BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Limited Edition

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This game has amazing sprites and backgrounds. Characters are blanced and the action is intense and fast. Its different from Guilty Gear as a whole, but after some practice aspects of the game make it feel guilty gearish. The spirits of Sol and Ky and others really do do live on this new franchise. This game is newb friendly, but unfolds as you learn the tricks of the trade and develops into a complex fighter. This is a must own!!! Its a shame because this game will not be recognized by many gamers. I say try it out and support ARKS...if you own the PS3 version i'll be there :D I main Ragna and Rachael

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Get ready for the most technical, combo heavy fighting game in existence. But instead of playing online and wanting to throw your fist through your HD tv when you lose a match, this game will make you stare in awe at how awesome it is. No matter how many times I lost, I never got upset, and kept trying harder and harder to get better with my main character. Now on to the review.

Graphics 10/10 The best looking 2D fighter to ever grace the market, period. Everything is smooth and well rendered, and even the backgrounds and simple animations don't disappoint. You have to see this game in action at the highest resolution, period.

Sound 10/10 Both the English and Japanese dub are amazing, and the little quips that happen mid-fight between two of the story characters is also a nice little touch in immersion. Every sound in this game is amazing, and the soundtrack does not disappoint. If you've played any of the Guilty Gear series, then you know exactly what to expect with this game.

Control 10/10 Blisters. In a good way. I haven't enjoyed playing a game so much since SFA3, and the blisters were a welcome badge of honor. The controls for every character are smooth and responsive and really help to make you never feel cheated when inputing a chain, or combo.

Overrall 10/10 If you're a fighter fan, anime fan, or just love art, buy this game....now. Don't wait, don't think on it. Go down to Gamestop right now and pick this up, immediately, you will not be disappointed.

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First let me give praise to what the developers have done here. This game offers some of the most impressive deep gameplay that you can find in a 2d fighter. The game, even though a spin-off of the Guilty Gear series may as well be a GG game. It keeps a similar art style, over the top characters, and general gameplay as its GG counterpart. With that being said I am also going to say that this game isn't for every 2d fighter fan. The extensive possibilities in the gameplay can be a turn off for some and at the same time a thank you to other players. Let me explain.

When you play through arcade mode you may find yourself winning, but once you go online and run across veteran players they will show you how you know absolutely nothing about this game and have a lot of learning to do. This is no button masher. This game requires precise planning, when it comes to combos, strategy, how to atack your opponent, when to attack your opponent, etc. On top of that this game is so fast at times that you don't have much time to think at all. Now these things can either be good news to you or bad news.

For those who are GG veterans, they will probably have a much easier time learning how to play than others. For those who are coming from let's say Street Fighter, they will find themselves in very unfamiliar territory. This is game is not your normal 2d fighter. The combos take a while to learn and master and you aren't going to get any where online unless you learn them. For those who appreciate all of these things I mentioned, you should go out and get this game; for those who are put off by the steep learning curve, well you decide.

I give the game 4 stars because I feel it deserves it. Perfect games deserve perfect ratings and this game falls short of that because it caters to the hard-core. It is not newbie friendly. The bonus tutorial disc is well appreciated, but I can't imagine how lost customers who buy the regular version in the future will be. For those who do buy the limited version, make sure you write down all the combos the tutorial disc gives you. You are gonna need them.

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In various previews, honestly, BlazBlue came a bit too strong for me. High-paced fighting accompanied by flashy, in the word's truest sense, super moves only seemed... again, honestly, pretentious. After I thought I'd just burned off $65 on a mediocre, new (for me) fighting IP, I was only to be simply amazed at this astounding video game.

BlazBlue features 12 characters. 12 very different, clearly distinct stylish guys and gals and others. They are not like characters from the King of Fighters, all with different moves stemming out of same semi-/quartercircle + punch/kick commands. To get to know, to be able to play with a character means that you have invested in a fair amount of time. Doing so is necessary for not only playing against other players online but against CPUs in Versus or Arcade Mode.

BlazBlue's initial release package (the Limited Edition), along with the game, includes a bonus Blu-Ray disc and two whole discs of soundtracks. Please, if you're able to appreciate video game music and are going to get this game, don't wait until Standard Editions replace the Limited ones on the store shelf and get it now because as good as the game is, those two discs of soundtracks are a legitimate music album themselves. You want a fighting game music to be on a orchestral, up-class, and royal atmosphere (contrary to SF or KOF or any other conventional fighters before), this is as good as it gets.

Even if you didn't care much for each character's unique move-sets or even the accompanying soundtracks, I want to believe that you, at least, care for what you see. I just cannot say enough for its fantastic visuals colors are full, animations well-executed, effects notably placed. Cel-shading has never been presented at a better level and until the end of the ps3/360 cycle, it is not going to be outdone.

I want to end this short right about at this point, but I have to applaud the U.S. localization team. Well, sure the translations were smooth, but the voice actors and actresses. Watching dubbed animes these days, I guessed the U.S. performers just lost their fire or whatever, but boy was I surprised. From the objective point of view, it is definitely on par with the Japanese dub. I was pleased to be able to enjoy the game without having to toggle the sound to the original recording. Kudos.

BlazBlue is a bar-setting, near-perfect fighter that is, as complicated as it is, even beginner-friendly with its "Easy Specials" utilizing R3 on the ps3 controller. Original SF or KOF fans might feel a little uncomfortable at the characters' slightly different ranges of motion per press, but with time, that's bound to fade.

Actually, if you've been ready (for a long time) to embrace a deep, profound fighter with class and originality, BlazBlue would be the perfect game.

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BlazBlue, the spiritual successor to Guilty Gear. Developed by Arc Systemworks, music composed by Daisuke Ishiwatari, original creator of Guilty Gear!

PROS:

Comes with two disc official sound track

DVD containing basic info on Bread and Butter Combos for all 12 characters

HD 2D animation is gorgeous! Can't say this enough, the 2D characters with a 3D background is eye candy. The animation for for Distortion Drives are well drawn. Online mode is superb. The netcode is quite impressive. It offers replays of top players with a rank of 1500 or higher for all characters to download and watch. Playing several hundred matches, even with lag, matches don't disconnect unless your ISP service just drops. Each room supports up to six players, so you can go vs. against several friends or co-workers.

CONS:

Small roster of characters, just 12

Even though the roster isn't that big, each character is unique with their own play style and Drive. No character is a clone of another which adds variety to the cast. I bought this Limited Edition a few months back, and never regretted it once. Best Fighter and new Fighter IP of 2009. Recommend this to anyone who loves 2D fighters or grew up playing them in the arcades.

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Ghostbusters: The Video Game

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I had been eagerly awaiting this game for over a year, as I believe the original release date was supposed to be last year. I finally got it in the mail and loaded it up to experience a since of nostalgia as the famous Ghostbusters music blared. Your character is a no-name recruit who gets to work aside the original cast, all voiced by the real actors, and the graphics immediately gripped me, along with the nostalgia and I was hooked--but not for long.

The story takes place shortly after "Ghostbusters 2" and has you revisting most of the locations from the first Ghostbuster movie (i.e. the library and the Sedgewick Hotel, etc.). You also battle some familar ghosts (i.e. Slimer, etc.). The plot also involves Gozer and more or less pays homage to the first movie, while kind of ignoring the second one (which is fine by me).

The graphics are spot on with the character models and weapons and vehicles. You will be amazed how detailed everything is, including the locations. The variety of locales is nice, but you often find yourself repeating some venues. The sound and music are all on-spot with Elmer Bernstein's classic score played throughout the action and cutscenes. Some of the sound effects can catch you off-guard and spook you a little which is always a good thing.

All of the original cast do a great job voice acting their original roles; there is a lot of the same comedy and it certainly helped with the original screenwriters.

The gameplay is a mixed bag and really makes this a 3 star game, which isn't bad, but isn't great either. It's not hard to control your character per se, except for maybe the run button being mapped to the circle button for some reason. Controlling your weapons is another story. I think the game company got caught up in adding so many secondary fire modes and additional weapons that they never made any one weapon really that good. You'll spend most of the game with the traditional particle beam weapon as seen in the movie. There are other beam weapons such as the one that shoots out a freezing-like beam; one that shoots out green slime; and one that acts almost like a fast response gun. You will find annoying the short length of time you can use any of them before having to hit the button to "vent" them; this usually happens in the middle of a battle when you don't have the time. The PKG goggles are a bit gimmicky, but do help you locate some ghosts and more specifically add to Tobin's Spirit Guide info you may find interesting and sometimes useful (i.e. weaknesses of the ghosts, etc.)

