Collective Minds Rapid Fire PS3 Controller (CM00066)

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the grip on the controller fells good and i think it is easier to play with. the joysticks are a little bit tougher to move than the regular PlayStation controller. and the sensor to connect to the ps3 can be blocked by a blanket so you cant play with something covering the sensor. But i still love this controller and making my friends mad is really fun.

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WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011

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UPDATED on 11/5/2010 after much more time with the game.

While this is a much better game than 2010, it is once again a glaring hole of issues that Yukes and THQ never disappoint on. You will have the regular amount of kids and adults who turn a blind eye to these things, claiming the game is perfect, but you will be SORELY DISAPPOINTED if you listen to these people. I have spent quite a lot of time with the game so far, and while it is a decent title from Yukes for the first time in 4 or 5 years, it just doesn't get up to par with what they promised (shocking I know.)

THE PROS

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-The new physics system is decent, but it will give you problems like anything else. The tables break on cue and work well, but some weapons like chairs, fall apart with one grapple attack. The major issue with the physics system isn't it's set-up how ever, just that in typical Yukes' fashion, they're too lazy to reanimate 6 or 7 year old moves, so getting someone put through a table is only doable with moves they fixed or are brand-new, which is about maybe 10% of them if that. Other than that, you have to REALLY get things lined up for it to work.

-Much larger and fuller roster gives you a ton of selection once you have everyone unlocked, and when (if) they release the DLC you will get another 8 or 10.

-A new ability allows you to counter certain attacks into pinfalls, which can be reversed into pinfalls as well. A friend of mine and I did about 6 reversals and it looked seamless each time.

-Match Creator gives you a LOT more options on what to do during a match, and you can even create your own match, though it's VERY limited.

THE CONS

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While I can go on and on about little aspects in the game... the list of cons are what will make it or break it for a lot of people with this game. Yes... playing with friends is really fun, because two human controlled players can have an awesome time and not get bored. In a 60 minute Iron Man Match, the time flew by like it was just a few minutes.

-Real life active Titles ONLY can be defended in Universe Mode. This causes a lot less replayability in my mind. You MUST have Universe Mode turned on, and only #1 Contenders can challenge for Titles... ONLY at PPV's. Basically, if you want someone to have a belt, you need to go into the create mode and assign it to them, unless you want to spend 2-3 hours working for it. This kills a major aspect of the game lasting as far as I'm concerned.

-Glaring mis-spells. So far in two RTWM's I have seen three clear spelling mistakes in the captions, and by default, the game has Taker and Kane labeled the "Brother of Destruction." To me at least, these is just really unprofessional by Yukes for allowing crap like that to go through.

-Most wrestlers by default all have the same regular moves. Almost all wrestlers have the following; Running DDT, running STO, shoulder block, clothesline, grapple DDT... the list goes on. It looks like they spent the better part of 2 hours assigning the entire roster their moves. Most of us will spend hours and hours reassigning all the workers, as half of them are missing certain moves they use all the time, which are in the game. Inexcusable for me!

-Backstage in RTWM. Boring... boring... boring! The area is sizable enough to where every character in the game could be hanging around, but usually only 3-5 are around at a time, and interaction is so limited, you wonder why they bothered! You can talk to a wrestler, which will almost always result in them insulting you. Then you can shove them 3 times to start a brawl. This is about 80% of what backstage interaction is all about.

-Too easy to reverse everything. Even with the meter turned all the way down and the difficulty cranked, it's too easy to reverse everything the computer does. Once you get the timing down, you really cannot lose.

-Matches are WAY too quick. On average, Easy to Hard difficulty your matches will last about 45 seconds if you're really pushing for the victory in 1 on 1 matches.

-Over 100 Universe cutscenes? I've only seen the same 4 repeat over and over and over again! Someone buys a ticket and sits in the front row... someone goes to the announce table and you never hear from them, and there is also the attack on the ramp, and the sneak attack through the crowd. After boasting 100 scenes, I'm really hard-pressed to find out where the others come in!

-Universe Mode gets boring VERY fast. It is nearly impossible to work your way up to a WWE or World Title bout unless you win the Rumble or MITB, because the system tries to keep you at Intercontinental or United States Title level at all times. Heck, I can't even get my CAW into a MITB match, and he's never lost a bout in 3 years game time! Even after a year's time from winning the World Title, I took it off him to see where he would rank, and is still nowhere near any contention to the World Title... JUST the US Title.

-For a mode that claims to be fully customizable, you are so limited with Universe Mode, it's almost absurd. If you edit a scheduled match for one of your own, it doesn't count towards the rankings. If you touch ANYTHING in Match Creator for a Title match, it will change it to a regular bout. You can't even add a manager!

-CAWs is much more limited this year. It seems as though hundreds of pieces of items and designs were removed. I can no longer make myself like I could in other games, because what I used for my attire is no longer there in any sense.

-Want to put a custom tool design on your CAW? Download one or make one and knock yourself out... but then you can't use that CAW online "just in case" it's offensive. I put the Nexus logo on my CAW, now I can't use him online. BULL!

-When you do win a Championship, Michael Cole will always proclaim; "If this happens on Sunday, we will have a new Champion!"

-Online STILL HAS MAJOR LAG! I tried fighting a guy online last night, and I couldn't do anything. Apparently he has been playing with the lag for years, because he was spamming moves left and right, and used a ridiculous multi-tiered finisher that took almost 30 seconds to complete, and he used it almost 10 times before I couldn't kick out anymore. When you try to do something in an online match, there is a half second delay... EVERY TIME. Worthless!

-The Legends suck. Same old... same old. We've seen all these guys before multiple times. If you can't put anyone different in, Yukes, STOP PUTTING IN LEGENDS! You would think these guys are currently in the WWE since half of them have been in almost every single release since 1999.

-MITB is almost impossible to win past Easy setting. With the physics system, the ladder is always constantly being knocked down when you try to climb it. Any time someone does a move while you're climbing, the ladder goes down immediately, even it's barely touched.

-The RTWM's are terrible, aside from Christian's. Rey loses his memory, Undertaker's is filled with cosmic garbage set for a bad 1980's movie... INCLUDING a Bill & Ted Time Machine Phonebooth! Cena's is about his staler than heck feud with Orton, and I haven't even touched Jericho's because I'm sick of trying to play them.

All in all, while this game could be very fun for you, pick wisely. If you haven't liked previous Smackdown games, RENT IF FIRST because you may be very upset at spending $60 on a game when once again, Yukes promises and delivers on very little. The game will give me longevity because I play it a lot with friends, but as a single player game, you will get sick of it VERY quickly. I urge anyone who is thinking about buying it, PLEASE save your money and play it a friend's who has it, or rent it first. If you buy this game brand new thinking it's going to be a complete over-haul, and worked on greatly to be a better game, you will get a hard kick in the face by reality.

