, choppers, or monsters, hunting down human targets to consume them, and even accompanying Blackwatch soldiers on rescue missions through streets filled with infected. There are also plenty of side missions to complete and collectibles to... collect, and even these revolve around the game's story.

The side missions involve Heller using his Hunting Sense which functions like a sonar and lets him track down specific targets. Finding these targets and consuming them lets Heller absorb their memories and gain access to vital information on Blackwatch's operations, making them vulnerable to Heller's sabotage. He goes about this normally by sneaking into military bases to mess things up, racing against time to steal important cargo scattered along rooftops, and the like. Other side missions focus on Heller going into underground Lairs which are breeding grounds for infected that must be destroyed, and other ones involve finding and killing small field teams made up of soldiers and scientists who are conducting experiments in different parts of the city; how you choose to dispose of them is limited only by your own imagination. You can throw a car at them, walk up to them and slice them to ribbons, divebomb them from hundreds of feet in the air, throw them into the ocean, whatever. These side missions, especially the earlier ones, can be somewhat repetitive, but nevertheless they're oh so satisfying. There are even audio recordings called Blackboxes hidden all over the city which are all found in the pockets of dead Blackwatch soldiers. Some of the recordings are interesting, but most just detail the soldiers' last words before being taken out by the infected. All these side missions serve purposes other than to increase playtime. Completing them earns Heller upgrades to all his powers and skills. The upgrade system for Heller's powers and abilities is more in-depth compared to Mercer's in the first game. After earning enough experience points, Heller will level up and be able to add a point to one of his main attributes which increase his overall performance: movement, health, regeneration, etc. Furthermore, completing a set number of side missions and acquiring enough collectibles allows Heller to gain other improvements to his offensive, defensive, and movement abilities. In stark contrast to Mercer gaining pretty much all of his powers by the first game's halfway point, Heller's rise to power is much more gradual (in fact, he doesn't even gain his first power, the Claws, until after the third or fourth main mission). He gains his main powers at specific moments in the game's story, while most of the corresponding upgrades can be acquired by completing the side missions or just killing enemies while in free-roam. It won't be until somewhere around the 75% completion mark that Heller will have pretty much all of his main powers available to him. He'll gain many of the previous game's offensive powers: Claws, Blade, Hammerfists, and Whipfist. Consuming certain infected enemies upgrades the effectiveness and damage output of Heller's offensive powers, as well as changing their appearances (spikes added to the Hammerfists and his Blade growing larger and sharper). There's also a brand new offensive power, Tendrils. This ability has Heller's hands turn into stubby appendages that can release tendrils from his fingers capable of ensnaring and damaging his enemies. The Tendrils can also burst forth in all directions from an ensnared enemy, attach to things around them such as cars and people, and fling them back into the center to crush the target enemy.

All these offensive powers can be equipped from an improved weapon wheel which pauses the game completely and lets you map two powers at the same time to both the square and triangle buttons. For example, let's say you map the Claws to the square button and the Hammerfists to the triangle button. If attacking an enemy with the Claws using the square button is proving to be ineffective, then all you have to do is bash the triangle button to attack the enemy with the more effective Hammerfists. A handy system indeed. Heller also gains a new version of the Shield power, which he can activate simply by pressing the designated block button (R1). The Shield completely protects him from pretty much all forms of damage, whether it's infected monsters slashing at him or attack choppers firing missiles at him, although the trade-off is that he is unable to move when his Shields are up. Heller's own version of the Tendril Barrage Devastator lets him take out many surrounding enemies, and he'll even gain the ability to summon infected monsters to attack his enemies for him. And of course, consuming certain military enemies increases his effectiveness in using weapons like assault rifles, missile launchers, tanks, and attack choppers. He'll even be able to rip gatling guns and missile launchers off of tanks and choppers, allowing him to use them against other enemies. Finally, there are the enemies. A lot of the same enemies from the first Prototype make a return. Marines and Blackwatch soldiers with all their weapons and vehicles make a comeback, as do the Super Soldiers. Many of the previous infected enemies return as well: the weaker, zombie-like infected, nasty Brawlers (replacing the Hunters), and serpent-like Hydras. New infected enemies include obese and armored monstrosities called Juggernauts, the enormous and truly freakish Goliaths, and beings known as Evolved who possess abilities similar to Heller's. These enemies provide fun and challenging battles, but fortunately this game practically never reaches the same level of frustration achieved by certain missions and boss battles in the first game. As the game progresses however, the enemies tend to get easier as Heller continues to grow in power, with the only exception being the final boss (which was truly epic). All in all, Prototype 2 has all the same qualities that made the first Prototype so fun, only it has a level of polish and direction that was lacking in its predecessor. While even this game can be the slightest bit repetitive, it's still a blast and should not be missed by fans of the first game. Even those who didn't like the first Prototype should at least give Prototype 2 a try.

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Never played the first game. Never even heard of it until this game came out. Pre-ordered Prototype 2, saw the negative reviews and thought about returning it, but I kept it anyway and I'm glad I did. It's true, the story is weak; fine, who cares. Don't buy this game for the story. Buy this game for the tank smashing, people eating, zombie splitting, helicopter hijacking, New York City roaming video game monster that this is. Turn off your inner Siskel and Ebert that wants to critique the game because tank turrets wouldn't rip apart that way in real life, or the protagonist isn't relatable, or the graphics aren't as crisp as Uncharted 3 (the developers at Naughty Dog sold their souls to be able to do what they do, definitely not a fate every game developer is prepared for). This is your chance to play as an organic version of Terminator 2's T1000 in a 28 Days Later meets Battleship meets The Crow.

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Sony PlayStation 3 Slim Skin (PS3 Slim) - NEW - WINTER WHITE

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Sale Price: $24.95
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I just bought a ps3 slim 2 weeks ago. I wanted the original phat ps3, but the gamestop rep said not to bother with a "gamestop refurb," so I got the Black Ops Slim. The original ps3 looks much nicer with the Piano black, whereas the ps3 slim is an ugly duckling. In order to fix the looks, I bought this skin. Once applied, the skin looks great! There is enough of the skin to cover every part of the ps3, even the bottom and most of a controller (comes with 2 controller skins.). It took me about 15 minutes just for the top part because it's the biggest part. Take your time and it will come out really nice. I posted some pictures of mine above.