The teammate AI is perhaps one of the worst I have seen in a game in a long while. Not only are they incapable of holding their own, they rely on you to risk your own death to go "recover" them, which is a quick press of the X button when close to them. Most times this results in you falling down and you hoping there is a Ghostbuster around to return the favor--most times there is not or you can hear them coming and they get knocked down and it's "Game Over." Often, you and only one other Ghostbuster will be in a certain area. The ghosts will gang up (wait till you get to the graveyard battle--you'll know it) and throw a lot at you and if you aren't saving your fellow Ghostbuster constantly, you will most certainly die. Dying wouldn't be as bad if it didn't have a ridiculously long load time. (Mind you, the game does an install on the PS3's HDD, so why such a long load time every time you die?)

Among the issues above that seriously take their toll on your enjoyment as the game progresses, there are some inexplicable glitches (one in the library) where your character will just freeze for no reason (and it's not part of the game). Not often and definitely not something that bothered me too much, but it shows a lack of polish.

I've read a lot of high score reviews and can't help think they are based on the feeling of nostalgia. This is the BEST Ghostbusters video game ever released. I can't deny that. Was it fun? Yes, though it was short (about 7-8hrs). I recommend as a rental or as a purchase when the price comes down some. It is a good example of how movies and games can become seamless these days. With more polish, better AI, and a reduction in load times, it would easily be a 4+ star game. Hopefully any sequel will take these flaws into account.

3/5 stars

Pros:

*Superb graphics and sound.

*Great voice acting and nice plot that ties in with the first Ghostbuster movie.

*Nice selection of weapons.

*AI for the enemies is pretty good.

*Nice variety of locations.

Cons:

*Load times. (Inexcusable for a game that has a HDD install.)

*The worst AI in regards to your teammates.

*Running is mapped to an inconvenient button.

*The targeting is not always great.

*It is short at 7-8hrs.

*Minor glitches.

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Ghostbusters is a solid game. I'll start with the gameplay.

Single Player: In general I would say it's about average for this type of game. By average I mean the game play and controls are good, just nothing revolutionary. Sometimes it gets a little repetitive in spots but all in all a worthy effort. Using the proton pack is fun but loses a little bit of the fun as you use it so much sometimes.

Multiplayer: Good fun with your buddies or other online people. There are modes such as: Survive survive waves of ghosts, Destruction basically wreak havok and destroy these ghost container thingies, and Ghost Trapping Basically trap as many ghosts as you can in the time you have. There are the typical "gun power ups" you can earn along with new costumes, etc. There are weapon spawn points which are helpful so you can shoot different types of projectiles at the ghosts. Overall this is a pretty fun multiplayer but again nothing revolutionary.

As for the story, voice acting, cut scenes: The voice acting is super cool. I mean you just can't beat having the REAL voices of the ghostbusters as you play through the game. It really makes you feel like it's the real deal. The story is well written with the dialogue containing the usual witty banter you've come to expect from the Ghostbusters movies. I thought the cut scenes were well done, actually a little better than I expected. The voices, story and overall ambiance of this game really give it that extra polish that other games sometimes lack.

I would say the gameplay is about 3 to 3.5 stars but the great voice acting and story convinced me to rate this as a 4 star game. Considering most games based on movies are not very good this was a pleasant surprise. If you are a big Ghostbusters fan definitely pick this game up as the voice acting and story alone will bring back great memories. If not or you are on the fence you might consider renting this game first to see if you enjoy it enough to drop the cash on it.

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I am one of the people that grew up watching the two Ghostbuster movies and every incarnation TV series. If you are a fan of the movies, you will love the game. The story is full jokes and is just as funny as the two movies. There were many times that made me laugh out loud. While playing, it felt as if I was actually in the movie because the game has such great game/gamer interaction.

I have to admit that there are a couple of flaws with the game, mainly the running, which isn't the greatest. Besides that, there is really nothing that I didn't like. I had forgotten how much I loved the two movies and this really brought back the nostalgia, and I actually had tears in my eyes at times. The series just holds a lot of great memories for old-time fans such as myself. If you are a fan, you will want this game. It's great!

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Anyone who is a true video game junky knows that there is one written-in-stone, undeniable rule when it comes to video games that are based on movies.

They suck. Not only do they suck...they suck like a transvestite prostitute at a Hell's Angels rally. They suck like a court-appointed attorney. They suck worse than St. Louis style pizza. They suck worse than an animal shelter owned by Michael Vick. They suck worse than Chicago.

Well...okay, it's hard to suck as bad as Chicago. At least no video game based off a movie was ever home to the worst politicians EVER.

This game shatters that rule. It not only shatters it...it obliterates it.

The gameplay is actually innovative and fun. I had a bit of trouble at first figuring things out (the game didn't tell me how to deploy a trap...or at least I didn't see or hear it) but it has a little guide book to help you if you go into your menu. There's research to be done (although it's hard to get a scan of a creature on the PKE meter when it's throwing a bus at your head). It's neat to zap ghosts and feel like a real Ghostbuster like when I was a kid. I grew up watching the Ghostbusters and remember how excited I was when they released Ghostbusters 2.

Which brings me to what makes this game shine brighter than any star in the sky...the story and voice acting.

You have the ORIGINAL Ghostbusters voicing their characters from the movie. Bill Murray is fantastic (of course), Dan Akroid is absolutely hilarious as usual, Harold Ramis absolutely rocks the character of Egon with his usual intellectual wit, and Ernie Hudson returns with the straight-faced "I didn't see no ghost" one-liners. Every. Single. Scene. Had my girlfriend and I laughing out loud.

That's the important thing about this game...it feels like it wasn't made to sell to as many people as possible, it was made for the fans of the original Ghostbusters as a way for Murray, Akroid, Ramis, and Hudson to say "Thanks, everyone".

I honestly view this game as a gift for my years of watching, quoting, and stopping on a channel that happens to be showing the Ghostbusters movies to grin because I know the funny part is coming up next.

"GET HER!"

That was great, Ray. "Get her". Real scientific.

"I just panicked..."

"Ray...if someone asks you if you're a god...you say YES!"

"THE FLOWERS...ARE STILL...STANDING!"

"Must have been some cockroach..."

"It'll bite your head off, man."

If you don't know the movies...and quite possibly if you didn't GROW UP with the movies and cartoons then you probably won't "get" this game. You'll play it and maybe rate it as average or slightly above average.

If you, however, ate, slept, and breathed everything Ghostbuster and can answer the question "Who you gonna call!?" in less than a second and with GUSTO then this game will have you looking around with a feeling of creepyness one second and then crying with laughter the next and then RIGHT back to jumping out of your skin and madly flailing around with your proton beam.

Back to the game as I'm getting off on a nostalgic rant. There are bonus items in the form of "Cursed Artifacts" to collect. There are ghosts to read about by scanning them and entering them into your Tobin's Spirit Guide. There are also "power ups" to buy to improve your equipment and a running total of damage caused to all of the locations you visit.

If you, your children, spouse, best friend, or your pet are a fan of the Ghostbusters then you owe it to yourself to get this game. I have a half played copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sitting in the video game drawer that is seeing little playtime because I am now taking a trip down memory lane with the guys with nuclear accelerators on their backs.

So I'll say it loud and say it proud as I aim for the flat-top!

"Bustin' makes me feel GOOD!"

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2 years after the events of GB 2, it seems the boys in uniform known as Ray (Voiced by Dan Ackroyd), Egon (Voiced by Harold Ramis), Winston (Voiced by Ernie Hudson) and Venkman (Voiced by Bill Murray) are thinking of opening up franchises through the states in each major city. A new recruit just joined in, however more bizarre things have been going on from the Sedwick Hotel to all the way to Central Park as a new force of evil conducted by the Gozer-Worshipper has been happening as it's up to our boys to literally go through hell and back.

One of the best games i've ever played and i've been a huge GB fan for 26 years, it really satisfies any fan of this movie franchise. It co-stars Annie Potts back as Janine, William Atherthorn back as Walter Peck, Brian Doyle Murray, Max Von Sydow and Alyssa Milano. Here this game gives us clues on what lead us to the first 2 movies especially GB 2's river of slime cause.