As I said, it's great fun with human players in the same room. My friend and I just recently spent 2 hours battling each other in a 6 Man Elimination Tag and it was just great fun.

But on your own... the game is just the same old repeating nonsense.

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My number one complaint last year, was that there was not a real season mode in Smackdown Vs Raw 2010, i ended up thinking it was all for the trophies. But THQ proved me wrong this year, this was a huge step, do not listen to the negative reviewers at all, this is worth your money, the season mode is Universe mode, which when you set up an exhibition game(Universe is intertwined with it), it can play out like a WWE RAW or a WWE Smackdown storyline, even the jump behind attacks are a nice extra.

For example It shocks me when i play a singles match, i played as Randy Orton versus John Cena, and as Orton was walking down the ramp Cena jumped him from behind and attacked him, on the WWE News after i beat Cena, it says " John Cena has turned his back on the fans" which was fun and it has other news on things that is happening. Universe Mode is like a combination of GM Mode and Season mode of Smackdown Vs Raw 06, 07 that i loved so much, the only part i wish THQ improved on was maybe adding one on one confrontations and choosing what you want to do.

The unlockables are unbelievable, it might be the deepest wrestling game that THQ has ever done or even created, it has guys like Vance Archer, Mickie James(now in TNA), Goldust, Ezekiel Jackson, it even has Jimmy Superfly Snuka, and other legends with their own themes. I am not lying about the roster it probably consists of 40 to 45 perhaps. Also the player select screen has been revamped, it has a fighting game style screen like Marvel Vs Capcom but keeps it's identity like the previous Smackdown Vs Raw's, deviating from the fans who say "Same old smackdown vs raw".

The weapons have been revamped along with the creative moves that needed to be done to become more realistic. First of all you can set a ladder on top of a rope and run on the ladder and hit a wrestler, or even set a ladder on the step of a already set up ladder and use that as a high flying acrobatic move set. Also THQ fixed a long glitch i remembered in it's past games such as the steel steps, it use to be you picked it up automatically, but now the superstar turns the steel steps until it is on the back and picks it up.

As for the moves, remember how cheap the moves and animations where you had someone groggy on a turnbuckle and then it was just one move? Now you can set them up on top of a turnbuckle with there back against you(for a backwards suplex) Forwards(for a toss move) and then finally a tree of woe(which the wrestler is upside down and the legs are on a turnbuckle. As for a wrestler when he is on the top rope you can now run and then press the grapple button to counter his jump, if you time it right. It is much easier, and fun to chain moves together than last year.

The appearence of each wrestler and the crowd has been really altered, they are not like action figures, when i played Shaemus going against Triple H it is almost like if i was in front row seats at a wrestling event, or watching WWE on television. As for the crowd, yes they kind of look the same as last year, but i notice THQ has worked harder, and i was almost fooled by the fans, because sometimes they would do different things depending on what the wrestler would do. Another example was when i used my created guy used a finisher and then pinned, but Yoshi Tatsu interfeared in the match and was argueing with the ref, the crowd kind of booed him, and was standing up having cameras out, just like some WWE events on TV.

Online needs an improvement sadly, Royal Rumble is fun, but it is far to easy for people to cheat and just eliminate you, also the matches are slow if a person has a dial up or slow connection , THQ needs to work on this, because for so long this has been it's hindering problem on it's backside, i suggest dedicated servers and to buy a better server next year, because oldschool fans want to fight someone without much lag if any at all. There has been some cutdown on it, but not enough to say that it has changed much.

Overall i recommend this to people who did not buy last years game, or has not baught a Smackdown Vs Raw game in a long time, even those who had 2010, all should find significant changes and new things that will wow them over time. Sadly i just wish there was more exploration like in Here Comes The Pain to the back locker rooms, and to other places in the arena, apply some other ideas and THQ could probably out due itself with next years edition. This years edition is a solid buy, no questions about it.

Buy WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 Now

If you are a fan buy this! why?

you will love this.

If you are a casual player then buy another fighting game! Why?

because its the same thing as previous smackdown games, just updated... and 2 new extras.

Overall its ok... :p

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My point of view is that of an inactive wrestling fan. I was a kid for Hulkmania in the 80's and the peak of my wrestling fandom came during the retroactively titled Attitude era. As that era came to a close the product grew stale for me. My affection for wrestling never diminished, but my interest in the then WWF did.

As a result, I don't know who every wrestler in this game is and the active roster is of little interest to me. I'm interested strictly in the gameplay and create modes. Even though I don't keep up with the television product, the wrestling video games have never totally lost their appeal. The only thing that has changed for me is that I usually skip a year with the games. Since THQ doesn't see fit to change much from year to year I stopped buying the game every year. Even with a two year gap, the game hasn't changed a whole lot. The reversal system has been consolidated to one button and a new physics engine implemented. The physics system isn't as good as advertised, though it does make for a more realistic portrayal of the in-ring action. Limbs get hung up on the ropes, as do ladders and tables. It does hiccup sometimes, particularly with the ladders, but for the most part works.

Aside from that, the game largely plays the same as last year's edition. There are some other minor changes, such as with the Hell in a Cell match, now you have to perform a cell finisher to exit. For some inexplicable reason, Yukes decided to remove the ability to climb on the announcer's tables. You can still place an opponent on either table and drive them through with a diving attack, but no more climbing on the table for a pedigree or a piledriver. This is something not foreign to longtime fans. THQ/Yukes will intentionally remove items/matches/movesets/etc. just so they have something to "add" to next year's game. One of the "biggest" additions this year is Universe mode, where the game creates a continuous season mode of sorts and generates cards for every show and keeps track of title holders, feuds, etc. For longtime fans this isn't really new, this has been experienced as far back as WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role. Yes, this Universe mode is a bit more sophisticated than the one that showed up 10 years ago but the difference isn't as great as one would expect. That's partially due to this system's broken feel. There's little change in the rankings for each title and it's usually the same 5 or 6 guys competing for each respective belt. Created wrestlers will have a hard time breaking out of the mid-card status. It should be hard to take a wrestler from zero to WWE Champion but there's no rhyme or reason to how the game works. I've played over two years with my created wrestler and he's never gotten past the 5th spot on the contender list for the WWE title. I'll score victories with him over guys ahead of him on the rankings and his ranking won't change. Sometimes I'll win a match and his ranking will go down! Only through exploiting a loophole was I able to get him a title match (for those with the game and are curious, unlock the Million Dollar Championship and assign it to whomever is the current champion you want to challenge. Create a custom match against that player and in the advanced setting when selecting the wrestler it will ask you if you want to make the match a title one and allow you to select any belt the wrestler is holding) and I'm convinced I could have gone undefeated for another five years without receiving a title shot.