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If you take your time putting the decals on, it ends up looking pretty nice. It's also very easy to mess something up even just slightly, and it'll end up looking pretty stupid. The decals are EXACTLY the same size as the piece they're for, any slight stretching will make the piece thinner and leave black showing on the sides. It's easy for the decals to stick to themselves as your trying to apply them, and pulling them apart is tricky without stretching or tearing. I got a smaller decal for the controller stuck to the back of the big top piece, I had to peel it off with a knife and ended up with a tiny little bubble there once I applied it. When you apply them, make sure you use a credit card and dish soap solution they talk about in the instructions. Otherwise you'll have a lot of bubbles, and you definitely won't get it in the right place the first time you place it. The controller decals werent important to me, the one I did apply looks kind of dumb, they're even harder to apply.

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Let me say I've always wanted a white ps3! Ordering one from Japan for at least $550.00 was not cost effective for me. Being as though my 2nd ps3 is not even a year old! That's where the skins came into play! The skin arrived on time and unwrinkled. Only put these skins on when you have the proper amount of time! If you rush, I could see how you could destroy the skin. Pulling and stretching the skin will make it lose it's shape! You don't want that because each piece is tailored to fit! Hint: this is not a two person job, but the extra eyes and hands helps with the application and saves time! End result you ask? Flawless white ps3! Everyone down to my wife ask me if I bought a new ps3! It's a great product! The white really stands on! Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention the controller decals suck. Don't waste you time! I just went and bought a white dual shock controller! It looks soooo real! Sorry I didn't post any pics but you get my drift! For anyone wanting to give their ps3 a face lift this is the way to go! Remember TAKE YOUR TIME during the application process! Now back to MW3!

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This really adds a great look to your otherwise boring PS3. A few things to keep in mind when applying:

-Take your time! The amount of effort you put in to the application is directly related to the end result.

-Use the spray bottle technique/card squegee technique. You're able to slide the pieces around instead of stretch them one they're on.

-It really helps if you have another person to help. Having another person helps with perspective.

-If you have a sweet bod with a plumage of chest hair like me, wear a shirt.....

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A pain to apply but looks really good right after! It makes it look like my PS3 is actually white. The seller is A+!

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Call of Duty 3

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $18.75
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Call of Duty 3 is a really fun game with extremely realistic battle sequences. The downfall is that you can only play in single player mode unless you want to do/are set up for online play.

In single player mode, you're a first person shooter soldier on the frontline in WWII France. You arrive in camp, learn how to maneuver around, shoot your weapon & throw grenades (smoke and explosive). Then you're immediately strewn into various battle.

You start out as private Nichols (American) in the first chapter, but depending on which chapter you're in, you might also find yourself playing as Doyle (British), Cole (Canadian) or Boharter (Polish).

You fight you way through intense battle chapters (there are 14 chapters). You're mostly shooting whichever weapon you happen to have picked up (mostly from dead soldiers on the ground) along your objective route (a barrage of automatics and rifles). Your objectives that guide you along are updated regularly as you complete each task throughout each chapter. And some of those tasks are brutal.

No matter which chapter you're in you are mostly using your primary weapon (a rifle or machine gun), but you'll also need to engage in some exhilarating hand to hand combat, you'll need to guide tanks, fire mortars, row boats, drive jeeps, attach and arm explosives to enemy weapons, disarm booby traps and man other stationary weapons.

To me, all of the chapters are equally difficult. So if you figure out how to unlock them all like we did, there's no reason to play them chronologically (perhaps at least for consistency chapters 1 & 14 should be played respectively first and last).

So all in all Call of Duty 3 is intensely fun, but like I said earlier, the biggest drawback to this awesome game is that multiplayer mode is only available with online play. I'm sure that online play is spectacular for advanced players, but my kids and I 1) are not advanced, and 2) we'd rather just play amongst ourselves for now. I'm no software expert, but if multiplayer capability works online, some genius should have figured out that multiplayer would be equally fun with friends/family at the same console. Hence, that is the only reason why I've deducted a star from the overall rating.

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Call of Duty 3 is the classic combat game of World War II. If you've seen Saving Private Ryan, you know what you're in for. Head-throbbing noise and death all around you.

The game goes for instant immersion. You're barely off on your first trip when shells are landing, guns are hammering in your ears and there is complete chaos. You have to be careful not to hit a friendly while you're blasting away at the bad guys. You can barely see what you're doing. Your friends drag you along when you're hurt, and the rain and smoke can blind you.

Call of Duty 3 does a great job of giving you a WWII environment with character. You're in destroyed homes with cans on the shelves and holes blown into bedroom walls. You can see the smoke drifting across the main street, the plunks of rain as it falls through the boards. Bodies collapse realistically. The PS3's high def graphics really shine here.

The controller also adds to the sense of immersion. When you want to whap someone in the head with your gun, you just give the controller a sharp twist. You also use the controller for other steering-related tasks as well.

How about the sound? Playing the Call of Duty series always gives me a headache after a while :) But that's the point war wasn't fun. It's not about cool pop soundtracks while you blow away the enemies. It's about listening carefully for footsteps in the silence, and then having your eardrums shatter when the barrage rains down on you.

Gameplay is well done with multi-pathed missions that let you choose your objective, within the current mission's parameters. You can't just decide to turn around and head for Bermuda :). Your leaders tell you what your group needs to do but then it's up to you how to get it done.

Even if you're an uber-soldier and whip through the main gameplay in a short period of time, there is still the online side, which can keep you going for *months*. The in-game play is only training for the real challenge, live human opponents. Of course, if you don't like online gameplay, there is certainly a wealth of gameplay to replay for quite a while before you start to get bored.

Highly recommended!

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Yup! This game is so much fun it glued me to my seat! I like the story line, the first person shooting, audio effects, the choice of guns, and the graphics. My favorite WWII gun is the Thompson, and boy, combined with the Springfield or the Garand, one can mix up on close combat or pure sniping. Just remember you have grenades too. Other tools include bazookas, tanks, jeeps, machine guns, etc. You can feel like Audie Murphy in his movie-biography To Hell and Back. The graphics is totally awesome. I used Playstation 3 on Sony LCD TV, and I would suggest to turn up your speakers (gaming or home theater). I stayed away from first person shooting games when I got headaches ages ago with JB 007 N64 after 15 20 minutes of gaming. Since then, I only tried it last year with Socom Fireteam Bravo on the PSP. I was curious how the COD3 graphics on the PS3 will affect me, and to my surprise, it allowed me to physically (and mentally) play it continuously until the end.