The graphics are outstanding here especially the facial capture of the characters and the writing by Harold Ramis and Dan Ackroyd is amazing as it's based on GB 3's original concept called "Ghostbusters Go to Hell". Some familar faces like Slimer to Stay-Puft return but this time with a vegneance, you also get to battle some new ghosts like Shandor for example.

Some levels are hard but you have to get use to it and the controls are very good, you do different tricks like boison darts to all the way to sliming black slime that is very poisonus. This game is a major improvement on the horrible NES GB 1 & 2 games and as good as the arcade Real GB games and Genesis game.

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NBA 2K12 (Covers May Vary)

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The strongest part of 2K has always been presentation, and they really took it to the next level with 2K12. The court looks amazing, the players seem twice as real and detailed, even with 2K11 doing a pretty good job last year. No more alien faces or generic-looking bench players. The soundtrack is the best I've heard on a basketball game.

Now for the gameplay: The movement is much smoother and feels considerably more realistic. Ball physics are slightly improved, but still not great in my opinion. One thing that really annoyed me in 2k11 was how you would swipe at the ball and knock it loose, but the AI would always grab it before you could. This flaw is minimized, but still exists. The shots are smoother, but it's hard to get used to each player's different release. Proximity of a defender seems to have little to no effect on whether a jump shot goes in or not. I find that I make more contested shots that open ones. I had a wide open fastbreak layup to win the game and the PG completely missed it. Once you get position in the post, it's much easier to make a shot, but it's also extremely difficult to guard the post on defense. I've quadruple-teamed guys several times down low and somehow they got it to go in, followed by the commentator saying how porous my defense is and how wide open the paint was. Defense, even on Pro and even Rookie, is much more difficult than in previous games. Staying in front of the ball-handler is nearly impossible, and it's too easy to accidentally run past your man. My team doesn't seem to listen to the defensive control pad sometimes. I'll tell them to "lock down paint" and they run out to the perimeter to double-team the PG and leave the paint vulnerable to a 1-on-3 mismatch. Also, blocks happen much more frequently and the AI seems to have a slight advantage on the boards, particularly on the offensive end.

In conclusion, this game looks amazing. The presentation will blow you away. The gameplay is fun, but will certainly take some getting used to. I've played a lot of NBA games, and I've found it really hard to win in this game, even on Pro. Some of the AI's impossible makes, especially in the paint, can be frustrating, as can some wide open misses. The defense got the biggest revamp, and I'm not sure whether I like it or not, but it's certainly more difficult. The modes have been improved, but are basically the same, with the addition of create a legend. If you're a die hard fan, you will probably love this game. If you're a casual fan, you might find it somewhat frustrating. Still, I give props to 2K for trying to improve significantly even after 2K11's success. Rosters will be updated if and when the lockout ends. Grab this game to fill that empty void left by the lack of actual NBA basketball.

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This is a review from a big fan of "classic" NBA, the great teams and great players from days gone by. So as you would expect I looked forward to this title with much eagerness and got it on day one. And when I first played it I was in awe of the packaging, the cosmetic touches used to recreate some of the great all-time teams and rivalries in NBA history. The graphics are great for a basketball game (aside from the occasionally odd animation or player rendering) and the presentation is heads-and-shoulders above any sports game that I have ever played.

But when I got past the cosmetic some intense frustration with the game play quickly followed. Much like last year's iteration the passing system is just incredibly bad. I know they wanted to create a sense that in order to acquire steals you needed to play the passing lanes etc., and they wanted the defenses you play to be operating in this way as well to enhance realism. The problem is that you have no ability to determine what sort of pass you throw (bounce pass, lob, etc.) and so you are left up to the mercy of the game's passing logic to try and make the best pass available for a given situation, only it makes absolutely horrible choices most of the time. You will see a a wide open teammate and attempt to pass him the ball with the PG (not a poor passer and not on the run but at a complete stop) only to have it sail over his head or to a player on the opposing team. This makes running a fast-breaking offense like the 80's Lakers anywhere near efficiently a nearly impossible task. Hell, simply running a conservative offense I still garnered double digit turnovers each game.

Another significant problem is the seemingly sheer randomness of most button presses when attempting to do pretty much anything in this game. You think by pressing a button designated "shoot" you would then release a shot, but often that is not the case as you may find yourself thrust into an animation where you shove your shoulder into another player to create space (where you really didn't seem to need any additional space I might add) and not shoot the ball but rather hang on to it until you press it at least two more times (the other press causes you to then pump fake) by which time you have been blown for a three second lane violation. This is far from a rare occurrence as random animations seem to be the rule of the day in NBA 2k12, and despite what is advertised I have found them to rarely be "interruptible".

Driving the lane is usually an effort in futility as there is apparently an invisible force field that the opposing teams players can extend past their bodies to prevent your player from going past. I am playing with Michael Jordan on one memorable occasion and I have the baseline and plenty of room to get by the other player and he doesn't move his feet and cut me off (at least according to what I saw) I merely am unable to proceed past him and instead shoot a fall away jumper. Supposedly you can use "isomotion" dribble moves to penetrate, but I found these to be so maddeningly complicated and inconsistent (this particular motion does this one move this time and then another move another time etc.) that I have given up anything beyond the most basic.

Also the game is extremely glitchy. Teams that I have unlocked via the "Legends" mode will later be re-locked with it no longer registering that I did indeed won those games and unlocked those teams. I put in code that was available with purchase to unlock a couple of teams (and that was tedious as the server was down for like two weeks) and now I find I have to redo the entire process.

Those are perhaps minor complaints compared to the sheer frustration this game is to play at times. Passing and shooting the ball are the basics for any basketball game and when you can't get that right then all the packaging in the world isn't going to make it a good game.

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okay, i bought 2k11 last year as soon as it came out. Played 2 MP's and a lot of exhibition/online games last year. I would say this is my most played game aside from the far off blackops.That said, i think im a decently experienced 2k basketball player. 2k12 has a lot of the things that we as gamers wished 2k11 had, but it also has a lot of annoying flaws and under-developed new features. I understand that not everything is always perfect with games (specially with only 1 year) but i hate how people keep telling others to wait for the "patch". Why should a patch fix the incredibly bad passing? Didn't we let 2k know about this last year? Bad lop passes last year, so now this year our guy tries to through it through his defenders face. nice -_ It was too easy to get into the paint and dunk. After 10 games played my layups end in blocks 60% of the time. How i get blocked by a C who has his back turned to me and is running in the other direction i don't know. Taking away the crew mode? fail. Why play MP if you can't show your guy off? Okay, so people hack and cheese...they do that in normal online.I wish instead of just avoidin the problem they had implemented ways to limit cheating.New training camp? awesome! I have to go through all of the shooting drills to get to the last one (the only want i want to practice) not so smart. Online association? Awesome! It lags worse than normal association, not awesome. Improved ball handling and more "realistic" gameplay? GReat! My ball handler bouncing the ball off his teammates foot twice a qt? annoying. I think the realism isn't the problem here, more along the lines of still crappy A.I. Teammates still tend to do REALLY dumb things and like i read on some reviews the game needs Base offense,defense plays that run when no plays are called. Overall, while 2k12 will probably feel better than 2k11 i think this game is not worth the 60 i spent on it. I could of stayed with 2k11 for a few more months and then bought it for 40 or even 20 :/ maybe instead of 2k13 they should go for 2k14 and not rush games.

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I am 40, my sons 15 & 12 this game is the perfect mix of Old School and New School. We are having hours of enjoyment and bonding time because of this game.

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Just received this game today and I must say that it is awesome. The graphics are great, the game play is smooth and the presentation is wonderful as well. It's great to see that so many different legends and legendary teams can be unlocked (including a young Shaq during his Orlando years). All in all a great game. Highly recommended!

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Dirt 2

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I'm 69 years old and my gaming experience, until recently, has been pretty much limited to Pong, PacMan and the Microsoft Flight Simulator. Two years ago I bought a WII, my first console. My favorite game was Excite Truck. That led to a PS3 and GT5P and a Logitech Driving Force GT wheel.

Now my favorite game is "Dirt 2." What an amazing piece of work. The cars handle beautifully, the damage modeling is fantastic, and there is a nice arcade/simulator balance.

I am trying to get some of my friends to buy this game (console, game, wheel, broadband connection, etc.) so that we can race online.

When they pull our real licenses we'll still be racing. Dirt 5 perhaps.