I have other complaints about Universe mode but they're the same as everyone else's (repetitive scenes, matches, and so on) so I'll stop here. Despite the flaws it is easy to kill some time with it but it will grow stale eventually. There aren't any new matches added this year, and none of the old ones returned. Going back to my earlier complaint about THQ intentionally removing content, there's no reason why the casket, buried alive, special referee and I quit matches aren't here. Certain weapon abilities have been removed and the general out of the ring options aren't as varied as they were in past games. A large amount of content has been removed for the create-a-wrestler which is a huge disappointment. On the technical front, the game has a lot of audio glitches, particularly where custom music is used. If I pause a match with my created wrestler his music will play when I unpause it. If the song ends before the match the game will go on to the next song on my hard drive. Sometimes wrestlers will enter to no music, other times static will come over the speakers. I've had the game freeze on one occasion as well.

So what does the game do well? Despite the flaws with the AI, the basic gameplay is still fun enough. While the AI can be down right dumb at times, and it's impossible to find a healthy balance between a challenging AI and one that just reverses everything, you'll still get some good matches out of it. As someone who always liked to envision scenarios playing out in my head, the create a scenario really appeals to me. It's my understanding little was done to improve upon it from last year, but what's there is slightly better than bare bones. I've created one scenario that was a Road to Wrestlemania of sorts for Kane (cheap plug alert: Kane Rising, for anyone interested in downloading it) that lasts one in-game year and by the end of it I was finding it challenging to find scenes I had not used before. It's kind of mind-boggling that the game doesn't have a preloaded scene for two wrestlers just talking backstage. If you do create a scenario and want to upload it for others to enjoy, beware that the profanity filter is pretty terrible (the word "title" gets censored presumably for the first three letters) and you'll sometimes be left scratching your head as you try to figure out what word it wants you to change (it gives you the option to edit the text or just have the game replace it with asterisks, it unfortunately just gives you the full text box with the offending word in it without high-lighting what the offensive word is), apparently "Santino" is considered profanity (his gimmick certainly qualifies). Ultimately, you can create pretty cool scenarios with what Yukes has provided. Sadly, you're still limited to how many instances a created wrestler can appear in, 15 this go around, and I imagine that's another one of those things Yukes and THQ are intentionally holding back.

The Road to Wrestlemania modes are mostly what you would expect. They're entertaining in their own right, though you'll have to use the superstar the scenario was made for. I recommend editing the move sets as a lot of the pre-existing ones are awful (Undertaker doesn't have his Hell's Gate submission, Kane can pretty much only perform a scoop slam and choke toss, everyone has a running DDT, and so on) and just plain inaccurate, and this is coming from someone who doesn't watch regularly. These modes though, and Universe, are where most of the game's unlockables are. For the most part, the unlockable items are the same cast of characters you're familiar with as well as some belts and alternate attires.

I've pretty much spent the bulk of this review listing complaints which is unfortunate because I am having a good time with the game, it's just that the faults that exist are so clear and have existed for years now which is causing the frustration to boil over. I can't help but feel like if THQ just brought in one casual wrestling fan for consultation on next year's game a lot of what we fans want would get implemented. The fixes are quite clear let us customize everything, give us all of the match options we've had in the past, don't skimp on the create-a-whatever because that's what most of us care about most! Unfortunately, THQ has more interest in nickel and diming wrestling fans than giving us the ultimate wrestling video game (I find it disgusting and greedy THQ charges users an additional dollar for the privilege of editing the ratings of existing superstars. I'd love to edit some of them, and a buck means nothing to me, but on principal alone I'm not giving THQ an extra dollar for such an ability). I don't play online, so I can't comment on it though I haven't heard many positives. If you bought last year's game and aren't particularly itching for a new WWE game than you can skip this one. Universe mode isn't really worth dropping another 60 bucks for it. If you're like me and didn't get last year's then this becomes a more intriguing buy. I think it's worthwhile for the create a scenario mode as I do enjoy that, and I did have the itch for something new. Maybe one day THQ will get it right, but barring a major overhaul to the create modes, I think this may end up being my last Smackdown vs Raw video game. It's all too clear that THQ isn't really interested in improving the product so much as just doing enough to move another million units every year. If your expectations are realistic, you'll probably enjoy this game though.

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Probably the best of the SvR series but it is not far from the previous game in terms of new features. Even without much changes if you are a fan of the WWE games than it is a must buy regardless. The game is worth buying just for the creation systems alone. The worse thing about this game is the online play. Sure there are some bugs and whatever but all games have them in some fashion. The Rock says "Just buy it and bring it!".

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Thrustmaster VG Ferrari GTE F458 Wheel Add-On

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EDIT IMPORTANT: in the time since I made a very positive initial review the add-on wheel has developed a problem. What I thought was just a loose collar screw (which can happen) causing the wheel to rock back and forth a little turned out to be an issue with the wheel itself. I confirmed the problem with TM tech support, and for sure its a problem with the wheel and not the base unit. Be advised.

(The problem specifically is: the male threaded part of the add on wheel may become slightly loose where it mates with the back of the wheel, because they are two separate parts. However they are held together, they came a little bit loose in my case.)

100% full disclosure: I actually bought 2 of these add on wheels from Mac Mall. The first one let out a loud 'crack' while I was using it, sounding like two pieces of plastic held together by adhesive suddenly let go. I saw no evidence of something broken but the wheel would afterward make small noises in use, and I didnt accept it. So I returned that one and received the second one, which is the one that developed the wobble (above). So why keep the 5 star rating?? Because the wheel is beautiful, otherwise, and mine may have just been oddballs.

.............

The wheel itself is the same diameter as the G25 and G27, which makes it extremely comfortable to use.

The paddle shifters are perfectly placed and sized, and they also use a non metal-to-metal stop; so the end of the shift is not a hard clank, but a bit deadened. Nice.

The construction seems identical to the larger GT wheel in terms of materials, etc.

The stock static paddles can be easily removed! Thrustmaster has instructions with pictures on their website. All it takes is a screwdriver and 5 minutes.

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+ As many know, this wheel is one inch smaller in diameter than the stock GT wheel. This is great for open wheelers and adds a real responsiveness to the force feedback.

+ It's also a little heavier than the stock wheel. IMO this eliminates quite a bit of the "notchiness" of the stock wheel.

+ Shifters and button placement is a huge improvement over the stock wheel.

As with all Thrustmaster products I own, they had to skimp somewhere. This wheel does seem to squeak and creek for everyone. Here's what I've discovered: See the plastic housing where the buttons are all located? If you squeeze the top and bottom on that section, it'll make cheap plastic noises. The top and bottom housing for this has an incredibly tight fit. And when you're racing, this causes tension between the two and creates the cheap noises. It's mildly annoying, but I don't think it's going to lesson the lifespan of the actual wheel any (will edit if this changes in the future).