The only thing I would like to see on a COD is a score of how many kills, statistics, etc. to allow you to get medals, ranks, etc. and progress through the game. I also don't think that the game is 1080p. My TV shows 720p for COD whereas it shows 1080p when I put NBA07.

Overall, my first COD experience was great and lots of fun!

SC

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Finally, an awesome Playstation 3 game! Of course, you can probably find the same thing on other consoles, but this version is really good. The controls work great, the graphics are simply a delight to watch, and finding the best strategies to complete missions is always a lot of fun and contains a lot of replay value. If you happen to be one of the lucky people who owns a Playstation 3, this is the game you need to own to help take your mind off the fact you paid 500+ dollars for a video game console.

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Call of Duty 3 has some amazing visuals for being one of the first released games on the PS3. Each blade of grass blows individually in the wind...The gameplay is pretty much what you expect, different weapons to use, first person shooter with reconnaissance missions galore. This game does take advantage of the new motion sensing controller. You can steer your controller like a steering wheel to control a jeep, you can hit people with the butt of your gun with a quick flip of the wrist. All in all I would highly recommend this game.

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Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game

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List Price: $29.95
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Obviously we all know that video games based from movies are not that great. Sad to say I was expecting this game to be great, the animation in the movie was GORGEOUS, so I figured it would be the same. NOPE, this is definitely a kids game and I think the age range would be from 5 6 year olds. The animation is horrible, the game is filled with glitches and it looks unfinished. I bought this game for my seven year old brother for his birthday and then he tried playing and he got so bored of the glitches and the controls he gave up with the game. DO NOT BUY, not worth your money.

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the movie was fun, but the game, not so much, it was soo busy on screen that you just get lost and it's not very intuitive.

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I like all aspects of this work though they could have made the camera angles of this piece of art more of a third person view, What impacted me about this work the most is the world and character art there are way more nightmares in this game than they fight in the actual movie it's terrific, Customers should consider that this is a game mostly meant for kids but I think whoever enjoyed the movie would enjoy this game, I truely can not compare this game to anything else it is in a class of it's own.

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Only reason I care for this game is because my kid loves it.... it's pretty pointless game.....however it does occupy him a great deal

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I canceled this order due to it will not ship on time for me to receive it.and I did'nt know if it was the right one for ps3 or not just stated the vidio game but not the system to.

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Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $19.85
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Ok, so let's get this disclaimer out of the way first: I've done reviews on lots of games but I have an 8 year old son show loves Phineas and Ferb, so this was pretty much a must-purchase.

And if you're ANY kind of gamer, this game will not challenge you at all. I beat it in less than 3 hours. So in that case (maybe if you want an easy platinum trophy?) you could rent this in a weekend and get everything.

For everyone else, those who have kids or maybe a spouse who doesn't play video games that often, this game is easily accessible. It's literally impossible to get stuck and not know what to do next. The combat is simple (I stuck with the Baseball gun the entire game and it worked fine). The platforming can get semi-difficult at times in a couple stages but other than that it's a very linear, straightforward game.

The replay value, since this is such a short game, is buy buying everything from the store, and playing the mini-games (A Claw Game and a Skee Ball game). The claw game will also give you figurines and sound/appearance mod chips which means you won't have to buy them in the store.

Graphicwise, the game looks awesome during the stages but if you've watched the cartoon the cutscenes are just awful. I would think with something as powerful as the PS3, they could make the actual characters look a lot better.

The sound is very good in the game, especially with the ability to change the sounds on the weapons. The kiddos will love that one (i.e. they shoot and their weapon moos for example).

The game controls are very sharp, the developers nailed that one.

However, I do have a couple gripes:

There are times I fell right through a platform, even though I clearly landed on it.

The only "replay value" is if you're a trophy hunter or want to buy everything. For a near full retail title ($40), getting only 3 hours of real gameplay to beat the game simply isn't acceptable in 2011, even if this is a game geared towards kids. Spyro was too and would give at least 15-20 hours.

There isn't a ton of originality in this game, as I saw elements ripped off from several (Ratchet and Clank, even Super Mario Bros 3!).

So, as with most of my reviews, here's the bottom line:

If you have a kid who's just starting to play video games, or one that loves the show, definitely buy it. But understand the actual going through the game is very short.

If you're any kind of a gamer you'll crush this game in a couple hours.

Not a lot of replay value unless you're trying to get everything.

This IS one of the better "cartoon/movie" based games I've played so if you've got kiddos, definitely make the purchase!

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This is a fun game. I've been playing it for a few weeks with my boys (5 & 3 year old). They really enjoy the animated TV series so we purchased the game as a reward for good behavior. My 5 year old has picked up the game mechanics quite well and even my 3 year old can play, although he frequently just runs into a corner/wall and doesn't help with objectives he still has a blast. Luckily because of the game machanics applied to player 2, player 2 is automatically dragged along with player 1 as player 1 progresses through objectives. I've found this to be especially helpful when I play with my 5 year old and it also allows a younger sibling to play along allowing them to be part of the action, while not disrupting gameplay and frustrating an older sibling.

Pros:

-Cooperative play

-Player 1 centric (letting player 1 control pace and objectives)

-You don't die when you run out of health (you have to shake the control to 'revive')

-Simple controls

-Its Phineas and Ferb, duh

Cons:

-None that I can think of

So far, great game.

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When I started to play, it only took me two days to finish the story. There were 4 HI-DEF episodes in the hybrid disc so that was a good thing.

However, I felt that the creators were going way too easy on the consumers and heres why:

1. You would never get a game over or actually lose completely. Like health is really needed.

2. The levels are too short and mostly obvious by the way.

3. Its not really as accurate as the movie.

4. The Dr.Doof robot(Final Boss) did not convince me that it was an actual boss battle but a run.

5. The ending itself was stupid and pretty lame.

Overall, maybe the little kids would enjoy and then get bored by the end of the week. Yeah, NOT worth spending $39.99 to keep, but maybe as a rental. If you got all the acheivements, good for you then.

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My son just turned FOUR last month and he and his dad finished this game in a few HOURS!! Should def. take longer to beat at retail of 49.99. Disappointed, BUT my son LOVED it!!!!!

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This really is a great game, full of great graphics and put together very nicely. However, as others have stated, the game is very easy to get through and beat.