Most of the women, including my wife, who have tried this game have been frustrated, mostly because of oversteering, and have quit after driving 15 minutes or so. After I added a second system and raced my wife on our LAN she started to like it. I think following a cooperative driver who stays in sight, helps a lot.

My 68 year old wife is now level 81 and drives about 1.5 nours every afternoon. I think many women who would give this game a chance would begin to really enjoy it.

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At first glance Dirt 2 is impressive. The overall presentation is original, the graphics are spectacular, the damage modeling is amazing and finally the driving experience is decently fun. My problem with this game lies in its general shallowness. I feel like the series have gone very far from its original roots as a realistic rally racer. With every new installment we get less and less realism and more flash, "action" and arcadish feel. For example, the fact that actual rally racing takes up a rather small percentage of the types of races available in Dirt 2 is very disappointing.

I know the developers tried to shoot for a flashy and user friendly interface, and while I give them credit for their ingenuity, I really feel like it is yet another step to dumb down the whole experience, as it makes the game feel very linear with limited choices of cars and races. While the driving is kind of fun, I keep feeling like I am not playing anything more than an arcade racer, where the goal is to mostly ignore physics and good driving techniques and just ram your way to the top spot, while avoiding the obstacles. The concept of opposing drivers saying very corny things via radio during passing and bumping just adds to the whole "childishness" of an already thin experience. Even after doing well in challenging races, I had no real feeling of satisfaction that I would normally experience while playing either the old Colin McRae titles or the Gran Turismo series.

I am guessing that to offset large expenses that come with good graphics and flashiness, the developers decided to build this game for the masses by broadening the scope of the races, doing away with the idea of driving technique and essentially stopping just short of eliminating the concept of "rallying" from it altogether. Personally, I am not OK with that because no amount of good graphics and flash can make up for that feel of a realistic rally experience that was lost somewhere in the evolution of this series.

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I'll start off by saying that I'm new to the 'Dirt' franchise though I've played other racing games by Codemasters. Prior to purchasing 'Dirt' I was getting my offroad driving kicks with MotorStorm: Pacific Rift. After hearing great things about the original 'Dirt' I began looking forward to playing 'Dirt 2' on my PS3.

So what's 'Dirt 2' all about? Simple off-road driving at breakneck speeds. D2 features a variety of modes though the meat of the game is the 'Dirt World Tour'. In World Tour you'll create your own character, choose a nickname and set off on conquering the world of off-road racing. Events take place in 8 locations spread out on 4 different continents. You'll be driving through the desert wastes of Baja California to the jungle trails of Malaysia to the (dirt covered) streets of London and a few places in between. As you progess with your career you'll inevitably come head to head with various professional drivers such as Dave Mirra, Ken Block, Tanner Foust and others. Eventually you'll be able to race against these drivers and if you beat them you can even befriend them and race alongside them in various team events.

World Tour features 3 categories of races starting with the relatively mild "rookie" races to the intermediate "Pro" all the way up to "All-Star". Along the way you'll buy and earn cars as well as purchase generic upgrades for the vehicles. That is, you'll pay to upgrade your vehicles from the beginner rookie level to pro and so forth. All told there are 35 vehicles ranging from rally cars, trophy trucks, buggies, stock-Baja and a few other classes. The vehicles include familiar brands such as Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan and more. One very cool feature of Dirt 2 is the ability to unlock classic vehicles like the 1993 Dakar Rally Mitsubishi Pajero or the 1995 Subaru Impreza WRX driven by Colin McRae and others.

Before you race you're given the option to set the difficulty for each specific race ranging from 'easy' to 'savage'. I believe that there are 5 difficulty settings in all. Besides making the A.I. more challenging in the races themselves the difficulty settings also dictate how many 'flashbacks' you can use in a race. Flashbacks are like a rewind feature that allow you to correct a costly mistake whilst driving. On easier difficulty settings you can use up to 6 flashbacks per race. On the hardest setting you'll be given no flashbacks at all. You'll also have the option to turn realistic damage on or change the setting to cosmetic damage only. With realistic damage vehicle performance degrades as your vehicle takes damage from crashes. Also of note, besides bragging rights from increasing the difficulty, Dirt 2 rewards players with extra cash for driving at higher difficulty levels.

The types of races available include: Rally, Rally-Cross, Trailblazer, Landrush, Last Man Standing and Raid. Rally races are the typical staggered-start events with you and your co-driver racing against the clock. Rally-Cross events are set in arena-like stages with a mixture of off-road and paved surfaces. These events are very tight and technical courses. Trailblazer is in essence a rally race without the co-driver and some cosmetic changes to the vehicles. Landrush and Raid take use Stock-Baja, Trophy Trucks and Buggies and feature tracks with plenty of jumps. Last Man Standing is an elimination event where the clock ticks down from 20 seconds and the last place driver is eliminated from the race until only one driver is left.

Each vehicle in Dirt 2 is rendered well including a full rendering of the cockpit. All the dials and gauges actually work which is very cool. Additionally the in-cockpit view is usable unlike some racing games where the viewpoint is so limited that it's near impossible to drive whilst using it.

All told I am thoroughly enjoying Dirt 2 and absolutely love the tight controls and spot-on physics. The graphics are good and at moments spectacular and have never, ever shown a bit of framerate problems or slow-down. But there are issues that keep me from rating the game higher.

I guess the first thing that I would note is that although Dirt 2 is a good looking game it just doesn't stand up next to the likes of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and some of the newer racers out there. I'm by no means implying that the graphics make the game less enjoyable, more or less throwing the information out there for those that may care to know.

My biggest disappointment with Dirt 2 would have to be the lack of genuine upgrades to the cars. Yes, you can purchase and upgrade to the vehicles from one class to another as I noted before. But there are absolutely ZERO parts to choose from and no real customization besides choosing liveries, horns and dash ornaments. Before each race you can modify basic settings like downforce and brake bias but the choices are few. If you're a fan of tuning your cars from parts you choose then be warned that Dirt 2 is probably not your game.

Another area where the game is weak is the environment effects. You'll spend most of your time in Dirt 2 racing in broad daylight and a few races at dusk where extra lights will be mounted to your vehicles. But no weather effects are present and no terrain deformation like in MotorStorm. Not a huge deal but still something to consider.

Also, Dirt 2 does feature damage models that range from bumps and scratches all the way to major damage doors falling off, broken windshields to broken axels, etc. However, in about 100 races I've realized a few things. Either the damage to your vehicles is extreme or it's very minor. There's very little ground in between. I've had accidents where I rolled my car at 90 mph and driven off like nothing happened this scenario is probably 98% of the damage you'll encounter. The only time I sustained damage severe enough to force me to retire from an event was when I intentionally rammed my car into a rock wall at 140 mph. I guess what I'm saying is that the damage model could be a bit more flushed out to allow for more realistic damage. I think that in the case of Dirt 2 the developers tried to make the game as accessible as possible and thus sort of rounded down the damage delt to vehicles.

My last gripe has to do with the menu. I find that entering certain events are confusing. Yes, 95% of the game is straightforward and not confusing at all. But to this day I still cannot find out how to download a time trail ghost and race against it. Also Dirt 2 features weekly community events where you can enter to race only problem is I've yet to figure out how to do so. Before you judge that this is a problem with me and not the game consider that I've been playing video games for over 20 years and play a lot of racing games. If I cannot figure it out, it's a problem with the interface of the game.

My last comment would be that although I'm new to the 'Dirt' franchise I was really expecting more of a rally type game than Dirt 2 really is. While it's true that there are plenty of rally events, they're generally short and more of an emphasis (out of sheer number of events) is placed on events like Rally-Cross or Trailblazer or the other game modes. I didn't realize just how much of an emphasis the X-Games played on rally racing or in Dirt 2 for that matter. Because of it the game has a sort of extreme-sport, "dude" type of feel to it.

All in all I don't believe that any of the issues I outlined are enough to keep me from enjoying the game and recommending it here. There is certainly enough content and races to keep a racer busy for a long time. Coupled with a fully featured online multiplayer Dirt 2 will be in my PS3 for many months to come. In finishing, Dirt 2 is an good off-road racer that lands just shy of greatness.

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Dirt2 rocks! Am up to level 40 and still having fun. Graphics are great, the mud on the windshield drives me nuts, I can't see! There is a switchable damage mode to allow for crash damage to affect speed and handling. And damage to the car will happen. You have to be really agressive in the car-to-car races, so it's inevitable. The "celebrity" drivers taunt you and will even break your concentration with their comments to you and each other. Hard to drive when you're laughing... Drive clean and they will be your friends. Ram them too often and they retaliate. It's even kind of cool when they tell you they think you're a legend after you beat them enough. You can drive any car on any track in Time Trial mode, something Dirt wouldn't do. The Dallenbach Special is a handful on the Del Ray Stadium track.