Buy Thrustmaster VG Ferrari GTE F458 Wheel Add-On Now

This wheel is just a bit smaller than the original T500rs wheel which i personally find a lot better, Also the paddles are no longer static and move with the wheel which makes driving cars with a sequential box 100x better.

Must have for T500RS owners.

Scott

www.SimRacingVideos.com

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The wheel works well and has the paddles on the wheel. Much easier to use than stock wheel included with the T500RS.

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I've been using the stock wheels for 6 months and it has been working fine..

The shifters on this wheel are much more precise than the stock shifters; the extra buttons in more convenient locations are also fantastic. The wheel is made of the same materiel so still feels decent, but not amazing to hold. The slightly smaller diameter feels better when in a fast road car also. The the price, it's a really great addition.

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PlayStation 3 Verical Stand

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This product is great for people who stand their PS3 vertically. Protect your investment from being knocked over and potencially broken. This stand also makes a great game holder.

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PS3 Memory Card Adaptor

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As of the latest code update to the PS3, this adapter can now write out to a PS2 memory card, as well as read from one (which was all it could do before). A previously lame product now, officially, rocks.

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If you are getting your hands on a PlayStation 3 and have any PS2 games that you used to play on a PlayStation 2, then it is really important to get your hands on this memory card adaptor.

In essence the memory card adaptor is a little box that you can put your PS2 memory card into. A cable then plugs into the PS3's USB port. This is the only way to get the save games from your PS2 into your PS3 so you can then use them with your PS2 games.

Almost every PS3 owner I have spoken with owns a PS2 and many PS2 games. They intend to keep playing those PS2 games on the PS3. This is especially true with epic PS2 games like Final Fantasy XII. There's no reason to start again from scratch! The memory card adaptor is rather cheap, and saves you weeks if not months of play time.

The act of moving save games is really very easy. Simply put your PS2 memory card into the small unit. On the PS3 console, select the card. It asks you to give a name to the "storage area" on your PS3's hard drive. For my 8 memory cards, I just named those storage areas CARD1 CARD8, so that they matched up with the cards. Then you hit a button, and wait about 2 minutes while the files are moved.

Once they're on your PS3's hard drive, you're all set! You can view the save games, delete the ones you don't want any more, and use them to play with.

Definitely a must-have for a PS3 owner who has any PS2 memory cards lying around or who has friends who might visit with PS2 games and cards. Sure, the PS3 games are great but there are a TON of PS2 games out there that are a lot of fun, too. This little device lets you take advantage of all that time you've already invested in the game.

Buy PS3 Memory Card Adaptor Now

It does exactly what it claims to, copy your PS1 and PS2 memory card files over to your PS3. It's only useful if your PS3 is backwards compatible ie. the 80 GB or 60 GB versions. And even then, you only need to use it once. I recommend getting it used since I'm sure the seller will have only used it once and it will still be in perfect condition.

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Maybe I didn't read the description properly but in the picture it looks like you just plug it straight into your PS3 but in actual fact you also need to buy the connecting lead. Other than that it works fine.

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If you want to transfer your PS2 game saves to your new PS3 you need this card. The latest PS3 software update has nothing to do with file transfer. You can write data to the card which can come in handy if your traveling.

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TTX Tech PS3 WiredController Controller Brand New (Red)

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Default controls are all over the place, it doesn't recognize what button is which so you have to manually change all of the controls for every game or you X button will make you go right. Ended up going back to an Xbox controller.

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Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten

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When the Disgaea series debuted way back in 2003 it had a unique appeal. It was something that you just simply didn't see a whole lot of. It was funny and was charming in a way. But what made it stand above all else was by far the interesting concepts put forth in the battle system. Since then, however, Disgaea hasn't really changed much. Disgaea 4 is the same way. If you didn't get into Disgaea before, Disgaea 4 isn't going to change your mind. But if you've stuck with Disgaea since the beginning, you may find something in Disgaea 4.

As usual for a Disgaea game, it takes place in the netherworld where you'll likely control demons. Valvatorez was once a powerful tyrant but after losing his powers he has been reduced to being the guy who trains the new Prinnies. Unfortunately he may soon be out of the job when the corrupt government of the Netherworld decides that they need to exterminate every last Prinny. It is up to Valvatorez to save the Prinnies. Compared to the last couple of entries, Disgaea 4's story is actually quite political. This doesn't mean it forsakes its characters, but those not too big on political humor or satire, may not find Disgaea 4 to be that enjoyable. There are a lot of ridiculous jokes weaved into the tale along with some clever parodies and satirical observations. You'll find bigger and better stories in several other JRPG's but at least it's enjoyable to a degree. The characters are likable and charming and some of the dialog is funny. What you may not appreciate right off hand is the voice acting itself. Disgaea has always gone for over the top voice acting and at times it has been annoying. You can opt to listen to the dialog in Japanese if you wish, or you can turn it off all together. The story is still told through, for the most part, small skits that involve character portraits standing across from each other. A charm of Disgaea that has yet to actually grow tiresome or old. All told the story might not keep your attention but some of the funny lines will. But nothing will hold your attention like the gameplay.

Disgaea has always been known for it's unique gameplay structure. And if you've played previous games in the series you won't find too many additions here. Like your typical strategy RPG Disgaea has you sending characters into the field of battle where you battle your enemies in phases. The game is much more complex than most Strategy RPGs, even today. As I said, if you've played the series before you'll have no trouble slipping right in, but newcomers will find themselves lost. The game slowly piles on new concepts for you to grasp. First introducing you to the basics of attacks before slowly introducing you to special moves and defending. It then jumps into some of the more interesting concepts of the gameplay, such as the Geo Symbols. The Geo Symbols have always been what separates Disgaea from other games. When in battle you'll no doubt notice that certain tiles are certain colors and blocks on them. Each Geo Symbol will give any color tile it sits on a specific buff or debuff. It can be something as simple as "Recovery 40%" or something as damaging as "Ally Damage 20%". It might even be something different such as providing you with 50% more experience. This aspect of the Geo Panels has often made some of Disgaea's battles feel a little puzzle based. The enemies are not always something to worry about. So are the different tiles in battle. And Disgaea 4 is relentless at times. If you go rushing off into too many battles it isn't shy about punishing you. If you don't take time to meticulously learn some of the gameplay mechanics the game is likely to be much more challenging than it has to be.