The game is broken into six worlds, each with 2-5 levels, requiring a somewhat linear progression through the game to acquire characters, weapons, prizes, etc. Very easy to navigate through but many of the levels will literally take only minutes to complete.

As a reference point, my 4-year old and I play a decent amount of PS3 games mostly the Lego series (Batman, Batman 2, Indiana Jones, Lord of the RIngs, etc.) We can play a Lego game for weeks (we only play a few hours of PS3 per week) but had the Phineas and Ferb game completed in two nights with about 2 1/2 hours of gameplay. We went back through the game a second time to acquire the coins and prizes we missed, decked out the characters in various alternative costumes, and mastered each of the levels to the fullest extent. All in, including the second time through the game, we spent about 7 hours playing it.

I would easily give this game five stars if it had more levels, worlds and a tad more difficulty to it. With any luck we may see add-on's or a sequel to the game. It is, again, very well put together but don't expect to play this game for hours on end and have it still mesmerize you.

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Trinity Universe

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Despite low expectations of this character mash-up RPG, I'm giddy to be able to summarize it in one word-"Fun". This is a rarity these days, no matter what you play.

Like a number of NIS titles or mash-up crossover-type games, expect nothing to make any sense. On paper, the story sounds serious (and it does need a serious resolution), but the presentation and direction taken with the characters is entirely absurd ...in a good way. All the better, there are 2 entirely different storylines and you get your pick of protagonists. This is similar to Mana Khemia 2, where despite the different paths, you get goofy cast members either way and eventually everyone will end up working together at the finish. A second play was more enjoyable for me, as I could see all the times I'd bumped into or battled the other party, and could see a few sneaky points where the plots were weaved together.

As is finally the expected for JRPGs, everything is offered in eye-popping and excitable (if not a little stiff) 3D models. Instead of an "open world" format, Trinity Universe is the "hub" type of RPG where you'll be sent out to various dungeons and always come home to the same place. The story actually ties into this and offers a nice sense of progression despite never actually going anywhere.

I cannot speak highly enough about the cast of characters, and feeding on their energy alone is more than enough to slide through the game. All are simply absurd and quirky in his/her own way and are incredibly hard to explain. An alchemist that only eats and battles with carrots, a pop idol convinced she's an assassin, and a ghost that joins the group so she can kill foes to 'make new friends' (as ghosts) are among the offerings. Each of the storylines has several special party members, and several are shared are can be picked up on either route. One might be worried upon seeing a trio of recurring NIS characters from the Disgaea series appearing in an otherwise all-new game reality, but they're even more lovable and silly as ever. Fans of the underdog would-be hero Prinny character will be glad to know that Trinity Universe is yet another step forward in removing them from being nothing more than a gimmick/sidekick character. The 'fallen angel' Flonne absolutely steals the show on personality. Despite being recycled and even if knowing her past, it's impossible not to laugh whenever she speaks, and even after hearing her various battle cries a thousand times they still had me giggling every time. It must be experienced to really understand.

Cutscenes and dialogue sections are SIGNIFICANTLY evolved here versus any other JRPG to date. Instead of a still 2D graphic of a character appearing on the screen when they speak, these are replaced by a multi-layered semi-animated 2D model, where it's possible to see movement (such as, hair moving around, or clothing adjusting shape). Mouths are now also animated as characters speak, and adding these changes makes the game feel a lot more alive and energized. I wouldn't have thought a change from the 'static' graphic style would make this huge of a difference. Over 50-100 hours I suppose it does add up.

In closing, this is more than worth a purchase from fans of the genre and/or NIS titles. It bends and tweaks the standard formula in a whole lot of areas, yet somehow pulls it off from every angle. The cutscenes, 3D modeling, soundtrack, cast, humor, battle system, equipment system, etc.; All of it feels like a completely natural evolution of those familiar from other RPGs. Just sit back, let the silly bits of story play out, enjoy what's handed to you and you'll have a great time. Personally, I was so lost in the fun that by the end I'd completely forgotten that there were 2 stories to play! This game will surely go under-appreciated because of its small demographic, and it is something that a far wider audience could enjoy.

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Graphics:

Trinity Universe is in full 1080p 3D. By comparison to Cross Edge, which I feel is fair to say this game spiritually succeeds, I hesitate to say that graphically it has improved. Despite a clear level of sharpness to the game the look is rather uninspired. Many of the enemies and animations are effectively drawn straight from Cross Edge, and they look well enough I suppose, but on the whole there is an exclusion of fine detail and variety to the general look of the game that lends to an overall bland presentation. It's serviceable to the game no doubt, and usually I'm not a stickler for graphics, but it is disappointing that rather than having pretty impressive 2D graphics this game opted for a very stale and rudimentary 3D approach.

General:

The game in my simplest way of putting it is a bit like a turn-based dungeon crawler. You board these objects which dangerously orbit your home world out in the Netherverse and battle your way through a dungeon in order to disrupt their gravitational orbit and fling them out in to space. While this isn't the case with all of the dungeons the design is still effectively the same, grab for loot, slay some monster, reach the end of the dungeon.

Throughout dungeons you'll find an abundance of loot just hanging out on the ground. This loot will periodically respawn randomly as well. Within these dungeons are various hidden items and objectives. These can be rare items, schematics for `managraphics', the gravitational control for the dungeon, or an enemy nest of sorts. You have a search function to find these hidden objectives which will reveal any of these things in immediate proximity to you or shoot a colored line in the direction of such a hidden objective. The more you search the better your search function becomes but it has been pretty fool proof so far. You're given limited uses based on your search level but I have yet to need my full amount for any given dungeon.

The enemy nest things, called hunts, when revealed allow you to fight a string of monsters. Upon clearing the string the node disappears leaving a chest behind and you are granted immunity from being randomly attacked for the (long) duration of the buff. This is quite nice if you just want to tool around looking for treasure.

Should you linger in a dungeon too long, or in the event you destroy its gravity node, the dungeon will begin to `drift'. While the dungeon is drifting rare items will begin to spawn around the dungeon. Sounds great right? Well it is cool but on the downside once you start to drift you have a limited amount of time to get to the exit as well. Generally it's a pretty comfortable amount of time to walk away with some solid loot but it is still advised that you get out. If you can't make it out in time you are cast out in to orbit with the dungeon. I personally haven't tested this yet but the game suggests that you're basically stuck there until you're rescued and that the subsequent rescue is costly.