Don't know what others are crying about, there's plenty of Rally available in Dirt2. Is it ALL rally? No, but if it was, plenty of gamers would cry about that too. I was a little disapointed the big Raid trucks(DAF, Kamaz) are gone, as are Pike's Peak hillclimbers. Trailblazer cars a similar. But do you really want a warmed-over rehash of a game you've already played? I'm so sick of waiting for GT5 to come out and find out it's the same old tracks, the same lame cars, and a million races in Yugo's to get to a Ferrari. You get to drive decent cars on new tracks from the start and they get better...

All in all, a great game. If you love off-road, there's none better in my opinion.

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I bought this as a Christmas gift for my Hubby as it was on his list. After reading some of the reviews I thought I was going to send it back, but I gambled and it paid off. He and my Son love playing this game, I guess some people have really high standards for games. My guys have been playing these games for years and love this game every time they play, go figure!!

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PS3 PLAYSTATION 3 Blue/White Modded Controller (Rapid Fire)

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List Price: $149.99
Sale Price: $99.99
Today's Bonus: 33% Off

Really enjoy my new controller. Not a single problem with it. Only used a few modes and can't wait to use the rest..

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My brother and I got 2 geniusmods ps3 controllers along with 2 xbox ones and these things are freaking awesome. We are huge gamers and already awesome at COD and pretty much all games but these things have really taken our game to the next level. I cannot express how happy I am with these purchases. Best money I've ever spent.

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this is an update of my mod controller so far its alright im kinda bummed that guns like the SMR, FAL, or TAC45 cant handle the fastest rapid fire like i start playing with one of those guns and i put the rapid fire on and it gets stuck like it shoots a couple rounds and it stops firing almost as it seems like it got stuck and it gets me killed. so that kinda bummed me out and now my triangle button got stuck its sort of hard to push the button in almost like its sticky. i kept the controller clean in the inside so idk what it is. other than that its still a good controller especially if u use the m8a1 or that 3 round smg (forgot the name blanked out) NEW RATING **** STARS

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Controllers from geniusmods as always, look amazing. I had a difficult time programming active reload to work right. Once I got the hang of it, it was amazing.

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The product was here and on time. I have been using it everyday now and love it. It has many settings but hard to figure them all out, but with an instruction Manuel it can be easily figured out. P.s rapid fire works great all the time very fast speed

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NBA 2K9

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $13.48
Today's Bonus: 55% Off

I used to be an NBA Live fan and other EA Sports game, mainly Madden. But I remember playing demos when I bought the PS3 and was comparing what I like better. There was NBA 2K7, NBA Live 07, and NBA 07. 2K7 just was just more realistic to me and had better gameplay. I play it with my little brother and friends, and it's just the small details that make it better then the rest. Players wear their signature shoes and even the real shots that players do. Especially Shawn Marion's horrible looking jumper.

2K8 was fun last year as well, except that lockdown feature really was broken. I can be Shaq and guard Tony Parker or Allen Iverson just by holding down a button. This one improves ont he lockdown defense and none of that Shaq on any point guard defense.

A few things I noticed, which is the same problem 2K8 had, is goaltending is way off. The ball will bounce off the rim or backboard and someone would touch it after and get called goaltending. This usually happens only once every 5 games in 2K8, but already it has happened in about 2 or 3 times in every game I played. Not sure what is up with that.

Also I don't understand what's with all the confusing menus. The menus also was bad, but they tried to change it and seem to have made it worst.

The one main feature that is missing and I don't understand why is, Sixaxis control for the PS3. I don't understand why this was taken out, were they too lazy? Just trying please everyone and make it exactly the same as the 360 version. I mean that's what set it apart from the other games. And made the free throw feel a lot more "real" then using an analog or watching a ball bounce across the backboard. Last year you can either have it on or off so the choice was yours, if you didn't like it. This has thrown me off, and I still hold the controller with 2 hand awaiting to throw a free throw when I realized that it doesn't work. So what was wrong with it? I can't imagine people complaining because you were able to turn it off. Now it's just gone........

Overall the gameplay is fun and better then the other NBA games. I only tried the demos for Live and 09.

The online I haven't tried much, I usually have people in the same room to play with........ But if you don't have anyone to play with and need online, I guess it would suck if it freezes like all the other reviews said. I will give it a try later.

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Every year I look forward to the season opener and a new NBA 2K. This year is no exception, the quality of the upgrades on this game justifies spending $60 on it.

#1 Graphics I thought 2K8 was good, somehow 2K9 made it even better, even more realistic. Countless times my wife walks past and says there's basketball at this hour?

#2 Controls The post play controls are really tight, there's a lot of moves and fakes, it may take time to learn and get comfortable with all of it, but once you do, it feels very realistic.

#3 Commentary Unfortunately this is a bit of a backstep IMO. I liked Steven A. Smith, and there's more bugs than last year like wrong names, wrong teams said in the wrong situation.

#4 Updates 1 month past the release and there's a big patch out that allows 2K8 to update the roster as soon as the real NBA roster updates, now that's really cool. That one was function EA's NBA Live had and missing from 2K.

#5 Association It's very deep, yet can be fully automated as well. The trades system got easier to manage, option to automate parts of the scouting or draft if you don't want to micromanage everything.

Other than Yao Ming getting blocked by AI, the rest of the game feels very realistic. Overall, well worth the $60 spent, now it's another year of waiting until 2K10 comes out. Hm... Wonder if they'll change the name, that doesn't sound right. Two K Ten.

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This is one of the great game. highly recommended. I have been playing everyday, oh no.. I can not stop. you get addicted to it.

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This game is the finest to come out yet. The detail is awesome. For those that notice the little things, you will be impressed. The crowd all do different movements, are dressed different and can be seen walking in and out as if they are going to consessions, etc. . The player movements are improved and they look more real than ever. Muscle tone and small details are enhanced. Probably the biggest thing I noticed was the individual players have their own shot movements just as they do in real life.

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1) Love play-off games and the extra (including Questlove ;p characters)

2) Love the online play with friends and best for settling scores ;p

3) The bad thing is they (NBA2K) do not update the roster (tho there are people who do put up their own point version updates) :( as they just get newer game version to buy. I wish they atleast keep supporting their year old game rosters !! :(

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PS3-Original-Designer skin for FAT Playstation 3 System

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List Price: $24.95
Sale Price: $12.97
Today's Bonus: 48% Off

I loved this skin, it fit my console perfectly, looks awesome, and even came with 2 controller skins that are just as awesome. What can I say but awesome. *lol* =)

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2 x Silicone Skin Case for Sony PlayStation 3 PS3 Wireless Dual Shock Controller

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It protects well against sweaty hands, dirt, and in case u drop ur controller. but for mine, i had to cut pieces of it off in order to use the joy stick more freely. at times when using the joy stick part of the controller, it would get in contact of the silicone pad slowing the action down. but its worth it for the price.

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Product didnt fit right at first but after adjusting it and using the controller, the skin laid on very well. Happy with purchase.

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These skins work great. They add a little bit of bulk to the controllers, which is great if you have big hands. They also keep the little one's greasy fingers from getting all over the controller and protect them a tiny bit if they get dropped. My only gripe is that, on the black one, you cannot see which controller you are assigned to because the lights are covered. You can see through the clear one but not the black one. I resolved this by cutting out a little rectangle with a razor.

Overall, a great product for the price.

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Gel skins lasted for a good amount of time but eventually tore when my dogs got ahold of it. But it worked as it should have

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i bought two of these at walmart, a black one and a pink one for my wife. and they're great kinda hard to put on but you'll get it. they feel very comfortable in my hands and soft. they came with usb charging cord and what's cool about mine is that they change color. the only little problem with the pink one is that it has a weird smell kinda like ruber but just the pink one. weird huh? well hope this helps, thank you.

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Need for Speed: Carbon

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $20.45
Today's Bonus: 32% Off

Need for Speed Carbon is a decent racing game for the PS3. The graphics is good but nothing to get overly excited about. The framerate is consistently high, which is great when you are driving at over 120 mph. (I play it in 1080i mode on my LCD TV.) The career mode has some sort of storyline, but it's complicated and I just skipped over the poorly delivered dialogs.