Along with the Geo Symbols, Disgaea 4 brings back other familiar things. The item world is back, allowing you to dive in and go deep to raise the level of your weapons. The item world has been expanded upon a bit. Every five floors you now get to branch off and explore more than you otherwise would. There are still mystery rooms filled with goodies and surprises too. The item world pretty much showcases another thing Disgaea is about: Grinding. If you've been coddled by RPGs where you can pretty much do anything, Disgaea 4 will change that quickly. This is a game that actually expects you to grind. And if you don't, it WILL punish you for it. The good news is, the gameplay is engaging enough that grinding doesn't feel like a chore. Especially because going into the item world presents a unique experience each time. You won't find a lot of floors the same and the Geo Panels and Symbols are randomly generated.

Disgaea 4 hasn't changed much from its predecessors at all. Much of it will be familiar to fans. At times its more like putting on a pair of old gloves and finding they still fit perfectly. If you haven't been much of a Disgaea fan, there isn't anything here that will likely turn you into one. Disgaea probably isn't going to reach much higher. It's still unique in its own way, but at some point it may have to do more than just add on small tidbits to its gameplay.

There is one area where perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad for Disgaea to progress just a little. The presentation. The sprites here are perfectly redone in HD, but it doesn't look all that different from what you've already seen. All the artwork is pretty much exactly the same. It is definitely noticeable, however. The game gives you the option to toggle between HD and SD sprite settings. Needless to say if you're playing on an HD TV then the difference is obvious. Still, it's hard to shake the fact that even in HD Disgaea 4 looks exactly like the three games which came before it. More so than the graphics, however, Disgaea still uses isometric maps where you can only shift the perspective left or right. But you can't zoom in or zoom out or tilt the perspective. On some maps its fine but on others you might lose track of your characters or some of the enemies this way.

The music on the other hand, actually sounds really good. The voice acting may, at times, grate on your nerves, but the soundtrack isn't likely to. It fits the game perfectly. You will also hear a couple of remixed tracks from previous entries.

If you've enjoyed previous Disgaea outings then there is no harm in giving Disgaea 4 a try. The change in the story's themes may not be for everyone at first, but it still maintains a lot of its humor to make it easier to swallow. Either way, in regards to its storytelling it is certainly a step up from Disgaea 3. If you've never been into Disgaea you're not going to change your mind with this.

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Before I begin, I must confess I am a die-hard sRPG gamer (Super Robot Wars to Disgaea 4). I have played all Nippon-ichi/Atlus sRPGs. My review may be a little biased; I will be comparing them to not only others in the industry, but to themselves as well.

Cons:

-Locked screen only lets you rotate, but you STILL can't change the angle or zoom in and out

-Sound track might put you to sleep after pro-longed play (Also the case in D1, D2, and D3)

-Loosely tied plot line (so far)

-No True Multiplayer. I was (and still am) waiting for the ability to play with friends online, but I was disheartened to hear about the changes made to the U.S. release. An ultra-limited map editor with no real playability is of no use to me or my friends.

-Some battles can't be conquered with strategy; making you rely on brute force aka "powerleveling"

-AI isn't very advanced; they're still very predictable (always go for easy kills first for example)[see below for balancing]

Pros:

-Graphics You can toggle between HD/SD sprites ... AND you get to change the speed of the battles

-Maps while the AI has been stagnant over three series, they have always been balanced out by randomized maps, geo-panel difficulty, and play-styles; The same enemy team you find in one map might be exponentially harder in another map.

-*VERY*Lighthearted humor, there will be lots of giggles to be had (Pretty satirical if you're up-to-date with world topics)

-The reward system is great for people who love dungeon crawling

-Character Customization A one-man-army or an army? Your choice, your playstyle.

-Customization you can customize ANYTHING; items, weapons, equipment, skills, traits

-Voice Acting It amazes me where they find some of these people. Absolutely wonderful.

Hours to Completion:

-Main Story: I'm about 8 hours in, and I don't see the end in sight. I'll update this soon.

-Bonuses: Estimated based on previous installments...maybe 20+ hours

-Custom Maps: Infinite.

-Expected DLC: ??

Replay Value: 5 out of 5, item world is the biggest contributor

Bottom Line: A very good pick-up-and-play game with a great dollar to game-play ratio. The fact that the standard edition is $10 cheaper than the regular entry price for PS3 games already makes it that much better.

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I'm relatively new to Disgaea, and I haven't beaten this game yet, so I may change my review at a later date but as of right now, I am really loving this. I was skeptical because, as shallow as it sounds, I wasn't too fond of the character designs this time around, and I was wondering if the whole "demon" schtick might be getting a little old... I was wrong. I can't say that the plot is on the same level as that of previous games, but the characters are quirky and likable and the dialogue is hilarious, which is typical of this series. The voice actors are really great, the art direction is (imo) flawless, and the music is catchy and cute.

It's a huge bummer that you can only rotate the camera but can't change the angle, and the enemy AI hasn't really improved. Also, I'm not really a grinder, I hate leveling for hours on end, but if you want to get certain things then that's exactly what you'll find yourself doing. The story is a little weak at first but it shows potential. I'm loving what I've played so far, and I'm excited to play the rest... it's not often I can say that about a game recently.

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I found this game decently fun. The game for the most part was what I expected of a turn-based strategy rpg. You can find descriptions of the game mechanics elsewhere, and the purpose of my review is just to give you my impressions.

1. Story: The story parodies rpgs and is light-hearted. The characters very often refer to terms like final bosses and leveling. The humor is quirky, and I thoroughly enjoyed the humor throughout the story.

2. Strategy: The game as expected is very heavy on tactics and has a lot of depth. This is especially true if you just try to go through the story mode without much grinding. Still, the game didn't feel difficult and there were only a couple of points in the story where I felt I needed to spend some hours grinding to level-up my characters to progress further. I would recommend not spending much time grinding as this will essentially remove the strategy aspect to this game. Level-up your characters or their equipment too much, and your characters will avoid almost all enemy attacks or take zero damage even if they get hit. In addition to the story characters that you can use in your party, there is a wide selection of generic characters that you can use in your battles.

3. Graphics: The main focus of this type of game is strategy, so I was not expecting graphics like Uncharted. The characters during the story cut-scenes have a lot of personality. In the turn-based battles, though, they seem more like just icons, and I found them somewhat underwhelming. For some reason, there are only a few set viewpoints for the battles which I found annoying as it wasn't always easy to tell where one character was in relation to another depending on the complexity of the terrain.

4. Fun: I found going through the story mode decently fun. In addition, there is a post-game where you can continue to level your characters and equipment and where you can gain additional characters to join your party. The story in the post-game is barebones though and seems more about just grinding to see if you can max stats to achieve trophies. I think the post-game could be better implemented as trying to get some of the achievements involves loading a game, entering battle and seeing if some rare event is randomly triggered. If not, then quit, reload and try again until the event is triggered. You literally will need to repeat this process 10 to 100 times in a roll in the hopes of triggering some events. After a while, I realized me playing the game had devolved to me just loading, quitting and reloading the game over and over again.