Finally some dungeons have very powerful enemies which will randomly attack you. You'll see a dark mist creep up on you in the event that the `lurker' as they're called is on to you and that's most likely your queue to run. Unless you over-level an area pretty substantially chances are the lurker will flatten you. Defeating a lurker obviously yields great rewards as well as giving you a completion bonus on the dungeon, but they shouldn't be taken lightly.

Finishing dungeons awards points toward an overall accrued value and these can be submitted to an online leaderboard as well as progress your "dungeon level" which allows you to travel to higher level versions of the dungeons which are available at the time.

Combat:

Combat, to the game's credit, is very deep. In battle you are allotted a set amount of action points per turn which can be spent on attacks, `spells', or stocked for later use. Individual characters have personal combos using various combinations of light, heavy, and ranged/magical attacks which result in more powerful abilities. In addition to these personal skills there is also a selection of other more general combos that characters for the most part all have access to at any given time. These combos can be intermingled to basically get double duty out of your action points should you find some overlap in their sequences. Individual character's actions can also be strung together by initiating a combo with another player before finishing up. On a basic level this allows you to carry over your hit and damage counter from the previous character's action in addition to granting a seemingly random buff during the switch. Under certain circumstances, which as far as I can tell results from stringing together long individual combos, team combo attacks can be activated.

Aside from the basic combo system, which is the meat and potatoes of your battles, there are equippable spells and skills which can also be used. These come in the form of the item command, escape command, healing spells, enemy debuffs, player buffs, and basically anything which you would probably consider supplementary. The lowest level of these may simply be used by hitting O but higher level abilities, or those equipped to higher level slots, require a period of charging the O button all the while consuming your AP. These all typically take a large chunk of your overall AP.

As you battle you also slowly fill little globes around your AP gauge called the Image gauge. These orbs power some rather potent abilities but even there you have options. A minimum of two globes can be used to unleash a character's super attack with devastating results as expected, but individual globes can be used to either heal or shield your party. Early on you won't get too much use out of these but towards the end of the game you'll definitely be seeing these on bosses and frequently enough on standard fights.

One downside I have encountered with the combat is the feel of its implementation. It's lacking the visceral impact the combat in other similar titles manages to relay. While I can't put my finger on it there's some combination of timing, graphics, and sound not coming together quite right which makes the combat feel unfortunately soft.

When the dust settles:

Outside of battle and dungeons you'll spend your time basically waiting for story events to come up so that you can move on. There's a timed aspect of the game so things eventually become available as you complete dungeons and various other events. You may also simply sleep at an Inn to force time forward. The story is told through little blocks of conversation in the typical anime way, portraits on either side of the screen talking to you. In this game those portraits actually are animated on a basic level unlike in Cross Edge and other similar games. You can see the characters breathing, lips moving, hair swaying... This method works but the story itself is as one would expect pretty ridiculous with sophomoric humor peppered in. If you've played any NIS game you basically know what to expect, and it's not necessarily a 'bad' thing, but by New York Times best seller material this is not.

The game also features several shops which allow you to create various things. The most basic system is effectively identical to the one in Cross Edge. Over the course of the game you acquire various schematic books which list item/equipment recipes and meeting the requirements for those allows you to craft all kinds of things. Generally speaking this is what you're going to rely on for gearing up your party. In addition to the general equipment you can also craft other things in very much the same fashion. There are `Managraphics' which change the skin of your weapon and grant you various attributes, monsters which can then be challenged for rewards, and `Meteors/Planetary Rings' which allow you to place stat increasing Meteors in to corresponding nodes on the Planetary Ring very much like Final Fantasy 10's Sphere Grid.

Trophies/DLC:

A quick note about the trophies, they don't seem impossibly hard or grindy. Many of them require a pretty modest number of kills/wins/gold to obtain but even some of the higher ones I can only imagine become trivial towards the end of the game. At the moment I'm tentatively stating that this game strikes me as a doable platinum. At the very least it isn't the eye-stabbing grind fest of achievements that Cross Edge had.

Some DLC is also already available. A couple of free packs for basic resource items and a couple of cheap packs which get you voice packs and such. Nothing too crazy but it's pretty obvious continued support of the game is likely.

Conclusion:

The game has all the depth that a NIS fan is probably going to buy it for but it also unfortunately forces a lackluster 3D presentation, the story is about as corny as you'd expect in a cross-over game, and a fair number of aspects were directly recycled from Cross Edge. It's the style of game I was in the mood for but on that same note I'm not really blown away by anything this game has to offer. The $50 price point makes it easier to swallow but even then all my RPG nerd bretheren out there might want to give this one a little while to simmer in the bargain bin unless you're simply looking for something to tide you over to the next big game.

Pros:

Deep combat

Deep crafting

Fanservice

High character customization

Cons:

Crisp but otherwise dated graphics.

Many borrowed elements

Skip button story

Combat doesn't feel right

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While I enjoyed the game over all, I felt it was a little too cheesy to really keep my attention. Frankly, this has been a problem with most recent NIS games. They've forgotten how to blend comedy with meaningful character and plot development and what they end up with just too zany to be compelling in the long term. Such is the case with Trinity Universe. It is a fun game, but not terribly engaging and in the long term it's just so-so.

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This game was funny, witty and had a great rpg feal. Dispite mostly being a dungeon crawler and not much else it kept me amused and entertained for a long while. there was so much to do, i'm not sure if ill get to everything. Really fun, highly recomend fir any rpg fan.

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Let me start off by saying this is one of those rare games that throws in something new and the formula actually works. This is one of my top treasured PS3 games. Graphics are actually quite good, storyline can be funny most of the time, combat is executed nicely, sound is amazing, lots of content, and high replayability. This game mainly focuses on treasure hunting with RPG elements, but it's strictly RPG to me.

"HUNT DOWN EVERY LAST TREASURE"

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Trivial Pursuit

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Sale Price: $50.00
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First let me say that I loved the old, blue box, Trivial Pursuit. It continues to be a great game and I was skeptical that it could translate well to a video game console.

I was wrong to doubt. The PS3 version of the game is crisp, looks great, and has fun animations when your puck moves about. I was also worried that the questions would be too easy, as they are mainly multiple choice wrong again. Some of them are real stumpers. Additionally, there are new ways they've come up with to ask questions, for example a geography question showing a map and forcing you to pick one of four points with no political boundaries shown. Can be tough. Some of the questions also use photos, which is fun as well. The questions are also a great mix of classic trivia and up-to-date information one question even asked to choose the website that was not a social networking site: myspace, facebook, live journal, or icanhascheezburger. I can has fun?