The game is an arcade racer, which means its car handling physics is not very realistic. A number of real-world nameplates are represented, and each does have its own "feel," but the designers and developers made no attempt at making them feel real. (The opposite of this approach is, of course, the venerable Gran Turismo series.) The best thing about an arcade racer like this is the driving is very forgiving. You can corner easily at over 90 mph, something you'll never do in Gran Turismo. You can also turn off car damage and smash into everything and anything -cop cars, oncoming traffic, etc. -destroy them yet sustain no damage. Because the framerate is really good, when you use the bumper or dash view and drive above 120 mph on an HDTV, you can really feel the rush.

The career mode has you race to win over territories. You must place no. 1 in each race to win. After a while, the races do get repetitive, as do the cat-and-mouse chases with the cops. The city in the game, which seems to be modeled after L.A., is not very big, so after half an hour or so you'll have travelled on all its streets and highways. I wish EA had included a more expansive setting.

In short, this is a fun game and makes a great rental. It's too expensive as a purchase, and its limited variety of play makes the purchase a poor value.

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I absolutely love this Need for Speed! The game play is great...even the story line is pretty good...I wish the graphics were a touch better..but 720p ain't too bad...The map could be a bigger too. Overall an awesome game.

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I started with the version for PS2. It was pretty good, but when I got the PS3, I had to get the other version. It is alot better with more traffic and the rain is phenominal. The only thing that keeps me from giving this game a perfect 5 is that there is no replay. They should have at least put it on the canyon and drift runs. Overall I really enjoy the game especially the online play.

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Need for Speed has been perfecting the arcade racer for many years. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit was one of my favorites because of the police pursuits. Carbon takes that element to the next level. Now this game features several unique features which make this game special.

The storyline is rather unique and gives you a personality. You are a character that you never talk or have a face. It would have been nice if they allowed players to personalize that aspect more. This game is not overly challenging and features well designed courses. There are various race types that if one doesn't challenge you enough another will. I seem to do pretty well it just about every race style. Except for drift racing which is very challenging and requires great timing. This game adds a new aspect called a wingman. This character will help you in just about every race. Whether it be to block another race or bring home first place. As you progress in the game you can personalize your vehicles more and also earn newer faster vehicles. That is not only important for career racing mode but also online play. As I have noticed the competition out there is excellent. The game also has added a card collecting goal. This game gets you rewards for collecting four cards in each category. The physics of this game is excellent and the speed is furious. You really feel the speed of the cars out there are quickly understand the capabilities of the car you are driving.

When it comes to graphics the 360 comes in first at least with this game. The graphics are a little darker and muddier than its Microsoft predecessor. Although that being said the graphics are still excellent. By far these games continue to shine in creating beautiful environments. The entire game takes place at night which may be a little disorienting to some.

Overall I love this game. From the great storyline to the music that seems to fit every environment perfectly. I would consider this game for anyone who like some aderaline pumping action.

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The Playstation 3 system has definitely been recognized as one of the most popular video game systems on the holiday market today. Although there have been many different games that have thrived from the earlier Playstations that Electronic Arts have delivered well on, there is arguably one game that has the rush for anybody who wants to be a street demon, Need For Speed. Since it debuted a decade ago, it has been recognized as one of the best racing game series of all time. The last version, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, did a fantastic job at bringing in new reved up racers to all game consoles alike. Now, a new chapter has helped Need For Speed make its debut on the Playstation 3, but does it deliver like its PS2 counterpart?

Need For Speed Carbon for the Playstation 3 is a wild and driven racing game that deliver mostly well for all gamers of all kinds. The game picks up mostly well, as you enter Palmont City, eager for a new challenge after Rockport's Most Wanted madness, as you race your way, trying to conquer the streets with your crew. The game features nearly all the excitement, as you race your way to the top of the heat, to tackle Darius and his league of underground racers. The game features all the classic cars you've come to love from the Mazda RX-8, to exoticas like the Porsche Carrera, and also classic muscle cars like the Dodge Charger, and the Plymouth Challenger as well. There are also thrilling tracks that make the game shine well from circuit races, and speedtraps against the cops, to the return of drifting tracks, something that wasn't seen since Underground 2. The graphics are polished up noblely well, and thrive with each speed of the gameplay. There are however, a couple of disadvantages to the game. One of them, is that you don't have as much challenge against the police as you did with Need For Speed Most Wanted. The other disadvantage, is the muscle cars are very difficult to control for new gamers, and take a whole lot just to get used to, especially in the challenge mode.

Still, even though I wish there could've been more that should have been played in Need For Speed Carbon for the Playstation 3, but it is definitely enough to give any speed demon a thrill of a lifetime. If you have the PS3, than I recommend you place this on your gamelist. I loved playing this chase, and you'll enjoy this need as well.

Graphics: B+

Sound: B

Control: B 1/2+

Price: B 1/2-

Overall: B 1/2+

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PlayStation 3 80GB System

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A lot of people have written about the pros and cons of the PS3 vs. XBOX 360 vs. Wii. I'm not bothering with that, and assume you can find that information at elsewhere. I'm also assuming you can read all about why the PS3 would or would not fit your needs.

Instead, I'd like this review to explain what exactly this configuration is (there's a lot of confusion about that,) and why I think it hits the sweet spot. Basically, there are currently 2 versions of the PS3 on the market now. Ignoring the size of the drive for a second (because you can always swap the drive anyway, and it has no real bearing on the rest of the specs) think of them as Version A (currently available or not as the case may be in the PlayStation 3 80 GB Metal Gear Solid 4 Pack) and Version B (this one.)

The first thing that you need to understand is that there are three relevant differences between these two versions besides the included bundle and the price (the MGS one is $499 from amazon, more from third parties.)

Difference #1: Version A (MGS pack) is backward compatible with PS2 games while this one is NOT (they are both backward compatible with PS1 games however.)

Difference #2: Version A has 4 USB ports as well as memory card slots, while this version has only 2 USB ports and NO memory card slots.

Difference #3: AND THIS FOR ME IS BIG: Version A has the older and larger 90nm Cell processor, while this one has the smaller (and some say more reliable) 65nm Cell processor. Power consumption on this unit is lower as well, dropping from 200 Watts to 135 watts. The end result is a machine that runs cooler and, according to all reports as well as my personal experience, much quieter. An extremely relevant factor if you watch movies with it.

For those that have been looking for a while, this is basically the 40GB machine that was offered recently, with a larger hard drive and an upgraded controller they replaced the basic sixaxis controller with the Dualshock 3 controller (which means it has rumble.)

Now Version A is packaged with Metal Gear Solid. It has an 80GB drive like this one, and the same controller. The big differences are listed above. Until this configuration was released, the larger hard drive and Dualshock controller were 2 of the 4 reasons many people felt the MGS pack was worth the additional $100. Those two factors are now eliminated. The remaining differences are the backward compatibility with PS2 games and the MGS game itself, which can of course be bought separately.

So to sum it up, if you NEED PS2 compatibility, you might want to grab the MGS pack if you can get one that or keep your old PS2. For new buyers though, and for all of the people that are going to just play PS3 games, as well as avid movie watchers, this particular configuration is fantastic. You get the big drive, the good controller, PLUS the cooler running chip, a quieter machine and a system that uses about 33% less power.

And ok just to satisfy the basic requirements of a review, I'll list some other nice stuff: It includes a Blu-ray DVD player (one of those runs almost as much as, or more than, this entire box), the online play is FREE, wireless connectivity is built in (you don't have to buy an additional piece as with some others), reliability has been quite good (much better than some others), there are some great PS3-only titles, and you can stream media to it from your PC. There's more, but there are plenty of people outlining it.

As always, do your research and see what's best for you. Maybe the 360-only titles are must haves for you, or maybe your family fits a Wii. We have a Wii and I love it. But I also love my PS3, and in my opinion this configuration is the one to get (this month anyway.)

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Necessary disclosure: I do not own this model. I have what used to be a 60GB model, recently upgraded to 320GB the gold standard.

As compared to the 60GB model:

______________________________________________

+ less expensive (I paid $599 for my 60GB PS3)

+ 33% more storage

+ needs less power

+ dual shock controller (rumble)

no memory card interfaces

2 USB ports vs. 4 USB ports on the 60GB

no PS2 compatibility

______________________________________________

This model comes with an 80GB drive. This is nice because, most would agree, 80GB is more than 60GB. If you feel that the extra 20GB is a big deal, maybe you should think again. I upgraded my 60GB to 320GB because I was about to run out of space, with only 10GB or so left. One month or so later, I'm using more than 80GB already just downloaded the Ratchet and Clank minigame from PSN and it alone needs about 3GB. My advice is to buy this model and upgrade it yourself. It's (relatively) easy and you can find a lot of advice if you Google for it.