Overall, Disgaea was a decently fun game while going through the story. There is a good amount of strategy involved as long as you don't grind too much and over-level your characters. Characters have personality, but the graphics are somewhat underwhelming during the turn-based battles. Lastly, I really didn't find the post-game much fun as it seemed mostly about grinding.

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Disgaea is one of the most well-known and beloved SRPGs in the video game industry. Now on its fourth installment (excluding ports), does Disgaea 4 continue to expand the series in new and exciting ways? After playing through the main story and dabbling a bit in the post-game content, I can confidently say yes to that question.

Disgaea 4 is a turn-based strategy game that plays on a grid. In each battle, play begins by selecting up to 10 units from the home base to move around the grid and battle against the opponent's units. By using the basic commands for each unit -Move, Attack, Skills, Defend, Lift/Throw, and Items -the player can navigate through the battlefield and accomplish the objective of the level (typically the goal is to defeat all enemy units). Of course, being a Disgaea game, this is just the tip of iceberg -those who have the desire to explore further (or anyone who has extensively played a previous Disgaea game) can choose to utilize the absolutely enormous set of features included into the game, from passing game-changing "bills" in the Netherworld Senate, to entering randomly created levels within your items to power them up, to creating, customizing, and reincarnating new characters to place them into whatever role you desire. Newcomers however shouldn't be intimidated by this -not only are most features described via in-game tutorials, but in fact most of them can honestly be ignored if completing the main story is your only goal. That said, the depth is available, and I'd highly encourage exploring at least some of it -it makes the already addicting Disgaea 4 even harder to stop playing!

The main story focuses around Valvatorez, a vampire who used to be known as the Tyrant. However, as a result of a promise he made long ago, he has forbidden himself from drinking human blood and has fallen to the lowly rank of Prinny Instructor. At first, all is well with Valvatorez's job of training the prinnies, but on the graduation day of the latest batch of prinnies, the prinnies are mysteriously abducted. Thus does Valvatorez's quest begin with the initial goal of recovering the prinnies and fulfilling the promise he made to them -to give each one a single sardine upon graduation! However, things quickly become much more complicated, and he is quickly drawn into matters that affect the entire Netherworld. The story of Disgaea 4 is quite excellent as long as you take it with the right mindset. Like all Disgaea games, the story contains plenty of humor and witty dialogue between the characters. As long as you know this and don't go in expecting a dark, serious drama, you should find it most enjoyable.

Since Disgaea 3, the graphics have had a complete overhaul, now appearing in crisp HD, though fans of the old look can still choose to utilize the old sprites if they so desire. The new sprites do an excellent job of both improving the old look as well as remaining true to the original designs -each character class still feels the same (i.e. an HD dragon still looks like the tradiational Disgaea dragon, the archer still looks like the archer, etc.), so fans can rest assured that the new designs in no way compromise the originals.

Fans of the series should also take note of some new improvements since Disgaea 3. Monster class characters have some new abilities to make them more powerful, such as being able to now use 3 evilities instead of only 2, and 2 monsters can be fused in battle to make one giant monster in its place! The magichange system has also been improved, now allowing characters to duel-wield weapons while magichanging, or even wield giant weapons when magichanging with a giant monster! New additions like this extend the already enormous replay value of Disgaea to an even greater length!

Speaking of which, newcomers should note that while Disgaea 4's main story should only take about 20-30 hours to complete, there is a near infinite amount of content during the post-game. Players can seek to battle against returning Disgaea characters to unlock them for use in their party, can level characters to 9999, and can even seek to unlock the Land of Carnage -a world identical to the normal game, but featuring significantly more powerful enemies. Those seeking to experience Disgaea to its fullest can easily get hundreds of hours of gameplay if they choose to. On a purely money to hours of gameplay ratio, Disgaea is probably one of the best deals in gameplay out there. Additionally, those who want *even more content* can choose to purchase DLC for the game, ranging from additional characters (generally cameos from other NIS developed games, such as Disgaea 3 or Phantom Brave), parts for building new levels with the level editor, and even new story chapters (which admittedly are not released yet in North America as of this writing, but should be coming within the next few months I would imagine).

Honestly, the game is packed with so much content that I could go on further, but this is probably a good place to stop. Disgaea 4 was easily one of my most anticipated releases for this year, and I am pleased to say that it is every bit as good as I had hoped for. SRPG fans in particular will not be disappointed by this game, and I would encourage newcomers to the genre to try out Disgaea 4 as well -it's a absolute blast to play and is a great way to get into the genre.

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PS3 Guitar Hero World Tour Dual Guitar Bundle - Includes 2 Les Paul Wireless Guitar Controllers

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

This was a gift for my son & he loves it! Everything is fine. He is paying with it a lot.

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The box arrived in time, everything ok, the guitars look as new, fantastic! I will surely buy again from this vendor.

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One of the guitars doesnt work very well but the other one does other than that i was happy with my order.

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I WILL NOT BUY FROM THIS SELLER AGAIN. EVEN THOUGH THE PRODUCT CAME ON TIME IT WAS MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE GUITARS THE WIRELESS DONGLES TO ATTACH TO THE PS3 SO THE GUITARS CAN WORK. AND IT DIDNT SAY IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THE ITEM THAT THEY WERENT AVAILABLE

.

THANKS FOR NOTHING

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Ultimate Combo Pack - Infamous 1&2 Dual Pack & Blue Dualshock 3

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List Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $56.95
Today's Bonus: 5% Off

I purchased this for the controller, but I was pleasantly surprised by infamous. I enjoyed one, although the graphics are a bit outdated. I am currently playing two. It is a great game. I love it. Glad that I purchased it. I didn't know what I was going to do while I was waiting for the god of war.

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My son had asked for this for his birthday. It was quick to arrive. He is so hooked on the game that he cannot stop playing. It has two games in it and the controller that is included adds even more to the game. He said it is awesome and is very happy with the whole product. The game started off a little slow, but now even his wife can't stop watching him play. You'd love it too I'm sure.

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My only complaint is that while it seems like a great deal that it is bundled with both Infamous games, the Infamous games themselves get really boring after a while. I wish this was bundled with the Playstation All Stars or a more interesting title, but it is a great deal that it comes with 2 game discs plus the controller which is working like a charm and looks neat. There's another blue controller bundle with the Uncharted series, so you might also want to consider that one.

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I was really happy with my package, I'll definitely be checking back for more of my gaming needs from here

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If you're trying to get a new controller, don't go to walmart and spend $60. This product is amazing. I love the new PS3 Controller, and my dad loves infamous so i was like this is perfect, everything is working perfectly.