The single-player mode is quite fun, and I can see that I will be spending a great deal of time with it. The classic mode is great for a group (have only played with three so far) and doesn't seem to take as long as a marathon session with the board game sometimes did. There is also a quicker multiplayer mode that's quite enjoyable and can be played in less than 30 minutes.

My only complaint is that they've added a voiceover by a guy who's really quite annoying. He suggests at times that you look up the word loser so you can see a picture of yourself, and is overall tough to listen to after an hour or so. That's OK, you can turn him down or off.

Great job, great game!

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The game is great!! All the fun of the original, online updates and "expansion packs" keep it current.

I have versions of Trivial Pursuit from around the world as well as era specific sets and find the PS/3 version of the game is great fun!!

Highly recommended!!!

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After buying this game for my girlfriend, I got instantly addicted. Very good game play, could use an online mode though. I hope the add-ons to come are worth it, already have the free movies pack from the PSN +1

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I bought this game for my son who lives in another state. I visited his home in Sept. and we played Trivial Pursuit together. I loved it. He is very good at games and I actually beat him one time with this. I highly recommend this for a fun family game.

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First off, I love Trivial Pursuit. Its not that I dont like this game, just this implementation of it.

I was hoping to see more downloadable question packs by this time. They have how many card decks to choose from, and we're getting squat. I'll pay, just make them.

They have an irritating way of asking geography questions. They show you a map with 4 dots on it. However the resolution isn't always good enough to distinguish two cities that are close together. I know the right answer, but you cant spot it on their map

We're also getting asked the same question in the same game. That's just nuts.

As for the question packs I don't live in India. Why so many questions about Dollywood actors, actresses, and movies that I have never heard of. That pack was totally useless. Glad it was a freebie.

Oh and I wish I could turn off the "cute" graphics. I was able to turn off the music, the sound effects, and the annoying answer.

In short, I just wanted to see a great board game translated to a console. It needed no changes.

Whoever did Monopoly did a far better job!

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Dark Souls Collector's Edition

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Sale Price: $109.99
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Note: I going to concentrate this review on the "extras" found in the Collector's Edition. My reason being that if you are thinking of purchasing the Collector's Edition, you probably are aware of what the game is like.

What exactly is Dark Souls? It's a spiritual succesor to Demon's Souls, and in reality it might as well be called Demon's Souls II. The game is very atmospheric, very beautiful, eiry, and of course very challenging. As in Demon's Souls, dying is something that is a natural part of Dark Souls. The game is meant to be challenging, and if you played Demon's Souls you know exactly what to expect. If you did not enjoy Demon's Souls, there is no point in purchasing this game. If you did not play Demon's Souls, you might want to purchase that (it's only $20) before purchasing the more expensive Dark Souls. Now, for those of you who are definitely going to purchase Dark Souls, is the Collector's Edition worth the extra cost? The answer, it depends...

First, if you pre-ordered this game, you got the Collector's Edition at NO extra cost! So in that sense, yes this is clearly a wonderful bonus! If you missed out on the pre-order (the Collector's Edition is now sold out), should you pay extra for a copy? Well, here is what is found in the Collector's Edition:

1)First thing you'll notice, it comes in a beautiful and large steelcase (or steel case, steelbook, whatever you call it). Note that it's not real steel of course, but most likely tin. Nevertheless, the case is very well done, and holds the game and arbook.

2)Limited Edition Artbook: it's nice. I'm not a huge fan of game-related artbooks, but this is a nice hard cover artbook. It's not the size of a "normal" book (I consider normal the size of a sheet of paper or 8.5" x 11"), but substantially smaller. Still, it fits snuggly in the steelcase.

3)Mini-Strategy Guide: this is available as a DOWNLOAD only!! Boo... I hate download only items. I would much rather have had the strategy guide be available in hardcopy and have the artbook as a download. I don't know who decided this should be a download only, but I would not give that person/people a high I.Q. rating...

4)Original Game Soundtrack: this is available as a DOWNLOAD only!! What? the beautiful soundtrack...download only?! Yes, that's right. Another "brilliant" move by marketers who are oblivious to what their customers want.

5)Behind the Scenes Video: this is available as a DOWNLOAD only!! Yes, yet again, you are left stranded with a donwload only.

6)A Card to Redeem items 3,4,5.

So there you have it. The items that in my opinion truly make a collector's editions special (special strategy guide and game soundtrack) are download only! I consider this very lame. Yet, I gave the game 5 stars... why? Well, because I can't deny the fact that all these bonuses were given for free! This collector's edition did not cost (originally) any more than the regular edition. The regular edition is a 5-star game in my opinion, and the collector's edition is the same thing with FREE bonuses. So, it's up to you to decide whether these extras are worth the "extra" cost (since you likely will not find the collector's edition for the original price any more). Also, keep in mind that prices will vary. You might be able to find the collector's edition at only a "little" more than the original cost, and other sellers will ask 2-3 times the original cost. As I said, it's up to you, but hopefully this review has helped you decide one way or the other. Either way, let me say that the game itself is still fantastic...

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For those who have played FROM Software's Demon's Souls (itself a spiritual successor of FROM's King's Field franchise and what many would consider to be 2009's game-of-the-year) for the PlayStation 3, Dark Souls will feel immediately familiar, as the controls and play style are pulled directly from it and expanded upon. The same can be said for nearly all other aspects of the game.

It should be noted that this is NOT a sequel to Demon's Souls, as it fleshes out its own original tale and does nothing to further the reality and mythos of Demon's Souls aside from sly winks, subtle nudges and the occasional DEMON THAT WANTS TO BURN YOU WITH ITS FIERY EVERYTHING.

Even within the tutorial level, the game quickly gets you up to speed on the controls and type of game you're in for, one of patience and exploration and existence as meat (somewhat literally, as you start off rather "undead", resembling a bipedal stick of jerky) to be tenderized by every punishing enemy that can reach you... if you're not careful. After the tutorial you are placed at what can loosely be described as a hub, or bonfire, but it's more of a branching off point where the land of Dark Souls can take you down many paths, each showing off a unique and darkly beautiful environment to explore and conquer. While each of these paths is considered accessible, you'll find that you might not yet be prepared to traverse them until later on, once you've leveled up your character and equipped them with better armor, weapons and items.