If you are on the upgrade path, $80 would buy you a 320GB drive. I used the Western Digital WD3200BEVT 320 GB Scorpio Sata 5400 Rpm 8MB 2.5 inch myself but that was back in June/July and I paid about $150 then; you could get much larger drives for less now. 500GB drives are available for less than $100 and you should try to get one of those if you are planning to store lots of videos. One that I tested would be the 500GB 2.5" Sata Drive which replaced my laptop's 60GB little drive and I helped a friend upgrade his own PS3 with. The nice thing about upgrading your disk is that you are also going to be left with a perfectly good 80GB or $160GB drive which you can place into a cheap enclosure, and the StarTech AT2510U2 InfoSafe 2.5-Inch USB/SATA Hard Drive Enclosure worked for me. I am using the free leftover drive as a backup device for family photos.

Upgrading the disk is (relatively) easy and you can find a lot of advice on the Net. Search for "PlayStation 3 Hard Drive Upgrade (HOWTO)" for videos that should help you decide if you are comfortable with upgrading. If upgrading is the first thing you do (before installing games or uploading personal files), everything becomes very easy because you need not worry about backups or restores. I upgraded my box in a couple of hours WITH the backup/restore steps.

The lack of memory card interfaces is annoying but you can get around it. Copy your stuff to a USB drive or flash drive and... problem solved. You can then upload your things through the USB. It's somewhat inconvenient but it's no big deal.

My old (10 months) 60GB model has 4 USB slots and I am using all of them. One for the PS3 Eye (camera), a second has a wireless keyboard dongle, the third is where the racing wheel plugs in and the last one I use to charge controllers. Can you live with 2 slots? I suppose you can but there's going to be some plugging/unplugging if you begin adding peripherals. I suppose you could get one of those USB ports multiplexers. They're ugly but... it's doable.

PS2 compatibility... can't get it. Sorry. I don't play PS2 games but my kids do. In fact, they just bought some Sonic game a couple of days ago. I was surprised but... de gustibus. They're also playing Kingdom Hearts and Destroy All Humans.

This model comes with a couple of improvements over the gold standard. It burns less electricity, which is a good thing for the rain forests, keeping them cool and maybe you save a few dollars on your electric bill. And, of course you get the advanced controller.

Briefly:

If you are planning to upgrade, the 80GB model is the way to go because it is selling for $100 less than the larger disk version and you can use the savings to pay for your disk upgrade

Get yourself a USB port multiplexer if you need more than 2 ports

Transfer your photos to flash drives to get around the missing memory card interfaces

Or or, even better, to address both the USB and the memory card issues, get the Playstation 3 Media Hub+ for 2 extra USB ports AND a card reader

Keep your PS2 if you have one and still wish to play PS2 games in the future.

Enjoy your new PS3.

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I had sat on the sidelines of the next gen video games up until a couple of weeks ago. I had tried Wii almost as soon as it came out and was captivated by the motion sensors but the limited availability and sameness to the games as well as limited graphics was frustrating.

Xbox 360 the $50 a year subscription and more importantly it lost the Blu-ray/HD battle were big no points for me. I enjoy games, my wife does not. She does enjoy movies and the internet. When I pointed out that PS3 was a Blu-ray player (with excellent reviews) and could let us surf the internet, she was all for it.

I have an 'old' HDTV (3 years old). It has a maximum resolution of 1080i and a DVI input but no HDMI. I did some research before buying this so I bought an HDMI to DVI cable at the same time. I was worried about hooking it up and getting it to look right and also getting sound. I should not have been. It took literally a few minutes. Plugged the HDMI end into the PS3 and the DVI end into the HDTV. Received a picture (great picture) right away. It detected that 1080i was the highest resolution and I choose that.

Sound I simply choose the option to put sound out correctly and received gorgeous sound. I only use the speakers that came with the HDTV but it sounds fantastic on Blu-Ray. I can only imagine what people with surround sound systems will get.

The Blu-Ray discs are stunning. Even with 'just' 1080i. Truly beautiful. And it also up-converts very well. My favorite movies are the LOTR expanded editions. I have seen LOTR on TNT HD broadcasts. With the PS3 they look almost as good perhaps even better than the HD broadcasts. Also one of the coolest things and I have no idea if this for all Blu-Rays are just PS3 is that it remembers where you were on discs (Blu-ray and DVD discs)even if the disc was last played 8 discs ago. So say for instance you a third of the way through Fellowship. You then put a few game discs in, some other movie discs, then go back to Fellowship. It actually remembers where you left off that disc. Love it.

The internet browsing has been very cool. At first it was ok but it did not fill up the screen and the lettering was too small. But then I discovered zoom in and zoom out. And now it is really fun to browse. As an aside when I started browsing if someone was on our lap-top we would get a connection conflict and would not be able to surf on the lap-top. I called Linksys and they were able to change a bunch of settings on the router and it works just fine now, no problems on using both at the same time.

As for games I have Assassin's Creed and Oblivion now. Both look amazing. I have also downloaded demos for Mirror's Edge (stunning) and Motorstorm (fun and also amazing graphics). Even as a gamer truly I only really have time for a half dozen games every year or two or even three. A lot of these games last a long time. So in reality the 360s edge on variety is for all intents moot. I am planning to get Little Big Planet and maybe the new Spidey game when it comes down in price. That will more than hold me over to God of War and which ever other few games I will get in 2009. Having a handful of great games, to me, is more important than 50 titles coming out a year.

Bottomline is if you have an HDTV (particularly if you have a home theater set up) and no Blu-ray and enjoy gaming the PS3 is truly awesome. You get a great Blu-ray player, an 80gig hard drive, incredible gaming capabilities (just downloading the demos would be cool), internet browsing and video watching on your TV. You can also download the LIFE utility that has an incredibly cool visual globe where you can get live weather and news headlines around the world. And you can help cure diseases by linking to a Stanford project that looks at how proteins work and fold. If you allow it your processor can be added to the processing power being used for the Stanford project (when you are not gamin and such).

Sony has succeeded in making a truly great heart of your home media experience. This is so much more than Wii it isn't even close. And with Blu-ray and free Sony playstation network, it really is a much better value than any of the 360 choices you have. Right now heading into the 2008 holiday season, PS3 stands alone as clearly the best system and the best value. Not only for gamers but for the entire family.

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The Playstation 3 is an incredible Blue Ray Player, that has features NOT available in any other Blue Ray Player. I am not a game player and simply bought this unit as a Blue Ray and DVD player. However on comparison, there are so many benefits compared to other Blue Ray players.

Here are the surprise benefits you get from this INCREDIBLE technology vs. a regular Blue Ray Player:

1. Picture Quality SUPERB (Easily compares to most expensive Blue Ray Players)

2. REGULAR DVD's PLAY IN A HIGHER RESOLUTION Incredible difference to a regular DVD player.

3. Wireless INTERNET Connection Surf web on your TV. (NO WIRES REQUIRED)

4. Automatic BLUE RAY format Updates (FREE and AUTOMATIC) Upgrades as technology changes.

5. HARD Drive (80 GB) Store movies, music, etc.

6. Beautiful Black Console Doesn't look like a game player on shelf.

7. EASY to set-up (Ready in a few minutes)

8. LOWER PRICED All these unique features, at a lower price than the other Blue Ray players

I have no idea why anyone would ever consider a standard BLUE RAY or DVD player once you have had a chance to try out the features of the PS3. Having the internet on our TV allows us full access to news, weather, radio, music video's, etc.

I was told that low price BLUE RAY players cannot play many movies and DVD's because the BLUE RAY format is constantly changing and the Playstation 3 is the ONLY BLUE RAY unit to have automatic updates that will correct for new Blue Ray formats in the future.

NO COMPARISON Hands down BEST BLUE RAY Player with the most features on the market!

HIGEST POSSIBLE RATING.........

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I was debating which game console to get, the Wii, Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3(PS3). As a male with family of two kids, overall the PS3 was the best value for the money. Since PS3 and Xbox 360 are aiming for the same market, I was comparing the PS3 more to the 360:

Pros:

-Most powerful system among 3 consoles.