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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $15.00
Today's Bonus: 50% Off

Picked this up for my son, and was very impressed with it. Good action, great graphics, a blast to play overall. My itches with it were relatively minor, but they did hinder my enjoyment.

1) Lack of quality voice acting from the movie, or the series. Even though it's the same actors from the movie, the voices just don't sound right. It serves to pull you out a bit when the voices are so different, but that could just be a diehard fan like me.

2) Having to hold the transform button down to stay in vehicle mode. When Optimus rolls out, I doubt it's a conscious effort to stay in that form.

3) The mission style of gameplay is a bit dated, especially when you don't get any free roam capabilities, which would have made this game 10x better.

4) Multiplayer is only over the internet, no 2 player splitscreen co-op, or even deathmatch. This is very lame, especially with this generation of consoles, this should be standard.

Other than that, it really is a fun game for what it is, but very much linear.

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Transformers revenge of the fallen makes for a good purchase but I don't think it has enough replay value to justify its price unless you enjoy online multiplayer or if you enjoy collecting games like me ^^

Mission enviornments are nicely done and usually there are large amounts of destructable objects in each level.

Autobot and Decepticon models look good, are highly detailed with nice textures and everything is scaled correctly in game.

Each mission takes place on a open-map,some maps have pedestrians and vehicles that walk and drive around the city that can be either crushed or destroyed ^^

Free roam is nice but there are no enemies to fight, it would've been nice if the developer luxoflux had added bots and possibly a skirmish mode like they had in Vigilante 8 and Second offense to give the game more replayability, I know that may be asking too much considering this is a movie licensed game...One negative is when the robot transforms to a vehicle we can't stop or reverse, the vehicle is always zooming forward, Its frustrating.

I completed both campaigns in about 8 hours but I was taking my time and having fun exploring the maps, blasting enemies and laying waste to enviornmental objects, I really like stepping on the tiny little pedestrians ^^

14 zones containing 23 missions take place in such exotic locations such as the American east and west coast, the Atlantic ocean, Egypt and China.

The enemy AI seems intelligent enough to provide some fun, they will climb buildings or transform between different vehicles but they usually don't present much of a challenge.

I recommend it... Its fun, looks nice graphically, provides a fair challenge but doesn't have much replay value unless you play the missions over and over or play online.

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The last Transformers video game is too difficult for my son. However, my son is having a blast with this Revenge of the Fallen game! Our household really loves Transformers and saw the movie on opening night,so we all get into this game. The game is so exciting to play. My son is still getting used to the controls but he's doing well enough to advance pretty good through the game since he's had it over the past two days. He will be starting preschool in a couple of months. I usually don't let him play a game as much at one time like I have been but he's amazing me and my husband, and my husband loves playing it with him even though he's not the gaming type. It was worth the money spent already!

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The last Transformers movie tie-in game was a pretty run of the mill experience that you would come to expect from a game of the type. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a little bit better in those regards, albeit not by much. Much like the last time around, you can choose to be either on the Autobots or Decepticons side, and familiar faces like Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Ironhide, and Starscream are abound as well. In terms of action, the game provides a hearty amount of it, with the only problem being there's really no variety to the missions, and everything as a whole just gets way too repetitive. The control schemes are awkward between the robot and vehicle modes, while the robots themselves are wonderfully rendered, compared to the bland environments they find themselves in. There's some fun to be had in the game's various multiplayer modes as well, but just like the last game before it, there really isn't all that much here to sustain your interest. All in all, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is worth checking out for Transformers fans, and that's really all that need apply.

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First of all take in consideration that I am a huge fan, so this game was a no brainer for me, so here it is what i liked most about this game.

The graphics are great, but one thing confuses me, on the box says it supports full HD but it only goes as high as 720, but I can live with that, the game controls at first are a bit confusing, but after a few minutes of play time you'll get the hang of it, the missions are pretty simple, protect and beat the crap out of the enemy. The only thing that i would like to change are the cut scenes, they are just to short, but none the less the game is great.

So if you grew up with these cartoons you'll love this game.

TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!!!!!!!!!!

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Designer Skin for Playstation 3 Remote Controller - Camoplate Red

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $9.95
Sale Price: $4.97
Today's Bonus: 50% Off

When I got the box in the mail I thought, "Sweet, it's finally here." Upon opening the box though, I also became very disappointed. By not carefully examining the photo of this skin, I was under the impression that this was made of silicone and wrapped around the controller like many others. This one however is a decal that only covers the front/facial portions of the controller. To be fair, I will admit that the adhesive seems to bond pretty well to the controller and there is a small amount of room for error when applying it. I thought about returning it since I got two of them but realized that the cost of shipping back along with the shipping cost to me would be more than if I just kept them. So instead, I cut my losses and decided to write my first truly detailed review.

Pro's:

+Good looking graphics

+Decent adhesive

+Decent fit

Con's:

-Not silicone as I expected

-Feels like it will start to peel in a couple of months

-Had to trim off a little excess on the center piece

-It's basically clear vinyl coated paper

Unfortunately, the first review of this product was not up at the time of my purchase because I would not have bought this skin. Just keep in mind that if you want a silicone skin, BE SURE that the description states this so that you know you are getting the right thing.

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When I opened this product, I was a bit disappointed at first. I guess I was expecting a full wrap-around rubber skin that would fit around the PS3 controller. What I got was a set of peel-n-stick stickers for the PS3 controller. I thought about returning the product, but decided to try out the skin anyways. I was surprised with the quality of the stickers, they seem to be made out of a durable vinyl-like material. They stuck on fine, and I am quite pleased with the overall fit and finish of the product. Really sets the controller off.

Definitely glad I did not return this product. For the price, it's hard to beat. If you see a skin you really like, I'd probably get the set that includes the PS3 skin along with 2 controller skins for a matching appearance.

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I was kinda disappointed that this wasn't an actual silicon skin like it portrayed to be. Its a sticker that goes on the front. Its still pretty cool though.

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Rock Band 2 Double Cymbal Expansion Kit

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $19.23
Today's Bonus: 36% Off

These do add a new dimension to the rock band drums. It does feel a little more like playing a real drum kit. So far, in the last 3 weeks, these have performed well as far as only dropping a note once in a while (you get what you pay for right?).

These are insanely loud man! It's like CRACK, CRACK, CRACK when you hit them. They're louder than the rock band 1 drums and not NEARLY as quiet as the rock band 2 drums. That is a major CON for me.

When my friends and I get together to play rock band 2 these are totally distracting to everybody else in the room, unless you play in a house and not an apartment where you can just blast the volume, that would be nice.

My solution was to put 1/4" neoprene material on the hitting part of these cymbals. It is a marked improvement. They have not lost any sensitivity and are now about as quiet as the rock band 2 drums. If you're going to use these that is a great solution. I bought a roll of this neoprene to pad a poker table I was upgrading and I used some of the leftover. By the way, you can get enough neoprene to cover these for like 5 on ebay.