And that is where the bonfire comes in to play. Scattered through the lands are unlit mounds marked with a sword, waiting for you to come and ignite them, where they then become resting places/refresher points. By refresher I mean that that newly lit bonfire is where you will respawn should you happen (Oh, it WILL happen) to be killed. So there is some comfort in that, and also in the fact that whenever you return to a fire your consumable health flasks, known as Estus flasks, will be replenished, along with spells and miracles if you decide to put focus in using magic. Now by rest I mean you can take comfort in that spot, knowing that enemies, unless currently chasing you, will not interrupt you as you sit by the fire and take the souls collected from each enemy slain and trade them toward improving your character's stats. The downside? Touching the fire resets the world, so all minor enemies return to their locations ready to battle you once again. So choose wisely the times you wish to touch the flames.

I mentioned souls gained from enemies, and they are important, as it is your method not only for leveling up your stats, but also purchasing an array of items from merchants and others NPCs.

With many games these days inviting a "run and gun" type of mentality and a fair amount of hand-holding, it takes a bit of reconditioning to understand that with this game it pays to think logically, as Dark Souls adheres to rules. There are clues within the layout of the land regarding where to go and what secrets lie ahead, and every enemy is beatable, even at low level stats, by studying movements and method and knowing the right equipment to go in with. This game is all about bettering yourself, and thus feels incredibly rewarding with each land successfully journeyed or boss demon defeated. And the treasure that comes from that? It's best left unspoiled what you'll come to possess.

The combat in Dark Souls is some of the best combat I've encountered in any game, with each weapon offering its own style and moveset, from long-range to short, slashing, cutting, blunt, piercing, so many options and secret weapons to discover and build as well using blacksmiths. Each set of armor provides its own strengths and weaknesses, and there's a level of balancing that doesn't allow any weapon to feel over-powered or game-breaking. And if it starts to because of how high you've leveled? Just wait until you carry over into New Game +. And as I mentioned, battling feels fun and intuitive because of the logical nature of the enemies. Logical but not bland.

A lot of people have wanted to know more about multi-player. It's been ramped up significantly from what was offered in Demon's Souls, while still maintaining that "This is my difficult journey through a harsh and desolate land" feel. Some nice carry-overs from Demon's Souls are the blood stains and ghosts. Blood stains can appear on the ground in your world and when clicked on, you'll see the last 10 seconds of another players in ghost form, leading up to their death. It's a nice touch in providing the player an idea of what might be in store for them. Players can also sometimes just briefly appear visible in one another's worlds. You can't interact with them, and they only appear doing what they are doing in their game for a few seconds, but it helps to add a bit more ambiance to the game.

Further multi-player options are done using certain stone items. One stone, an orange soapstone that you can buy early in the game, allows you to write messages on the ground that get displayed to other players, just as theirs are displayed to you. It's helpful for hints, tactics and if you want, trickery. If someone chooses to recommend a message, the person who wrote it is rewarded immediately with a boost of health. You have the ability, once awarded a white soapstone, to join other players or have them join you for some aid in felling the demons. But just as easily through yet another stone, players could choose to instead invade your world as a black phantom (or vice-versa), seeking to destroy you and collect your souls and restore their humanity, as the more human you are, the more inclined certain NPCs are to speak and deal with you, as well as other perks. That was as far as things went in Demon's Souls. Dark Souls, however, really makes things interesting.

The game offers you the option through various interactions to join covenants. By pledging allegiance, you are opening yourself up to new opportunities, usually regarding multi-player, that are incredibly unique. One such covenant awards you black armor and sword and sends you to other worlds to slay those who choose to maliciously invade players, thus avenging the victims, but only if the victim submitted the invader into the Book of the Guilty, which acts as a WANTED list. Another covenant allows you to place a glowing sign on the ground, which appears in that same spot in the games of three other random players, who then encounter waves of black phantom enemies that spawn from the sign, until the player is either killed (thus awarding the sign layer souls) or one of the three players finds the sign in their world and crosses through it to hunt down and kill you. Potentially all three could enter your world, and then you better be running. That's just a small example of the possibilities that covenants can offer, but be careful of which you join, because they do not take kindly to those who break it, but even that presents its own interesting opportunities.

I can't say enough about how beautifully designed the world is. There is a staggering amount of variance with each path you take, to the point that you're surprised you've found an area that looks so surprisingly new and different. It's amazingly how intuitively intertwined it all becomes as well, with shortcuts opened as you progress and multiple ways to get around. And sometimes you'll catch yourself looking far off in the distance, even if that distance is somehow ABOVE you, and wondering if you can get there. Yep, you can. Demon's Souls managed to be pretty with a palette of grays and kept that feeling of dark, foreboding emptiness. Dark Souls takes that, splashes it in many parts with color and STILL manages to keep that same wonderful, moody atmosphere. And FROM really allows their environments to sing and provide ambiance on their own, without constant background music for that evocation. Music is there, and it's thrilling and moody and fitting, but saved for certain moments. Everything else is soundtracked by the fulfilling clang of swords, the echoing water drops in a far-reaching cavern, the sound of a dragon's lungs heaving somewhere in the dark. That's music in and of itself.

OVERALL:

If I had to say something in the negative regarding this game, it would only be that there are times, despite how intuitively the game is laid out, that you can get a bit lost or confused on where to go next. But in my experience, it's never for very long.

Dark Souls takes everything about its spiritual predecessor, Demon's Souls, and enriches and improves upon it with bigger worlds, a wider array of enemies and locations, more weapons, more secrets, more items. Armor serves a greater purpose and can be upgraded, multi-player is all the more exciting with new play options and a chance to be saintly and helpful or insidiously vicious. Upgrading weapons and armor makes more sense and offers a variety of paths to improve your stuff, sound is rich and atmospheric, and bosses are absolutely epic.

Oh. And yes, crystal lizards are still in this game. BUT! They continue to respawn until you manage to kill them. Huzzah!

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This title feels like a more well-polished, more well-defined version of what Demon's Souls should have been. On its own, Demon's Souls was a fantastically challenging game, but the mechanics (particularly menu navigation) were a bit overwhelming at times. Dark Souls seems to have improved upon this model with a more intuitive menu system, and they even seem to have tweaked some of the action mechanics as well, while still keeping the spirit of the game intact. This franchise (the same as King's Field before it) will always be about learning from your mistakes and playing intelligently for a more rewarding experience. I've only spent about two hours with it, but already I can tell that I'm going to be getting just as ensconced in the world of Dark Souls as I was with its predecessor. Bottom Line: This is a 5-Star game for those who love a challenge built into a well-crafted world/storyline. All those looking for quick thrills and even quicker bursts of playtime should move on to other game franchises.