-Blu Ray player included, also it can be upgraded via the internet. It is full functioning Blu Ray player, not watered down, the picture quality if awesome.

-Solid hardware, Xbox 360 hardware has many problems.

-Includes wireless Wi-Fi, but with Xbox 360 you have to buy it separately.

-Free online gaming, unlike Xbox's which you have to pay each month.

-Internet web browser, which Xbox doesn't have.

-Better menus for navigation than 360.

-Controllers have not only rumble, but also motion sensor like Wii.

-Hard drive is easily upgradable and inexpensive, unlike 360 which is expensive and very hard to upgrade if you want to put your own hard drive.

-Latest movies and TV shows can purchased online, 360's Netflix has more titles but are old titles.

-Playstation Eye(motion sensing camera) accessory allows for motion games like Wii.

Cons:

-Need more latest titles of movies(but same or better than 360 or Apple TV)

-Not all movies can be rented in the first few weeks of release, but have to be purchased.

-Need more variety of games, actually true for all 3 systems.

Overall compared to Wii: Kids will want the Wii no matter what anyone says as long as their friends have it. The quality of Wii games are decreasing, game developers are not integrating the motion functionality well with the games. It feels like developers made the games and then added the motion feature as an afterthought. PS3's included controller has motion sensors like the Wii, also Playstation Eye camera has motion sensoring also. There are PS3 accessories for Guitar Hero and Rock Band which allows physical games on the PS3 like the Wii. So you can do play physical games like the Wii on the PS3.

Overall compared to Xbox 360: Even though Xbox 360 is less expensive initially, if you add everything that PS3 has, the Xbox 360 is much more expensive. People forgot this. 360 has more games than PS3 because it was introduced a year earlier, but starting in 2008 PS3 is coming out with many high quality exclusive games now that introduction period is over(PS3 has Metal Gear Solid 4, Little Big Planet, Socom Confrontation, Resistance 2, Gran Turismo 4, etc). Unless you will play Halo or Gears of War, get the PS3, it is a much better value.

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Raptor 1337 Guitar Controller with PS3 Adaptor - White

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I ordered this thinking it was a Peavey Raptor controller for a PS3 only to find out they shipped an AG Riffmaster instead thank God it was damaged and needed to be returned as this piece of garbage does NOT work with a PS3, they only had a PS2 transmitter in the box, instructions were for a PS2 only. When I called Amazon they told me that the listing had changed AFTER I made my order, no longer is it listed as a Raptor 1337 (although the box that it was delivered in had a Raptor 1337 sticker on it from the Amazon warehouse). As for the construction of this controller....SPEND THE EXTRA $30 AND GET THE LOGITECH GUITAR!!! I have one of those and the craftsmanship of the Logitech far exceeds the Peavy, sturdier, better whammy bar, nicer controls, etc. The Peavey looks like a hobby kit put together in about 10 minutes....WORST PART IS to change the batteries (which come pre-installed VERY odd to me) you need to remove 8 screws on the back cover plate to replace the 4AA batteries, which takes about 10 minutes when the Logitech takes about 15 seconds to change it's out. Sure, it's full sized, but also very bulky, the edges are more squared off than rounded, also the finish on the Logitech is a high grade piano black polished look...the finish on the Peavy was awful, a few bubbles and orange-peel spots. Also, there are only 1 set of buttons, no slide capabilities on the neck, no navigational buttons on the body to scroll through even a PS2 screen. I'm surprised that at $169 they actually sell these ... if I were Peavey, I would be pretty embarrassed to put my label on this controller would serve better as kindling for a fire this winter. After all was said and done, Amazon took this back and I ordered another Logitech guitar they thrw in free overnight shipping, but I still feel cheated as AMAZON was the one who listed it improperly, changed the listing AFTER I ordered it, and could only throw in free shipping for the hassel I have to go through to get this shipped back to them, not to mention this was needed ASAP (yes, I did pay for overnight shipping originally as well).

If they had a rating for HORRIBLE, I wish it were an option, the 1 star review was the lowest I could give

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I purchased this item from Amazon.com. I t does com with an adapter that plugs into a PS2 concsole, but also has another adapter that attaches to the PS2 adapter that makes it a PS3 adapter. The product thus far is awesome. The only thing I dont; like is that its a right handed guitar. Most others can be either left handed or right handed. When you flip it upside down to play, there is no strap button to make it left handed. You either have to sit down to play it or buy a bigger strap from a guitar shop. you can still play lefty mode with it. I would recommend this to others.

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Puss in Boots (Move Enabled)

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Sale Price: $32.75
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I bought this for my 10 year old son, but he was really too old for it. My 7 year old son absolutely loves it. The other reviews I read are right that it is short. My 7 year old completed it in 2 hours. It patterns the movie. By patterns, I mean it is EXACTLY like the movie. If you are planning to see the movie, don't play the game until after. The movement tracking is superb, one of the best I've seen with Kinect games. You actually sword fight, climb, sneak, jump, play the guitar, and yes, even dance fight! Very easy so that a younger kid doesn't get frustrated with it. The only reason why it didn't get a 5 from me is the length of gameplay; however, as most moms know, a young one doesn't care, even after they beat it they'll play it over and over and over and over...

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Just bought this impulsively for myself & I'm so glad I did. I can't wait to show this to my step-grandkids. I loved Puss in Boots from the movies & was hoping it would have an Antonio Banderas voice in the character & it does. The cartoon graphics & sounds are excellent. It's multiplayer so you can compete with others for the highest score (haven't done that yet). Follow Boots on his epic adventure. I just succeeded in accomplishing the "Bar of Thieves" in Santa Maria part of the map. I just stopped & the game saved my progress). Boots doesn't just sword fight, he also can kick enemies with his "Bandit Boot", move, block, deflect, dodge the barrels, pounce, balance a tightrope between buildings, shimmy along a ledge, climb, find & hide behind special objects, sneak, etc. Boots tells a very quick story while moving to another location within the town. You can also make him play guitar to charm his kitty girlfriend. It's a fairly quick moving action game and the directions appear on the screen during the game on how to dodge, pounce(jump), balance, play guitar, etc. as needed. This is excellent since I didn't even read the directions before playing. Wii Motion Controller & Nunchuck are required. It's recommended for everyone age 10 + (because of the cartoon mischief & violence). Thankfully, there's no gory stuff & when an opponent is defeated, he falls backward & Boots moves on to the next enemy. I am strongly against violent games, but for some reason, this sword fighting game doesn't seem to bother me. Anyway, I highly recommend this game to anyone who is into 3 Musketeers/Puss in Boots swashbuckling. So far, I've played 5 hours total of this game & find it fun & cute.

Update: 2/13/12: Today, I came home to find my 13 year old grandson helping my 4 year old grandson play "puss in boots" game. They were having a great time taking turns. (older one helped little one over challenging parts, like balancing the tightrope & grabbing the green gold). Neither wanted to stop playing after playing for 3 1/2 hours straight (no exaggeration). They achieved 4 places on the map. I'm not sure how much more there is but they definitely had fun with the progress. It's really a cute game. Even my granddaughters were watching while playing with toys & said it reminded them of the Puss in Boots movie.

I'm surprised so many reviewers on here are disappointed with this game. I guess we all have different expectations. So to be fair, I recommend people rent it before buying it so as not to be bummed out. Personally, I'm very happy I bought this game impulsively. I also want to get the Puss in Boots dvd when it's available but I digress...

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The game plays out like as if you're watching the movie and being an actor in the movie itself -novel concept!

PROS:

Graphics are gorgeous, even better than the already top-of-the line Kinect Disneyland Adventures game... the graphics are as good as watching the movie itself!

Some new motion movements that I have not seen in other kinect games.

Uses your whole body

CONS:

We have to watch the initial opening everytime instead of being able to go straight to the game.

CONCLUSION: Highly recommended!

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Im 24 years old n while I know this game is made more for the younger age group i still enjoyed it very much.

Fairly simple to play great story slightly different than movie but basically the same. I enjoyed working for all the trophies getting gold in all the levels can be a challange. Overall tho i highly recommend it for younger kids but still a fun game to play for adults. The PS move function works great. Also the minigames were fun n challanging.

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The game is perfect for kids, they all have a lot of fun. It was like the movie. The only setback was that it was too short. Both of my kids (9-10 years old range)finished the game in like two days, when they normally take weeks before finishing any game.

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