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I recently purchased this add-on for the Rock Band 2 Drum Set. Over all I really like it. I believe it lends to a more enjoyable/realistic playing experience.

Some Pros: You get two cymbals which is nice and fills out the drum set with out making it too cluttered (Which is why I opted for two instead of three). When you use the freestyle drum trainer, the cymbals work just like cymbals while all the pads act just like drums which is kinda cool. You do have some options as to the height and location of the cymbals. The response seems to be good and I haven't had any problems with them not registering hits. They do appear to be velocity sensitive also meaning the harder you hit the louder the sound in the game.

A Con: The initial setup is kind of tough. You basically get a two piece plastic clamp that you use to secure the cymbal "pole" to the rest of the drum set. The clamp snaps together in two places and then you have little "wing-nut" bolts you use to tighten everything down securely. Those "wing-nut" bolts are hard to use because the distance from the place you screw in the "wing-nut" bolt to the hole it goes in, is kinda far. SO you have to squeeze on the clamp to get the bolt in there. Maybe is was just my setup but I don't think a child would be able to do it on their own.

Other then that I am enjoying this addition to my gaming experience.

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Overall these are a great expansion to your Rock Band 2 drumkit (they don't work at all with Rock Band 1 Drums). The cymbals seem to be solidly made and can withstand some decent beating. I agree with the previous review about the set up being somewhat difficult. You need to be careful to put the wingnut in before clicking the two pieces together. But once everything is on they are very stable and feel like a normal part of the kit.

Game-wise they make for some nice playing in rock band. The cymbals take over two of the colors and you choose which by choosing which plug on the back of the kit. The caps on the cymbals can be changed depending on which color you are using them as. When you plug them in for rock band the cymbals become cymbal sounds while the pads they replace become toms.

These also work with Guitar Hero World Tour. However, it should be noted that you probaly want Yellow and Blue with World Tour while you probably want Yellow and Green with Rock Band because of the way you kick off star power. That means some annoying switching and a bit of confusion after switching if you only get the 2 cymbal kit. I kind of wish I woulda gotten the three just to avoid that.

But they definitely make drumming more fun, more immersive, and more difficult if you want it to be since you can now play a cymbal when it calls for one rather than just another pad. Some Madcatz stuff is a little hokey but these are legit.

4/5 docking one for initial setup and annoying switching of colors

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First off, I believe these cymbals fantastic. It makes it feel more realistic and significantly easier to play.

That being said, I initially noticed the same annoying "plastic" sound when I started using the cymbals. I tried putting Rock Band Drum Silencers on the top of the cymbal, like someone suggested, but the sound was still there. I tried tightening the colored wingnuts and that still didn't help. After analyzing the cymbals a little more, I noticed the "plastic" sound was coming from the housing on the underside of the cymbal. The noise was created from the hard plastic housing hitting the hard plastic on the body of the cymbal. Once I realized that, I knew inserting a rubber-like gasket would fix the problem.

To fix the plastic noise:

1. Unscrew the four small screws holding down the plastic housing

2. Cut up a small rectangle of the Rock Band Drum Silencers or mousepad-material (about 0.5" x 3")

3. On the side nearest the cymbal hitting zone, placed the material between the edge of the housing and the body of the cymbal. You do not need to adhere the material to the surface using tape or glue, because the screws will secure it in the next step.

4. Then replace the 4 screws, snuggly squishing the material.

Note: You'll notice the housing won't completely screw down flush with the surface, but that's good since you're preventing the two surfaces from hitting each other, while having a rubber-like material damping the shock.

I've been using the cymbals with this mod for about 6 months with no problems. Now my cymbals are about as quiet as the rest of the drum kit.

I hope this helps someone.

Want Rock Band 2 Double Cymbal Expansion Kit Discount?

Fixing the cymbal slippage problem-

This is for those of you who are experiencing the problem of the poles that support the cymbals slipping down in the clamps: I had this problem at first, but the corrective is fairly simple and actually is in the directions. It's hard to interpret on the graphic, but what you need to do is to mount the clamps to the drum set, without the cymbal poles in their holes. Then you have to squeeze the two halves (right/left)that make up the clamp together in the middle as hard as you can (I used pliers) until they snap together completely. You'll know it's right when you hear the "snap" as indicated in the directions and the gap between the two halves is totally gone. Then you can insert the cymbal poles and tighten the wing nuts on both ends. If the two halves aren't snapped together, the clamps can't get tight enough to hold the pole in place. Of course, designing a smooth plastic pole to fit into a smooth plastic clamp probably isn't the best idea, but hey...

For the review-

I'm a long-time drummer that bought this kit to make the decidedly unrealistic RB2 drums get a little more realistic. They do allow you to add the positioning of real cymbals, to a degree. Unfortunately, they lack any realistic flexibility for placement. You can basically rotate them a little side-to-side, based on which pole they're attached to and you can move them up and down, but that's it. You can't place one in the traditional high hat location, to the left of the snare, or to the far right of the drums where you'd normally have a ride cymbal. Adding some sort of boom setup to one of the cymbals would help with this problem. it's also the main reason I didn't buy the 3-cymbal setup, since you couldn't put them in the typical spots for most drummers. The other omission is a lack of a tilting mechanism for the cymbal surface itself. Few drummers like their cymbals perfectly horizontal, but that's pretty much what you get here. That makes doing a ride pattern on the shoulder (top) surface of the cymbal difficult. It's ok for crashes, but doing a sustained ride on the cymbal's edge feels awkward because of the way the cymbals rebound. Along that lines, the "feel" of these cymbals is ok if you can get the right amount of tightness on the wingnuts holding the cymbal down. Too loose and the rebound goes to zero. And yes, these are lounder than the new RB2 drums, especially when you have to play on the edge all the time.

While these comments may make it sound like I don't care for the cymbals, I am actually very glad I bought them. They do add a degree of realism when playing the game, especially when I reach up to hit the crash without thinking about it, rather than going down to the lower right drum pad. They smartly added the feature where the cymbal pads act as cymbals all the time, but the drum pads go either way, just as they do in the absence of the cymbals. That means you can hit the right note (i.e. a crash) either on the pad or the cymbal and not be wrong. The nice thing is that during the fill and rock ending parts, the cymbals sound only as cymbals and the drum pads only as drums, making more complicated fills possible.

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Matek: 3 in 1 Wireless Remote Controller Keyboard for PS3

Customer Ratings:
List Price: Price Unavailable
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Today's Bonus:

this is by far the best it is heavy built for durabilty easy to set up this is by far a thousand times better then the cheap plastic one walmart had this one is the porshe of remotes easy to use as a keyboard, controller, or blu-ray remote

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