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When I finished playing Demon's Souls back in 2010, I wrote in my review that it was my favorite game of the current console generation, and that still holds true today. The game was a truly unique and innovative RPG in a generation that, despite being full of many great games, isn't going to be remembered so much for its innovations in game design. So obviously, I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on Dark Souls, the game the developers have touted as the "spiritual successor" to Demon's Souls. After putting nearly 90 hours into the game, I can say that Dark Souls is every bit as good as the masterful Demon's Souls. Dark Souls has made some key changes to the design of the previous game, yet at the same time maintained, and even refined, all the characteristics that not only made Demon's Souls such a great game, but also, a breath of fresh air.

The biggest change Dark Souls brings to the fold is the introduction of a singular, interconnected game world. Not so much an "open world" like Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption, but more so a series of fully explorable areas that are connected by at least one passage (think Super Metroid). This gives the game world a much greater sense of not only mystery, but dread as well. Where as Demon's Souls gave you much more guidance by providing a peaceful hub world leading to the separate areas of the game, Dark Souls drops you into the middle of its world without any sense of where you are supposed to go. You will receive vague hints from NPCs, but it's up to you to find your way around, and this makes you feel not only more isolated, but also makes achievement even more satisfying. As you learn your way around, you'll slowly begin to see how the world is interconnected, and you'll marvel at the absolute genius behind the design of the world (which manages even to trump its predecessor in level design). The same dark, dreadful and isolating vibe that oozed from Demon's Souls levels remains here, and is amplified by the sense of scale you get from this world. Atmosphere plays such a dominant role in this game; Dark Soul's atmosphere is so thick that it is basically an ever-present character in the world, continuously following you around.

A key change also comes in a more forgiving checkpoint system, represented by various bonfires that can be lit and serve as not only as a place to rest and replenish, but to upgrade & repair weapons and armor, manage your inventory, and eventually, warp to different bonfires you've previously visited. I found this to be a much smarter design than the "start from the beginning" method employed by its predecessor.

Despite these changes, Dark Souls remains one of the purest, most challenging, and most enjoyable games to be released this console generation. The combat remains among the finest of any game ever made, demanding patience, practice and cunning from the player. Your enemies remain fierce, intimidating, and sometimes terrifying. The different types of weapons, armors and items, as well as they ways they can be upgraded, has exponentially increased over what was offered in Demon's Souls. The multiplayer component, where hints from other players can be left in your game world, where partners can be summoned to aid in battle, and where you can invade another's game or be invaded yourself, has been given a new dimension of depth with the ability to join Covenants. And the boss battles are still the most epic and sinister of any other games out there. From Software, the developers, have successfully kept what worked in the first game, made changes where it counts, and still turned everything on its head with the newly structured world. The game feels familiar, yet fresh. Fans of Demon's Souls will be pleased. For first-timers with the right amount of fortitude, Dark Souls will be a revelation.

Demon's Souls is still my favorite game of this console generation. I'll never forget the first time I stepped into the imposing world of that game, and how I slowly realized that the developers were quietly revolutionizing the RPG genre. Yet despite this, I can still say that Dark Souls is the better game of the two. It feels less fragmented, more masterfully crafted, and most importantly, more fully realized. This is a game that is retaining the essence of the hardcore RPG experience while setting itself apart from its contemporaries by combining brilliant design with stellar gameplay to create an experience that simply isn't being matched by anyone else. Dark Souls is another masterpiece from From Software, a developer who is daring to be different by reaching further than most others would dare, and is striking gold by doing so. RPG fans would be doing themselves a disservice by missing this game.

A NOTE ON THE COLLECTOR'S EDITION: I ordered this version of the game, and I'm glad I did. The metal case is very handsome, and comes in a hard plastic slip case to protect it. A code that can be redeemed for a downloadable strategy guide is included, although I didn't use this, as I don't like to play games using guides. Best of all is the hard cover art book, which features drawings and paintings of most of the game's enemies and bosses. The creature design in Dark Souls is really stellar, and having this book is a treasure for big fans of the game. Overall, I feel this edition was well worth the $59.95 I paid.

Want Dark Souls Collector's Edition Discount?

I purchased the collector's edition. Yes, it was a free upgrade, but the final product was pretty laughable if you compare it to other video game collector's edition.

First off, finding any information on what was actually included was pretty evasive. Even the game website didn't have a concrete answer. Lots of speculation on which regions were getting what, but no hard fact information. When it did arrive, it was a metal tin, and included with the game was a DVD sized art book (The pictures are pretty small, with very little description or explanations, and honestly pretty forgettable.)and the rest of the content was downloadable from the website. The soundtrack is gorgeous, but the map and player guide (especially if you've already played Demon's Souls) aren't very helpful. There's information on classes and how the attacks work, but nothing about weapon stats or armor upgrades. Luckily there's a online wiki in the works that will hopefully answer in more details things the players need to know.

I'd say skip the collector's edition and buy the regular game.

Two other things also stand out. The frames per second drop to some pretty horrendous and inexcusable numbers. It seems like the developers were okay with certain encounters barely being playable. I first experienced this in the forest area with the "bear-cat" and his added friends. It lagged to the point of unplayability. Again, no excuse for that.

The other issue is multiplayer. As of this writing don't buy this game hoping you can run some areas with friends in mind. It probably won't happen. There isn't a central server like there was in Demon's Souls, so the chances of you and your buddies being in the same server world are slim to none. Even more frustrating is that Namco/Bandai/From Software have been silent on any upcoming changes or patches regarding this. The most players have gotten is a step by step guide on how to try to connect (which the player base already knows) Hopefully this changes, but even a "we're looking at it" comment would go a long way with customers.

The combat system is incredible and the visuals are pretty astonishing in a lot of the areas, and yes if you played Demon's Souls you'll probably love this game.

Although still a great game, it feels certain aspects were rushed, corners cut and not thoroughly tested. I certainly hope there are future patches to address the issues to make this the truly great game it could be.

*Updated rating to reflect patched improved co-op, and all around fun.

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